The nuances of the meat goat market make numbers harder to track compared to other livestock, but demand definitely continues to rise, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service expert.
Jake Thorne, AgriLife Extension sheep and goat specialist, San Angelo, said meat goats are a specialty item and not marketed via traditional livestock producer-to-consumer logistical chains.
As the U.S. population continues to grow, and more people immigrate to the U.S. from countries where goat meat consumption is the norm, expectations are that demand and prices will remain strong. (Photo by Shelley E. Huguley)
“Meat goats do not typically follow the traditional livestock harvest pattern of other livestock. You don’t have large numbers going to a feedlot for several months, harvested at a large-scale commercial facility, and individual cuts distributed to retail grocery stores,” he said. “Some goats are fed and then processed at a heavier weight, but many are not. And it is common for whole carcasses to be sold as opposed to just individual cuts.”
Meat goat numbers harder to track than other meat animals
Herd numbers and the economics of the meat goat market are difficult to pinpoint because the U.S. Department of Agriculture doesn’t track them with the same detail as cattle, hogs or even lambs.
Most meat goats are taken to butchers or smaller harvesting facilities that might handle 100 or less animals per week, making the actual number of meat goats processed harder to gauge.
For example, during a recent weekly sale at Producers Livestock Auctions in San Angelo, 2,500 goat kids designated for processing were sold. Sales in Fredericksburg, Goldthwaite and Hamilton, the three next largest small ruminant auctions in Texas, combined for 8,000 meat goats.
USDA does report the number of animals processed in larger federally inspected facilities, however, and for goats, Thorne said that number is consistently around 10,000 to 12,000 animals per week.
“That shows you there is a significant percentage of goats that aren’t being accounted for in the USDA report,” he said. “Texas accounts for 33% of the nation’s meat goat inventory, and those four auctions make up the bulk of Texas sales, so it gives us a rough idea about total nationwide.”
The median herd size is around 20 animals, according to the 2019 USDA goat industry study, which Thorne said is the most comprehensive study of the national goat industry available. And whereas the number of meat goats has decreased some over the last several years, prices continue to rise, which is good news for producers.
Rising prices, seasonal demand
The price of meat goats has been steadily on the rise for the last decade, Thorne said. As the U.S. population continues to grow, and more people immigrate to the U.S. from countries where goat meat consumption is the norm, Thorne expects demand and prices to remain strong.