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A GOAT IS A GOAT…?
WRONG!
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Robert Spencer
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Urban Regional Extension
Specialist
Alabama Cooperation Extension System |
The old notion a goat is a goat does not apply
any more. There are two primary categories, meat
goats and dairy goats. While a few breeds of goats
are raised for their fiber, their numbers are very
few. Meat goats are generally not dairy goats, but
many dairy goats end up as meat goats. People with
extended backgrounds (old people) will tell about
“back in the day” a goat was a goat
and all they were good for is cleaning brush. Yes,
a farm family might have owned a diary goat, but
those families were very few and were probably considered
“different”; times have not changed
much.
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The old notion a goat is a goat does not apply
any more. There are two primary categories, meat
goats and dairy goats. While a few breeds of goats
are raised for their fiber, their numbers are very
few. Meat goats are generally not dairy goats, but
many dairy goats end up as meat goats. People with
extended backgrounds (old people) will tell about
“back in the day” a goat was a goat
and all they were good for is cleaning brush. Yes,
a farm family might have owned a diary goat, but
those families were very few and were probably considered
“different”; times have not changed
much.
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Dairy goats have been domesticated for thousands
of years, throughout the world.
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Dairy goats and dairy goat farms are sparsely
scattered across the United States yet probably
more common today than they ever have been. These
days, many “cottage farms” raise dairy
goats to provide their own milk and make their own
cheeses. Fresh goat milk makes the best tasting
fudge and ice cream. People who are lactose intolerant
can generally drink goat milk without any problem.
A good dairy goat will produce approximately a gallon
of milk a day. Some of the more common breeds of
Dairy goats include: Alpines, Nubians, La Manchas,
and Saanens. On our farm the goat milk my wife gathers
from spring through fall is used in making soap.
What she now makes is basically the old fashioned
lard and lye soap except goat milk and other fixed
and essential oils are mixed in. Rumor has it Egyptian
royalty bathed in goat milk to keep their skin soft
and young looking. After four years of using the
soap my wife makes I have begun to feel a little
bit royal.
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While goat meat has been consumed for as longs
as goats have existed there is a breed of goat that
originated in South Africa which has become very
popular in the United States, the Boer Goat. Yes,
brush goats, myotonic (Tennessee Fainting) goats,
miniature goats, and dairy goats are used for their
meat; but Boer Goats are to the goat industry what
Angus Cattle are to the beef industry. They are
visible through much of the countryside, with their
distinct white bodies and dark brown heads. Boer
Goats were brought into the United States in the
early 1990s; thanks to their meaty carcass, rapid
growth, and distinctive appearance their popularity
has skyrocketed.
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In recent years other less easily recognizable
“meat breeds” of goats such as the Kiko
and Savannah Goat have caught the attention of a
few goat producers, but the Boer Goat dominates
the goat industry. Buyers seeking meat goats and
ethnic groups that prefer goat meat generally choose
Boer goats over other breeds of goats.
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In the United States, many people of non-Caucasian
backgrounds given the opportunity will choose goat
meat over any form of meat. Goat meat is popular
in Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, S. E.
Asia, Mexico and South America. Goat meat is the
most consumed red meat in the World. Consuming goat
meat is healthier for us than beef or chicken. Processed
correctly, the taste of goat meat falls between
beef and venison.
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Now that you have a better understanding about
the goat industry, I hope those of you unfamiliar
with goats will have a new found appreciation for
why us goat producers enjoy raising goats. For goat
lovers there are goats and there are breeds of goats.
When looking out over my pastures and seeing those
stocky white goat bodies with their dark brown heads
and knowing the history of goats gives me great
satisfaction. Despite all of them may look alike
to the novice, each of my breeding stock have names
and as much personality as a human.
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