Marketing
I have been involved in the goat industry for many years and have helped many get started with quality stock at reasonable prices to help them make money. Being a Director for the American Boer Goat Association I have contact with folks from all over the U.S.. No matter where I go, or who calls on the telephone, there are always some general questions.
Is there a market for goat meat?
My answer to them is always a resounding yes! Goat meat world wide is one of the most highly consumed meat. The United States, having such open borders, now host a wide diversity of cultures that are used to consuming goat meat.
Where do I sell my goats?
In most any area, of nearly all states, are local livestock auctions that have weekly sales. These sales can assist you with the sales of your goats. Some markets are better than others, depending on what buyers are there and what their needs are. You should do a little homework in your area to see which sale generally has better sale prices and what type of goats buyers there prefer to buy. You should also compare commission prices to see what it would cost to market your goats.
Many people, including myself, have found niche markets to sell goat meat in. There are ethnic cultures in nearly every state that have a desire for fresh goat meat. Locate these, and you have a steady market. Caution, many of these people will want to buy live goats on your farm, and do the kill themselves on your premises. This, in most states, is considered illegal kill and you can be heavily fined or worse if caught. It is my suggestion that you do not allow this.
What size do my goats need to be?
Although there are many different cultures that have different taste for meat and size of goats, the most popular is kid goats that weigh between 50 to 70 pounds live-weight. A kid goat is goat that still retains all of it's milk teeth. Most ethnic cultures want goat carcasses between 20 to 30 pounds, they will occasionally take larger ones, but the small ones are their preference. My experience with goats is that they will dress out on average, 46% of live-weight. They will dress 50% if you kill them with head left on. Although as a producer, I would rather sell larger animals, our current market still dictates what sizes we raise to sell.
When is the best time to sell?
Sometimes our wallets or feed bills dictate the time we sell our goats. There are a few things to keep in mind when selling though.
1) Is there a Holiday near?
There are certain times of the year that are better to sell. Most holidays, especially the Muslim holidays, drive and impact the markets. Christmas and Easter are major holidays that call for increased orders. You must remember this though. It takes time the packer to get the goat transported, processed, and to the retail market. Make sure you watch your local sale barn schedule to determine the proper date to sell on for a holiday market. This may end up being a week or ten days before the holiday itself.
2) What time of year is it?
The time to get top price for your meat goats is in the winter months. A very simple reason, Supply and Demand. There always is a shortage of goats during the winter months of January, February, and early March. Most breeders don't winter over any more goats than need be for the simple reasons of extra work and cost. Therefore, many of them have already sold their culls after kidding in the spring, or cleaned house in the fall. Most spring born kids are already gone and marketed before winter sets in. The winter months are also when most of the holidays occur.
3) What time of the Month is it?
Lets face it, a large portion of our population that consumes goat meat are immigrants. A large portion of our immigrants are benefactors of the welfare system. Therefore it is an easy conclusion, during the first part of each month, when the governments checks are handed out, there is a larger demand at the grocery stores. It is a fact, that packer orders for goats, are larger during the first part of the month compared to the latter weeks. You also need to watch the schedule of when the weekends fall in correlation to the weeks of the month. Weekends are always busy shopping times.
David & Terri Carter
2610 Crawfis Rd.
Lancaster, Ohio 43130
740-681-9377