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, Ph.D., 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.
“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 and 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.
“Going back about 10 years, we can see average prices have increased from about $2 a pound to an average price now of about $3.50 a pound,” he said.
Thorne said those numbers can go up during times of higher demand, which tend to peak before religious and/or cultural holidays where goat is traditionally consumed. The middle of summer, usually after the Fourth of July, is typically the low point for the goat market. Prices can fall as much as $1 per pound.
Thorne said prices for producers can be based on the ebb and flow of supplies at sale barns as much or more than seasonal demand.
Goat prices trend higher in the late winter and early spring and then fall in the middle of summer and early fall. Goats are typically sold for processing between 3 to 5 months of age and at weights between 50-70 pounds.
And while Thorne said there are clear indicators that consumption increases on seasonal trends, he is not convinced producers should target marketing their animals to meet increased demand because a significant number of animals are marketed at these times.
“The premiums that typically come with an increase in demand don’t always come to reality because of the sudden spike in supply,” he said.
Lower prices in the summer are related to the glut of 3-4-month-old goats born in the spring coupled with lower seasonal demand, he said. On the other hand, producers who can raise fall-born goats can capitalize on the higher prices driven by fewer animals and increased demand in January, February and March.
More producers, smaller herds and the impact of COVID
Despite the strong market, goat prices and herd numbers have slipped compared to pre-pandemic levels. In 2019, goat numbers for Texas were about 842,000 compared to less than 790,000 now.
The pandemic impacted livestock markets in various ways during market and logistical disruptions in the following years, Thorne said. Producers experienced astronomical prices above $4 per pound in 2021 and 2022.
As goat inventories decreased and prices increased over recent years, Thorne said more producers began raising goats.
Thorne said increasing land costs and fragmentation have made goats an attractive and feasible option for producers with less acreage. Goats can fit a production system of 5-50 acres. In Texas they are also an attractive option because regions with more brushy plants provide browsing.
Thorne said larger-scale meat goat production in the Edwards Plateau usually includes a mixed-animal ranching model with cattle and/or sheep.
“The traditional range here in the Edwards Plateau is a combination of grass and brush, which is a nice model for multi-species grazing and goats fit perfectly since cattle and sheep graze the grass and goats browse,” Thorne said. “But goats can become a nice little feasible enterprise for producers with less land.”
Other sources of revenue from goats
About 90% of the U.S. goat inventory are raised for meat. But they are also raised for their milk, hair and other ancillary demands like livestock shows, pets and for targeted grazing.
Commercial market kid goat hair, the finest hair for textiles, usually brings $13-$17 per pound and even lower quality hair from mature goats can still bring $6-$8 per pound. Each animal can be sheared twice a year, resulting in a total of 6 to 10 pounds of Mohair per goat.
Goats are also increasingly being used for brush control with cities, companies and even government agencies hiring producers. This service is also utilized for wildfire prevention.
As targeted grazing becomes more popular, the number of producers providing this service are growing as well as their herd size. In Texas, targeted grazing is utilized more on the eastern side where overgrowth is more common.
“They’re an excellent biological tool to graze land that is maybe overgrown or has the potential for wildfire,” Thorne said. “I don’t foresee the demand for goat meat, goat products or goat services doing anything but growing in the next decade.”
