Segments of the meat goat industry

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by Jack Mauldin

Can you make any money at raising goats?  That is the question we receive almost every week from visitors to our web site. They have heard about the Boer Goats and are thinking about the possibility of trying to add goats to their farm or ranch. We are not experts in the goat industry and do not want anyone thinking that any response we give should be taken as the gospel. However, we have now retired from IBM after 30 years and are doing our goat business fulltime. The response we are writing to this question is only our view and opinion from being a part of the industry for several years and researching issues for inclusion into our web site. So take this article with a grain of salt.
We believe that there are basically six different segments of the goat business and each one has different objectives, targeted customers, pros and cons. Normally people are not in just a single segment but will span several of them that are closely related. The general segments are shown on the right and are:
  1. Developing Premium breeding animals
  2. Breeding Registered Fullbloods for Showing
  3. Breeding Registered Fullbloods for farmers/ranchers moving into Boers
  4. Breeding quality percentage boers for improving existing herds 
  5. Breeding quality percentage boer wethers for 4H/FFA show animals
  6. Raising meat goats for slaughter

Pyramid of Segments for the Meat Goat Business 
Developing Premium Breeding Animals

Only a few breeders will truly be in this segment. These breeders are looking at where the meat goat market could go in the future and identifying animal characteristics that will need to be improved or changed in order to meet future demands with improved profits.

  • OBJECTIVE:

    Refine the breed to allow more efficient animals to be raised to meet the future requirements and do it in a more profitable manner. This could be through changes in the animals or management processes. These breeders will not be following the general thoughts of what makes up an outstanding animal. They will be constantly questioning why.

  • PROs

    • If they come up with a better generation of meat goats that are accepted, they will have a monopoly on the new genes and will be able to get premium prices for their animals.

  • CONs

    • It is a slow process of changing some basic characteristics that may or may not work.

Breeding Registered Fullbloods for Showing
This is the segment most people hear about  because of the price people have paid for the animals. When boers first came to the US, this was one of the main segments they fit into. The South African breeders had been in the segment above and were passing the new genetics along to new breeders.
  • OBJECTIVE:

    Raise the best show animals possible associated with  well-known bloodlines for winning at shows to indicate they are the premium animals. Looking for perfect body structure to minimize health problems and maximize the growth potential.

  • PROs
    • Top dollar paid for these animals. Generally between $1,500 - $20,000
    • No requirement for large amount of land
    • Many people pay higher prices because of well-known bloodlines or show results and not necessarily because of a higher quality animal.
  • CONs
    • Requires large investments to startup and must continue improving your animals
    • Small number of potential buyers
    • Having well-known bloodlines becomes less important to  potential customers as you move to other segments. The quality of the animal for sale, their ability to produce quality animals, and lower prices are more important.
    • Need to travel to shows to get your animals known. Additional expenses.
    • Need equipment for showing animals and transportation.
    • Difficult to compete against ranches with large herds of top quality boers that show fulltime across the country and do heavy advertising. 
    • Prices vary as the number of boer goats increase in the US.
    • Many customers in this segment are always looking for what the next "buzzword" in the industry will be and buying the next " new sure winners".
Breeding Registered Fullbloods for Farmers/Ranchers Moving into Boer Goats
Most people raising goats are not taking them to shows. They will not pay the premium for the show quality animals but want to get some good, quality boer goats for breeding and adding to their existing herd. Also people that do not have an existing herd of goats, may want to start off with some quality animals.
  • OBJECTIVE:

    Raise the quality animals possible for producing goat meat fast and may be show quality. Looking for good growth rates and correct body structure to minimize health problems. 

  • PROs
    • Good prices for these animals. Generally between $500 - $2,000
    • No requirement for large amount of land
  • CONs
    • Requires good investment to startup and continue improving your animals
    • Prices vary as the number of boer goats increase in the US.
Breeding quality percentage boers for improving existing herds 
The majority of people we talk with either cannot or aren't willing to pay the price for the animals in the first two segments. They do want to start getting the benefits of the boer goats. They would like to start at a lower price and continue to improve their herd to a higher quality and get higher prices.
  • OBJECTIVE:

    Breed quality percentage animals that can sell faster at a lower price and have a larger number of potential customers. 

  • PROs
    • Good prices for these animals. Generally between $150 - $500
    • No requirement for large amount of land
    • Larger number of potential customers
    • Start with lower percentage does and fullblood buck to increase percentages thru new kids.
    • Potential for selling animals faster
    • More of a stable pricing
  • CONs
    • Must watch costs closer than the first two segments
    • May require more land according to the amount of income you are looking for.
Breeding quality percentage boer wethers for 4H/FFA show animals
There is a great demand that is growing every year for show wethers for kids in the 4H and FFA. We have been unable to offer anything to many of these requests because we had focused on the upper segments. There is potential for some of these sales to change to breeding animals for these kids as they decide to raise their own show animals.
  • OBJECTIVE:

    Breed quality percentage  wethers that have show quality for meat goat shows. 

  • PROs
    • Better prices than slaughter meat goats. Generally between $90 - $500
    • Larger number of potential customers
    • Potential for selling animals faster
    • More of a stable pricing
  • CONs
    • Seasonal according to timing of local shows
    • Must watch cost closer than the first three segments
    • May require more land according to the amount of income you are looking for.
    • There are no standards for what judges are looking for. Therefore a body structure for a winning animal one year, may not be acceptable the next. 
Slaughter Meat Goats
The demand for goat meat is good and continues to improve. As the US population becomes more diverse, the demand for goat meat grows. Other countries are interested in goat meat.
  • OBJECTIVE:

    Breed animals that can gain weight faster at a lower cost and have a known market for selling them. 

  • PROs
    • Prices for these animals are generally between $.65 - $1.25 per lb.
    • There are sale barns available for selling animals
    • Potential buyers coming directly to you
    • Potential for selling animals faster
    • More of a stable pricing
  • CONs
    • Requires a large number of animals
    • Require more land according to the amount of income you are looking for.
    • Must be efficient in working with large number of animals
    • Requires trailers/trucks with ability to carry larger number of animals.
    • May require more people to help work animals.
Summary

The potential for how much money can be made in the goat business is based upon what segments you are focused on and how well you plan and manage it. We have a couple of other articles related to planning that may be of interest to you. They are:

There seems to be a great potential for the goat industry but you must understand that the prices in the upper segments are likely to change as the population of boer goats increases in the US. If you add that to your plan for getting into the goat business, we believe that you can do ok. It has been a good potential for us to generate a supplemental  income from a small amount of land and enjoy what we are doing. It has been one of our greatest enjoyments working with our boer goats and helping other people get started in the business. If you have any questions about this article, we would be happy to try answering them.

Email us with your questions

Thanks

Jack & Anita