"The Boer goat is the Arnold Schwarzenegger of the meat-goat world," said Bruce Lott, executive director of the American Boer Goat Association, based in San Angelo. John Edwards, who runs 500 head out of his place in Stephenville, said it used to take a year to 18 months to bring a goat to market. Now they can go to market faster - in six to eight months - and the result is a better-tasting, less goaty goat. The goal, Edwards said, is to increase the supply and the demand. Already in Texas, he said, goats outnumber sheep, but nationally we are  producing only about a third of the domestic demand. Most of the imports come from Australia and New Zealand and are sold in Asian, Hispanic and Arab markets on the East and West coasts. "But we want to see it on Styrofoam and under cellophane here," Edwards said Sunday at the Boer goat show at the 2002 Southwestern  Exhibition and Livestock Show.

The establishment of Agriculture Department standards for grading and  cutting is expected this year, Lott said. And that could do much to help put  goat in the grocery meat case. He said many major markets might be more inclined to order it if there were standards for cuts and grades. Jim Burke of Joshua, a Boer goat superintendent at the Stock Show,  said he believes that with USDA standards, the availability of goat meat could double. Most would be in ethnic markets, at least at first, he said. Edwards said he believes that with USDA standards and an increase in  production, goat could be common within two or three years in stores such as Central Market and Whole Foods. In six to eight years, he said, it could be  in more mainstream grocery stores.

According to the USDA, goat has half the calories of beef, about a  sixth as many fat grams and the same amount of protein. Pound for pound, it has about the same calories as chicken, with one-fourth less fat. Interest at Sunday's judging was strong. The judging attracted 74 exhibitors and nearly 300 animals, about twice as many of both as last year, Burke said. Several hundred spectators  packed the gallery in the Sheep Barn for Sunday's American Premier Show. Lott said one reason for the increase in entries might be that the American Boer Goat Association sanctioned this year's show.  Getting into the goat business has become much more affordable than only a few years ago, when top bucks were carrying prices of $40,000 to $60,000. Does were being sold for about half as much. Now show-quality animals can be had for $4,000 to $6,000. Lott said  some full-bred Boers can be had for $500 or less. "The market has leveled off, but not the growth," Lott said. The association claims 4,600 members. Lott said membership grew by 600 last year and the number of animals grew by about 18 percent. Most of the Boer goat business is still in Texas. It's centered in San Angelo, but it is growing. Lott said the association sanctioned 62 shows last year, from  California to the Carolinas. All but five of the 74 exhibitors Sunday were from Texas. Three were from Oklahoma, and one each from Missouri and Mississippi.