Current Situation and Future Prospects of the US Goat Industry

Steve Hart, Roger Merkel and Terry Gipson

Professional Agricultural Workers Journal (PAWJ), 2019, vol. 6, issue 2

Abstract: The current demand for goat meat in the US outstrips domestic supply. There is great potential for industry growth in the meat and dairy sectors. Whereas fiber prices have improved, loss of animals and market resources, labor costs for shearing, and lack of animal genetic resources prevent growth in the short term. As producers age, there is opportunity for new producers to enter the marketplace. Significant challenges exist, like access to local markets and abattoirs, dewormer resistant parasites, and feed costs. Establishing goat feedlots can increase meat supply and industry commercialization. Technologies used for cattle will be expanded for use in goats with interconnected sensors collecting health and production data. The field of genetic improvement will change from current production testing to identifying superior animals at an early age using DNA analysis. A quality assurance program is needed to address animal welfare issues and promote the consumption of domestic products to consumers.

Keywords: Livestock; Production/Industries (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/319688/files/C ... 0Goat%20Industry.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:pawjal:319688

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.319688

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Professional Agricultural Workers Journal (PAWJ) from Professional Agricultural Workers Conference
Bibliographic data for series maintained by AgEcon Search ().