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Goat! goat! gone!!!
Arkansas Meat goat production, one of the oldest animal enterprises in the world, has become the fastest-growing animal enterprise in the United States, including Arkansas, says Dr. Jodie Pennington, a dairy specialist with the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Arkansas was one of the top eight goat producing states in 2005. As of Jan. 1 of this year, there were 2.93 million goats in the U.S., including 2.4 million meat goats. "As the interest in meat goats has increased and the number of producers with meat goats expanded, there have to be markets to sell the goats," Pennington said. "The enterprise must sooner or later become a paying operation or it will cease to exist." To provide a market, the Goat Producers of Arkansas hosted the first of what they expect to be a quarterly goat sale in Hope at the Hempstead County Fairgrounds on Aug. 18. Pennington said a strong sale in the southwest part of the state is needed. "The economics of goat production is such that most producers sell the animals, either for meat or breeding purposes," he said. "Most goat producers are relatively small and won't travel more than 100 miles to market their goats because travel costs can eat up 10 to 20 percent, or more, of what they get for their goats." Several other parts of the state have a goat sale in their area, nearby in an adjacent state, or have a slaughter plant where they can sell their goats. Jesse Duckett of Hope, with the Goat Producers of Arkansas, helped organize the Hempstead County sale. "Our goal was to invite consignments of both market and breeding goats from the area and then invite enough buyers from this region and adjoining states so that we could have a competitive sale," Duckett said. "Essentially, we wanted sellers to get a good price for their goats and for there to be enough goats so that buyers could get a load of goats. We think that we succeeded." According to Duckett, the prices were comparable to those in San Angelo, Texas, and New Holland, Pa., two of the largest and strongest markets in the country. The sale also charged a lower commission, leaving more money for the sellers. In total, 684 goats were sold, including slaughter kids and nannies, nanny kids and replacement nannies and billies. The next sale is scheduled for early December, 2007. For more information, contact the Goat Producers of Arkansas at 870-777-4751. For more information about goat production, contact your county extension agent or visit www.uaex.edu, select the Search link and enter Goat. The Cooperative Extension Service is part of the U of A Division of Agriculture. Date: 10/11/07
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