The opportunity is captured in a new publication from the University of California Small Farm Center titled “Outlook for a Small Farm Meat Goat Industry in California,” by animal science professor Sandra Solaiman.

Solaiman reports in the publication that “goats are the most popular domesticated animals in the world and goat meat and milk are the most widely consumed animal products.” She said the animals are popular because of their efficient conversion of feed into edible, high quality meat, milk and hide and because they function as a holistic tool for vegetation management and fire fuel load control.

Solaiman examined the potential for goat meat production in California during a sabbatical leave from her associate professor position at Tuskeegee University in Alabama. During the five months she spent with the Small Farm Program at UC Davis, Solaiman analyzed factors that would influence the industry’s development. She concluded that California’s climate, diverse population, current goat meat import figures and the size and number of small farms in the state are indicators that a successful state goat meat industry could emerge.

A native of Iran but longtime resident of the United States, Solaiman began eating goat meat when studying its production in Alabama.

“Goat meat has a unique taste. After trying it, eating beef is very dull,” she said. “My children are very American. If I would tell them, ‘This is goat meat,’ they wouldn’t eat it. But they want it now.”

Goat meat is most popular in the United States with certain ethnic minorities, including Chinese, Middle Eastern, Latino, African and Caribbean. In California, Latinos represent nearly half of the state’s population, a huge built-in market for goat meat.

Current goat meat import figures demonstrate an established market for the product in the U.S. The United States was a net exporter of goat meat until 1991. There were no exports at all after 1993. In 2003, the U.S. imported more than 18 million tons of goat meat. With an average carcass weight of 35 to 40 pounds, an estimated 500,000 goat carcasses were imported.

“This number of goats is a potentially viable value-added enterprise opportunity by which small farms in California can diversify,” Solaiman said.

Solaiman sees Californians’ penchant for healthful fare as another boon to goat meat producers. Goat meat is leaner, higher in iron and lower in cholesterol than beef, pork and even skinless poultry. Research has indicated that goat meat has a balanced proportion of saturated to unsaturated fatty acids and it is a rich source of conjugated linoleic acid, a fatty acid that, over the past two decades, has been associated with a reduction in cancer, heart disease, onset of diabetes and accumulation of body fat.

California’s rich agricultural industry provides a diverse and abundant smorgasbord for goats. Cereal grains, such as wheat, barley and sorghum, are grown locally. Protein feeds, such as cotton seeds, sunflower meal and other by-products, are readily available. Roughages, such as hays and silages and byproducts like rice bran, wheat bran and sugar beet pulp, are common.

“Leftover produce of all kinds is presently being composted on many farms,” Solaiman said, “but it is a goat’s favorite meal.”

Also, a mild, dry climate favors goat production.

“California – with its Mediterranean climate – is perfect,” she said.

Solaiman offers the following suggestions to California small-scale farmers interested in raising meat goats:

• Encourage Anglo Californians to view goat as a healthful alternative to other meats. “Consumer education is key,” she said. “Goats are not just petting zoo animals. We have to get over that.”

• Identify slaughter houses that can accommodate goat. “Goats gain value when they have been processed into cuts of meat,” she said. Halal harvesting procedures for Muslim consumers and kosher techniques for Jewish consumers may also add value to goat meat.

• Learn the best management practices for raising goats for meat.

• Obtain new meat goat breeds. “Some superior breeds with fast growth rates, especially from South Africa, have revolutionized meat goat production,” Solaiman said.

• Develop a marketing program.

The 24-page publication “Outlook for A Small Farm Meat Goat Industry in California” is available free by contacting the UC Small Farm Program, One Shields Ave., UC Davis, Davis, CA 95616, or by calling (530) 752-8136.

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