MAKE MORE MONEY RAISING A MEATIER GOAT

There are several factors unique to goats that you should know if you are raising goats to sell for meat consumption.

Fat is not marbled throughout meat in goats like it is in cattle. When goats are sold for slaughter, the fat is cut off the meat and goes into the offals (trash) bucket. Goats layer fat around their internal organs.

You don't get paid for that fat. The meat buyer looks at the goat, sees the fat on it, and discounts that fat from the price per pound that you are paid.

How does the meat buyer do that? Fat moves differently from muscle on a live animal. A trained meat buyer knows how to distinguish fat from muscle as the goat moves through the auction ring. The meat buyer pays less per pound liveweight for the goat with too much fat on it.

When you sell at an auction, not every goat goes for the same price per pound. Sale prices quoted on line and in newspapers give you an "average" of price per pound paid for the goats sold at that sale. The meatiness, both quantity and quality, of the individual goat determines the price per pound liveweight that the meat buyer pays. The meat buyer is always looking at meat YIELD.

Goats are the only livestock for which there is no market for the offals because the number of goats in the USA is very low (less than 1.9 million) and decreasing every year, down from 12 million goats in 1990. Why? People don't understand that goats are the most difficult livestock to raise. They mistakenly think goats will eat anything and are almost indestructible.

These beliefs are totally wrong. Goats need lots of space, are always targets of predators, and have a high mortality rate under unmanaged conditions.

People go into and out of raising goats in two to five years because of these misconceptions.

A high meat-to-bone ratio is the most important determinant to look for in meat goats. Gross weight is misleading. Big framed goats have more waste on them (heavier bones, larger internal organs, more hide) for which you do not get paid. And big goats cost more to feed. Bigger is not better when raising meat goats.

The breed of goat that you select to raise determines the amount of meat that it carries on its frame. The only breed which puts MEAT on offspring is Myotonic. If it the goat has meat on it, it has Myotonic in it. The Myotonic breed is the only breed that has a whopping 4:1 meat-to-bone ratio. That means less waste to go in the trash bucket.

The larger and more heavily muscled Myotonics trademarked Tennessee Meat Goats™ by Onion Creek Ranch in Texas are the herd sires that put MEAT on your does' kids.

You will make more money raising a goat that has more useable meat per pound. A Tennessee Meat Goat™ buck is the place to begin. He will put MEAT on your does' offspring. Once you get more MEAT on your other breed does' offspring, it would be wise to introduce the TexMaster™ breed (which I developed around 1995) into your herd as a commercial meat goat.

Your buck is where your investment dollars should go. He is 50% of your herd. He is 75% of your herd if you keep replacement does out of him.

Contact Suzanne Gasparotto at Onion Creek Ranch in Texas or Pat Cotten at Bending Tree Ranch in Arkansas to purchase these fine meat-producing animals.

Suzanne Gasparotto, Onion Creek Ranch, Texas 4.1.20

The author, Suzanne Gasparotto, hereby grants to local goat publications and club newsletters, permission to reprint articles published on the Onion Creek Ranch website under these conditions: THE ARTICLE MUST BE REPRODUCED IN ITS ENTIRETY AND THE AUTHOR'S NAME, ADDRESS, AND CONTACT INFORMATION MUST BE INCLUDED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE REPRINT. We would appreciate notification from any clubs or publications when the articles are used. (A copy of the newsletter or publication would also be a welcome addition to our growing library of goat related information!)

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