Marketing options include direct marketing off the farm, supplying goat meat for specialty markets (particularly holiday sales to various ethnic groups), or producing kids for commercial marketing firms. Success is often a reflection of how well a producer tends to all aspects of breeding, health, management, and marketing. All these factors have their respective roles in producing and marketing a quality product. Along with direct marketing to ethnic groups, there are two other potential niche markets for goat meat:
targeted markets serving health-conscious consumers wanting lowfat diets and
the restaurant trade serving ethnic or gourmet foods featuring goat meat.
These markets are largely untapped and may provide real opportunities, especially for producers within close proximity to the market.
Characteristics of Goat Production
Goats are intensely curious and will investigate anything that sparks their interest. Coupled with curiosity, their jumping and climbing ability can present some real management challenges. Goats can climb through a new "goat-tight" fence, pull the wash off the line, nip the rosebuds, or bounce onto a parked vehicle.Goats adapt well to hot environments because of their small size and higher ratio of body surface area to body weight. Also, their ability to conserve body water, their limited subcutaneous fat cover, and their hairy coats are good survival traits under a wide variety of climatic conditions.