October 4, 2004

Demand For Goat Meat Rising In The US

With the surge in demand for goat meat and dairy products by immigrant groups in the US, a mini-boom in the number of farmers nationwide who are capitalizing on the cheaper and easier-to-raise livestock can be seen.

The growth trend is especially true in New York and other Eastern seaboard states where immigrant groups from the Middle East, Africa, eastern Europe and southern Asia are settling, according to Duncan Hilchey, an agricultural development specialist at Cornell University.

"Of the top 20 immigrant groups in New York City, 18 or 19 come from goat meat-eating countries," Hilchey said. "Immigrants are bringing their food traditions to the Northeast and that's creating opportunity."

The number of goat farms in New York rose 50 percent to 2,473 in 2002. The figure has risen from 1,646 farms in 1997, according to the 2002 Census of Agriculture. The number of goats raised in the state grew to 33,130 in 2002, a 76 percent increase from five years earlier.

Nationally, the number of goat farms rose 19.5 percent to 91,462 in 2002, compared with from 76,543 in 1997. The number of goats jumped from 2.25 million to 2.53 million.

"Goat meat just has the highest demand right now," said Dennis Hamm, who converted his cattle and horse farm in Lindley, 82 miles south of Rochester, to a goat-raising operation in 1999. "We have no trouble selling it. We're about at our maximum right now."

Goat meat fetches $1.70 to $2.25 a pound in the live markets in New York City, and $4 to $6 a pound in retail grocers, according to Lisa Boyle, a goat breeder and marketer in Middletown.

It has 50 percent to 65 percent less fat than similarly prepared beef and has up to 60 percent less fat than lamb. The cholesterol content of goat meat, also called chevon, is similar to that of beef, lamb, pork, and chicken, and is much lower than some dairy, poultry products as well as some seafoods, according to various researchers.