No kidding, goat farming is gaining popularity in the US
By: Judi Stuart
Port Discover: Visitor Services Manager
Down the road from my home lives a precious, small
herd of goats. When our grandchildren come to see us, we usually take them to
visit the goats and feed them crackers or carrots.
Every day when I ride by, they bring a smile to my
face. Sometimes, when one gets a horn stuck in the fence, we have to stop and
perform a rescue. They are fascinating creatures.
Goat farming is rapidly increasing worldwide,
especially in the U.S. where it is the fastest growing segment of agriculture.
The price for goat products is rising to meet the demand of the increasing
population of Hispanics, Indians, and Muslims who each view goats as part of
their cultural traditions.
In fact, American ranchers are having a difficult
time filling the need. Farmers in some parts of the country have used government
money to replace their tobacco growing with goat production.
Texas has the most goat farms, and North Carolina is
among the top ten producers. Across the world, China and India lead in goat
farming and goat meat is the most consumed meat per capita worldwide.
Growers also cite the benefits of eating and showing
goats in comparison to other animals. Many people believe goats have more
personality than sheep. They require less land on which to live than cows do.
Their main enemies are coyotes and foot-and-mouth
disease. Goat meat has more protein than beef and is lower in fat than
chicken.
Humans first tamed and herded goats 9,000 years ago.
They can be taught their name and will then come when called.
A mother goat, called a doe, can recognize her kid’s
scent and call from birth, and she usually has two babies a year. Male goats
are called bucks. Domestic goats are called a billy and a nanny.
Contrary to popular belief, goats are very picky
eaters and will refuse anything that they do not consider suitable. Because
they are foragers, not grazers, they are useful in land clearing, and in some
areas, herds are rented out for that purpose.
Goats have four stomachs. Food first goes to the
rumen from which it is regurgitated for “cud chewing” and then it moves to the
reticulum, the omasum and finally to the abomasums. A mature goat can hold four
or five gallons of chewed plant material, which then ferments causing loud burps
to come from the animal.
There are six recognized dairy breeds in the U.S.
which are the Alpine, LaMancha, Oberhasli, Nubian, Saanen, and Toggenburg.
Oberhasli gives the milk that tastes most like cow’s milk, but they each have a
distinctive flavor.
Fainting goats only appear to faint. When they are
frightened and panic, a condition of their central nervous system temporarily
paralyzes their legs, and they fall over.
Most goats are curious and take objects into their
mouths to investigate them, but do not eat them. Legends of Ethiopia give the
goat credit for discovering the coffee bean by chewing it and finding it
eatable.
No kidding!
(Source: www.glenisk.com)
