Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 14.7
Economics of improved goat milk production.
INFLUENCE OF FEEDING LEVEL
(Sands and McDowell, 1978)
Feeding multiples of maintenance requirements
Expected milk yield/lactation, kg
1.15 - 1.50 - 1.80 - 2.45
50 - 198 - 305 - 535
INFLUENCE OF PLANE OF NUTRITION IN INDIA
(Devendra, 1987 )
Low plane of nutrition before and after kidding: 49 kg lactation milk yield
Medium plane before kidding and high plane during lactation: 109 kg lactation milk yield
High plane before and after kidding: 152 kg lactation milk yield
ECONOMICS OF GOAT HERDS IN 8 DISTRICTS OF RAJASTHAN, INDIA
(Sagar and Kanta, 1993)
Milk production, kg/doe/year:
113
135
178
254
375
434
576
595
Expenditures, Rupees/doe/year:
29
23
102
48
164
80
160
174
Net income, Rupees/doe/year:
84
112
76
206
211
354
416
420
ECONOMICS OF GOAT HUSBANDRY IN GREECE
(Hatziminaoglou et al., 1995)
Gross income/doe/year $66 Extensive Feeding $135 Intensive Feeding
Expenses/doe/year $58 Extensive Feeding $111 Intensive Feeding
Net income/doe/year $8 Extensive Feeding $24 Intensive Feeding
AVERAGE NET INCOME IN FOUR QUARTILES OF 120 U.S. GOAT HERDS, OFFICIAL RECORDS
(Haenlein and Abdellatif, 2004 )
Milk yield, kg/doe/lactation:
514
701
820
1,050
Cost of concentrate feed/doe/year:
$83
91
98
109
Income over feed cost/doe/year:
$183
262
302
395
Source: Park and Haenlein, 2007 .
of the cost of milk production, and also by the price of goat
milk payable to the producer or by the market price paid
by consumers. If the supplemental feed price/kg is less
than half of the price of milk/kg from the farm, it is profi t-
able to buy concentrate feeds or grains to supplement the
basic forage ration of the goats. This ratio of
1.5-2.5 times higher than for cow milk because of the
higher labor costs in goat milk production. Total labor
requirement in the production of 100 kg of goat milk
ranges from 57-145 (average of 101) minutes compared
to cows requiring only 7-31 (average of 19) minutes
(Kapture, 1991). For a given labor cost per hour, the pro-
duction of goat milk will require almost 5 times (101/19)
that of cow milk for 100 kg milk production, explaining
partially the need for the higher price for goat milk than
for cow milk.
With the current prices of milk production in the U.S.,
including hay, buck service, veterinary costs, and milking
supplies, minus the gain from sale of kids and the fertilizer
value of goat manure, but not including fi xed overhead,
the total production cost of goat milk has been estimated
to be about 2.5 times that for cow milk. At an estimated
cheese yield ratio of 10 kg goat milk or cow milk:1 kg
cheese, the cost for goat cheese making will also be at least
2.5 times that of cow milk cheese. According to the
International Dairy Federation (IDF) (2000), average com-
mercial prices for 100 kg of goat milk in France were
currently at the equivalent of $51, in Italy $47, in Spain
$44, and in Greece $36, while the U.S. price for goat milk
at the farm gate varies widely from the same price as for
0.5 : 1 also
rules an improved feeding system, where 1 kg supplement
should be fed for each 2-3 kg of milk produced, depending
on the fl uctuations of prices of milk and feed, composition
in protein and energy of feed, and body condition of the
doe (Park and Haenlein, 2007).
The production cost per unit of product is generally
decreased, by increasing the numbers of production units.
In goat milk production, the cost per kg milk produced
decreases with higher levels of production per goat. The
economic “break-even” price of goat milk decreases and
net income increases with a higher level of milk production
(Table 14.7). Currently herd sizes of at least 120 dairy
goats with lactation yields of 700 kg per doe may be needed
for an enterprise with an economic future (Yazman, 1984).
Since goats have smaller body size and produce a lower
volume of milk per animal, labor is a major constraint in
management of milk production. The farm gate price for
goat milk for a sustainable farm operation must be at least
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