Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
GOAT HAIR
The dehairing process and hair removal from goatskins
results in many tons of coarse (30-200
great pollution potential, so biocides have been developed
and are gradually replacing salt.
Pre - tanning, tanning, and fi nishing operations have
evolved to produce a stable, bacteria- and enzyme-resistant
matrix from the raw collagen in goatskins. Because vari-
able technologies are being used in different parts of the
world, it has been estimated that as many as 100 different
chemicals are being used to produce the many forms of
leather products. These include chrome salts, vegetable-
tanning materials, sodium sulfi de, lime, ammonium sulfate,
formic and sulfuric acid, fat liquors, pigments, dyes, and
lacquers. In addition to the chemical treatments, the skins
are subjected to various mechanical operations to maintain
fl exibility. Rao and Rao (1992) outlined the multiple broad
stages involved in leather production. The pre-tanning
operations include soaking, liming, dehairing, fl eshing,
scudding, deliming, pickling, and chrome/vegetable
tanning. These operations are followed by the post-tanning
and fi nishing processes that include rechroming/semi-
chroming, neutralization, retanning, dyeing, fatliquoring,
and fi nishing (seasoning and lacquering).
Different types of leather are produced for different
purposes. The most popular types of leather produced from
goatskins are glaze kid, suede, nappa, aniline, and semi-
aniline fi nished and patent leathers. The compactness, high
strength, and bold grain of goat leather make it ideal for
producing high quality ladies ' and children 's footwear.
Other end uses of goat leather include garments, small
leather goods like handbags, wallets, and gloves, and drum
skins. Most of the leather goods are exported as products
and fi nished leathers providing foreign exchange for the
manufacturing country.
m), heavily med-
ullated goat hair. Much of this is disposed of in landfi lls
but historically and still today some fi nds commercial end
uses in such products as inexpensive felts, interlinings,
special effect fi bers in specialized textiles, paint brushes,
mulch, and mats for soaking up oil spills.
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GOATSKIN
Goatskin is defi ned as the skin of the goat or leather made
from it. The size of the goatskin and leather industry is
large given the fact that there are currently in excess of
800 million goats in the world and at least 50% of the skins
from slaughtered goats are processed. The average yield
per skin is about 0.5 m
2
. The value of an individual skin is
quite low: in fact in some countries (the U.S. included), it
does not always pay to try to salvage the skins and many
of them are disposed of in landfi lls. But for the remainder,
this is a classic example of value adding as the raw skins
are converted into valuable leathers and end-products.
During the past 30 years, goatskin processing and the
leather trade in general has migrated from the U.S. and
European countries to countries with less strict effl uent
laws, lower labor costs, and people who are willing to
work in factories and conduct tasks that at best can be
described as unsavory. The goatskin business is labor
intensive and now provides jobs for millions of people
particularly in many parts of the developing world includ-
ing China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Indonesia.
Naidu (2000) estimated that 0.7 million people are
employed in the goatskin leather industry in India alone.
Goatskins are coproducts of the goat meat industry. This
elevation from by-product is afforded to the goatskin
because of its proven potential for value adding in excess
of 500% by the time the leather is converted into footwear,
garments, gloves, and other leather goods (Rao and Rao,
1992). Skins are collected mainly from animals processed
in village and urban slaughter locations. Quality control
efforts aim to minimize man-made defects such as fl ay
cuts, bacterial damage, drag marks, and hair slip. Murthy
and Ramasami (1992) reviewed the many possible ante-
mortem, postmortem, and processing defects that can
affect the value of goatskins. If the skins are close to a
tanning facility, they can be tanned without salting. If they
have to be stored for any length of time, they must be
washed, and common salt is applied as a preservative at a
rate of 500-600 g per skin. Depending upon the length of
time before the skin is tanned, salting may be repeated two
or three more times. These quantities of salt represent a
GENETICS OF AND SELECTION FOR FIBER
Before scientifi c principles began to be applied to selection
of Angora and cashmere goats for improved fi ber produc-
tion, it is diffi cult to estimate how much emphasis was
placed on fi ber versus meat production. Today with a sig-
nifi cant amount of producer income coming from cull and
excess animals, meat production is likely a component of
most selection policies (Shelton, 1993). That being stated,
the main focus of this section is on genetics of and selec-
tion for fi ber production. Because fi ber properties of
Angora goats change so rapidly from birth to 18 months
of age, selection based on fi ber traits is not recommended
until this age is achieved. Many Angora goat breeders
make their selections based on the third fl eece (at 18
months of age) before the females are exposed to males
for the fi rst time after which time fi ber production is
affected by pregnancy and later by lactation. In contrast,
