Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
adults and infants (Walker, 1956). Cheeses produced from
goat milk are gaining popularity as a specialty outlet in
mainstream populations of the U.S. and other developed
countries.
Many farmers, aware of these trends, have adapted and
are taking advantage of these growing niche markets.
However, producers, processors, and packers who lack
niche market information are unaware of the various
demand profi les characterizing consumers of goat meat.
Currently, demand for meat and cheese surpasses supply,
and the lack of suffi cient market information and an orga-
nized market is evident.
Direct Marketing
Direct marketing represents another strategy and can be
conducted at farmers markets, retailers, restaurants, and
community-supported agriculture events. There are several
strategies that can be used to improve direct marketing. A
farm can adapt a breeding schedule to ensure that goats of
the desired age and weight are available for the targeted
ethnic group at times when demand is high. Additionally,
sales can be maximized through advertising in local news-
papers, at local institutions, such as, mosques, ethnic super-
markets, ethnic restaurants, and in metropolitan areas with
large ethnic populations. Producers can develop mailing
lists that can be used periodically to promote awareness of
product availability (Alford et al., 1998). This method can
apply to other goat products such as cheese, soaps, and
skin products. Another method to increase sales would be
to provide transportation for animals purchased to a
Custom-Exempt Slaughter Facility, which would boost
sales to people who want to buy goat meat but do not have
the transportation necessary to do so. If consumers buying
a live animal prefer to conduct the slaughter themselves,
an isolated clean area can be offered on the farm for slaugh-
ter, providing an additional market outlet.
Other exploratory avenues that market goat meat include
supplying to farmers markets and local fairs as cooked or
processed products. Also, contracting can be sought with
various restaurants that are willing to serve gourmet dishes
using goat meat. Another option is to use community-
supported markets. These outlets will increase visibility of
goat meat products as a healthier meat alternative and
promote awareness of the health benefi ts of goat meat to
non - ethnic populations.
STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE
GOAT MARKETING
Cooperative Marketing
Cooperative marketing likely yields the greatest economic
power for the producer due to its collective structure.
Strategies for effective cooperative marketing would
include gathering several producers into a collective group,
ensuring allegiance to the cooperative, and collectively
organizing sales directly to consumers or to a processor.
Initially, cooperative marketing of goat meat can be used
to meet peak demand and then be expanded to include
year-round sales (Gipson, 1996). Cooperatives that exist
today were created to guarantee a constant supply of goats
that would otherwise be unattainable by individual farms.
Among other things, cooperatives can impose a price fl oor
in the market for goat meat, as has been used by beef
markets in order to attain more attractive prices. However,
market feasibility studies are important to strategically
place the goat meat or other products in appropriate mar-
keting channels so that maximum profi ts are obtained for
members of the cooperative. The location of slaughter
facilities and milk-processing facilities is also important to
maximize profi ts due to the low returns on the sale of live
goats or pre-processed goat meat or milk when compared
to the returns found on the sale of processed products.
Similarly, higher profi t margins can be achieved by selling
various cuts of goat meat or other goat products versus
selling whole live goats.
Contracting
Strategies for improving contracting include increasing
local production numbers so that local purchases can fulfi ll
the slaughter needs of the processor(s). This strategy is
more focused on the long term and will require several
producers to meet the quantity demanded. In the short
term, efforts can be made to supply processors with the
quantity necessary to fulfi ll times of peak demand. Because
consumption of goat meat and milk in developed countries
is relatively low among average consumers, breeding pro-
grams should be designed so that goats of various ages and
weights, and goat milk are available year-round. This calls
for clearly identifying consumers of specialty cheese and
milk along with ethnic consumers who prefer goat meat,
and making efforts to satisfy the periodic demand fl ux
associated with the identifi ed parties. Another strategy is
to network and negotiate shared resource contracts with
Auction Markets
Another strategy is to work with local livestock auctions
in order to periodically have a goat sale where several local
producers collectively market their animals. Timing of
these local sales should correspond to periods of high
demand and should be well advertised in advance.
