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Texas Agriculture Archive

February 7, 2003

During the past five years, more patches of Texas pasture seem to have sprouted redheaded, white-bodied goats. What gives? Where did they come from and what are folks doing with them?

The animals are Boer goats, or their near relatives, a breed that was first brought into the United States from Africa in 1993. Soon after the first Boer arrived in Texas, promoters and speculators began hyping their market appeal.

Like chinchillas, emus, and ostriches, the goats enjoyed the immediate success that such fads first ignite. But unlike the others, the Boer is thriving, because it has an established commercial value that's easily redeemable at the nearest auction barn.

Dr. Rick Machen, Texas Cooperative Extension livestock specialist at Uvalde, said the goats have other traits producers love.

"They're prolific, with high birth rates," said Machen. "They're also gentler than most of our native Spanish goats. They can grow faster and bigger, which means they can be sold sooner. Thanks to the Boer's influence, meat goat prices have held steady for several years, which isn't true for other livestock.

"Also, unlike other livestock, the meat goat isn't tied to the grain market. It can go to slaughter directly off pasture without the added feeding expense. Fast-growing ethnic markets in America also are increasing the demand for goat. And they're great for brush control, which is a real issue throughout Texas."

Machen, along with Drs. Frank Craddock, Extension sheep and goat specialist, and Dan Waldron, Texas Agricultural Experiment Station geneticist at the Texas A&M University System Agricultural Research and Extension Center at San Angelo, have been heavily involved with meat goat research since the first Boers arrived.

And the results of their work are in high demand, as the meat goat industry, now considered one of the fastest-growing segments of U.S. agriculture, continues to flourish.

In Texas, the meat goat is dominating the whole sheep and goat industry.

Over the past 10 years, Craddock said, Angora goats and meat goats have swapped places. A decade ago there were about 1.3 million Angora goats in Texas and up to 300,000 meat goats. Now, just the opposite is true. Last year was the first time goats had ever surpassed sheep in total numbers in Texas.

"We talk about flooding the meat goat market, but that hasn't hurt us," said Machen. "We have a tremendous export potential," he added, pointing out that export demand is only being met three or four months in a year. Besides, he noted, despite the rapid increase in domestic production, the United States imports more than 12 million pounds of goat meat a year, a figure that has quadrupled in a dozen years.

Pioneering meat goat projects are nothing new to A&M livestock experts. Back in 1989, two Extension livestock specialists in Corpus Christi, Dr. Joe Paschal and Dr. Wayne Hanselka, developed the nation's first Extension meat goat educational programs using the indigenous Spanish goat. The two began the South Texas Meat Goat Initiative with financial support from the Texas Department of Agriculture and from what is now the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

"We started a series of educational activities in Texas, Canada, Australia and Mexico," said Paschal." These efforts included meetings, bulletins and the sponsoring of research projects in grazing, brush control and meat yield and quality at Texas A&M University at Kingsville and Sul Ross State University at Alpine.

"With our little project, we had unknowingly set the stage for the success of the Boer. Once the Boer arrived, it seemed like everyone became quite interested in meat goats."

Today, A&M meat goat research centers largely on the Boer. Named for the Dutch word for farmer, the goat was developed for high fertility, high growth rate, and superior meat production in South Africa nearly 100 years ago. Most sport the trademark white body topped by a red head.

"The timing of the Boer goats' arrival to Texas couldn't have been better," said Craddock. "They arrived shortly before the death of the Wool Act maimed our Angora goat industry. Wool prices soon tanked along with mohair, and cattle returns were rock-bottom. Ranchers with clouds of Angoras that they had bred for generations were scratching their heads wondering just what to do with them.

Redheaded billies soon began cropping up, but no one here had any experience with them. They were too expensive at first for ranchers to experiment with. That's when A&M livestock experts got involved.

With the cooperation of several breeders, Waldron conducted breeding research trials. Working with Angelo State University at San Angelo, Waldron and his Extension colleagues designed an annual performance test aimed at furthering the meat goats' efficiency.

"We've had several hundred go through the test," the scientist said. "It's the largest of its kind in the United States. Breeders are making tremendous progress. Every year the test animals improve, which is starting to help the overall quality of this region's goats. Some of the animals on the test now are gaining almost a pound per head per day. We are striving to help producers learn the genetic capabilities of their animals in this environment."

The A&M experts have become the leading national authorities on small ruminant performance testing design, and their guidelines are now the industry standard. Universities in Oklahoma and Georgia are currently conducting meat goat performance tests using the San Angelo formula.

Waldron is also studying ultrasound loin area measurements in live goats. If successful, breeders could determine superior meat characteristics in live animals. This would be a boon to producers trying to determine the true meat qualities of prospective breeding animals. It would also help buyers more accurately assess a live animal's fat-to-muscle ratio.

Extension's 4-H youth program is another area in which the industry is enjoying tremendous growth. Craddock said since the early 1990s youth shows have paralleled the industry's growth. The 11,000 or so goats shown annually in Texas will surpass the more traditional lamb youth projects by almost 2,000 animals this show season.

"That's incredible when you think about it," he said. "We had no meat goat classes at any major Texas shows until 1990, while we've been showing lambs for generations."

Craddock and Machen have developed goat production trainings that have drawn crowds from across the state. "Goat Gathering" programs held in Kerrville during the summers of 1999 and 2001 each attracted some 500 participants.

Utopia's 4D Ranch/Lone Star Boer Goats supplied animals for a chef-prepared meal for food editors prior to the 2001 event. The ranch's owner, Feral Davis of Midland, and his manager, Bob Duke, enjoy an active relationship with Extension.

"Extension has really helped us in a lot of ways," said Duke. "They've helped us market our animals and pursue several successful marketing schemes. Extension has put a lot of good information out there on the health, care and nutrition of goats. They've shown the value of goats as a way to diversify livestock operations. They've done a lot of educational work on breeding stock selection, fencing and predator control."

Craddock and Machen said field days are helping serve growing numbers of small-scale goat producers new to livestock husbandry.

"There's a major shift in land ownership going on in Texas today," said Machen. "Just look at the Hill Country and the I-35 corridor. In the last 10 years any ranch that's sold has usually been subdivided into small-acreage home sites. The new owners need some type of livestock enterprise on those parcels to maintain an agricultural exemption on their property taxes. Meat goats fill that niche very well—perhaps better than any other livestock."