Observations on the economics of meat goat production
Photos by Rick Machen
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By: Dr. Frank Pinkerton, akathegoatman@icloud.com; 512.392.4123; San Marcos, TX and Brian Payne, savannahassociation@yahoo.com; 403.894.5490; Macloud, AB, Canada
urrent levels of slaughter goat production have declined 2-3% per year since 2008, to the point that we now supply only about 50% of our market needs. The U.S. deficit is filled by imported goat meat, and Canada imports about 70%. We are voluntarily vacating our domestic markets—not losing them to foreign competition.
In recent research at Louisiana State University, we found that the greatest obstacle to increasing goat numbers to meet burgeoning consumer demand for goat meat was the relatively poor returns to a producer’s labor, management and capital. Put differently, typical goat production enterprises are small in numbers and many, if not most, are marginally profitable at best. Understanding the basic factors that affect profitability of meat goat enterprises helps producers better understand the economics of their herd management allowing producers to take actions to improve net profit.
There are a number of traditional ways to undertake partial or complete business enterprise analyses, but, for goat producers, we have found that calculations to determine the break-even price/lb (BEP) of slaughter kids provide valuable information about both production parameters and economic returns. Obviously, the difference between the BEP/lb and the selling price/lb is the margin of profit/lb. In the aggregate, these margins per doe constitute enterprise profitability. Three crucial figures are needed to calculate BEP. First, calculate the percent kid crop weaned (not just born). To do this, divide the total number of kids weaned (both sexes) by the number of does exposed (not the number of does actually kidding).
18 - The Boer Goat
If 100 does were exposed and together weaned 150 kids, the kid crop weaned would be 150%. In the real world, nearly all of the does would cycle and most would conceive and perhaps 90+ would kid and produce “X” number of kids, “Y” of whom would survive until weaning or sale time. Co-author Payne cautions that many producers may prefer to ignore does exposed but not conceiving/ kidding. For example, if 100 does are exposed but only 90 conceived and delivered 150 kids, the kidding percentage would be calculated as 167% (150/90 x 100) rather than the more accurate figure of 150% (150/100 x 100). Only the latter figure is useful for BEP calculations. Secondly, determine the average cost/exposed doe of “maintaining” her for one year. Costs must be allinclusive (feed, creep-feed, health costs, breeding fees, “overhead”, depreciation of assets, land use fee, etc.) Each doe may be viewed as a profit center because does generate all the income and bear all the costs. Thirdly, to accurately determine BEP/lb of kids sold at weaning time (or thereafter), we must know their selling weights (in actual practice, their ‘shrunk’ weights after hauling to market).
