AR-News: (U.S.) goat meat popularity growing

[Mary Finelli]

NO KIDDING GOATS POPULAR
The Houston Chronicle, Edward Hegstrom, March 7, 2004

complete article at:
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/2437935


While Americans tend to think of meat as coming from a cow or a pig, much of 
the rest of the world eats goat. Now the rest of the world is moving to 
America, and ranchers are beginning to recognize a lucrative trend.

"The consumption of goat has increased dramatically over the last decade," 
said John Sykes, assistant general manager of the Houston Livestock Show and 
Rodeo. In line with that, the livestock show has focused more on goats every 
year, he said.

Just how substantially that market has increased is not clearly understood, 
because the federal government does not keep readily available statistics on 
goat-meat consumption.

One expert estimates that the U.S. market for goat increased by 20 percent 
from 2002 to 2003. Americans consumed 43.4 million pounds of goat last year, 
according to the expert, Marvin Shurley, a West Texas goat rancher who heads 
the American Meat Goat Association. He bases his figure on import and 
slaughter numbers.

"It's growing like crazy," Shurley said. And the market continues to grow 
despite the fact that goat meat sells for twice as much as beef and it is 
consumed mostly by recently arrived immigrants who are not exactly swimming 
in discretionary income.

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