The consumption of goat meat in the United States has been steadily increasing since 1999, and it’s not surprising. Goat meat is lean and sweet with fewer calories, fat, and cholesterol than beef, chicken, or pork. It is high in protein and iron, and goat meat is one of the most widely consumed meats in the world.
Goat meat provides the following benefits:
- an excellent source of protein, containing essential amino acids similar to beef and pork
- is lean so it provides protein without calories from fat
- fewer calories per ounce than chicken, beef or pork
- low in cholesterol and saturated fat
- rich in dietary potassium
- low in sodium content
- a rich source of iron
- contains vitamin B 12, selenium, and other micronutrients only found in meats
McLaughlin Farm’s Meat Goat Project
In the spring of 2019, we embarked on the “Meat Goat Project” in order to learn about goats and get some familiarity with handling and raising meat goats. In addition, we wanted to determine if it might be feasible for persons with disabilities to raise goats as a sustainable business.
Our human subjects were our grandchildren, all of whom loved the goats!
We believe raising meat goats is a stainable business for persons with disabilities for the following reasons:
Goats are very friendly and love attention. They are Houdini-like in that they are escape artists. However, even when outside the fence, they come running when they see us. They were trained to come for alfalfa pellets as treats.
Goats are gentle. Our goats would lick but never bite. They do like to stand-up against people, but they can be trained to stay down. For teens and adults, this is not a problem.
Goats can be marketed within 1 year of birth.
Goats eat different forages than cattle and like to eat brush. They will be good in some of our fence rows.
There is a growing market for goat meat in the US, as over 1 million pounds of goat meat is imported annually.
Goat meat is eaten across the globe and accounts for about 65% of the red meat eaten worldwide. It is lean and nutritious!
Source: USDA Handbook, and an article in Dove Med, entitled: Health Benefits of Goat Meat.
This year we raised Spanish goats. They are a bit smaller than Boer goats, which may make them an ideal breed to concentrate on but we may try some other varieties this year to gain experience.
The next phase of our project is to have a few interested individuals work with us this coming year to raise another batch of goats. We are approaching this with “baby steps” trying not to make a huge commitment to goats before we know more about them and the marketing of goat meat.
Goat Meat for Sale in Michigan
If you are interested in purchasing either a whole or half of processed goat meat, please contact us for availability and pricing using the form below.
Popular meat goat cuts are similar to lamb cuts and include chops, steaks (shoulder and loin), leg (bone-in or boneless), shoulder roasts, shanks, stew meat, ribs, and ground. The chops and steaks are usually cut 1 1/2” thick and packaged 2 per pack. Custom cuts are subject to the processor’s approval and may result in additional costs.
*Please note, we only provide local service. We do not ship.
