1 Dairy goats in the United States number between 2
and 4 million
depending on source of reference. No reliable or
comprehensive annual
statistics of goat numbers or their production in the
United States
exists. Probably three-quarters of all are Angora;
between 0.7 and 1
million head are dairy goats; and around a half
million are ''bush'',
Spanish or meat goats, which also keep rangeland open
for sheep and
cattle from brush encroachment, forest fire breaks for
safety and ski
slopes grazed for tourists. A certain yet unknown
percentage of goats
is kept by leaders of the dairy goat industry on
official production
record programs. Their numbers form the best
statistics available.
California by far has the greatest percentage of all
official goat
lactation records (35), followed by Oregon, Wisconsin,
Washington,
Arizona, New York and Pennsylvania; these states
comprising
approximately three-quarters of all official records.
Nubian are almost
one-third of all official US dairy goat records,
followed by Alpine
with 25, Toggenburg 15, Saanen 11, LaMancha 6and other
16
2 There have been more than 200,000 official lactation
records
processed since 1968 under the National Dairy Herd
Improvement program
(DHI). Almost two-thirds of all records were from
first or second
lactations and over 5were from does 6 years or older.
A distinct
seasonality for the beginning of lactations
distinguishes goats from
cows. February through May accounted for 800f all
official lactations
with a peak of 27 0n March. Among the 6 different
dairy goat breeds in
the United States, 850f the Alpine began their
lactations from
February to May but only 740f the Nubians. For the 12
months in the
calendar year, the percentage distribution of
lactations starting with
January, was 7, 20, 27, 21, 12.5, 6, 2, 0.6, 1, 2,
respectively.
3 Age distribution of lactations
Of all the normal, official lactations, 35were at
least 305 days
in length, averaging 1,978 lb milk and 73 lb fat with
a 3.7 21372333328992
average. The last overall US average for all official
lactations
(1980-81) including those less than 305 days long, was
1,643 lb milk
and 62 lb fat (3.8). This compares with a world
leading goat milk
record in Australia of 7,714 lb milk in 365 days and
the US leader
with 5,738 lb milk and 202 fat in 305 days. It also
compares with less
than 450 lb milk yields and less than 200 days of
lactation length for
most goats in underdeveloped countries, i.e., actually
for the
majority of all goats in the world, including
so-called dairy goats.
4 Among the six US goat breeds, recent lactation
averages differ
little. Saanen lead with 2,116 lb milk, 75 lb fat,
followed by Alpine
2,094-73, Toggenburg 2,026-66, LaMancha 1,797-68,
Nubian 1,773-81 and
others 1,916-70 lb, respectively. Yields of US
lactations of more than
275 days in length increased by age of doe from 1,654
lb to 2,022,
2,132, 2,156, 2,083, 1,980 lb for 1st to 6th
lactations. During the
recent five years, no change in average US goat milk
production has
occurred which may be due in part to a decrease in the
average number
of lactations per herd (presently 11.3). This also
means a considerable
increase in the number of small US goat herds, besides
a difficult
condition for buck sire proofing. However, a
comprehensive, national
effort of sire proving is essential for evaluation of
genetic
transmitting ability, for the needed progress of US
goat milk
production and for the potential influence in
developing countries. It
has been shown that native goat breeds in developing
countries will
improve their milk production by an average of 70 0n
the first
generation cross with US or European breeds.
5 The predominance of small herds for US dairy goats
and intensive
feeding management on limited acreage contrasts with
the management of
most US Angora and Spanish goats on the wide open
rangeland. Commercial
US goat milk production is limited, however, to no
more than 50
herddairies for the distribution of bottled milk and
other goat milk
products and goat cheese. Less than 10 goat dairies
derive their total
income from the sale of goat milk and its products. In
average, they
milk approximately 40 does, retailing and wholesaling
between 400 to
1,600 lb goat milk per week. Raw milk permits are
available in 14
states, (Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Maine,
Montana, New
Hampshire, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon,
Pennsylvania, Rhode
Island, Utah, Washington). Among the 50 states, half
do not have a
single licensed goat dairy and an estimated 700f the
urban markets in
the United States are not supplied with fresh goat
milk. In 1978,
approximately 12 million lb goat milk in the United
States was
processed, half into evaporated or powdered milk in
California and
Arkansas, the other half into goat cheeses in
Wisconsin, Iowa,
Arkansas, Washington, California and Colorado.
6 The economics of goat milk production under US
conditions show
considerably higher costs than cow milk production
under similar
conditions. Break-even prices to cover cash costs in
1978 for a
125-doe Grade-A goat dairy farm were calculated to be
$11.65 per 100 lb
milk when the annual herd milk average would be 3,000
lb but $23.31 per
100 lb milk when the average was more realistically
1,500 lb. Among
the goat herds in the NE-USA in 1979, the top 250f all
herds on
official test averaged 2,231 lb milk, 77 lb fat, 3.6
213723333289928200000
protein.
7 Participation of US dairy goat breeders in breed
association
programs has increased greatly in the recent 20 years.
Official goat
shows and animal registrations increased ten times;
official production
testing more than 50 times; annual association
memberships more than 20
times; and 4-H projects likewise. (Table 1).
8 Future trends in the US dairy goat industry are
expected to be
around 10 0ncrease. Breed improvement due to
artificial insemination
with realiably proven superior sires has yet to become
possible for
more than a few. Goat milk marketing development and
promotion has yet
to occur beyond a few single efforts on a continuing
basis, with
reliable quality control of products and processing.
Research on factors
imparting peculiar goat milk flavor is urgently
needed. Studies on
factors involved in the destabilization of goat milk
during frozen
storage and on proper processing methods in general
are very much
missing. The complex question of somatic cells and
leucocytes in goat
milk and the occurrence of mastitis needs studies.
State sanitarians in
most US states do not concern themselves seriously
with goat milk
producers nor do state milk codes of most US states
include goat milk
or permits for the production of raw milk when
bacterial limits,
tuberculosis and brucellosis free conditions are met.
Dairy equipment
dealers, manufacturers, feed dealers and veterinarians
in many states
and countries do not offer supplies, equipment,
machinery and services
suitable or available to goat breeders. Dairy Council
and other milk
promotion agencies in the United States do not usually
include goat
milk and goat milk products. Educational agencies,
vocational schools,
FFA judging contests do not generally include goats
and goat milk as an
acceptable and valuable addition to cow milk and cows.
No silos for
economical feeding of roughages are available for
small or medium size
goat farms. Not much research exits to overcome the
seasonal ups and
downs of goat milk supplies in contrast to fluid-milk
demands.
9 Many testimonies exist from people who suffered
under cow milk
allergies, stomach ulcers; their children had
''wasting'' disease and
insomnia, but they were cured by drinking goat milk;
and few medical
studies have been undertaken in this area. Predators,
stray dogs,
coyotes are a big problem with goats on pastures and
especially with
range goats, but few effective and acceptable controls
exist when
considering the high investment cost of electric
fences over miles of
rangeland. The biological control with imprinted
guarding animals,
e.g. male burros deserves research attention.
10 The mohair industry in the USA is more profitable
and their
marketing better organized than the goat milk
industry, yet the US
production of Angoras decreased steadily in the last
15 years from 15
to 4 thousand metric tons of mohair. The total value
of 1.5 million
Angoras in Texas alone are presently estimated at $60
million, up 12
from a year ago.
11 Literature on nutrient requirements of goats under
various
conditions is now available from efforts of the
National Research
Council, Journal of American Dairy Science
Association, Journal of
International Goat and Sheep Research, and Journal of
the American
Society of Animal Science. There are more than 20,000
registered dairy
goat breeders in the US presently; more than 17,000
4-H goat projects;
and more than 50,000 dairy goat registrations per
year.
12 These and many other opportunities for progress in
the US dairy
goat industry are begging for support. New efforts at
the California and
Texas Agricultural Experiment Stations, the Winrock
International
Livestock Research and Training Center in Arkansas and
several goat
research projects at other universities are hopeful
signs for the
future.
