The Feasibility of Meat Goats in Minnesota
Summary Report

Domestic Producers

Domestic meat goat production, that is meat goat production in Minnesota, has been limited.  While no formal estimates of goats produced within the state are available, it is probable that the number of goats raised on a commercial basis is near five thousand, but very few of these goats have been raised for the sole purpose of providing meat.  Producers of meat goats located through various means including: (1) the Minnesota Department of Agriculture's 1998 and 1999 Specialty Meats Directories, (2) AURI clientele and staff, and (3) networking connections among contacted producers revealed a broad range of experience in the industry.  The experience of these Minnesota goat producers ranged from as little as only a few months to over twenty-seven years.  A majority of the producers raised meat goats in conjunction with another goat operation (such as dairy or fiber and craft production).Domestic herd sizes varied as well, ranging from as many as only three or four does to over 1,000 does.

Enterprise Budget Analysis.  Regardless of the operational system used to produce meat goats, it is important to understand and quantify the profitability of the operation.  One method of estimating or quantifying profitability is the enterprise budget.  Creating an enterprise budget can help producers determine the profitability of producing meat goats or can help them determine areas in which they can improve their efficiency.  Sample budgets for meat goat enterprises in the United States are available, but these budgets must be "revised" to reflect market and biological conditions existent in Minnesota.

A producer adjustable enterprise budget (modeled after a sample budget created by Virginia State University, Essel 1999) has been provided to the Agricultural Utilization Research Institute (AURI).  The budget, created in Microsoft Excel 97, is menu driven allowing users to adjust market and biological variables to more closely represent their individual operation.  Appendix 2 presents a sample input and output budget generated by the adjustable budget.  A working goat meat enterprise budget can be located under the research tab on AURI's website http://www.auri.org.

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