The Feasibility of Meat Goats in Minnesota
Summary Report

Understanding the Meat Goat Industry

Agricultural marketing has been defined as the "performance of all business activities involved in the flow of food products and services from the point of initial agricultural production until they are in the hands of consumers" (Kohls and Uhl 1990).  A vital component of understanding agricultural marketing is an understanding of the marketing channel.  The term marketing channel has been used to describe "the movement of a product or commodity from the site of production to the place of consumption" (Pinkerton et al. 1994).  Few attempts to formally describe the meat goat marketing channel for the United States have been published.  Until now a formal description of the goat meat marketing channel for the state of Minnesota has not existed.  Figure 1 illustrates a simple marketing channel for goat meat in Minnesota.

The marketing channel proposed in Figure 1 can be used as a tool in examining the feasibility of the meat goat industry in Minnesota.  Before any attempt to examine roles played in the marketing channel are made, it is important to understand the specific product under consideration.  Once knowledge of the product demanded is obtained, the role of key individuals in the marketing channel can be examined.  Understanding the product and each individual's roles in the marketing channel will help determine the feasibility of domestic meat goat production.

Link to Figure 1 - Minnesota Meat Goat Marketing Channel

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