Goat popularity continues to grow

Total U.S. goat and kid inventory up 4 percent mid-year

Kentucky Sheep and Goat Development Office

Frankfort, Ky. - According to the National Agriculture Statistics Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the national all-goat inventory on July 1, 2008 totaled 3.73 million head, up 4 percent from the previous July number.

Breeding goat inventory totaled 2.81 million head, up 4 percent from July 2007. All market goats and kids totaled 925,000 head, up 2 percent from the previous July. On July 1, 2008 meat and all other goats totaled 3.15 million head, up 5 percent from July 2007. Milk goat inventory was up 4 percent increasing to 350,000 head while angora goat numbers fell 12 percent to 230,000 head. The 2008 kid crop is expected to total 2.03 million head, up 5 percent from the 2007 kid crop of 1.94 million head.

“This is great news for the goat industry,” says Ray Bowman, executive director of the Kentucky Sheep and Goat Development Office.  “These numbers not only point to a strong and vibrant industry in a less-than-robust economy, they give a very positive outlook for the future of goat production in the United States.”

“The continuing growth of the goat industry can only help Kentucky farmers,” Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer said. “Our landscape is well-suited to producing goats and even pasturing them with cattle. We’re Kentucky Proud to be one of the leading goat-producing states in the country.”

Based on the new statistics, Kentucky’s population numbers about 85,000 head.

A random sample of U.S. producers was surveyed to provide data for these estimates.