| U.S. Demand for Goat Meat Surpasses Supply |
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As the United States' foreign-born population has grown, so has consumption of the tough, gamey meat popular with Latin American, Caribbean and Muslim communities. There are only about 2 million goats raised in United States for meat, but the domestic market could support a herd of 15 million animals, said Marvin Shurley, president of the American Meat Goat Association. Rancher Judy Kaye saw the opportunity in the burgeoning market, and she got into the business in 1997 when the taste for goat was taking off. The number of people raising goats jumped 19.5 percent between 1997 and 2002, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Kaye has 300 meat goats at her White Rail Ranch south of Porterville, Calif., and she sells mostly to small ethnic stores. But she can't meet the demand, and she's been helping other ranchers switch to goats or add them to their herds of sheep and cows. California's goat herd grew to about 100,000 this year from about 61,000 in 2002, according to the USDA. Click here for the entire story. Source: Wisconsin Ag
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