Meat and milk goats can do a lot to contribute to feeding a growing population. Goats were once considered the "Poor Man's" cattle but more recently we can see research that prove goats are not just for people who can't afford cows but is a better alternative.
The amount of land needed to raise 1 head of cattle is ten times more than is necessary for goats. The potential production of meat or milk from cattle is only about 5 times more than goats. In this simple example, we see that goats could be twice as efficient as cattle. In intensive goat rearing facilities using "cut and carry" feeding methods, 5 times more goats can be raised than on a normal grazing method. This equates to goats versus cattle as 25:1 in the space needed. I want to stress here, that these are rough figures and in a later post we will look at a more scientific comparison.
When comparing goats to cattle, it would be unfair not to mention that sheep can give similar results to goats in nearly all respect. The one great advantage of goats over sheep would be their ability to eat fodder that most sheep and cattle will not touch, and definately, goats are less a competitor to humans for the type of feed they will eat.
An ideal model for sustainable livestock rearing would be having goats, sheep and cattle grazing the same pastures on a rotational basis. The benefit would be that all three species have different grazing habits and that would result in a greater livestock stocking rate per area of land. I would only do this if cattle was already present and there were sentimental reasons for not getting rid of them.
Goats have been used to clear vast areas of weeds that would take tons of herbicide to get the same result. A by-product of herbicide usage is contaminated environment, while the by-product of using goats would be meat and milk.
In the southern states of the United States, there are exotic plants posing a threat to the local vegetation. Kudzu is one that comes to mind. While these plants can be valuable as feed for animals in their own right, they are aggresive growers and tend to smother the local plant life. Goats to the rescue! There is a very bright entrepreneur making a great living by renting goats to local municipalities for the purpose of weed control.
In futere articles we will be talking about: sheep, rabbits, chicken for eggs and meat, forage and concentrate feed for all livestock and other sustainable management techniques.
Coming Soon! Sheep To Save The World.
