Mutton Goat meat has essential amino acids that is said to maintain the cardiovascular health. It also helps in building ones’s immune system and cell heath.

Mutton
Goat meat has essential amino acids that is said to maintain the cardiovascular health. It also helps in building ones’s immune system and cell heath. The phosphorous in goat meat helps in maintaining bones and teeth growth. It is also believed to keep sugar levels in check. Goat meat is also rich in protein and supplies the body with enough energy.
Chicken
Chicken is often considered to be the safest meat and the most widely consumed meat in the planet. Chicken meat is loaded with proteins and hence is a favouite amongst body builders. Skinned meat is considered to be very low in fat. Besides this, chicken is also a very good source of niacin, B-6, B-12, vitamin D, iron and zinc.
Beef
Beef has several health benefits. Lean beef is considered to be a very good source of protein and that it provides 64.1% of the daily value of the nutrient, in just 4 ounces. It is also a good source of vitamin B12 and vitamin B6. Organic beef has often been described as being rich in selenium and zinc. Zinc prevents damage to blood vessel walls.
Beef
Beef has several health benefits. Lean beef is considered to be a very good source of protein and that it provides 64.1% of the daily value of the nutrient, in just 4 ounces. It is also a good source of vitamin B12 and vitamin B6. Organic beef has often been described as being rich in selenium and zinc. Zinc prevents damage to blood vessel walls.
Pork
Pork has the potential to give poultry a run for its money in terms of health, provided you know the right cuts. The best cuts include tenderloin, boneless loin chops, even center-cut bacon. Pork steaks or roasts from the leg are also considered to be great choices. Besides this, pork is loaded with essential nutrients and vitamins like niacin, riboflavin, thiamin.
Fish
Fish has always been considered as one of the most nutritious meats available. It is loaded with proteins and is not calorie rich. It is also rich in rich in omega 3 fatty acids, making it extremely good for one’s heart as Omega-3s do not convert to fat. They also have other important nutrients like selenium, antioxidants and protein.
Meat Goat SpIn event conducted
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
ISU Extension Clay County recently offered a workshop about meat goats that was open to all 4-Hers. The workshop was led by Meat Goat Committee members, Ray and Linda Foerster and Kate Rinehart, with the help of Clay County 4-H Meat Goat Exhibitors. This workshop was a part of ISU Extension Clay County's 2012 SpIn Events.
"The meat goat project area has shown great growth in the last few years," Jo Engel, Clay County Program coordinator, said. "We are fortunate to have such an active committee that strives to encourage 4-Hers and to educate them in the necessary skills to successfully raise and show meat goats."
During the workshop, participants learned many things about caring for meat goats. Some of the topics included grooming, clipping, feeding and hoof care. There were meat goats at the workshop and hands-on activities to participate in. Four stations were set up so the youth were able to go through each subject in a more one-on-one setting.
There were 24 youth who participated in the workshop and many families were also present to learn more about meat goats. 4-Hers came from five different counties to attend the meat goat workshop.
For more information on ISU Extension Clay County SpIn Events check out the website, www.extension.iastate.edu/clay, call 262-2264, or email Jo at joengel@iastate.edu.
© Copyright 2012, Spencer Daily Reporter
Story URL: http://www.spencerdailyreporter.com/story/1832602.html

http://msucares.com/news/print/

Goats provide easy starting point for kids
By Susan Collins-Smith
MSU Ag Communications
MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Take a look at 4-H livestock show rings anywhere in the state. There are nearly as many goats as hogs, sheep or steers.
 4-H’ers are increasingly choosing to show goats because of the animals' small size and gentle behavior. (Photo by Scott Corey) “We’ve increased the numbers of goats shown by about 25 percent each year since the first year,” said Kipp Brown, area 4-H livestock agent and meat goat specialist with Mississippi State University’s Extension Service. “It’s helping the kids, the producers and the 4-H program.”
The first statewide market meat goat show was held at the Mississippi State Fair in 1996. Market goats were added to the district-level shows in 1999. By 2001, interest in show goats had increased enough to merit adding goats to the statewide Dixie National Livestock Show.
The popularity of the small ruminants stems largely from their disposition.
“It’s hard for an 8-year-old to handle a 125- to 150-pound lamb because lambs can be very stubborn and very strong,” Brown said. “A 250-pound hog and an even larger calf also can be intimidating.
“But the personality of a goat makes it a logical animal to start a young person with. Goats are inquisitive and docile by nature. When you add the element of human interaction, they become even easier to handle,” he said.
Debbie Huff, of Brandon, said that is the reason her oldest son David, now 18, started showing livestock with a dairy goat.
“David was small for his age,” Huff said. “At 8 years old, he was timid and shy and a little bit afraid of the horses and cattle we had. So we let him show a dairy goat in 2001, and that was it. He told us he wanted to show dairy goats, and that’s what he’s done for 11 years.”
Goats are also a good beginner project for children because of their relatively low cost. Goats can range in price from $150 to $250 or more. A set of clippers costs about $100, and feed for a year is $50 to $100. Getting to the shows is easy with an inexpensive cage in the bed of a pickup.
“Starting with an inexpensive and gentle animal allows the child to learn to feed it properly and learn showmanship,” Brown said. “If children can first learn to feed the goat to the proper weight, exercise him, measure his fat content, and all the other things they have to do to show the goat, it is easier for them to move on to larger, less cooperative livestock.”
But it is rare for a child to give up showing goats, even if they move on to larger livestock.
“A lot of times, once kids are 10 or 12 or 13, they move into lambs and cattle, but most of them keep the goats because they like them,” Brown said. “The kids love the goats, and the goats love them.”
That is not a bad deal for kids or parents.
“It’s the same concept as taking piano lessons,” Brown said. “You probably won’t make money showing goats, but you are teaching life skills. It doesn’t matter what is used to train young people. To me, a goat is just a simple way to do it.”
David’s parents, who homeschool all four of their boys, agree.
“When David decided he wanted to show goats, we saw the opportunity there to use the milk and the animals to teach the boys even more,” Huff said. “Just because we raise livestock doesn’t mean our kids have to do that for the rest of their lives. It’s a pathway to develop abilities to do so many other things. Everything we do in life requires that we be responsible, dedicated participants, and raising goats teaches my kids those skills.”
David Huff, who plans to study engineering, begins college in August.
“We knew that having our boys involved in 4-H would teach them responsibility and accountability and instill in them a work ethic,” Debbie Huff said. “People involved in the admissions process are piecing all of that together. We were not just raising goats. There was a plan in all that work. We were preparing our sons for life.”
-30-
Released: April 5, 2012
Contact: Kipp Brown, (662) 237-6926
Publications may download image at 200 ppi
Surinder Sud: Meat of the matter
Smaller animals gain prominence over larger livestock to meet demand
Surinder Sud /  April 03, 2012, 0:28 IST


The soaring demand for animal-based protein products and the consequential spike in their prices seem to be impacting the profile of India’s livestock sector. The predominance of cattle is gradually waning with relatively smaller animals like goats, sheep and pigs gaining more space to meet the enhanced demand for meat. A noteworthy aspect of the changing population-mix of the larger livestock (cattle and buffaloes) is that less productive, indigenous cows are being replaced by high milk-yielding buffaloes. There is, moreover, no social injunction on the consumption and export of their meat.
Among the smaller farm animals, the population of goats is rising faster than that of sheep since the former produces some milk as well. In fact, goat milk now accounts for nearly four per cent of the country’s total milk output. Apart from demand, other factors like shrinking pastures and grazing land and rising cost of fodder, too, are tilting the scales in favour of goats and sheep — which are small eaters compared to larger animals. Moreover, small animals are known to be more efficient converters of food into protein (meat and milk) and multiply relatively faster — the birth of twins, triplets and even quadruplets are quite common in goats, sheep and pigs.
However, in areas where irrigation-based intensive farming is in vogue, the number of buffaloes is increasing thanks to the availability of ample crop residues to supplement fodder supplies.
These trends, significant as they are for animal husbandry policies, have been captured and quantified in an analysis of demographic changes in livestock population by a team of experts led by Dr A K Dikshit of the Delhi-based Society for Economic and Social Research. (This study has been reported in the February 2012 issue of The Indian Journal of Animal Sciences.) It reveals that the proportion of large animals in the country’s total livestock population slipped from 73 per cent in 1987 to 66 per cent in 2003, while that of smaller animals swelled from 27 per cent to 34 per cent.
The annual compound growth rate of cattle population has been assessed at a mere 0.34 per cent. This compares poorly with a near 2.0 per cent annual increase in the population of buffaloes and still higher 2.52 per cent of goats and 2.27 per cent of sheep. Buffaloes seem to be preferred over cows because of their higher yield of fat-rich milk that fetches a higher price in the market, even though they need more fodder than cattle. But the increase in the buffalo population is confined largely to a few regions, such as Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat in the north-west, besides the eastern plains and the Western Ghats.
Like buffaloes, growth in the population of sheep is also not evenly spread. In fact, sheep seem to be losing popularity in regions like north-western and eastern plains, central highlands and north-eastern hills. The fast-vanishing common grasslands for sheep grazing and preference for goat meat over sheep meat could be the reasons for this. Goats, on the other hand, are showing a positive growth in almost all regions. Interestingly, even the pig population has registered an impressive growth in most parts of the country, barring the north-western plains and the Deccan plateau where pork consumption is low. The maximum growth in the population of pigs has, predictably, been in the north-eastern hills, where pigs have been part of the backyard livestock rearing tradition, and in Assam and its adjoining parts of West Bengal. The overall countrywide annual growth in the pig population has been reckoned at 2.35 per cent.
Among the sources of lean meat, preferred by health-conscious people, poultry is expanding at a rather fast pace. The maximum density of poultry population (number of birds per sq km) has been observed in the south (Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh) followed by the east (Assam and parts of West Bengal and Orissa).
These findings clearly show that animal husbandry promotion policies, focused largely on bigger animals, need to be broadened to include smaller meat-producing animals as well. This is imperative also because small animals are reared mostly by tiny landholders and landless people. Such an approach would help augment meat supplies to keep the prices under check.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
surinder.sud@gmail.com
 The goat industry is investigating ways to expand its meat and fibre production to meet increasing worldwide demand, and boost returns for farmers.
Representatives met in Blenheim this week.
Federated Farmers says about 200 farmers raise goats for meat, 90-percent of which is sent overseas.
While overall demand remains strong, goat sector chairman John Woodward says there's potential to get higher prices for younger goat meat, which he says is currently lumped in with all other types.
But he says it's hard to boost returns when there's a lack of unity within the industry.
New Zealand produces about 45 tonnes of Mohair fibre a year, with most heading to South Africa where it's made into rugs and yarn.
Mr Woodward says prices for Mohair remain strong at $13 per kg and the outlook is good due to a drop in mohair production worldwide.
He says re-establishing a levy to pay for market access and encouraging new farmers to join the industry was also discussed at the conference.

Copyright © 2012, Radio New Zealand
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/rural/102673/goat-industry-wants-to-meet-global-demand

http://www.agweekly.com/articles/2012/03/22/commodities/livestock/lvstk50.txt