Slaughter goats and goat meat can be sold through a wide variety of marketing channels. It is important that you decide how much of the marketing responsibility you are actually prepared to take on either as an individual or as part of a cooperative or farmer group. There are many costs associated with taking on marketing responsibilities. This “marketing bill” includes advertising, merchandising, assembling, transporting, processing, packaging, and properly storing the product. If you are not good at 1) getting financing, 2) keeping records, and 3) getting things done at JUST the right time, then trying to take on more marketing responsibilities will only make your situation worse.
Other questions to address when you are trying to decide whether to pursue more direct market channels are:
- How much do you like talking to strangers?
- Do you feel comfortable boasting about your product?
- How well do you handle stress?
- How much extra time and money do you have to invest in marketing your product?
- What previous marketing experience have you had?
- How good were you at it?
Establishing your own distributor or retail business requires a substantial investment in capital and labor. As well as estimating your “marketing bill”, you’ll need to estimate your “market area”. For example, consumers will generally drive 20 miles to a direct or farmer’s market; however, this varies with product availability, premiums placed on product quality, other items that are available including entertainment, and “normal driving ranges” for the region’s population. From this knowledge, the direct market seller can quickly estimate “the market area” by drawing concentric circles with a radius of 10 miles, 20 miles, 30 miles on a map with the center being the location of the current or future farmers’ market, or farm gate business.
You need to be willing to conduct your own market analyses and/or feasibility studies in order to make a business plan and project income and expenses. If you cannot accomplish this research, chances are you won’t have the time resources to expand your marketing efforts. It is very important to determine if it is feasible to expect savings from cutting out middlemen before you take on these extra responsibilities.
It’s a good idea for new producers to market their goats through conventional marketing channels such as regional auctions or livestock dealers when first starting out. This is because new producers usually need to focus on learning to manage their goats well. However, one way a new farmer can key into more specialized marketing opportunities without having to invest a lot of time is by joining a local goat producer association. New farmers that enjoy meeting strangers and have a prominent farm location near goat consuming cultures may also find that they can sell live slaughter goats on-farm without substantial additional investments.
In summary, the goat meat market is wildly diverse unlike a commodity market. Exploring the many possible market approaches can be both exhilarating and challenging.
Below are links to four spreadsheets to help calculate returns from selling to regional auctions, livestock dealers or retailers, to cooperatives with a commission, or as part of a marketing pool direct to a retail store. These marketing channels are fairly easy shortcuts along the goat meat supply chain but will be impractical for producers living long distances from processors or direct consumers. Keep in mind that none of these spreadsheets include the actual costs of raising your goat kids.
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