Sustainable production of meat goats: grazing strategies and forage utilization

Abstract

In the Southeastern USA, meat goats (Capra hircus hircus) are becoming increasingly important contributors to the income of many small producers. Meat goats frequently obtain more than 50% of their daily ration from browse but will perform well in grazing situations if management practices match their grazing behavior. This “generalist” feeding behavior represents a clear advantage in the ability to utilize a variety of landscapes and plant communities. Furthermore, if managed to match goat nutritional demands, these plant communities, composed of pasture and browse species, can provide an abundant, low-cost feed supply supplanting the need for expensive feed supplements that represent the highest expense of any meat goat operation. This can be achieved by developing a year-round forage program allowing for as much grazing as possible throughout the year. In addition, goats can be very effective biological control agents in beef cattle pastures invaded by woody vegetation and broadleaf weeds, in view of environmental concerns and elevated costs of other control methods such as mechanical cutting and herbicide applications. This presentation describes grazing/browsing behavior, grazing strategies and forage utilization research results obtained with meat goats at North Carolina State University using cool-season and warm-season perennial forages as well as summer and winter annual forages