Why do farmers decide to produce meat goats? Evidence from the United States

Agriculture and Human Values

December 2016, Volume 33, Issue 4, pp 911–927

• Authors
• Authors and affiliations

• Jeffrey GillespieEmail author
• Narayan Nyaupane
• Brittany Dunn
• Kenneth McMillin

1. 1.
2. 2.
3. 3.

Article

First Online: 

05 January 2016

DOI: 10.1007/s10460-015-9677-9

Cite this article as:

Gillespie, J., Nyaupane, N., Dunn, B. et al. Agric Hum Values (2016) 33: 911. doi:10.1007/s10460-015-9677-9

• 152Downloads

Abstract

This paper addresses the reasons why US meat goat producers selected to engage in meat goat production. A mail survey of US meat goat producers was conducted. Potential reasons for entering meat goat production included those associated with lifestyle, farm management, productivity, and economics. Reasons for entering meat goat production were assessed and analyzed using ordered probit models. The most important reasons for entering meat goat production included enjoyment working with goats, goat production fitting well into the farm management plan, goats could be raised on a relatively small acreage, goat grazing preferences were different from other species, and the family could be involved in the goat enterprise. The 12th and 13th most important reasons were goat production profitability and low cost associated with purchasing and raising goats. Larger-scale farmers were more likely to have selected meat goat production for profitability and productivity reasons while smaller-scale farmers were more likely to have selected it for lifestyle reasons. Farmer demographics, farm characteristics, and farm location also impacted reasons why the farmer selected the goat enterprise. Results have implications for development of the meat goat industry.

Keywords

Farmer goalsReasons for farmingMeat goatFarm lifestyleProfit

References

1. Basarir, A., and J. Gillespie. 2006. Goals of beef cattle and dairy producers in a multidimensional framework. Agricultural Economics 35(1): 103–114.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2. Bergevoet, R., C. Ondersteijn, H. Sattkamp, C. van Woerkum, and R. Huirne. 2004. Entrepreneurial behavior of Dutch dairy farmers under a milk quota system: Goals, objectives, and attitudes. Agricultural Systems 80(1): 1–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
3. Boehlje, M.D., and V.R. Eidman. 1984. Farm management. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
4. Coffey, L. 2006. General overview. In Meat goat production handbook, eds. T. A. Gipson, R. C. Merkel, K. Williams and T. Sahlu. Langston University: Langston, OK.
5. Coughenour, C., and L. Swanson. 1988. Rewards, values, and satisfaction with farm work. Rural Sociology 53(4): 442–459.Google Scholar
6. Daniels, T.L. 1986. Hobby farming in America: Rural development or threat to commercial agriculture? Journal of Rural Studies 2(1): 31–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
7. Dillman, D.A., J.D. Smyth, and L.M. Christian. 2009. Internet, mail and mixed-mode surveys, the tailored design method, 3rd ed. Hoboken NJ: Wiley.Google Scholar
8. Fairweather, J., and N. Keating. 1994. Goals and management styles of New Zealand farmers. Agricultural Systems 44: 181–200.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
9. Gasson, R. 1973. Goals and values of farmers. Journal of Agricultural Economics 24(3): 521–542.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
10. Gill, N.J., P. Klepeis, and L.A. Chisholm. 2010. Stewardship among lifestyle oriented rural landowners. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management 53(3): 317–334.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
11. Gillespie, J., and A. Mishra. 2011. Off-farm employment and reasons for entering farming as determinants of production enterprise selection in US agriculture. Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics 55(3): 411–428.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
12. Gillespie, J., and N. Nyaupane. 2010. Tenancy arrangement used by Louisiana crawfish producers. Aquaculture Economics and Management 14(3): 202–217.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
13. Gillespie, J., S.E. Kim, and K. Paudel. 2007. Why don’t producers adopt best management practices? An analysis of the beef cattle industry. Agricultural Economics 36(1): 89–102.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
14. Gillmor, D.A. 1986. Behavioral studies in agriculture: Goals, values, and enterprise choice. Irish Journal of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology 11: 19–33.Google Scholar
15. Gipson, T.A. 1999. Demand for goat meat: Implications for the future of the industry. Proceedings of the 14th Annual Goat Field Day, Langston University, Langston, OK: 23–30.
16. Gladwin, C.H. 1985. Values and goals of Florida farm women: Do they help the family farm survive? Agriculture and Human Values 2(1): 40–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
17. Greene, W.H. 2000. Econometric analysis, 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
18. Grieco, E.M., Y.D. Acosta, G.P. de la Cruz, C. Gambino, T. Gryn, L.J. Larsen, E.N. Trevelyan, and N.P. Walters. 2012. The foreign-born population in the United States: 2010. ACS-12, United States Census Bureau, US Department of Commerce, Economics, and Statistics Administration, May.
19. Harper, W., and C. Eastman. 1980. An evaluation of goal hierarchies for small farm operators. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 62(4): 742–747.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
20. Hoppe, R.A., and P. Korb. 2013. Characteristics of women farm operators and their farms. Economic Information Bulletin No. 111, US Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, April.
21. Inwood, S., J.K. Clark, and M. Bean. 2013. The differing values of multigeneration and first-generation farmers: Their influence on the structure of agriculture at the rural-urban interface. Rural Sociology 78(3): 346–370.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
22. Lobley, M., and C. Potter. 2004. Agricultural change and restructuring: Recent evidence from a survey of agricultural households in England. Journal of Rural Studies 20(4): 499–510.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
23. McMillin, K.W., and A.P. Brock. 2005. Production practices and processing for value-added goat meat. Journal of Animal Science 83(13): E57–E68.Google Scholar
24. Nelson, M.C., J. Whitehead, S. Mobini, N.B. Brown Jr, and M. Thomas. 2004. Segmenting niche goat-meat markets. Journal of Food Distribution Research 35(1): 146–153.Google Scholar
25. Pampel, F., and J. van Es. 1977. Environmental quality and issues of adoption research. Rural Sociology 42(1): 57–71.Google Scholar
26. Patrick, G., B. Blake, and S. Whitaker. 1983. Farmers’ goals: Uni-or multidimensional? American Journal of Agricultural Economics 65(2): 315–319.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
27. Paudel, K.P., W.M. Gauthier, J.V. Westra, and L.M. Hall. 2008. Factors influencing and steps leading to adoption of best management practices of dairy farmers. Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics 40(1): 203–222.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
28. Qushim, B., J. Gillespie, K. Paudel, and K. McMillin. 2016. Technical and scale efficiencies of meat goat farms in the USA. Applied Economics 48(7): 608–620.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
29. Rejesus, R.M., M.C. Marra, R.K. Roberts, B.C. English, J.A. Larson, and K.W. Paxton. 2013. Changes in producers’ perceptions of within-field yield variability after adoption of cotton yield monitors. Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics 45(2): 295–312.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
30. Shurley, M., and F. Craddock. 2005. US meat goat industry: Past, present, and future. Presentation at the Gathering of Goat Producers IV, Seguin, TX, July. http://theikga.org/us_meat_goat_industry.html (accessed 21 March 2014).
31. Singell, L.D., and J. Thornton. 1997. Nepotism, discrimination, and the persistence of utility-maximizing, owner-operated firms. Southern Economic Journal 63(4): 904–919.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
32. USDA-APHIS (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service). 2005. The goat industry: Structure, concentration, demand, and growth. http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/emergingissues/downloads/goatreport090805.pdf. Accessed 30 May 2014.
33. USDA-APHIS, VS (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Veterinary Services). 2011. Small-scale US goat operations, June. http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahms/smallscale/downloads/Small-scale_goat.pdf. Accessed 30 May 2014.
34. USDA-FAS (Foreign Agricultural Service). 2015. Global agricultural trade system. http://apps.fas.usda.gov/gats/default.aspx/.
35. USDA-NASS (National Agricultural Statistics Service). 2012a. Agricultural statistics. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.Google Scholar
36. USDA-NASS (National Agricultural Statistics Service). 2012. Census of agriculture–United States data, 2012b. http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2012/Full_Report/Volume_1,_Chapter_1_State_Level/Texas/st48_1_028_031.pdf. Accessed 30 May 2014.
37. USDA-NASS (National Agricultural Statistics Service). 2013. Agricultural statistics. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.Google Scholar
38. Van Kooten, G.C., R.A. Schoney, and K.A. Hayward. 1986. An alternative approach to the evaluation of goal hierarchies among farmers. Western Journal of Agricultural Economics 11(1): 40–49.Google Scholar
39. Willock, J., I. Deary, G. Edwards-Jones, G. Gibson, M. McGregor, A. Sutherland, J. Dent, O. Morgan, and R. Grieve. 1999. The role of attitudes and objectives in farmer decision making: Business and environmentally oriented behavior in Scotland. Journal of Agricultural Economics 50(2): 286–303.CrossRefGoogle Scholar