Angora Goats in the Midwest (Part 8)
By: "R.M. Jordan, Extension Animal Specialist, Univ. of MN"
About the Author
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What is the profit potential of Angora goats in relation to sheep? Hair price, hair production per head, weaning rate, attrition level of mature nannies, and production costs per year are the major factors affecting goat profitability. With sheep, weaning rate and rate of lamb gains are the major factors determining profitability. While nutrient intake and internal parasites affect hair production, they have more affect on lamb gains. With sheep, successful lambing and lamb gains are paramount and wool production of minor consequence. With goats, hair is the major product. Reproductive rate in goats is also important as it affects the number of kids available to produce the high value hair. A producer can affect weaning rate of sheep but can do little to change the world price of mohair.
Table 5 provides a simple comparison of the relative profitability of the two species. No credit is given for the kids other than for the hair they produce at the first two shearings. No incentive payment for either wool or mohair is included. Currently the incentive price of mohair is over $5.00/lb. No capital costs are included.
Admittedly, some sheep producers market over 200 lb lamb/ewe bred and some goats produce less than 10 pounds of hair/goat. But the relative figures are realistic and suggest that goat flocks that are low in productivity may be more "profitable" than sheep flocks that are low in productivity. Conversely, well-managed, highly productive sheep flocks seem to have more profit potential than similarly managed goat flocks. The striking point is the similarity in profit potential, at 1987 prices, between the two species.
If the mohair incentive ($30 to $40/head), which is much larger than the wool incentive ($7 to $10/head) were included, goats would present a more profitable picture.
Table 5. Relative profitability of sheep and angora goatsa
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Sheep
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Goats
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Items |
Low production, low prices |
High production, high prices |
Low production, low prices |
High production, high prices |
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Gross income/head |
Fiber |
8 lb @ $.60/lb=$4.80 |
10 lb @ $.70/lb=$7.00 |
10 lb @ $2/lb=$20.00 |
16 lb @ $2.50/lb=$40.00 |
Offspring |
100 lb @ $.60/lb=$60.00 |
175 lb @ $.75/lb=$131.25 |
7 lb kid hair@ $6/lb=$42.00 |
10 lb kid hair@ $6/lb=$60.00 |
Total income/head |
$64.80 |
$138.25 |
$62.00 |
$100.00 |
Year-round feedb costs for dam and offspring |
$60.00 |
$70.00 |
$42.00 |
$49.00 |
Net return/female kept over feed costs |
$ 4.80 |
$68.25 |
$20.00 |
$51.00 |
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aAn incentive payment that is paid on both wool and mohair is not included in these values. Both are sizable and approximately equal (100%). The value of the kid(s) at time of second shearing is also not included. Actually, there is no established marketplace, and prices of shorn 12-month-old kids can vary from $10 to $100/head.
bA doe and her kid raised to 12 months of age (kid sheared twice) require about 70 percent as much feed as a ewe and her lambs raised to 6 months of age. Goat feed costs were calculated on that basis.
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Part 6 -
Part 7 -
Part 8
About the author: North Central Regional Extension Publications are subject to peer review and prepared as a part of the Cooperative Extension activities of the thirteen land-grant universities of the 12 North Central States, in cooperation with the Extension Service-U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.
pubs@unl.edu
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