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September 21, 2007

More on goats

Pygora_goat.jpg

The Pygora goat is a cross between the pygmy and angora goats, whose ancestry is no more than 75% pygmy or 75% angora. It produces fleece like mohair or cashmere, the ewes up to a liter of millk a day, and is friendly so makes a good pet. Cute, too.

I looked into the economics of the Angora goat -- an agricultural economist in 1993 ascertained that by being frugal a farmer could realize a profit of about $50-$55 per Angora goat per year. This includes all the costs of farming the Angora goat -- pasture, equipment, feed, medicines, etc. -- and includes profits from fleece, culling, and stud fees.

Angoras are not bred for milking -- they produce only fleece -- and they don't fetch much when sold for meat, since Americans aren't used to eating "chevron." Even with COL increases -- even if one could tap into an enthusiastic hand-spinning market -- Angora goats aren't a lucrative bunch, are they? More of a side hobby.

I'm wondering if the Pygora is a more solvent route for a farmer?

Posted by Sue at September 21, 2007 11:46 PM

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