Here is a legitimate business opportunity that we're missing out on. Why on earth is ANY meat being imported into the US? I think we should seriously look into becoming goat central for North America. Did you know Brockway was horse central throughout WW1?

We have the space, the feed, the ranching and farming expertise.....why aren't we raising goats for people that want to eat them? PETA people can stay out of this conversation, I'm an omnivore and that includes being a meatatarian!

Here's an excerpt from the website below:

"An estimated 500,000 goat carcasses were imported into the U.S. in 2004 to meet rising demand for goat meat. Over the past seven years, goat meat imports have jumped 140 percent. Richard Machen, professor and livestock specialist at Agricultural Research and Extension Center at Texas A & M University, estimates there are 35 million foreign-born residents in the United States from countries in which goat is routinely eaten.

Here's the site, let's get with the program:

http://www.newfarm.org/f...ler.shtml

Wait, there's more!

http://www.sheepgoatmark...idays.htm

And there's this...

http://www.meatgoats.com/

[This message has been edited by Chad (edited 9/2/2008).]

[This message has been edited by Chad (edited 9/2/2008).]

if i had land...i would become the goat meat supplier to nyc...but right now, I only deal in mule meat...and it ain't cheap! NOT IN MY BAR!!!!

http://www.municode.com/...h010.html

According to Section 553, your bar must not be in San Francisco!

Chad:

You might like to go to the Montana Wool Growers Range Ram Sale coming up in Miles City - the Montana Wool Growers Association accepts members that have goats, instead of sheep. Might be a great resource for you.

...You can begin to raise meat goats, but the problem is that there is no place to kill (butcher) goats or sheep in the area... I think that the federally inspected plant in MC, does not kill sheep, or it costs an awful lot to do that here, don't quote me... You would have to ship them east to a kill plant, and with the price of freight these days... it's cheaper to import... unless people want to start paying a pretty penny for their food... which no one does... One of the main reasons that so much lamb is imported from Austrailia... it costs us too much to kill them... A majority of Americans do not realize this, and when placed with the choice of 2 cuts of meat, one with a lower price... will buy the lower price, the one that's imported...
Just my 2 cents, but isn't it sad that we can't afford to eat our own products produced in America and we can import them cheaper... Maybe with the economy the way it's looking things will change in the future...

There used to be some goats being raised on the north side but they were for milk. There are also folks who have goats to eat weeds. So, raising them is easy. It's the rest that's tricky!

I watch a lot of cooking shows and they always say that American lamb is tastier than New Zealand lamb but you can't get American lamb!

Unless you are a coyote

They use goats to eat weeds around here. A couple years ago some psycho killed like 15 of them that were locked in a portable corral for no particular reason. Kind of reminiscent of the donkey incident in MC I guess.

[This message has been edited by Levi Forman (edited 9/3/2008).]

just another reason why we need tariffs again. free trade sucks!

Kaycee:

The Butcher Block of Miles City does kill & butchering and cryo-wrapping of lambs, beef, pigs - they are a USDA inspected facility. Rocky does an excellent job! C & K Meats of Forsyth also offers the same service. Not sure if Ryan's of Jordan offers kill & butchering services - but, they do an excellent job of curing meats. Their Lamb Ham is outstanding!

Amorette:

There are a number of folks in the area that raise lambs for custom butchering. (Me included) Most will sell a butcher lamb in whole or half. Then, you'd have no excuse for not serving American Lamb at your dinner table.

Sorry, meant Spacekace - not Kaycee!!!

I was referring to the difficulty in getting lamb on the cooking shows, not locally so much. I assume the cooking shows are filmed in the big city.

I'd take a weed-eating goat...but I'd pass on serving it up on the table.

They sold goat meat at the Real Food Store here in Helena for a while...it was going for like $12 a pound. I was curious, but I ain't that curious. Especially when I have a freezer full of "prairie goat" meat.

Now, lamb....mmmmmmm. I bought one this spring from a friend in Gold Creek...delicious! My only complaint, is that Montana butchers appear to not to know how to French cut a rack of lamb.

...Yes, Ryans in Jordan does kill and butcher lamb, that's where we send ours... I recommend the lamb link breakfast sausage... it's amazing. It's good to know that there is a place in Miles City, federally inspected...

More food for thought- food miles. How far is your food being shipped and what is the cost of the transportation, storage, middlemen, retail markup, etc. I for one support the farmers market, try to buy meats locally, as well as glean local crops/trees when I see things not being harvested. Occasionally we mill our own grain in to flour.

I'm no back to earth hippie flower child. I'm far from being a farmer or rancher. I just like fresh stuff, wild stuff, and conserving food and materials, and energy. It's fresh and it's practical.

Amorette:

Sorry, when I read what you stated:
I watch a lot of cooking shows and they always say that American lamb is tastier than New Zealand lamb but you can't get American lamb!

Unless you are a coyote

it sure appears that you watch a lot of cooking shows and that 'you' can't get American Lamb. It seemed that the 'you' was referring to local folks, rather than the collective 'you' that the cooking show hosts and/or guests might be referring to.

A major reason why you are not seeing American lamb on your store shelf is that retailers only want lamb chops, lamb shanks, and a few legs of lamb. Now, place yourself in the position of a U.S. producer...what are you going to do with the remainder of the cuts?

If the retailer/wholesaler calls for 2,000 pounds or 200,000 pounds - you have to have the product ready to go. No single U.S. producer can provide this amount on a few days notice. In New Zealand and Australia, there are single sheep stations (their term for sheep ranches) that can provide this much meat by themselves. In New Zealand and Australia, the people's diet includes lamb quite regularly; therefore, resolving the issue of what to do with the remaining cuts.

There is some hope, however; as there are some large sheep feed lots in Colorado and in North Dakota. The lambs head to the mid-west for kill and butchering; then on to the major U.S. markets that have a sizeable predominately Middle Eastern population. Middle Eastern diets also include a larger amount of lamb - all cuts - than most American diets.

We are fortunate here in Eastern Montana to have a relatively large number of lamb producers. Most are more than happy to contract for custom butcher lambs with local consumers.

I have been getting Kofta (turkish lamb and beef meatball type things) wraps at the farmer's market that are awesome. Most gyros that you find around here are made of lamb as well. The collective American palate is getting a lot more sophisticated so I wouldn't be surprised to see us eating more lamb and maybe even goat in the future.

Personally, I'm all for it I love all sorts of food and I'm always up to try something new.

Keftas are awesome.

Here's one of the best recipes for Kofta:

NICK'S LAMB KOFTA CURRY
Recipe courtesy 'The Food Of India' by Priya Wickramasinghe and Carol Selva Rajah
Serves : 4 | Prep Time : 30 mins + 2 hours to chill the koftas | Cooking Time : 1 hour

Ingredients for Kofta
500g minced lamb
2cm piece of ginger, grated
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 green chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
1 onion
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt

Ingredients for the Curry
200g tin chopped tomatoes
150ml thick natural yoghurt
1 onion, finely chopped
2 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp cumin seed
10cm piece of cinnamon
6 cardamom pods
6 cloves
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp oil
freshly chopped coriander leaves

To Make the kofta,
grate the onion, put it in a sieve and use a spoon to press out as much liquid as possible. Put it in a bowl and combine with the lamb, ginger, garlic, green chilli, salt and egg. Mix well, and divide into 20 equal portions. Shape each into a ball. Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for 2 hours.

To Make the curry,
place a small frying pan over low heat and dry-roast the coriander seeds until aromatic. Remove, then dry-roast the cumin seeds. Grind the roasted mixture to a powder using a mortar and pestle. Heat oil in a karahi or heavy bottomed frying pan. Add the cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, cloves and onion. Fry until, the onion turns golden. Add all the ground spices and salt. Sauté for 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato and remove from heat. Slowly stir in the yoghurt and mix well. Return the pan to heat, slide in the koftas and bring to a boil. Simmer uncovered for 50 minutes over very low heat. Gently shake the pan from time to time to prevent the koftas from sticking. If the curry starts drying out add a little bit of water and continue cooking. Serve hot garnished with coriander leaves.

RA,

Butcher Block is not a federally inspected facility. Most of the facilities mentioned in this thread are only custom facilities, with the exception of C&K in Forsyth.

The only USDA inspected facility in Miles City is the old Miles City Pack which I believe is now Quality Meats of Montana. C&K meat is state inspected only and the rest are custom plants.

I ate some goat masala at the local Indian buffet the other day. I can't say I am dying to get back for some more but it was ok. Little bit stringy/greasy but not bad at all.

There are some goats near the railroad tracks on the way to Spotted Eagle. Last summer during our annual trip to MC we noticed that they were just wandering around on the tracks unpenned. A few days later we saw that one of them had been hit by a train or something because it was dead lying by the tracks. All the other goats were still wandering around, oblivious. My husband called the police and the dispatcher said, "Yeah, we know. Would you like to adopt some goats?" They hadn't been able to find the owners. For some reason we found this really funny. Only in a small town.

gvc's wife

If I could keep one in the city limits, I'd have a goat munching my lawn in a heartbeat!