By RICK A. RICHARDS
Indiana Correspondent

COALVILLE, Utah — Tom Boyer has a huge job in front of him. The goat farmer who lives in the shadow of the Wasatch Mountains in northeast Utah has been put in charge of the newly formed American Goat Federation (AGF), the first national group to represent all goat breeds.

The organization was officially incorporated on Oct. 26.

“There have been attempts over the last several decades to get this done,” said Boyer. “For one reason or another, it never worked. This time, we had the right people in place.”

Boyer said there has never before been a group organized to represent the entire goat industry from legislative issues to research to education.
The task in front of Boyer is massive. He (along with board members) is going to have to do everything from organizing an office and hiring a staff, to most importantly, beating the bushes to bring members on board.

Already, he has sent information to various breeders groups and state organizations telling them about the American Goat Federation and what’s in it for them.

“The AGF will strive to promote and facilitate the development of all segments of the goat industry, including dairy, meat and fiber by encouraging sound public policy, enhancing production and marketing of goat products and promoting research beneficial to member organizations and all producers,” said Boyer.

According to the American Goat Federation’s website (www.americangoatfederation.org), the organization was created to fill “the serious need of a national trade association for goat producers.” The AGF will work with its member organizations to develop policy on the industry’s top issues, and once approved by members, will “speak to federal policymakers with one unified voice for the goat industry.”

A key component of the AGF’s mission is education. Boyer said the organization wants to work with researchers to show “the social and economic issues that affect the care and management of live animals and the safety of animal products being offered to the public.” To that end, Boyer said the AGF will work with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and agricultural universities to make them aware of goat husbandry practices and the products the industry offers to the public.

At the same time, Boyer said the AGF is working on a two-pronged approach in marketing goat products. One is creation of a database that summarizes the production capabilities of the industry, and the other is to measure the current image of goat production among consumer groups.

Boyer explained that while goat meat is the most consumed meat in the world, it doesn’t rank high in the United States. That is something AGF would like to change.

“It is the fastest growing meat sector in the world. Everybody is eating goat meat except us.”

One of the reasons it has taken so long to create a single organization representing goat producers, said Boyer, is that in the past, each breed took care of its own issues. That’s because some breeds were raised for milk, some for wool and others for meat.

Another issue was bridging the differences in how goat breeders operated in different parts of the county. Boyer said goat producers in the Midwest, for instance, operated small, confined operations with a few hundred head while producers in the west had flocks of up to 3,000 head that grazed across thousands of acres.

“And there are so many little flocks around the country, some of them just 12 to 15 head,” said Boyer. “It makes it difficult to get in touch with all of them, especially the smaller flocks, because they’re in it for different reasons.”
Boyer described his 500 head flock as “medium sized.” While he’s involved with AGF issues, his farm near Park City, Utah, will be operated by his wife. “She’s been around goats all her life and she’s probably more capable of running the farm than me,” said Boyer. “I’m not worried about my farm.”

Boyer said that without the support of his family he would not be able to take on a project like the AGF. “The family is critical in this. They’re critical for any farm,” said Boyer.

To build the organization, Boyer’s first task is to build membership. It’s through membership, he said, that money will come into the organization, allowing him and the board to create a budget for 2011.

“First we have to let America know we’re here. Then we have to get enough financial support for what we want to do,” said Boyer. He declined to say what the first-year financial target is, adding, “it will be significant.”

Initially, Boyer said AGF has targeted about 200 goat organizations around the country for membership. “We’re gearing up for organizations to come in,” said Boyer, adding that AGF also targets the hundreds of individual breeders that aren’t affiliated with any organization.

Through the end of the year, Boyer said the AGF is offering “Founding Member” rates for anyone or any group that joins. The fee ranges from $30 for individuals to $1,000 for organizations with 1,000 or more members. For information, visit the website or call 800-951-1373.