Released March 11, 2011
AUBURN UNIVERSITY, Ala. – Global meat goat production has increased progressively over the last 20 years. However, the United States has not been able to keep up with market demands. Minorities and limited-resource farmers can enhance domestic goat meat production and simultaneously increase diversity and improve on-farm revenue.
To motivate meat goat production in the South, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System at Alabama A&M University is partnering with Tennessee State University's School of Agriculture and Consumer Science to offer minority and limited-resource farmers the opportunity to tour North Carolina farms on May 20-23. While the tours are designed to help producers learn more about cost-effective meat and dairy goat production, participants will also learn about sheep, beef, swine, and poultry and egg production systems.
The farm tours will include visits to the following:
- The Holly Grove Farms, Inc. in Goldsboro, N.C., established in 2005, and now located on 65 acres of farmland devoted to raising cattle, hogs, and dairy goats.
- The Massey Creek Farms in Madison, N.C., that raises pigs, lambs, and chickens on fresh grass without hormones or additives.
- The North Carolina A&T University Farm in Greensboro, N.C., a 492-acre working farm that features active livestock and horticultural production.
The cost of the tours is $20 for individuals and $30 for couples. Children are not permitted to participate. A scholarship will be awarded to minority farmers to cover meals, travel and hotel accommodations on a first-come, first-serve basis.
This educational experience is being funded through the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) 2501 Program for Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers.
For more information visit http://www.aces.edu/urban or contact Maria L. Leite-Browning at mll0002@aces.edu or (256) 372-4954.
- 30 -
Alabama Cooperative Extension, https://sites.aces.edu/group/comm/newsline/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?List=b14b2afd-f049-42c3-a431-c8eff85920ee&ID=279&Web=47e97ca5-4423-4d76-9434-5d3c250b2274
