mikey
FARM MANAGER
Hero Member
Posts: 4361
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« on: December 31, 2007, 12:07:39 AM » |
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goats are among the smallest domesticated ruminants and have served mankind longer than cattle and sheep.More than 460 million goats in the world produce over 4.5 million tons of milk,1.2 million tons of meat annually,besides mohair,cashmere,leather,and dung for fuel and fertilizer.Goat milk is richer than cows milk in some important nutrients like vitamin A,niacin,choline,inositol but poor in folic acid.Goats are browers,preferring the new growth of shrubs and seed heads of grasses to the lower quality older growth in a pasture.They are able to select the most nutritious parts of plants and higher tree branches not reached by sheep,and can use a wide range of forage.For this reason,goats are able to survive in areas where other livestock will fail.Most efforts to improve dairy goat management have been designed to provide more and better milk.These efforts include:
-breeding and selecting to produce more and better milk.
-better feeding and pasturing practices.
-better housing.
-improved sanitation of milk and milk products.
-control of internal parasitic diseases.
-improved marketing of dairy goat products.
-development of information and research services.
All goats,even those selected for milk production,eventually are used for meat unless they die or are destroyed for other reasons.The world production of edible meat from cattle,buffaloes,sheep,goats,hogs and horses is approx.17.9 million tons,5.7% of which comes from goats.Goats are the principal source of protein in many nations,North Africa,West Asian,Caribbean and Southeast Asia,more so in developing tropical countries than in temperate regions.
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