Premium or Standard Breed Quality For Goats:

[mikey]

Goats are generally graded as Premium or Standard (commercial),this is a general review to help Philippine Goat Raisers understand the difference,this is general information only.Goats are graded on a point system.One must know their Breed Standard and B.C.S. Chart (body condition score) for a better understanding.From what I see in the Philippines,breeding stock is sold as Breeders (premium) or Meat (commercial).If I am wrong please correct me.
Quality and Type:
deep bodied,bold,rugged and musculine in appearance,showing great power and symmetry of form,clean,strong bone,smooth well balanced finish,graceful,powerful walk,impressive style and carriage.
Size and Development:
according to age,preference being given to animals showing superior growth and muscle development.
Condition:
well muscled with a smooth even covering of firm flesh,hair smooth and flossy.
Confirmation:
confirmation is the build,outline,or contour of an animal.It is influenced largely by the shape and size of the muscles.Superior meat goat confirmation contributes to a higher cut out value
 in the higher priced cuts,Consequently,top ,eat goat confirmation may return more dollars.
Muscling:
meat with a maximum amount of lean and minimum amount of fat.Muscling in the areas of the shoulder,hindquarters.loin,brisket,neck,when scoring a goat for muscling,be careful of false impressions of muscling.A thin goat seldom has the appearance of muscling,this goat seldom has the appearance of muscling.this goat would score lower.If finish is overdone,the extra condition may cause the goat to lose the muscular appearance.
Finish or Condition:
refers to amount of fat the goat is carrying and is the major factor affecting carcass yield.Quality,quantify and distribution must be considered.Goats deposit fat internally before they do externally.The ideal condition is a thin,but uniform,covering of fat over the loin.rib,shoulder areas.Recommends external fat thickness over the loin at the 13th rib between 0.08-0.12 inches or an average of 0.1 inches.However,uniform carcass standards have not been accepted at this point.
The points range to 100.Do not believe a point system is used in the Philippines yet,some day.

[mikey]

According to what I have red  about goats that were imported into the Philippines from Australia,some were sold and imported as STANDARD or COMMERCIAL,if this is true then breeding standard or commercial goats together would not produce a PREMIUM animal.True one can produce a better animal if one of the parents was a premium and the other a standard,doubt very much if the offspring in the first generation would qualify for Premium.True also sometimes a standard animal if cared for properly can be upgraded if the animal was only lacking in body condition.Knowing what qualifies for a Premium animal or Standard animal is important.Producers like myself who are in the meat side of the business only need standard/commercial grades for upgrading our stocks for the market place.The problem with a infant business like goats in the Philippines,always open to abuse when there are no real guidelines to follow,buyer beware,educate yourself.
It is up to ones own management practices,having a fullblood that is graded as Standard/commercial because of its coulour coat,using that goat to upgrade F1s only makes sense,the consumer does not see the colour coat of the slaughtered animal (usually).I think at this point one should be more concerned about the Slaughter Standard Grades,try your best to produce prime and choice stock.
This is only my personal opinion:
mikey: Independant Producer,Region 7

[nemo]

As of now the standard that what i see that is being followed is by means of pedigree, Full breed, F1, F2 etc.

carcass wise there is still none.

Unlike in swine i think biyaheros/ middleman for goat is not yet that picky in terms of quality.

So, until middleman would start to give premium for quality standard will not yet be establish.