Why should someone raise goats? Well, the demand for goat meat or ‘chevon’ is so high in the United States that the current goat ranchers are having a hard time keeping up. Obviously, it takes time to raise a goat to the harvest stage. The demand for goat meat continues to grow even while much of the meat currently consumed in the United States is imported from Australia and New Zealand.
In addition to raising goats to provide meat, goats are raised to provide milk which is made into cheese as well as used as just milk. Goat milk and cheese is a good alternative for those people that are lactose intolerant while goat meat is used to provide a fat free or low fat and cholesterol free red meat alternative.
Another option to consider when raising goats is to use the hair as well. Many types of goats can be harvested for their coats, but the Angora goat is the most popular for this use. There are many uses for goats as animals and they do not need to be raised simply to slaughter for their meat. Goats can be shaved to harvest their coats for use as angora and dairy goats are kept healthy and 
fit to produce milk which can be used to make cheeses.
Goat raising is also a very popular part of many 4H groups. The goats are purchased as babies, or kids, and raised by 4H members for show at fairs. Some of these goats are then sold at the fairs to dairy goat farmers and some to be butchered and the meat sold. With the growing demand for goat meat however, it seems that currently the best way to make money raising goats is to raise meat goats.
