Written by some of the world's leading goat meat scientists, and drawing from the most recent publications in the field, this book comprehensively covers the most important areas of goat meat production. Chapters discuss the role of genetics, breeding, reproduction, and nutrition in producing good quality, profitable goat meat. The mineral, amino acid and fatty acid composition of goat meat is also addressed, along with a discussion of its nutritive value, aimed at highlighting its health benefits over other red meats.

Goat science covers quite a wide range and varieties of topics, from genetics and breeding, via nutrition, production systems, reproduction, milk and meat production, animal health and parasitism, etc., up to the effects of goat products on human health. In this book, several parts of them are presented within 18 different chapters. Molecular genetics and genetic improvement of goats are the new approaches of goat development. Several factors affect the passage rate of digesta in goats, but for diet properties, goats are similar to other ruminants. Iodine deficiency in goats could be dangerous. Assisted reproduction techniques have similar importance in goats like in other ruminants. Milk and meat production traits of goats are almost equally important and have significant positive impacts on human health. Many factors affect the health of goats, heat stress being of increasing importance. Production systems could modify all of the abovementioned characteristics of goats.

Goat meat is growing in popularity in Australia and is also an important export industry. It offers many opportunities for large- and small-scale farmers who need to diversify or seek alternative enterprises. Farming Meat Goats provides producers with comprehensive and practical information on all aspects of the goat meat industry. It covers selecting and preparing a property, choosing breeding stock, breeding, health care and nutrition, drought feeding, condition scoring and marketing. This second edition of Farming Meat Goats has been updated throughout and contains new information about the National Livestock Identification System, current regulations for ovine Johne's disease and animal welfare during transportation, and information about marketing. It will allow farmers to produce animals to specification for targeted markets in Australia and overseas including: butchers; supermarkets; restaurants; on-farm live sales; sales to abattoirs that specialise in Halal kills; and breeding stock either as replacements or for improved herd genetics.

This comprehensive work explores the demand, supply and variable consumer attitude toward a wide variety of unconventional and exotic animal species that are consumed in different parts of the world. Individual chapters focus on the consumption of horse meat, camel, buffalo, sheep, rabbit, wild boar, deer, goose, pheasant and exotic meats such as alligator, snake, frog and turtle. For each type of animal species, the carcass characteristics, physico-chemical properties and nutritional value of the meat are extensively outlined. The consumer preference, behavior and perception of each type of meat are also covered, with focus on important factors from sensory properties to psychological and marketing aspects. In promoting a better understanding of the complexities involved in consumer decision making, this book aims to improve the competitiveness of the meat industry through effective informational strategies that can increase consumer acceptance of more convenient, healthy and environmentally friendly meat choices. More than Beef, Pork and Chicken – The Production, Processing, and Quality Traits of Other Sources of Meat for Human Diet also focuses on the important role meat plays in the human diet and the evolution of the species. Beneficial factors such as protein, B complex vitamins, zinc, selenium and phosphorus are detailed. Negative factors are discussed as well, with issues such as fat and fatty acid content being addressed for each type of meat presented. In exploring the full range of nutritional benefits, consumer acceptance and carcass characteristics in a large quantity of different types of animal meats from all over the world, this book offers incredible value to researchers looking for a single source on unconventional meat processing.

A wonderful resource for goat breeders, Raising Meat Goats for Profit includes Information about the Meat Breeds, How to get started with meat production, Easy to use feed ration tables, Real advice for new breeders, Kidding and Raising Kids, How to sell your goats, Up-to-date informations about health and diseases, Recipe book, 250 pages of user friendly information!

This book is focused on the challenges to implement sustainability in diverse contexts such as agribusiness, natural resource systems and new technologies. The experiences made by the researchers of the School of Agricultural, Forestry, Food and Environmental Science (SAFE) of the University of Basilicata offer a wide and multidisciplinary approach to the identification and testing of different solutions tailored to the economic, social and environmental characteristics of the region and the surrounding areas. Basilicata’s productive system is mainly based on activities related to the agricultural sector and exploitation of natural resources but it has seen, in recent years, an industrial development driven by the discovery of oil fields. SAFE research took up the challenge posed by market competition to create value through the sustainable use of renewable and non-renewable resources of the territory. Moreover, due to its unique geographical position in the middle of the Mediterranean basin, Basilicata is an excellent “open sky” laboratory for testing sustainable solutions adaptable to other Mediterranean areas. This collection of multidisciplinary case studies and research experiences from SAFE researchers and their scientific partners is a stimulating contribution to the debate on the development of sustainable techniques, methods and applications for the Mediterranean regions.