Arctic Goat Husbandry- Market potential for goat products
• Is the potential for goat husbandry in circumpolar arias utilized?
• Can an arctic profile be a competitive advantage for goat products?
• Is there a niche market for arctic goat cheese?
CAC 2007
Odd Arild Finnes
Bioforsk Nord Holt
Bioforsk Norwegian Institue for Agricultural and EnviromentalResearch
Bioforsk NordArctic Agriculture and Land Use Division
Sections:· Arctic Agriculture and Quality
· Environment and Land Resources
· Northern Norwegian Centre of Expertise
Geographical Units:· Holt
· Bodø (Vågønes)
· Tjøtta
www.bioforsk.no
Goat - worldwide position
• The worlds most common domestic animal?
• Goat products
� Meat
� Milk
� Fibre (mohair, cashmere)
� Skin
• Many different breeds
• Normally on small scale farms, ”The poor mans cow”
• Prefer bush lands more than grass pastures
Norwegian goat husbandry - status
• 45 000 goats spread on 560 farms
• More than 90% dairy goats
• 40% of the production in the northern part of Norway
• Massive structural changes. In ten years the number of farms reduced with almost 50 %. Total milk production is stable
• Quota system
• Goat husbandry makes up a small part of the Norwegian husbandry and has a relatively weak organisational position
• Changing market for goat products
Goat milk production
Challenges in Norway:
• Housing
– Animal welfare
– New technology
• Health
– Program to eradicate three contagious diseases in the Norwegian goat population (CLA, paratubercolosis, CAE)
• Grazing and bush control (outlying fields)
– Positive for keeping the landscape open
– Conflict with forest cultivation
Goat milk products
Products in Norway
• Brown cheese (Whey Goat Cheese)
–Dominating position today, decreasing
• White cheese
–White cheese production is given priority from the Norwegian dairy industry
–New products and more diversity of cheeses are required
–Quality regime
• Direct consumption
–More easily digestible fat and protein
–Less allergenic
Kid meat
• Kids fed for 6 weeks – 7 kg carcass
• Exclusive food
• Up till now not paid well enough to give the farmer profit
• New project to open a high end market in Tromsø
Dairy industry
• TINE BA is the sales and marketing organisation for Norway's dairy cooperative http://tine.no
- Norway's largest food industry. 52 plants all over the country,6 of them prepare goat milk
- Strategy for improving quality and increase consumption of goatproducts
• Increasing number of farmers start their own small scale cheese production
Trends in the market
• Generally more positive attitude towards goats and goat products
• Exclusive products?
• Milder taste
– Norwegian goat milk generally have a tart flavour
• International products
– Market influenced by tourism and immigration
• More diversity
– ”Don`t go to the zoo, - go to the jungle”
– Product development and marketing initiative hand in hand
Quality demands
The milk from Norwegian goats is of to low quality for the production of several cheese products. Main problems:
– Flavour
– Free fatty acids
– Casein-composition (Alpha s1-casein)
Possible actions for quality improvements:
• Breeding– The breeding program must include action to improve milk quality for cheese
production
– Introducing/crossing with foreign breeds
• Feeding– Must be improved
• Milk keeping and milk treatment – Must be improved
TINE Snøfrisk, for eksportframstøt
Research
• Traditionally low activity compared to other livestock
• Increasing scientific activity especially on health
• Farmers in Northern Norway exert pressure for more research and knowledge about goats
• New scientific project apply: Quality Goat Milk for Cheese Production
– Collaboration between Tine, Norwegian Sheep and Goat Society (NSG), University of Life Sciences (UMB) and Norwegian Crop and Environmental Research Institute (Bioforsk)
– Main objective is to establish breeding and feeding strategies that ensure optimal and stable goat milk quality for consumer preferred cheese products
– Apply decision in December 07
Artic goat products
Future aspect:
• Give several goat products an arctic profile and thereby make them more preferred in the marked
Circumpolar goat?
• Is the potential for goat husbandry in the circumpolar region utilized?
• Is there a basis/interest for circumpolar collaboration on goat husbandry (knowledge, development, research)