CASHMERE/SPANISH MEAT GOATS
- Why limit your options? Cashmere goats can be used for brush and weed control, companion grazing schemes, meat production and fibre production. Goat meat (or chevon) is standard fare for most ethnic groups and is becoming increasingly popular with health conscious North Americans. Cashmere is the most luxurious fibre known to man. The commercial market for cashmere has been established for centuries and there are several marketing options available for your raw fibre. Cashmere is also suited to "value added" operations.
- Cashmere goats are typically shorter and stockier than the dairy breeds with more muscling over the hindquarters and loin area. They are sleek in the summer months but grow a dense undercoat during the winter. Producers rarely dehorn cashmere goats and both males and females grow a distinguishing set of large outward-spreading horns. Although some herdsmen select for white or black herds, the goats come in all varieties and combinations of colour.
- Cashmere does typically have a high tight udder with two functional teats. They provide ample milk for twins yet brush damage and conditions like mastitis and milk fever are rare. Their superior kidding and mothering abilities probably result from natural selection since they have been domesticated only in the last two decades and were previously living in a wild state both in Australia and the southern U.S. They have a reputation for being hardy and independent - less inclined to seek out the company of humans than some of the more domestic breeds.
- Cashmere is the secondary hair coat or underdown which grows during the winter solstice. The hair loosens and begins to shed in late winter/early spring. At that time it can be harvested by either combing or shearing. Value is dependent on the diameter, style, length, volume and colour of the hair. Top quality raw white cashmere generally sells for $38 to $40 U.S. per pound.