Tenth International Conference on Food Studies

Abstract

In the past years, universities, extension services, and government programs have encouraged goat farming in the rural South as an ideal economic development for marginalized farmers with small acreages and mixed landscapes. Goats are promoted as environmentally, nutritionally, and economically beneficial. Yet, despite the apparent sustainability of goats, and the resources available, many small farmers have not found economic success in goat farming. This research explores the obstacles that prevent the predicted success of goat farming for small-holding African American farmers. This research is based on ethnographic research conducted between 2011-2013. During this time, I worked with a group of emerging African American goat farmers in Alabama as they sought to build their goat operations. I shadowed these farmers as they attended workshops, applied for government grants, and worked to forge a goat cooperative. I also interviewed them individually and as a group. Drawing on this data, I demonstrate the main types of barriers that remain between the vision of goat farming and its manifestation among small holding farmers. Most significantly, farmers struggled to convert their goats into processed meat. They also faced dilemmas between idealized visions of silvopasture, and their own plans and goals for land use. This paper aims to show how farmers navigate and negotiate with resources and obstacles, and how they balance between following a sustainable practice versus an economically viable practice. This paper also makes recommendations for the types of policies and extension support that could address remaining barriers faced by emerging goat farmers.