Marketing Help for Sheep & Goat Farmers

SheepGoatMarketing.info originated in the late 1990s.  It grew out of the Northeast Sheep & Goat Marketing Project at Cornell University which received a grant from USDA with the goal of improving producer access to equitable markets while building regional capacity to supply the growing consumer demand for high quality lamb and goat meat. The emphasis of the original grant was on producers and specialty markets in the Northeastern states.

However, the web site was redesigned as a national information resource when it was hosted by the University of Maryland for several years using NESARE funding obtained by Susan Schoenian. Through the effort of Tatiana Stanton, the Small Farms Program at Cornell University provided funding in 2012 to again redesign the site and return it to be hosted by the Department of Animal Science at Cornell University.

The site includes a Marketing Directory to assist farmers to network with sheep and goat buyers, processors, auction barns, and livestock haulers in the Northeast US.  It also includes a Producer Directory where sheep and goat farmers can promote their products (dairy, fiber, and meat) and animals (breeding stock and market animals). The Classified Ad section is currently limited to advertising market animals for sale or market orders that buyers need to fill. We hope to expand it in the future. The Calendar section provides dates and marketing information for holidays when lamb and/or goat is traditionally consumed.

The Education section has a wide range of articles to help farmers to evaluate their animals and educate themselves more about marketing and processing. It also includes information on livestock management and processing requirements for Halal and Kosher marketing and information about previous marketing projects.

We welcome your suggestions to improve the site. Check it out.