The Boer Goat was originally developed in South Africa, and first appeared around the early 1900s. The South African farmers selectively chose to breed a mixture of indigenous goats, Angora, and Spanish stock to create a hardy animal that could survive the harsh conditions of the South African planes, but also produce enough meat to feed their families.

For the next few decades, the farmers used selective breeding techniques to focus on meat quality, meat quantity, and development of the striking characteristic of the white body with a brown head. In 1959, The South African Boer Goat Breeders Association (SABGBA) was established formalizing the breed. Although the breed had been made official over three decades before, the first Fullblood Boer Goat was imported into the United States in 1993. That same year The American Boer Goat Association (ABGA) was established.

Since then, according to the USDA the total meat goat population has reached over 2.51 million in the United States. Of those, approximately just over 1 million Boer Goat and Boer Goat crosses are slaughtered annually in the United States for meat consumption purposes.

It may be easy for breeders and showmen to visualize our herds as show stock, but it is important to acknowledge the breed for their original purpose. Many countries and families to this day still strongly rely on goat meat production to successfully sustain themselves.

- Jada Young, JABGA Area 5 Director

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