HMH Farms launches goat meat burgers

HMH Farms Limited officially launched its goat meat burgers under the brand Jamgoat Burgers last Saturday with the intention of revolutionising the industry.

Hjort Henry, managing director of HMH Farms, hopes that by introducing this Jamaica-made product, it will help strengthen the country’s agricultural sector, contribute to building Brand Jamaica, and assist in ensuring the nation’s overall food security.

Henry, who has been involved in the small-ruminant industry for five years, referred to the official debut of Jamgoat Burger – held at the company’s Bushy Park, St Catherine facility – as a “fulfilling” moment.

He shared with The Gleaner that the company will first get started on finalising its negotiations with hotels such as the ROK Hotel Kingston and Marriott Hotel, alongside Jangas Restaurant, which have all committed to offering Jamgoat Burgers on their menus.

“The strategy behind that is ... it’s a good way to get in touch with the international market or tourism market through the hotel,” he said.

The next step, he continued, is to ensure the product’s presence at specific supermarkets where customers will be able to pick up pre-packaged goat burgers for consumption at home.

After observing how well the Jamgoat Burgers do in the market, Henry plans to begin the rollout of goat sausages and then goat nuggets.

Currently, he said the sausages were in the testing phase and that in short order, customers could expect the arrival of these items.

Eventually, the company, he added, will set up food carts in high-traffic locations to offer Jamgoat Burgers and goat sausages for consumer purchase.

Floyd Green, minister of agriculture, fisheries, and mining, who attended the launch ceremony, gave HMH Farms his seal of approval and praised their innovative spirit.

“The truth is, when this takes off, the world is going to come knocking, and we always know that what we do here in Jamaica is revered all over the world ... our products are world renowned, and I know that the Jamgoat burger will fit into that trajectory,” he said.

“This is exactly the new face of food, this is food security, this is agri-business development, this is targeting export expansion,” Green continued.

He also pointed out that the quantity of goats brought into Jamaica increased by 52 per cent in 2022 compared to the previous year.

“The beauty with that is that if we imported about a thousand goats, only 200 or so have been imported by the ministry, so the others are being imported by private individuals, entrepreneurs who are in the goat industry, so we are seeing a significant increase in not just the stock, but the quality of the stock,” Green said.

Tremendous opportunities

Even while the goat sector offers good financial opportunities for those who supply the animal or chevon, Green expressed his desire for individuals to not enter the market solely to sell goat meat.

“There’s so much money to be made in the value-added – goat milk, the goat cheese ... If you go in the store and you look at our dairy milk and you look at the size and look at the price, it’s probably about $400/$450, [but] if you look at the same size for goat milk, you’re paying about $1,400. Tremendous opportunities,” he said.

Green encouraged individuals to consider taking part in this $3 billion industry, adding that Jamaica produces roughly 25 per cent of its consumption needs.

He also asserted that goat farmers would continue to get assistance from the ministry to raise their production.

“And we’re doing some more things. In fact, at our Bodles (Agricultural) Research Centre, we’ve ... done a new goat house so that we’re looking at husbandry practices to ensure that best practices are being done in the ministry and then we can pass that on to our farmers,” he said.

He further noted that the ministry has brought in a brand-new feed pelletiser valued at over $11 million to help farmers deal with their nutritional regime for poultry and livestock animals.

asha.wilks@gleanerjm.com