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They are not going to eat your tin cans, and they don't stink.

These are two common misconceptions about goats, and according to goat farmers Robert and Marsha Bryant of Louisville, their meat — if you can convince an East Tennessean to taste it — is surprisingly delicious.

"It tastes a lot like beef," said Marsha Bryant, with Robert adding, "Just about anybody not native to East Tennessee will buy goat meat. Muslims are our biggest customers. We have sold to a lot of different nationalities — Mexicans, Italians, a lot of South Africans. Like I say, almost anybody except East Tennesseans."

MoonRidge Farm consists of about 20 acres carved from the property originally purchased by Robert Bryant's parents 62 years ago. When his father died, Robert bought the back part of the farm from his mother. He and wife Marsha, both of whom have degrees in engineering, moved from Farragut to MoonRidge Farm in 1993.

"The first thing we had was some cattle, and that didn't seem to work," Robert said. "Then we tried horses, and that really didn't work. Then Marsha came up with the idea of goats, but the only kind of goats I'd heard of, you milked, and I didn't want to milk goats."

Later, the Bryants talked with someone about meat goats. After more research, the two acquired their first meat goats in April 1996.

MoonRidge Farm is a relatively small operation, with about 5 percent of the Bryants' income being derived from the goat farm. Robert said more serious goat farmers would probably consider them to be goat hobbyists; both he and Marsha hold off-farm jobs to support their "habit."

"If you really wanted to make a living raising goats, you'd need to have maybe 1,000 or 2,000 good head," he said. Most of the large farms are in Texas, which is the top producer of goat meat in the United States. Tennessee ranks second — a far distant second, he said.

Robert said about 500 meat goat farms are located in Tennessee, with maybe half a dozen in Blount County. Several large goat farms of 300 to 400 acres are located in Middle Tennessee. This does not include the number of farms raising dairy goats, he said.

High demand

Goats may be maintained on a space of about five per acre. That compares with one steer per acre, or one horse per 20 acres, Robert said. His goats are pastured on MoonRidge Farm's 20 acres with an additional 10 acres rented from neighbors.

Goats may not be fond of eating tin cans, but they do eat brush, leaves and acorns. They are prone to parasites, especially if overcrowded. The Bryants worm their animals about every four months.

The Bryants breed their goats once a year, usually October or November. Kidding, or the birth of the baby goats, then takes place in March or April.

About 25 female goats, or does, and one male goat, or buck, make up the MoonRidge Farm herd. After kidding, the census may grow to 70. The goats are sold on the hoof and are used for breeding stock or for slaughter. The Bryants choose not to slaughter goats on the premises.

"We have two different breeds," Robert explained. "One is Kiko and the other one is Boer. The Boer came from South Africa originally and the Kiko came from New Zealand. Most of what we have are Kikos, they are more hardy."

Robert, who was president of the American Kiko Goat Association last year, said the demand for goat meat and also for Kiko breeding stock is huge.

"In fact, the female Kikos average $650 apiece and the males average maybe $1,000," Robert said. "So right now the breeding part of it is lucrative, but as time goes on and the market gets a little more saturated, the price will come down."

MoonRidge Farm goats have been sold to buyers in Kentucky, Indiana, Georgia, Alabama and Canada. The Bryants are happy to help others get started in the goat farming business. Whatever information they have gleaned, they are more than willing to share.

Robert said the supply of goat meat is limited, unlike that of beef.

"Until we somehow get up to a level where there is a continuous supply of goat meat, you won't be seeing goat meat in restaurants or for sale in supermarkets," he said. "I'd say right now that demand is about 10 times the supply."

Goat meat is low in fat and cholesterol.

"It's so healthy that I've read it's sold in some health food stores in California," Robert said.

Never a dull moment

Raising goats, even on a relatively small scale, can be unpredictable.

For example, tragedy struck MoonRidge Farm in 2004, when the barn in which the goats were sheltered caught fire one night. Three mother goats perished and seven orphaned kids had to be raised in the couple's garage.

The morning after the fire, Marsha found an unexpected blessing: a tiny kid, only eight hours old when the fire broke out, was standing in the middle of a tractor-trailer tire under a teepee-like structure of debris, unharmed. They named her, appropriately, Phoenix, and still have her to this day.

"It's so funny, Phoenix and her twin sister looked just alike when they were born," Marsha said with a laugh. "Now Phoenix has black on her. She looks like she's been singed all over."

And then there is the mountain lion, also known as a cougar or panther, that roams the countryside.

"I've been saying that for six years, but Wildlife (Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency) tells me there aren't any," Marsha said. "I've got an $1,100 vet bill from October where our two dogs protected the goats from it."

The Bryants are convinced of the mountain lion's presence: Not only have other neighbors seen the cat, the predator stepped out of the woods right in front of their son as he was going to feed the agitated goats.

"It wasn't a bobcat, it didn't have the short tail, so we have actually eyeballed that thing," Marsha said. "It does exist."

The night before the fire took place, one of the goats had been attacked and chewed badly. Marsha believes the mountain lion was responsible, and also believes the animal may have knocked over something that ultimately led to the fire in the barn while trying to get a dinner of fresh goat meat.

"You can hear it," Marsha added. "It sounds like a woman being murdered. That scream — it screams like you're killing somebody. Then it does it again and again, and you figure, well, she'd be dead by now if somebody really was being murdered."

For more information about MoonRidge Farm, visit the Web site at www.moonridge-farm.com.