Goats not so silly, billy

There’s skepticism from many over opportunistic, and largely unregulated rangeland harvesters – especially since reports the wild herd dropped 40 per cent from an unprecedented high of 5.4 million to 3.7 million this year.

There’s also a lingering view in some corners that farmers in NSW didn’t quite get goats right during the 1990s (despite several examples proving otherwise) with old criticism hovering over the adaptability of farm-bred Boer goats sent west to try and improve rangeland carcases. 

But while huge over-the-hook prices from the first half of 2017 have tapered off, and unanswered question remains over the long-term viability of the rangeland herd – there is a firm section of industry and government who believe goats have a bright future in the state. 

It is generally accepted that the wild goats of western and central NSW – hardy creatures that maintain high fertility rates in dry times – underpin the country’s goat meat exports. 

But more and more producers are also choosing the management or semi-management option of fencing their goats in.

The 2017 NSW goatmeat production survey, conducted by DPI, showed a reasonable proportion producers who responded to the survey operated either a managed (12pc) or semi-managed enterprise (16pc). 

MLA analyst, Julie Petty, said farmers were starting to integrate the natural characteristics of the goat into their farms.

“If you can fence a Dorper in, you can fence a goat in,” she said. “You might be fencing an area for macropod management, or an area where you’ve got a woody weed infestation - goats are great for that.

“Goats don't just flog out one part of the paddock. People have been using them in more intensive areas to control blackberry infestations instead of using chemicals.”

Ms Petty said purely on numbers, fencing goats made sense. 

“If you were going to a bank looking for a loan, it’s not likely they’ll see your rangeland take as something they can put money on, because it is so unreliable. If you have them as an integral part of the business in a managed fashion, it makes more sense that they’d back you.

“You can increase your carrying capacity in a sustainable way, make more money per hectare, and goats can be used on land that may not have been suitable for anything else.

“I’m in no way saying it is suitable for everyone. But there are a lot of people in the Western Division who, without goats, would have gone broke several times over the last 20 years.”

Goat Industry Council chair, Rick Gates, says the continued spread of fenced goats will serve the sector well, and better protect against market and supply fluctuations.  

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”It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster in 2017 – my view is that with prices at 750 cents (carcase weight), and the industry still being 80-90pc harvested, there was a lot more more harvesting taking place,” he said. 

“People are using better methods of harvesting and technology - like helicopters - because at that price you can afford to. But also, the higher prices encourage more people to control their goats because it becomes quite financially viable to do that. And that’s something we encourage as an industry”.

Mr Gates said he’s unsure what impact the Bourke Small Livestock Abattoir will have when it comes online in mid-2018. 

“It’s obviously put more processor competition into the industry, which, again, we encourage,” he said. 

“But in saying that, we lost three processors last year. That didn’t seem to make much of a difference in the market. Deniliquin, Cootamundra and Cobram… whether putting another one in Bourke changes that we’ll have to see.” 

Until recently there has been little information on exact herd numbers, movements, and population levers – which many believe has stunted the potential of the industry.  

That’s already changing.

About a year ago DPI teamed up with MLA to improve the availability of data supporting goat industry development.

The result is the goat industry forecasting committee, which aims to better target markets by improving the understanding of the projected goat population and supply changes.

The committee, for the first time in August this year, used goat industry intelligence, the latest data, including a NSW goat meat production survey and forecast modelling to develop the 12-month outlook.

DPI development officer, Trudie Atkinson, said the project was also collating national livestock identification data to calculate the number of goats supplied from each state and NLIS region.

“Now, because we’re monitoring supply and population changes, the industry is in a much better position than two or three years ago to make strategic decisions”. 

Ms Atkinson also said producers moving to a managed or semi-managed enterprise had seen a big difference for grazing management and supply. 

“When producers select goats to retain behind wire, they can also modify the age and sex ratios of herds compared to the wild population. With research and development, we’ll also see improvements in growth rates and reproduction rates in these enterprises.

“Personally, I believe a healthy industry will see a steady increase in people deciding to not just harvest goats, but to allocate land area for a goat enterprise. As the industry continues to develop we’ll also see improvements in genetics. 

“We’ll see interest from industry in production and financial benchmarking. There will be interest in where the industry leaders are at, (and) how do we get others to that level. 

“People need to be able to see the production and financial benefits of establishing a goat enterprise.”