Meat and Livestock Australia

Rangeland goat production inWestern NSW: Where are they now? 23 Marketing As with the recent changes in management practices, Greg has also simplified his marketing of goats. This is largely a result of price increases and difficulties associated with particular markets. As Australian goats began receiving such good prices the need for producers to pursue more lucrative markets has reduced. This made it an easy decision for Greg to stop supplying goats for domestic consumption as buyers refused to raise prices in line with the broader market. Greg also ceased live exporting goats to Malaysia as the high prices pushed these buyers to other more affordable markets. Greg notes that exporters were particularly poor communicators which made doing business quite difficult. All goats from Bushley are currently sold direct to abattoirs at eight to 10 months of age and dressing at 16 kg, with cull animals sold in addition to this. All product from Bushley is exported following processing. Greg has strong working relationships with processors and believes this is very important. As a result of the mutual trust and loyalty built with these relationships, Greg would need to see sustained proof of positive dealings before he would consider supplying a new processor. He would prefer to take a lower price in the knowledge that he would be paid quickly and the dealing was as smooth as possible. Where Greg previously sold some breeding animals to other producers, his enthusiasm for developing a composite line of goats to supply other producers has diminished. This is a result of difficulties sourcing Boer genetics and the lack of commitment from interested buyers. Land management Greg uses visual assessment of the general land condition in order to make stocking and land management decisions, responding to the season as it changes. The move from Merinos to goats and Dorpers has meant that woody species such as hopbush (Dodonaea attenuata) , which were once considered invasive, are now well controlled and an additional aspect of the pasture base that is utilised by stock. Turpentine is however still a problem and is actively managed by herbicide application. Greg believes the overall condition of the land has improved since moving in to goats. Looking forward Greg intends to maintain the enterprise mix he currently has and would ideally like to again put greater focus on genetic improvement. This would produce a composite goat with higher weight gains and increased carcass quality. However this relies on ability to source suitable Boer goats. Infrastructure will continue to be developed with a focus on increasing animal comfort during handling. Industry direction Greg feels the skills shortage of the broader agricultural industry is slowly beginning to be addressed, but still has some way to go. He also expressed concerns over tagging requirements, citing time and operator safety considerations. An additional point Greg raised was the difficulty in achieving consistency of tagging or tagging exemptions across producers who are running semi-managed goat enterprises. He feels it is easy for a producer to argue their animals are not managed so are exempt from tagging, while other producers with slightly different management practices are required to tag. The fact that South Australia is still maintaining a pest status on goats is something Greg feels is particularly restrictive to the further development to the industry. This is due to both perception and the way regulation impedes progress. In order to further professionalise the industry, Greg believes processors need to begin penalising producers for sending goats outside of the specifications, as producers doing the right thing have no incentive to continue doing so. This was particularly prevalent with domestic markets receiving goats outside of carcass weight specifications. Greg has been glad to see the increased involvement of MLA in the goat industry, which is increasing the profile of goats and providing more resources for those looking to enter the industry.

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