GOATS - from feral pest to financial gain – the west Australian story past and present.

The state of Western Australia is vast and isolated. It’s over three times the size of Texas but has a population of only 2.5 million as against Texas’s 27.5 million. It includes several diverse geographical regions and apart from sheep and cattle, it has the highest number of feral goats in any state of Australia.

Feral (not wild) goats have ranged over vast tracts of Western Australia for several hundred years. From as early as the 1600s when Dutch, French and British maritime traders and adventurers set foot on the unexplored southern continent, they purposely left goats to provide food for any unfortunate wretches who might be shipwrecked there at a later date.

Then, in the early 1800s, the early British settlers brought dairy goats to the west. They were later spread by miners and railway gangs who used them as a source of milk, butter, meat and leather. Some goats were intentionally released while others escaped. The result was that the goats thrived, bred and the numbers quickly multiplied until 1928 when they were declared vermin.

By 1982 there were estimated to be 1,000,000 feral goats roaming unchecked in the west. A similar situation applied in the eastern states. Having easily adapted to the inhospitable, hot, harsh and dry environments of the outback, the goats had become resilient and hardy animals.

As the pastoralists extended their boundaries to graze sheep and cattle, the feral pests were trapped, poisoned or shot either from the ground or from helicopters in very costly eradication programs. Other control methods included using Judas goats to locate herds in order to muster them. Those that escaped extermination were pushed deeper into the outback.

With the goat problem impossible to control yet too large to ignore, some pastoralists realized money could be made from trapping the goats and marketing them rather than shooting them and leaving the carcases to rot. With live-sheep shipping facilities already well-established and huge livestock vehicles on the highways capable of carrying 600-800 head of livestock to the ports, and with a ready market for the meat in Asia – just across the water, a few astute farmers quietly developed a lucrative trade in goats. In the early days few outback farmers admitted that goat sales made up the biggest part of their income.

For example, one farmer had thousands of them running wild on his 350,000 acre property, competing for feed with his sheep. Realizing the potential to farm goats for the meat market was staring him in the face, 6000 goats a year were mustered from several nearby properties. Once mustered, the goats were driven into a feedlot where they received supplementary feed and served the required three months behind a 2 meter fence after which time they were classed as domesticated. This process involves training the goats to respect plain wire electric fences in a compound. From there, they are released into a larger grazing paddock with electric fence barriers. 

Installing approved fencing was the most expensive item on large pastoral holdings where fences run for hundreds of kilometres. (Currently the requirements are for a 5 line fence consisting of 2 hot, 3 cold.)

With a 10-year contract to supply the Sabah government with breeding does, over 20,000 goats were supplied in the next few years until Sabah was almost self-sufficient. From there the markets were expanded to the Middle East, and Brunei – a wealthy country with its own shipping line.

Another example comes from two adjoining pastoral stations in the Goldfields region covering an area of 700,000 acres. Despite traditionally running sheep, the station manager admitted there was no money in sheep. Being thick with Mulga (a woody bush very palatable to goats), the country was ideal for goats.

Convinced of the potential, the pastoralist fenced a paddock of 170,000 acres. The 5-line fence running for 170kms. The area included 13 trap yards. Starting with approximately 4500 breeding does, 140 pure South African Boer bucks were purchased to go over them. 

 

Location and Transport target markets

Western Australia’s geographical position and proximity to Asia are significant advantages for the live shipping trade. Live goat exports were able to “piggy-back” on the sheep ships heading to the Middle East.  Managed goats (taken from the feedlots) travel far better on the ships than the pure ferals that suffer greater shipboard losses.

Apart from the live meat trade, abattoirs licenced for export and Halal killing provide for frozen exports. Markets in both U.S.A. and Canada consist of both skin-on and skin-off carcases which are required during the northern winter, while Australia’s nearest neighbours – Malaysia and Singapore require skin-off goats all year round. However, the biggest market by far for frozen goat meat from Western Australia is Taiwan which requires skin-on carcases weighing 14-16 kgs, the peak period being October to February. In all cases the markets want carcases to be Class1 fat score. The overseas markets do not want fat goats.

                                                        

Goat prices best ever (January 2015)

According to the Australian Broadcasting Commission, goat producers in Western Australia's rangelands are receiving the highest prices for their livestock for about 30 years. This is partially the result of unseasonal dry conditions and increased wild dog attacks which have greatly reduced the number of feral goats roaming wild. Some farmers are receiving between $50 and $70-a-head to farmers. This represents double the prices seen in 2014.

Most of Australia’s processed goat’s meat goes to America.

In the north of Western Australia rangeland goats are mainly processed through Geraldton Meat Exports (GME) which has been Western Australia’s largest exporter of Rangeland Goat for more than 10 years exporting worldwide to USA, Taiwan, Malaysia, Mauritius, Vietnam, Japan, Korea, Canada, Jamaica and Trinidad.

Processing Goat meat in eastern Australia is undertaken by Western Meat Exporters in Queensland (see Goat Meat – part 2 – Chevon/Mutton)

Note: While I approached GME to get permission to use some to the abattoirs photos on their website, I could not get a response. To see images of the processing line in operation, go to website at: http://www.gmexports.com.au/

Carcase images used here were taken at a smaller local abattoir.

GOATS - promoting the commercial goatmeat industry

Goats in Utes - A way to promote the commercial goat meat industry

 Goat meat represents lean meat and is the most eaten meat in the world.

For goat breeders whose focus is on the commercial (meat) side of the industry encouraging other breeder to enter the industry is not always easy. However, here’s an idea that promotes the goatmeat side of the industry and encourages other farmers to enter this branch of farming.

Goats in Utes (utility vehicles, trucks or trailers) was a unique event organised to promote commercial goatmeat production at a West Australian country show some years ago. It followed on from a competition – Dogs in Utes which attracted 700 farm vehicles – a world record for the greatest number of farm vehicles with a working dog on the back.

The idea of the competition was to encourage commercial goat farmers to display their produce (namely meat goats) and was arranged as part of a Boer Goat field day.

The main category for the competition was a group of three crossbred meat goats under 12 months of age.  The animals were judged on meat quality and the uniformity of the three in the group. 

“Presenting an even line is one of the most important factors when producing for the meat market,” said the judge who had been breeding goats for over 20 years. He was impressed with the quality and evenness of the groups but was concerned with the level of fat on a few. He advised the growers to make sure that their animals did not become fat. It is not desirable in meat animals.

“Goat meat is uniquely lean,” he said. "If the goats are fat they are not marketable. Customers wanting fat on animals will buy some other meat product."  

The second judge, a Senior Research Fellow agreed that the animals were in good condition and was impressed with the degree of muscling on the goats. "Being a practical competition there is plenty of opportunity for questions to be answered," the judge, an expert on animal nutrition said he saw the Goats in Utes competition as an innovative educational event for new and existing breeders. “No one has a mortgage on knowledge.”

He advised on balanced nutritional requirements for livestock and said some growers were promoting too much fattening in their animals. His concern was that stud breeders were over-conditioning their bucks, rendering them unsuitable for working conditions.

“You need a working buck, not one that is going to melt in the paddock. Commercial producers buy sires to improve the genetic qualities of their herd. But if a buck can’t deliver the sperm when required, then he is no good to the industry,” he said.

“This problem is particularly applicable where a 'buck-effect' mating was required. The 'buck-effect' is seen when a buck is introduced to a doe herd that has had no exposure to a male goat. The does all cycle between day 6 and day 11 following introduction of the buck and are served within that 5 day period.”

'The buck-effect'

The result is that all kids are born at the same time and will grow to export size at the time required.

The animals were assessed on uniformity, condition and fat score, and conformation. Comment was made about each group with direct feedback to the grower/producer.

The judges agreed that the competition provided a novel way of judging meat animals and promoted the commercial aspect of the goat industry.

“Competition in the show ring is OK,” he said, “but at the end of the day it’s the commercial growers who must benefit.”

Prizes were offered for various categories – first prize of $250 for a group of 5-month-old, feral/Boer cross goats.  The second prize of $100 for three angora/Boer crosses.

As part of the event, breeders were shown how to feel for the depth of muscle on the goats and made comment about a group of cashmere/Boer capretto kids.  Running his hand across the pliable back muscle, the judge said, “You can almost feel that the meat colour on these carcases will be correct (pale).”

He was impressed with a group of feral/Boer buck kids, which at five months old fitted into the male over 25 kg category and were “very saleable”.

While the event had not attracted as many goats as dogs, it gave encouragement to the commercial breeders who are the backbone of the goat meat industry but are often neglected.

*   *   *

Current facts of interest from Meat and Livestock Australia: 

Currently China, India and Nigeria are the largest producers and consumers of goatmeat. By comparison, Australia is a relatively small producer of goatmeat, however, it is the world leader in goatmeat exports.

In 2012-13 Australia exported 31,876 tonnes of goatmeat mainly to the US and Taiwan. These exports were worth Au $145.8 million FOB.

Goat carcasses in the abbatior

Live goats were also exported from Australia mainly to Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. The dollar value of the Live Goat exports was $9.65 million in 2011-12.

Australian goat slaughter in 2012-13 was around 1.99 million head.

Boer goats and rangeland goats are predominately used for meat production.

Cashmere and Angora breeds are used in fibre production.

Ref : www.mla.com.au Meat and Livestock Australia.

Note: This article by Margaret Muir was originally posted in The Goat Farmer magazine – individual names have been removed (provided on request)

Note 2: This is the first a series articles which will be available as an e-book in due course.