By JAMES NALDER 

THE rising interest by producers in the now not-so-humble goat as a viable business enterprise in recent years was exemplified at the goat production field day held last Friday 18 March at the property “Buena Vista” near Collie. 

Local Boer goat producers Craig and Jo Stewart operate a paddock to plate business under the label “the Gourmet Goat Lady”, successfully working through numerous hurdles to supply butchers and restaurants throughout Sydney with their high quality cuts of goat meat since 2014. 

Industry trailblazers Jo and Craig Stewart are sharing their hard-earned knowledge with a growing number of producers.

Following on from the inaugural field day in 2021, the event has grown significantly with the distance travelled by close to 100 producers a testament to the value they saw in the high calibre presenters and vital information to be presented and discussed on the day.   

The diversity of locations and production systems of the attendees also highlighted the wide geographic spread where goats are suitable to be run as a business.  

Goat producers came from locations Longreach, Bourke, Oberon, Wagga Wagga, Muswellbrook, Mendooran, Coonamble, Hermidale, Oberon, Gatton, Wellington, Warwick, Lightning ridge, Blayney, and Blackhall. 

An equally diverse range of speakers on the day covered the full gamut of topics and issues from current domestic and global market information and production, factors affecting meat quality and tenderness for the consumer, goat meat - it’s not just for curries, data driven decision making, buck selection and importantly how to asses for faults, what data to measure in your mobs and how it can take your production forward. 

Dealing with worm drench resistance and how to proactively manage it, findings from new drench research and the importance of having the right agent and marketing strategy for your intended market were also discussed.  

• Presenters on the day: Colin Ramsay “Dudauman Park” Boer Goat Stud Lake Cargelligo, Emma Doyle UNE Armidale, Jenny Bradley “ New Armatree” Border Leicester stud Armatree, Jarrod Lees UNE Armidale, Jason Hartin Schute Bell stock agency Narromine. Front Row Ian Manwarring Contender Meat goats Condobolin, Craig & Jo Stewart “Buena Vista” Collie, Dr Jillian Kelly LLS Coonamble, Trudie Atkinson NSW DPI Trangie.   

Coonamble goat producers James and Emma Nalder said they found the day ‘red hot’ with multiple take home points from each speaker.  

“Usually with field days you might get one or two pearls of wisdom to implement in your business but todays speakers provided multiple as well as from fellow producers who we talked with throughout the day,” said Emma Nalder.  

Of particular interest to the Nalders were the talks involving data collection and how to identify the higher and lower performing animals in your mobs in order to lift productivity and profitability.  

The overall success of the day was viewed by many as a great show of confidence in the industry going ahead off the back of strengthening values and market stability.