AUSTRALIA’S goat meat industry is proceeding with projects on eating quality, kid loss and breeding doe management after a mid-term review showed it was making good progress under its strategic plan.

Meat & Livestock Australia said a mid-term review of the Goatmeat and Livestock Industry Strategic Plan 2020 shows the industry is on track to achieving key performance targets as it looks to stabilise its supply base and capture new market opportunities.

The five-year research and development plan was developed by the Goat Industry Council of Australia, with support from MLA. It details clear R&D targets for the industry to improve on-farm practices and grow production and exports.

MLA Goat Industry Project manager, Julie Petty, said following grassroots producer feedback, the industry is progressing with investments relating to eating quality, kid loss and the lifetime management of breeding does.

“One of the plan’s KPIs is that by 2020, the industry achieves productivity growth above baseline levels of 0.5 percent and R&D investments are built around driving practice change and delivering measurable impact,” she said.

The plan’s KPIs include:

1. By 2017, novel and cost-effective solutions identified to assist producers in increasing business skills and capacity to profitably and practically apply new research and development;
2. 40 pc of producers who have participated in programs to improve their business practices have demonstrated their intent to change and the impact measured;
3. On-farm production systems understood and benchmarking undertaken at an industry level
4. By 2020, achieve productivity growth above baseline levels of 0.5pc;
5. A tightening of monthly year-on-year slaughter variance;
6. By 2018, best potential market opportunities identified and actioned.

Critical success factors include effective, visionary industry leadership supporting cultural change; stabilisation of the supply base; development of strong, efficient supply chains, and; maintaining and improving market access.

GICA president, John Falkenhagen, said a number of the plan’s KPIs have been achieved or are on track to be delivered by 2020.

“Within the current Goatmeat and Livestock Industry Strategic Plan, the vision is to secure the industry’s future as an innovative, profitable and resilient world leader in goat production,” Mr Falkenhagen said.

“We are now halfway through the plan’s timeframe and the mid-term review has been completed by GICA and MLA, concluding the industry is overwhelmingly making good progress.”

Mr Falkenhagen said feasibility study into opportunities to encourage goat meat consumption in Australia has been completed and identified that value-adding could create more demand and potentially generate $13 million for the industry annually.

“R&D investment to date has resulted in the establishment of a population modelling program, the launch of a new series of best practice videos about the Australian goat meat industry to help boost productivity in the sector, and goat specific parasite management content on the WormBoss website.

“Goat meat producers also now have access to a new guide to help visually assess does and bucks when they’re making production decisions, and the National Goat Roadshow will continue in 2019,” he said.

Australia is one of the world’s biggest goat meat exporters. In 2017, Australian goat meat exports totalled 28,426 tonnes shipped weight, and were valued at $257 million.

The Goatmeat and Livestock Industry Strategic Plan 2020 is available here.

Source: MLA.