Goat Central

New nutrition and feed budget videos for goat meat producers

Sheep Central, May 25, 2018

Goat meat producer Nic Perkins at Dirranbandi, Queensland, appears in MLA’s latest series of goat nutrition videos.

GOAT meat producers feeding and finishing stock to meet market targets have been provided with a new video series by Meat & Livestock Australia.

The four-part video series on goat nutrition has been released by MLA to help goat meat producers plan their annual feeding programs.

The videos have been produced by MLA in consultation with the Goat Industry Council of Australia as part of a new series of best practice videos designed to answer commonly asked questions from current and potential goat meat producers.

The nutrition videos feature interviews with established commercial goat meat producers as well as experts in the field including land management specialist, Col Paton from EcoRich Grazing and ruminant nutritionist, Matt Callaghan from Ridley.

Parts one and two focus on determining forage supply and forage demand, while parts three and four cover calculating a forage budget and supplementation of goats, respectively.

MLA’s goat industry project manager Julie Petty said knowing what type of goat they are aiming to turn-off will help guide producers’ feeding decisions.

“Goats are versatile feeders and will change their feeding behaviour according to forage availability.

“Nutrition is vital to setting and achieving live weight targets, expected growth rates and condition score targets,” she said.

“Other profit drivers that can be influenced by nutrition include fertility, maintenance of pregnancy, birthweight and kid survival.”

Videos on goat genetics and live weight scales also available

Two other new goat videos were recently released by MLA examining goat genetics and using live weight scales.

“Selection and breeding influences the genetic make-up of a goat herd, which, when done properly, drives the profitability in a goat enterprise and can also influence the markets which may be available to producers.

“The video focusing on live weight scales explains why using this tool is vital to ensuring returns to producers. Producers don’t get paid for underweight goats, so it’s important that producers know the weights of their goats before they’re turned off,” Ms Petty said.

“Monitoring live weights also helps producers to target genetic improvement in their herds.”

To view the videos click here.

Source: MLA.

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