Location: Roma, Queensland
Property area: 1,300ha (3,212 acres)
Enterprise: Goats and cattle and a farmstay
Enterprise target: Our main focus at the moment is to secure a large area of land, preferably by leasing, to increase our goat production. We believe a fivefold increase in our numbers would go some way towards taking advantage of the soft commodity boom that is fast approaching.
Goals: To produce high quality meat in an environmentally sustainable way
Livestock: 3,300 Boer goats, 100 head of composite cattle
Pastures: native pasture with buffle grass in the lighter country
Soil types: medium loam to heavy black soil
Annual rainfall: 600mm
Contact: telco.farm@bigpond.com
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12 February 2009
We can hardly comment on the heat and lack of rain when we are mindful of the suffering of some of our colleagues.
However, life must go on and we have been rearranging goats in preparation for the mating program. We have just purchased a very nice little red Boer buck and drafted off some red does, both crosses and fullbloods to join him to. We have also organized the bucks for a little extra nutrition ready for their activity.
Have another litter of lovely collie/kelpie pups. They are from a very good line of workers and are free to good homes.
It would be great if our next diaries could report no fires, no floods, and nice rain for those who need it. Seems I’m never satisfied!
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22 January 2009
We seem to have survived the Festive Season quite well. The advantage of having many years of practise!
30mm of rain in 2 falls since Christmas. Grass is responding beautifully and no doubt the water will run in the next couple of months when we really get into our wettest months.
It is amazing how some plentiful pasture changes the cash flow! Instead of spending thousands of dollars on hay, cotton seed and supplements etc, we have actually taken some agistment on 1000 acres. There would be more money in running our own cattle but then you have to find the cash to buy them, and that does not suddenly appear when it rains!
The goats have responded very well to the green grass and the bucks are hard at work. The little studs born in Oct/Nov have grown like mushrooms and it is time to wean the buck kids before they get too fertile.
I have been doing some study on spear traps to trap goats at watering points and would be very interested in talking to other producers who have successfully used these methods.
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29 December 2008
Am pleased to report another 54mm of rain since the last diary. Now that we have a little more subsoil moisture, even 10mm makes a difference. But there is still huge potential for more moisture penetration so we are looking forward to the real wet season which normally starts for us in late January.
We have continued to inspect some quality crossbred does. And the demand from Asia seems on the increase. I recommend the Boer goat industry to anyone who believes they can avoid the problem of wild dogs. We find electric fencing is one useful tool. Plus we also use guard dogs (Maremmas), Alpaccas, and bells on some pet wethers, as well as targeted baiting. The result is very minimal loss to dogs.
2008 has not been such a bad year for us. I guess after the many years of dry weather, we are not hard to please. Really, all I want for Christmas is a decent market for quality Boer cross wethers. I am beginning to think a processor in Vietnam or Malaysia might be our best hope.
We are also getting a nice stream of families to the farmstay on vacation. It is great to see the joy that the city children get from their farm experience. I am not sure our animals enjoy the experience quite as much but they dutifully play their critical role.
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8 December 2008
There has been good steady rain which has been great for the grass although there has not been enough to produce any runoff.
I have been spending some time inspecting females for purchase. It is very unfortunate that some people are being forced out of goats because they can no longer cope with the wild dog problems. I believe the control of wild dogs is going to be a very significant issue for many graziers in the future. It is pleasing that some Regional Councils provide free baits for extensive campaigns and I believe this will need to become the normal practice across much of the State if the problems are to be addressed.
I have managed to complete about half of my enterprise targets planned for 2008 - I guess I’ll be busy for the next 3 weeks to complete the remainihg before the end of the year! Maybe I won’t be as slow in 2009?
Wishing all a Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.
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7 November 2008
Unfortunately I cannot report any rain for October. However the forecast looks very promising for the next day or so. After a week of mid 30 degrees heat, the grass is in need of a good drink.
The joining of does which was so carefully planned by me, but unfortunately ignored by the goats, last December/January, was tried again in June, and has proved very successful. I do not know why joining in December was such a total failure. I had always maintained that the quality of the pasture was the main determinant as to when does cycle. Well we had 4 to 6 weeks of great feed last year but there was no cycling.
When I realized there would be no kids but there was some cycling in June, I put one buck in. He must have been very busy as we have had more than 20 kids in 2 days, and lots more to arrive in the next week.
So there are still some things to learn about joining but at least I have learnt that I should observe what is happening, or not happening, more closely. Obviously, one is never too old to learn! _______________________________________________________________________________________
22 October 2008
Despite the current financial situation, I still firmly believe that the demand for the live export to SE Asia will hold up. As a consequence, we are planning a significant increase in our goat breeding herd. And so I have driven some 1400 km in the last 2 days inspecting good quality does that are for sale.
It has been reassuring to talk to people who also have great faith in the future of the goat industry.
My other interesting activity for this month was a trip to Brisbane for my first meeting as a member of the Agforce Sheep and Wool Committee. True, my knowledge of sheep is nil but Agforce allow a Goat representative on that committee and this is the position I have taken on. I believe it will prove very rewarding and I encourage goat breeders to contact me with any concerns they may have so that I can better represent them on this Board.
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29 September 2008
The rainfall pattern continues to please and it is surprising how quickly the pasture is increasing, particularly in the paddocks being rested.
We gave up trying to have a milking cow through the long dry years. However, the sight of a huge udder was too tempting, and quite a bit of time has been spent this last week breaking in a new milker. Fortunately, she has a lovely little heifer on her so that should be enough milkers to see out my milking days!
I have administered a dose of Maximin to the best goats and all the weaners and I believe the results are significant. The weaners were scouring a little and that seems to have cleared up and their coats are looking nice and shiny.
We are in the middle of school holidays and so there are many visitors coming to our Farmstay. We have had the one family return for the 10th time.
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11 September 2008
With the best subsoil moisture for 25 years, and the short-term forecasts favourable, things are looking pretty rosy at Telco. We had 48mm of rain on the 4 September and that is almost unprecedented, at least in my time!
Late August/ early September has seen the arrival of the new season calves and, judging by the udders on the cows, this year’s weaners should be good, and a valuable commodity in the Roma saleyards.
Fortunately, more cattlemen with woody weed or regrowth issues are coming to understand the value of goats to control these problems. Consequently we have received enquiries for the purchase of does for this purpose. Furthermore, some cattle people have also come to realize that they can make a handsome profit from these same goats while they are doing their weed control. These people also buy quality Boer bucks to improve the quality of the progeny and hence increase the profit margin.
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15 August 2008
Goats are very easy to maintain with few diseases in a broad acre setting. They have no problems with flies, and parasites are easy to control. Whilst we may not be enjoying the current cold spell, remember that the worm eggs may be suffering more than us, and that will be good news in spring. To get maximum value out of your goats you need to use stud bucks and remove any feral bucks to ensure top quality kids.
The goats have an enormous impact upon weed control especially woody weed. We put the cattle through the paddock followed by the goats that clear out all the weeds and rubbish. The large stations in the north are buying the average quality does to help control the weeds.
Our winter rain has been about the best in 20 years so we are looking to early Spring growth in pasture. This is great news for the kids that have hit the ground in the last couple of months, and also for the calves that will arrive in September.
As the goats have become our main enterprise, our cattle herd is limited to a small number of composite cows and a red Angus bull, which produce good meaty steers and some nice replacement heifers for us.
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29 July 2008
We sell a couple of thousand goats every year but the demand in Asia is far greater than what we are capable of supplying. We get our young female goats to 25kg, which is export weight, in about 8-9 months but depending on the season it can take up to 12 months. Our main market is Malaysia, who predominantly buy the good quality females and stud bucks for breeding. From our place the goats go to a quarantine centre in Moree before going to Sydney and on to Kuala Lumpur in a charter plane. Malaysia’s livestock industry is continuing to expand as the government continues to provide incentives into building up the livestock industry.
We are currently exploring ways to establish a viable supply chain to get our goat meat into wholesalers and butcher stores in Brisbane. Goat meat is similar to lamb only less cholesterol. The best method of cooking is ‘low and slow’.
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