Sustainable Meat Goat Management

Summary

A process for understanding and measuring the eating habits of goats was established:

1. identify a representative monitoring site for each major land type where goats grazed;

2. take regular photos at these sites as the seasons changed; and

3. collect dung samples from the goats (where photos were taken) and send to lab for analysis to ascertain what the goats were actually eating.

This process was intended to determine what the goats ate, compared with paddock vegetation composition at the time of sampling. After some discussion, it was agreed that a photographic site would be considered suitable if it was representative of the paddock or country type. The vegetation monitoring procedures used were:

1. identify the major land types on each property;

2. select reference points in each land type and mark with a steel post; and

3. take photographs of the vegetation (at least one for each season) from the same place at each of the reference points; Photographs were stored chronologically with associated data about site location, date, stock numbers and type in the paddock, rainfall since last photo and any other factors that may have influenced vegetation development.

Dung sampling procedures followed were:

1. Collect soft dung samples from goats in the paddock. Black and shinydung is the second best option. Avoid collecting excess plant materialand dirt with the dung samples.

2. Collection equipment included a 10 litre bucket, plastic bags and a mug.

3. Collect fresh dung as close to the monitoring sites as possible, at a similar time to when the photos are taken.

Samples were collected at least three times per year, collecting enough dung from each site to fill the bucket at least two-thirds full. The bucket contents were mixed well and a sub-sample of two mugs full taken and dried in the sun. Dry samples were sealed in a plastic bag and sent to the laboratory. The first two to three sample sets were sent to the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) laboratory at Charleville, but this service was not available for the last part of the trial. The last sample batch was sent to the CSIRO Davies Laboratory at Townsville where faecal NIRS and phosphorous analyses were performed. The photographs provided participants with a visual assessment of how vegetation changed at different sites over time.

Calculation of the gross margin on sales for the last financial year (2003/04) was used to determine the profitability of each producer's goat meat enterprise. Per head production expenses were estimated, because these costs were often incorporated into sheep and cattle expenses and difficult to isolate. The figures were applied to the total goat herd, and the dry stock equivalent (DSE) of the herd calculated. Calculation was based on group members knowledge of the DSE of sheep.