December 2015 Newsletter Page 1 A Message from the Chairperson! Dear Members, Firstly Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all our members, families, Goats and support staff such as dogs, alpacas and others. Hopefully the Aussie heat will not be too much for you all and the danger of fires stays far away from your homes. The Board held their final meeting for 2015 on Thursday 17 th Dec 2015. Minutes The Minutes of the previous meeting of the Board (Nov 19th 2015) will be loaded on the website shortly. Welcome The Board are pleased to welcome another new member this month from Qld. Newsletter Judith requires articles, stories, funnies, show results and photos for inclusion in the upcoming newsletter. Member contributions go along in making the newsletter informative and interesting. If there is a particular topic of interest that you would like included, please contact Judith: [email protected]. Breeder workshops & Judging Schools In preparation for next years planning, I would encourage any members who wish to attend Training Days or Judging Schools to contact their State Branch Breed Development Portfolio holder or the Federal Board, so we can gauge where the majority of interest lies. People willing to host a Workshop or Judging School are always much needed and are invited to inform the Board of their willingness to be a host for future Schools. BGBAA Schools, Training Days, Workshops etc need to be approved by the Board and open to interested members. BOER GOAT BREEDERS ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA NEWSLETTER DECEMBER 2015 Inside this Issue Chairperson’s Message P1 Newsletter Contacts P3 Treasurers Message P4 Show Results P6-19 BGBAA Advertising P20 Classifieds P20 BGBAA Shirts P21-22 Profitable Meat Goat Production P23-25 WormBoss article P26-27 Additional Snippets P28
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December 2015 Newsletter Page 1
A Message from the Chairperson!
Dear Members,
Firstly Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all
our members, families, Goats and support staff such as dogs, alpacas and
others. Hopefully the Aussie heat will not be too much for you all and the
danger of fires stays far away from your homes.
The Board held their final meeting for 2015 on Thursday 17th Dec 2015.
Minutes
The Minutes of the previous meeting of the Board (Nov 19th 2015) will be
loaded on the website shortly.
Welcome
The Board are pleased to welcome another new member this month from
Qld.
Newsletter
Judith requires articles, stories, funnies, show results and photos for
inclusion in the upcoming newsletter. Member contributions go along in
making the newsletter informative and interesting. If there is a particular
topic of interest that you would like included, please contact Judith:
Entries are now open for Sydney Royal 2016. Entries can be done on-line or manually with a saving
on entry costs to the computer savvy.
Sydney Royal will again this year serve as our BGBAA National Show.
New exhibitors are always welcome, and encouraged to join in the show. If you feel you are not
ready to tackle Sydney yet, there are always exhibitors looking for helpers or just come along and
watch the judging.
Mr Jacques Pretorius from South Africa, who recently judged at the Eastern Cape Championships the
Bushveld Championships and the Central Championships has accepted the RAS invitation to Judge at
the 2016 Sydney Royal Boer Goat Show.
Social Media
I would encourage all members who have a Facebook account, to make use of the BGBAA Facebook
page. Stories and pictures are free worldwide advertising for your stud, so be seen!
The next meeting of the board will be
Thursday 18th Feb 2016.
Kind Regards,
Lynn Wickenden
Chairperson & Classification Director
BGBAA NEWSLETTER PUBLICATION DATES AND DEADLINES 2016
PUBLICATION DATE DEADLINE
February 29, 2016 February 24, 2016
April 29, 2016 April 20, 2016
June 30, 2016 June 22, 2016
August 30, 2016 August 24, 2016
October 31, 2016 October 26, 2016
December 27, 2016 December 21, 2016
December 2015 Newsletter Page 3
Please contact any of the following Portfolio representatives with photos, articles, events to be published in the Newsletters. Your input is appreciated!
Editors Note: Any text to web sites which is blue and underlined is a hyperlink. When clicked within this PDF file it will automatically go to that website.
URGENT, BGBAA Press Release from Treasurer Geoff Mitchell………… Christmas Downsizing
Today's global economic challenges and the continued high $AUD, which is limiting our overseas markets, require the BGBAA Board of Directors to continue to look for a better, more competitive edge. Effective immediately, the following economy measures are to take place in the "Twelve Days of Christmas" Portfolio:
1. The partridge will be retained, but the pear tree never turned out to be the cash crop forecasted. It will be replaced by a plastic hanging plant, providing considerable savings in maintenance.
2. The two turtle doves represent a redundancy that is simply not cost effective. In addition, their romance during working hours could not be condoned. The positions are therefore eliminated.
3. The three French hens will remain intact. After all, everyone loves the French.
4. The four calling birds were replaced by an automated voice mail system, with a call waiting option. An analysis is underway to determine who the birds have been calling, how often and how long they talked.
5. The five golden rings have been put on hold by the Board of Directors. Maintaining a portfolio based on one commodity could have negative implications for institutional investors. Diversification into other precious metals as well as a mix of T-Bills and high technology stocks appear to be in order.
6. The six geese-a-laying constitutes a luxury which can no longer be afforded. It has long been felt that the production rate of one egg per goose per day is an example of the decline in productivity. Three geese will be let go, and an upgrading in the selection procedure by personnel will assure management that from now on every goose it gets will be a good one.
7. The seven swans-a-swimming is obviously a number chosen in better times. Their function is primarily decorative. Mechanical swans are on order. The current swans will be retrained to learn some new strokes and therefore enhance their outplacement.
8. As you know, the eight maids-a-milking concept has been under heavy scrutiny by the EEOC. A male/female balance in the workforce is being sought. The more militant maids consider this a dead-end job with no upward mobility. Automation of the process may permit the maids to try a-mending, a-mentoring or a-mulching.
9. Nine ladies dancing has always been an odd number. This function will be phased out as these individuals grow older and can no longer do the steps.
10. Ten Lords-a-leaping is overkill. The high cost of Lords plus the expense of international air travel prompted the Compensation Committee to suggest replacing this group with ten out-of-work politicians. While leaping ability may be somewhat sacrificed, the savings are significant because we expect an oversupply of unemployed politicians this year.
11. Eleven pipers piping and twelve drummers drumming is a simple case of the band getting too big. A substitution with a string quartet, a cut back on new music and no uniforms will produce savings which will drop right down to the bottom line.
12. We can expect a substantial reduction in assorted people, fowl, animals and other expenses. Though incomplete, studies indicate that stretching deliveries over twelve days is inefficient. If we can drop ship in one day, service levels will be improved.
Regarding the lawsuit filed by the attorney's association seeking expansion to include the legal profession ("thirteen lawyers-a-suing"), action is pending.
December 2015 Newsletter Page 5
Lastly, it is not beyond consideration that deeper cuts may be necessary in the future to stay competitive. Should that happen, the Board will request management to scrutinize the Snow White Portfolio to see if seven dwarfs is the right number. Forced redundancies may be in order. Geoff Mitchell, Treasurer, Director, Finance Portfolio.
Christmas cheer…
RECYCLED FROM 2012 so apologies to members who
remember but hopefully new Members will enjoy!!
(EDITOR)
December 2015 Newsletter Page 6
AROUND THE SHOW CIRCUIT…………
Full results for all shows are available on the National web site www.australianboergoat.com.au
GRAND CHAMPION BUCK: Pacifica Kuga GRAND CHAMPION BOER DOE: Micathel Eleanor
SUPREME EXHIBIT: Pacifica Kuga
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Tag year colours
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WEBSITE AND NEWSLETTER ADVERTISING
The following chart lists the options for advertising in the Newsletter or the website. Prices include GST. A form is available on the website at the following link: http://www.australianboergoat.com.au/forms.php Any advertising can be forwarded to [email protected] (03)57973232. Members can login to the website and upload Classifieds in the Members Area. There is no charge for State Branches to advertise. A mail out to members can be done through ABRI, contact Barb O’Shea [email protected] Cost is $75 for members, $110 for non-members.
MEMBER OF BGBAA NON MEMBER OF BGBAA
ADVERTISING TYPES & COSTS Please complete details below Please complete details below Website – Classifieds For Sale
Profitable Boer Goat Meat Production by Ian Johnson (UK)
British farmers are historically world class at producing livestock – and usually pretty awful at marketing it! Unsurprising when you look at the skill set they have had handed down from generation to generation. Most successful business people will tell you to play to your strengths and outsource your weaknesses. This is why when the phone rings and people tell me that they want to start with Boar Goats I always ask them why? I’m not being clever or rude it’s just that if they don’t really know what the end game is they will never get there.
Generally the answer is either, hobby, meat for the freezer or commercial venture. The first two are easy answers, buy the required number of does preferably in kid and away you go. Simple health and management advice, and they have achieved what they set out to do in the first place and hopefully had lots of fun out of the goats and or filled the freezer with very healthy red meat and enjoyed the experience.
The third type of answer is slightly more complex as generally there is going to be a capital investment involved both in time and money. People are usually not expecting the answer they get when they ask me how to set up a commercial goat meat venture.
During the last 30 years I have learnt plenty about the white meat chicken industry, there is one golden rule that has survived the years – SELL IT FIRST AND PRODUCE IT SECOND. The practice of producing beef and sheep and then selling them to the highest (or often lowest) bidder in an open market scares the bejesus out of any white meat producer. If you don’t know the selling price then how can you know how much you can afford to spend producing it plus your profit?
The selling price is made up of two components. Input costs and profit, there, I’ve used the forbidden word in the English language! Profit! Why shouldn’t we be rewarded for all our efforts, inputs of time and money, risk and worry?
Here I will outline our marketing strategy and then our production costs but stress that this is our system and there is more than one way to skin a cat or in this case a goat!
We have sold all our meat animals forward for the next three years to a customer in Kent who already has a very successful meat selling operation in place with a proven track record selling goat, lamb and pork into farmers markets and restaurants. The animals are all delivered by me in groups of 20 weighing 40kg minimum, they are all outside of any veterinary withdrawal period and are all either Fullblood, 100% or very high percentage Boer goat. They are processed through a small English abattoir that stuns and is fully regulated by the Meat Hygiene Service. The customer pays me on delivery and as I know in advance the approximate delivery date I can usually arrange a return load that covers the cost of the fuel. I supply an approximate schedule of deliveries for the year so that marketing can be balanced against supply. If my customer is happy then I am happy. We get paid £2.50 per kg liveweight. People will say that they can get more than this but it is usually for very small numbers and they forget the additional costs of transport, killing, packaging, labelling and delivery. I am trying to breed or buy in, to supply 200 animals for 2016 delivery. So that’s the marketing sorted out, full loads of 40kg plus animals worth £100 plus on a long term contract to a respected, established customer.
For most people the production side of a goat meat business is by far the most interesting and satisfying side but the marketing has got to be watertight, regardless of whether you
December 2015 Newsletter Page 24
are selling direct to the consumer, live on a contract as we do, or into a butcher who will retail them for you.
We are semi intensive with our meat herd. The does run in groups of 25 housed during the winter in strawed yards and then during the summer they are out grazing in daylight and housed at night. The housing yards are the correct size to take 25 does plus kids up to the age of weaning at 10 weeks.
A group of 25 does will eat a round bale of haylage costing £25 per week during the winter and quarter that amount during the summer so £813 of haylage per year. (£33 head per year)
A group of 25 does will eat 300g of 18% nuts per day for 8 months of the year, none for the month after weaning and 1kg per day for 3 months prior to and after kidding, total of 162 kg at £0.25 kg. (£40 nuts per head per year)
A group of 25 does will use a round bale of straw costing £10 per week during the winter and half that amount during the summer so £390 of straw per year. (£16 head per year)
Mucking out is done by a contractor who also takes the muck away so we have no additional muck disposal costs. This costs £5 per doe per year.
Our veterinary costs in the meat herd are £18 per doe per year including her kids. This covers iodine spray, Lambivac, Baycox, Spot On and Dectomax.
A high percentage Boer goat doeling should cost £300 and rear 10 kids in 5 years before being culled at £100 resulting in £200 depreciation.
So the doe has cost Haylage £33, Nuts £40, Straw £16, Veterinary £18, depreciation £40 and mucking out £5, totalling £152 per year. Ex labour and housing.
We are selling the male kids for £100 at 40kg liveweight and the doe kids sell for £230 at 20 weeks when the bucks leave, giving an income per doe of £330 based on 2 kids sold per doe, 1 male 1 female.
The kids are fed the same nut as the does from the age of 10 days until they are 40kg, ad lib from a feeder. They are weaned at 10 weeks weighing an average of 24kg and remain inside until they are 20 weeks. Utilising the Boer Goats meaty genetics they will convert the feed at 5:1 meaning that each animal eats approximately 180kg of feed plus some hay. This costs £45 per animal or £90 per doe.
Using this system our costs are £242 per doe per year and she produces £330 leaving £88 per doe profit before labour and the cost of the buck. A margin that most sheep farmers would love to achieve.
By keeping the kids inside in they don’t suffer from worms but you do need to treat for lice with Spot On and cocci is controlled using Baycox.
The system is simple. When the doe is kidding she is placed into a single pen, the kids are weighed, tagged and navels sprayed. At 4 weeks the kids are weighed, vaccinated and treated for cocci. This is repeated at 7 weeks and then at 10 weeks faecal samples are taken to see if they require a third treatment for cocci, and then they are weighed and weaned. Buck kids being taken to older ages or bigger weights may need castrating but we don’t need to with them being sold at 20 weeks.
December 2015 Newsletter Page 25
The main production system here at Cherry Tree Farm revolves around importing fast growing, high health status Fullblood Boer Goat genetics from South Africa via Australia and then performance recording the offspring to enable us to supply superior meat breeding animals into the fast growing UK goat meat market. The emphasis is heavily weighted to producing high daily liveweight gains, with low mortality, high fecundity, low feed conversion animals that classify well in the abattoir and meet the customers’ requirements allowing everybody in the production chain to have a profit margin.
Anybody in the chicken industry reading this will recognise that we have utilised the same principles that apply in the white meat sector to producing goat meat:
Always new and informative information being posted!!! Members can advertise for
free!!! Don’t forget members can also
advertise free in this Newsletter, no cost
for ¼ page
Disclaimer: The articles contained herein are individual views and ideas, not necessarily those of the BGBAA Board or members. Where any suggestions are made with respect to health issues, it is advised that you consult your