Agricultural
1 May, 2024
Goat industry conference held at Collie farm
Local goat producers and owners of ‘The Gourmet Goat Lady’ Jo and Craig Stewart were hosts to an industry information day, held on-site at their farming property outside of Collie on Friday, April 12.
Local goat producers and owners of ‘The Gourmet Goat Lady’ Jo and Craig Stewart were hosts to an industry information day, held on-site at their farming property outside of Collie on Friday, April 12. Goat farmers came from as far as Queensland for the event, supported by both government agencies and local businesses. The main feature of the day was the talks given by industry specialists on the developing goat sector. Sessions were held by Dr. Tom Granleese from the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI), Kieran Smith from Local Land Services (LLS), Dr. Daniel Forwood from Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA), and Dr. Jillian Kelly from Animal Health and Nutrition Consulting (AHN).
The DPI/LLS shared with the audience changes coming to the goat industry as part of the ‘Going Ahead with Goats’ project, aimed at “assisting goat producers to thrive into the future, with an aim to accelerate the adoption of goat research and development and grow market share, both domestically and in the export market,” according to an official media release. The department representative also discussed the mandatory implementation of EID’s [electronic ear tags] for all primary producers, effective 2027. MLA’s representative, Dr. Forwood, gave a presentation on potential avenues for developing the domestic market for goat meat. This included topics such as ways to differentiate goat from other meat products, identifying current domestic and international consumers of goat meat, and increasing the profile of goat meat in Australia.
One suggestion was to introduce new terms for the different kinds of goat meat to the consumer market, such as ‘capretto’ and ‘chevon’, to let consumers better understand the qualities of the meat they are buying. AHN’s Dr. Kelly held a utilitarian session dedicated to informing producers present on the day proper methods to treat and prevent the spread of worms, parasites, and disease amongst herds of goats. Of note was the current lack of proper infrastructure for drenching and treating goats. Many farmers rely on products designed for sheep, despite being commonly ineffective against goat-borne pathogens.
The conference ended with Jo Stewart recounting the story of how she and her husband Craig began ‘The Gourmet Goat Lady’, and providing advice on how to approach customers and give them the best experience. Mr. Stewart petitioned those in attendance for their support in approaching industry-leading regulators to more closely engage with producers, and to start making positive change in the industry according to the needs of producers.
