What's getting on the goat
From the November 2007 edition of Agriculture Today.
The surging Australian dollar and a move by competitors into slaughtering have compounded the bite of drought to shake up the export goat meat industry.
One of the country’s main exporters does not doubt the long-term future of goat meat as a reliable livestock industry, especially for the Western Division, but says it’s tough going right now.
Glen Innes exporter Philip Lynn is a co-director and the principal of Ausgoat Pty Ltd (formerly Wallangarra Goat Processors).
"Fortunately at times like this, goats are a low maintenance enterprise with little input cost associated with raring," Mr Lynn said.
"These benefits are uppermost in the minds of farmers comparing goats with other enterprises.
"They are very drought tolerant."
Prolonged seasonal drought is starting to affect the condition of animals coming in. Mr Lynn says on the present market, most of the animals he buys return approximately $27 per head at the abattoir. The average for a farm gate sale is approximately $22 per head in the Western Division, but this price may continue to fall.
Ausgoat recently changed processors and now slaughters a weekly minimum of 4000 goats at the Young Abattoir. Closer proximity to the Western Division - the source of 90 per cent of the company’s goats, which now go direct to Young - has been a major benefit.
"Other benefits include reduced livestock freight costs, ability to rail product to Sydney wharfs and daily domestic deliveries to Sydney butchers," Mr Lynn said.
Ausgoat supplies frozen goat meat each week to the US, Canada, the Caribbean and Taiwan. Mr Lynn continues to operate a depot at "Cherry Tree Hill" at Glen Innes, where goats mustered and supplied from the New England region spend a short time in the paddocks before being trucked for slaughter.
Earlier in the year, he made a trip to boost sales to the US, the largest single market in the world for goat, where 40 million people of Hispanic descent eat the animal, as do 30 million of Asian origin and 20 million Muslims.
Contact Philip Lynn, Glen Innes, (02) 6732 2144, phil@goatexports.com
