World Goat News:

[mikey]

Collarenebri goat abattoir to hit world market
28/03/2008 3:42:00 PM
The small North West NSW town of Collarenebri is poised to become a key player in the expanding goatmeat export industry.
State member for Barwon, Kevin Humphries, says the planned Colly Goat Abattoir whould help push Australia further to the front supplying more than 50pc of the world's export goatmeat into the US, Asia and Europe.

"I have been working with the proponent of the abattoir, Dellmain, and managing director, Alain Della, for more than 12 months to help the project through to fruition," he says.

"After last year's goat meeting in Cobar and follow up industry meetings, the prediction of an expanding goat industry is becoming a reality across my electorate.

"The cost of transport and accessing local processors has been a big issue driving projects such as this forward.

"The proponents are backed by experience in the industry and a very strong demand for the product world wide," Mr Humphries says.

"Collarenebri was chosen as we were able to take over an existing site previously used for emu processing. A ready supply of labour and access to product across the rangelands of western NSW were key factors in the decision making.

"Road access through to Brisbane is critical which is why the Colly to Mungindi road upgrade is important to us," Mr Della says.

The Colly Abattoir would employ 40 local people directly through handling, processing 4000 goats per week and logistic tasks putting $1.7 million into the town through wages.

A trickle-down effect would engage a further 100 local and regional people in supplying and moving product to the site, injecting a further $500,000 into the local economy.

Mr Humphries and Mr Della met recently to discuss final planning hurdles with the NSW Department of Environment and Conservation which is the regulatory authority for the Environmental Protection Authority.

"While there have been a number of recent ‘red’ and ‘green’ tape issues with the project, everything is on track to get this project rolling. This is a great news story for our region; even better for Colly and will compliment our growing industry," Mr Humphries says.

[mikey]

July 2, 2008 10:16 p.m. EST


 
Benjie Telleron - AHN News Writer
Manila, Philippines (AHN) - Villagers at a southern Philippine town on Thursday reported seeing two mysterious flying creatures roaming their community, barely days after the dismembered remains of three goats were discovered there.

Residents in Barangay (village) Manongol in Kidapawan City have been agitated since Sunday with the discovery of three dead goats with their hearts, lungs and other internal organs eaten.

Initially, some villagers suspected stray dogs may have been responsible for killing the goats, while some superstitious villagers think that an "aswang," or ghoul in Philippine mythology, was responsible.

On Tuesday night, a resident in the village roused the neighborhood after claiming she heard some flapping sounds above her roof. She described seeing two gigantic birdlike creatures flying overheard.

The crowd also noticed that the leaves of a nearby tree was shaking although it was a windless night. Then a liquid poured from the tree.

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[mikey]

Goats' milk sales jump by 16.5%



« Previous « PreviousNext » Next »View GalleryGOATS' milk sales are soaring, as record numbers of Britons who are allergic to the cows' variety choose the healthy alternative, a new report showed yesterday.
Sales of fresh goats' milk have jumped by 16.5 per cent in the past year, with the retail market in the UK now worth £21.5 million, according to market research analyst Nielsen.

The full article contains 67 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.Page 1 of 1

Last Updated: 08 July 2008 9:41 PM
Source: The Scotsman
Location: Edinburgh

[mikey]

Goat farm brings family together
By Helen Anne Travis, Times Staff Writer
In print: Monday, July 14, 2008


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David Reedy pets Lord Greystroke, a champion buck, at Twin Hills Ranch in Dade City. Reedy works at the goat ranch with his father and brother. 
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At first, the goats were just supposed to eat some brush and keep the Reedy family's property taxes down.

But the animals have become a family project that has strengthened bonds, healed wounds and may even put the Reedys in a comfortable financial state where they won't have to worry about property taxes.

The goats were David Reedy's idea. It was 2005, and Reedy wanted to make sure the family's 30 acres of farmland kept its "greenbelt" property tax exemption.

Some goats would keep the land trimmed, he thought at the time.

But after digging around on the Internet, he learned goats could do a whole lot more.

Demand for goat meat in the United States has increased in recent years, mostly because of the country's growing ethnic populations. According to a 2005 United States Department of Agriculture report on the goat industry, the United States could not import enough meat from its top suppliers — Australia and New Zealand — to keep up with the demand, driven mostly by Caribbean, Muslim, Hispanic and Chinese consumers.

The annual number of goats raised domestically for meat production almost doubled from 1-million to 1.9-million between 1997 and 2002, the report said.

Reedy wanted to jump on board. It was a good opportunity, he thought. And good timing.

A needed distraction

Early in 2005, David Reedy's 20-year-old son, Mark, perished from injuries endured in one of Pasco County's deadliest house fires. The younger Reedy's wife and stepson also died in the blaze, along with a menagerie of pets.

Reedy buried himself in researching goats and starting the operation on his father's lot. It helped with the pain of his son's death.

"It took my mind off of that quite a bit, working around there and studying," Reedy, 48, said. "It helped a lot."

After more than two years and countless hours of research, Reedy, his brother, Derrick, and father, Harold, now raise goats for show, auction and breeding.

They work mostly with Boer goats, a large breed from South Africa, and other breeds crossed with Boers.

The brothers have full-time jobs — Derrick is a firefighter and EMT with Pasco County Fire Rescue, David works at a South Tampa printing company — so children and spouses often help out with the operation.

"I delivered 37 babies with Derrick's wife one afternoon while everyone was at work," said Harold Reedy, 70.

Harold Reedy raised horses and cattle on his property years ago. But every day is a lesson with the goats.

For example, they've learned to breed the goats in phases, so there's never another day of 37 births.

Backdraft was the first full-blood Boer billy goat born on the property. As a kid, he rode along on the golf cart while the Reedy brothers built fences and feeding systems on their father's land.

Plans for the future

Now, Backdraft rubs up against the Reedys' legs and begs for attention and treats. Like the other 99 goats the family owns, he's curious, friendly and smelly.

Full-blood Boer goats like Backdraft can sell for up to $750, Harold Reedy said. The semen from a prize-winning Boer goes for anywhere from $50 to several thousand dollars, depending on the bloodline.

But that doesn't come without a cost. The family has spent thousands on fencing and can't even tally what they've shelled out for tractors and equipment. Feed alone costs more than $100 a day.

"There's money in it," Derrick Reedy, 42, said. "But you have to put a lot of money into it, too."

The Reedys are not profiting yet on their operation, but they are on purpose. Their goal is to develop higher-quality bloodlines that will nab them higher returns. That takes time.

"It takes three years to start making decent money," said Harold Reedy.

This week at the farm, Derrick and David Reedy tried to still wriggling Backdraft so they could pour a worming medication into one of his four stomach compartments. Country music played from inside a Dodge truck parked nearby. Harold Reedy took notes as his sons called out measurements and medication doses.

Derrick Reedy has a home around the corner from the farm. David lives in Darby but hopes to eventually build a log cabin on his father's property and help run the goat operation full time.

Harold Reedy is happy to have his farm up and running again. It's fun working with the family, he said. He hopes the goat business becomes a sound venture he can leave behind for future generations.

"I thought, instead of me trying to leave a bunch of money, we should work together in life," he said. "It's a family thing."

[mikey]

  Grant Extended to Eradicate Scrapie in Colorado Sheep, Goats   
  T.J. Burnham tburnham@farmprogress.com   
  July 15, 2008   
 
 
  The Colorado Department of Agriculture stands ready with a new U.S. Department of Agriculture grant extension to help sheep producers test herds for scrapie susceptibility.

"We are happy to have this grant to help protect Colorado's sheep industry," says Colorado State Veterinarian Keith Roehr. "The department began this program in September, 2003, and it has been extremely successful."

Scrapie, an infectious and possibly fatal disease, costs the sheep industry up to $25 million a year.

The grant will pay for half the testing costs of a total of 500 rams and 200 ewe lambs.

The Rocky Mountain Regional Animal Health Lab performs the test for $14.75 for the first 10 samples, and $11 for each additional animal. Through the cost share program with the federal grant, growers pay half that amount.

Producers who want to participate in the program must have all sheep tagged with an official premises identification number. Premises identification tags are available by calling (866) USDA-TAG.

"Producers are required to tag goats due to Colorado's loss of commercial goat status," notes Roehr. "If Colorado is to receive that status again, we must remain vigilant in protecting our herds from this disease."

Educational outreach to sheep and goat producers is another important factor for the grant; meetings are being planned across the state to help educate livestock owners about scrapie and how to protect their herds. Additional meeting details are not yet available.


   

[mikey]

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Big move for Big Oak Farms
The Pomi Ranch goes from a 100-year-old dairy to a goat farm
Published: Thursday, Jul 17, 2008

By YOVANNA BIEBERICH
ARGUS-COURIER STAFF
 

Terry Hankins
Cindy Pomi feeds some of the herd at Big Oak Farms.
Zoom Photo
It’s the most consumed meat in the world — and it isn’t beef, pork or chicken.

Goat meat, known as chevon, may not be as popular a meat in America as it is in other countries, but immigrants from the Middle East, Mexico and Asia are causing demand for it in the United States to rise. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, goat meat is the most consumed meat in the world.

“It’s very flavorful and has a sweeter taste than beef,” said Cindy Pomi of Big Oak Farms of Petaluma. “It’s a red meat that is very low in fat and high in protein and iron. There’s just three grams of fat in a three-ounce cut of goat compared to 16 grams of fat in the same cut of beef and 24 grams in pork. Because of the makeup of goat meat, doctors have recommended it to people with intestinal problems and heart conditions who are supposed to limit their beef consumption.”

Big Oak Farms, a fourth-generation 508-acre family farm, started out as a dairy in 1903 known as the Pomi Ranch. Today, the farm is run by Jim and Kim Naugle and Mark and Cindy Pomi, with their young children just starting to help.

“My husband’s great-grandfather came here to start a dairy,” said Pomi. “And it was a dairy until 1998, when we began to custom raise cattle. We only had a few dairy heifers and beef cattle left, so parts of the ranch were not being utilized. Last August, we decided to purchase and raise 200 meat goats.”

Pomi said the thought behind raising goats instead of cattle was that goats are a smaller, more economical animal to raise. “They eat less and drink less, and that’s good with a low-water situation,” she said. “They’re more affordable animals to raise.”

Big Oak Farms raises a variety of does, including Boer, Kiko and Spanish goats, while bucks are 100 percent Boer goats. “Boer is a type of goat bred for meat,” said Pomi. “There are other breeds, but Boers offer a higher percentage of meat. It’s also a heartier breed, with a fabulous disposition.”

The goats are free range and raised on certified organic pastureland. The goats are raised as naturally as possible, with the use of antibiotics only when absolutely necessary. “We try to be as all natural with them as we can,” said Pomi. “But there’s always an instance when an animal is suffering and we need to step in. We are toying with the idea of making the animals organic here, as well as the farmland, though.”

Goat meat is popular among a variety of different ethnic groups and is described as having a flavor similar to lamb, but with a milder taste. It can be used in any dish in which beef or lamb is used, from tacos and hamburgers to sausage and stews.

“We’re seeing a growing market for goat meat,” said Pomi. “I cook it in the same way as beef. In fact, my favorite way to cook it is to season it with olive oil, pepper and garlic salt and put it on the barbecue. Our goat meat is a younger meat. We harvest goats at about 60 pounds, so they have a tender, sweeter flavor and you don’t have to cook them as long. With goat meat from an older animal, it’s a longer cooking time. You don’t want to overcook it, though.”

Currently, Big Oak Farms sells its chevon directly, but it’s also available in smaller cuts at Marina Meats on Chestnut Street in San Francisco. Pomi said they hope to find a local market to offer their meat, but in the meantime, are happy to sell directly to customers.

Big Oak Farms doesn’t plan to branch out into the goat cheese business, but Pomi added that they do plan to rent out goats for organic weed abatement. “That’s where we send a group of goats out to eat down a portion wherever weed abatement is needed,” she said. “We had a hill that was a fire hazard. We just brought the goats out and they ate the weeds, so we didn’t have to mow.”

While sheep have become popular in the realm of weed control, Pomi said that the use of goats has an advantage. “Goats will eat weeds that beef cattle and sheep might not touch,” she said. “What’s nice about goats is that they are browsers that nibble here and there. They absolutely love broad-leaf plants, which are weeds. We had this little patch of stickers one time, the stuff that most other animals won’t eat. One of the goats found it and it quickly became a party. No more stickers.”

[mikey]

Farm of the Week: Goats proving their worth in milk enterprise


Angus Wielkopolski with goats

« Previous « PreviousNext » Next »View GalleryADVERTISEMENTPublished Date: 18 July 2008
By Sarah Todd
WITH demand up by 16.5 per cent over the year and the industry now worth £21m, the eccentric image that went with farming goats has been blown away.


In fact, Angus and Kathleen Wielkopolski have helped a number of traditional dairy farmers to switch from cows to goats.

Last year, they bought 850-acre Far Marsh Farm, at Ottringham, near Hull, where they will eventually have 3,000 goats, on top of the 4,000 they already keep on St Helen's Farm – which is 550 acres at Seaton Ross, near Pocklington.

Only a few months ago the couple got their latest innovation onto supermarket shelves, the first skimmed goats' milk.

"Goats' milk seems to have come of age," said Mr Wielkopolski, who employs 40 staff –10 in the office, 10 on the farm and 20 in the dairy. A further eight jobs will be created at Far Marsh Farm.

It all seems a million miles away from the five-acre smallholding they started out with in the mid-80s, fresh from agricultural college, at Barmby on the Marsh, in East Yorkshire, next to a church called St Helen's – commemorated in the name of their business.

"We just produced whole goats' milk for a long time, but we've always had an awful lot of feedback from our customers and they left us in no doubt that the demand was there for a larger range of products," Mr Wielkopolski said.

"Yoghurt, cheese, cream and butter came about and 11 years ago we were the first producer to launch a semi-skimmed milk. The skimmed seemed to be a natural progression. Our customers tend to be very health-aware."

The development did not need any new machinery as the cream has always been taken off, then added back at different percentages – 3.6 per cent for whole and 1.6 per cent for semi-skimmed. It was just a question of adding none back into the skimmed, which is only 0.1 per cent fat. Surplus cream is used to make butter and is also packed as double cream.

St Helen's Farm yoghurts are naturally thickened by taking out some of the water, eliminating the need for starches or other thickeners. The probiotic yoghurt is fermented overnight before being packed into plastic pots.

Some milk goes to a Somerset cheese-maker called Cricketer Farm, which makes a goat-milk version of Cheddar.

The 4,000 milking goats at Seaton Ross are a home-bred cross between British Saanen, British Toggenburg and British Alpine. They yield three to five litres a day of high-quality milk. Milking takes place twice a day, in a 72-point rotary milking parlour. After pasteurising, the milk is packed into litre cartons and delivered to the supermarkets and other retailers on a daily basis. It retails at around double the cost of cows' milk, which reflects the larger numbers of animals needed for the same volume of production.

What started out as a niche market, for people with intolerance to cow's milk, has been expanded by an increasing number who buy simply because they prefer the taste of the milk, said Mr Wielkopolski.

"We've been very deliberate in marketing the products as 'deliciously mild' and find that once we get people to try them, they're hooked. They find them not at all strong or goaty-smelling, as they might have been in years gone by," he said. The difference between goats' milk then and now comes from better milking hygiene.

The family houses the animals in large open barns, saying they are not natural grazers and easily pick up infections such as foot rot if they are not kept warm and dry. They are bedded on straw, with hay always available and climbing materials for distraction. Their manure provides the main fertiliser for the fields, where maize is grown for their feed – some fed to them fresh and some clamped under polythene to make silage. They have ad-lib organic hay from red clover leys and get a further feed ration upon arrival in the milking parlour.

The dairy is served by a tanker which does a daily tour of 11 similar farms in North Yorkshire and the Midlands – many of them started with breeding stock from St Helen's.

St Helen's Farm is the biggest supplier of fresh goats' milk in the UK, but Yorkshire is its smallest market. Most goes to the south east of England.

The business has won praise from business leaders for its contact with the 36,000 customers who regularly buy St Helen's Farm products. There is always debate on the website, and a dedicated customer phone line which is advertised on more than nine million milk cartons a year.

Customers' are encouraged to write in with their stories about switching to goats' milk and their photographs and words often feature on packaging. In addition, the Wielkopolskis organise Thank Goodness for Goats Week, which is now in its sixth year, beginning on July 21.

"We know that 70 per cent of people who try goats' milk find some sort of health benefit from it and it seemed sensible to let their true stories do the talking for us," said Mr Wielkopolski.

"Many people report that digestive problems such as catarrh, eczema and even asthma, have been eased or eliminated."

He added: "The fat particles are smaller in goats' milk, which people say they find easier to digest."

One customer question is whether St Helen's Farm is planning an organic range.

Mr Wielkopolski said: "We have converted some of our land to organic status and have further acreage in the process of conversion. So much of the feed we now give to the goats has been organically grown. Pursuing wholly organic status would not be in the best interests of our goats. However we do follow as many organic farming principles as possible."

For information, visit www.sthelensfarm.co.uk or call 01430 861400.


Allergies, smells and diet

Allergy to cows milk is the most common food allergy in babies and fewer of them are allergic to milk from goats and sheep .


Contrary to popular belief, goats do not all have a strong smell – but the billy goats do give off a
pungent odour to attract females.


It is a myth that goats will eat anything. In fact they are quite fussy eaters.

The full article contains 1071 words and appears in n/a newspaper.Page 1 of 1

Last Updated: 18 July 2008 3:04 PM
Source: n/a
Location: Yorkshire

[mikey]

Bovine TB outbreak in Welsh goats 
Carl Yapp
BBC News website at the Royal Welsh Show 


 
The disease is unusual in goats, says the assembly government
Cases of bovine TB have been found in goats in Carmarthenshire.

The Welsh Assembly Government confirmed the outbreak and said it knew of a similar case in England, but it is not clear if they are linked.

The disease in goats is "unusual", and animal health officials are checking to see if it has spread to other herds.

The latest TB cases came as some MPs and AMs urged the assembly government to halt plans to cull badgers, which are known to spread TB to cattle.

Farmers' groups believe a cull of badgers would stem a rise in cases.

Of the outbreak in goats, Brian Walters, vice-president of the Farmers' Union of Wales (FUW), said the news was a worrying development, while a goat milk producer in Carmarthenshire voiced her concerns.

  It's another reservoir of TB that could affect the whole industry

Brian Walters, Farmers' Union of Wales

An assembly government spokeswoman said: "We are aware of an outbreak of bovine TB in goats in England and Wales that includes a case in Carmarthenshire."

Defra's executive agency Animal Health are responsible for management of the outbreak, as well as possible tracings to other herds.

"Animal Health are keeping officials in the TB team at the Welsh Assembly Government fully informed of developments with this outbreak," said the spokeswoman.

"A letter will shortly be published in the veterinary record summarising the current situation and advising veterinary practitioners of the need to consider bovine TB when investigating goats with clinical signs suggestive of the disease.

"The Goat Veterinary Society (GVS) has also circulated information to its members."

'Worrying development'

The spokeswoman added that such outbreaks were "unusual" and, as with all infections, they were treated seriously.

It is not known where in Carmarthenshire the outbreak has occurred.

The GVS on its website said the disease was first found following a post mortem examination of a goat in Wales a few weeks ago.

"The herd in question was in the process of being sold up due to retirement at the time the discovery was made," writes the society's secretary Nick Clayton to members.

"And many of the goats from that herd went to two other herds, from both of which stock had been sold on quite widely."

The FUW's Mr Walters said it was a "worrying development".

"It's another reservoir of TB that could affect the whole industry," he said.

"The question is why and how did the goats pick it up?"

Loraine Makowski-Heaton, a goat farmer from near Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire, said people in the industry were concerned about the outbreak.

But she said the majority of goat milk producers, including her, pasteurised their milk.

 

[mikey]

July 29, 2008 13:27 PM   

Plans Afoot For RM10 Mln Goat Research Centre In ECER


KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 (Bernama) -- There are plans in the pipeline for an RM10 million goat technology and research centre in Serating, Marang, under the East Coast Economic Regions livestock farming initiatives.

The research centre, Taman Teknologi Kaprima Bestari, will be located over 10 hectares within a Permanent Food Production Park, the ECER secretariat said in a statement here Tuesday.

The move is aimed at Malaysia achieving self-sufficiency in mutton as the country needs 10 million goats a year.

Currently, Malaysia mainly imports mutton from Australia.

The technology goat park, which will be built and managed by the Department of Veterinary Service Terengganu (JPHT), will collate all relevant information and research on goat breeding, as well as modernize the countrys goat breeding industry, with the ECER as a prominent hub, it said.

"This technology park is projected to be a research and information centre for goat breeders, especially those from Asian countries," JPHTs Director Dr Azizol Mohd Sharun was quoted as saying in the statement.

"We will bring in the latest goat breeding technology and techniques from abroad. This new technology will help breeders to minimize the production cost and give better returns."

Meanwhile, breeders and parties interested in the industry can avail themselves to goat farming courses, he said.

"We envisage the goat park to offer better economic prospects and employment opportunities for local entrepreneurs and graduates in related fields of study."

The goat technology park will be equipped with a farmhouse, mini slaughterhouse, fertilizer processing factory, restaurant, product exhibition hall, a mosque, and staff dormitories.

Aside from goat breeding and research activities, the park also offers an attractive and children-friendly tourist attraction where feeding and patting animals may be highlights.

Terengganu is targeting over 3.5 million visitors this year. Many of its tourism attractions are aimed at nature lovers and the goat park is expected to draw in its fair share of tourists.

The nations per capita consumption of mutton has risen from 0.67kg in 2006 to 0.74kg in 2007.

Malaysia has traditionally been Australias biggest live export market, importing about 15,000 tonnes of mutton and 50,000 goats.

Under the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP), the ECER is targeted to increase the goat breeding activities by seven percent within five years to tap into increasing local and international demand.

It will focus on high meat yielding goats to replace the smaller local animals.

To achieve its goal of 35 percent self-sufficiency in goat production by year 2015, it will need another 18,000 breeding goats.

The target is for ECER to hit 2,020 metric tonnes in year 2020, it said.

Malaysias goat farming is made up of 75 percent traditional breeders, while 15 per cent is semi-commercial with 10 percent in commercial farming.

Within the ECER, projects to boost goat breeding includes setting up a nucleus goat breeding research centre in Tersat, the establishment of the Collection, Processing and Packaging Centre (CPPC) and Collection and Marketing Centre (CMC) for traditional farmers to assemble and market goats.

-- BERNAMA


 

     


Copyright © 2008 BERNAMA. All rights reserved

[mikey]

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Qld well placed to cash in on goat demand: analyst
Posted 2 hours 46 minutes ago

Map: Charleville 4470
 A meat industry analyst says Queensland goat producers are in an ideal position to capitalise on growing global demand for goat meat.

Peter Schuster from Meat and Livestock Australia says prices have been depressed for the past 18 months due to uncertainty in global markets and a high Australian dollar.

He says Queensland processes more goats thank any other Australian state and plays an important role in the export of product.

"Well I just believe that Australia is positioned from a competitive angle as a preferred supplier of goat meat," he said.

"We are the biggest exporter of goat meat in the world ... particularly say China and America where in America now there are over 40 million people of Hispanic descent who actively seek and prefer goat meat."

[mikey]

Knowledge can equal success in goat business

By Shawn C. Henderson, For Midwest Producer
Tuesday, July 29, 2008 3:53 PM CDT


 
The bonding pens. (Shawn C. Henderson photos)     
Strong, time-tested business and farming practices are keys to success, and are exactly what a visitor to Silver Hill Farms in the Ozark Mountains will discover. The St. Joe, Ark., Boer goat ranch, owned and operated by Nancy Edgerly and David Marazzo is about high-quality meat production, and there are no ifs or ands about it. There are, however, butsŠ or more properly, butts!

"There are essentially two types of people in the goat business," Nancy says. "There are show goat people, and there are meat goat people. I am in the meat goat business. I put goat meat on the market, and I help other people do the same. That takes up all of the time that I have for the goat industry."

In the industry of meat goat farming, as Nancy explains, rump is royalty, and this redeeming quality is elitist, leading directly to greater carcass cash. To have the opportunity to become a part of this closed herd, there is one primary qualification, and that is having a broad back end.

"At the present time, we do have a closed herd," Nancy says. "We are more than happy to supply starter herds, but the only occasional newcomers to our herd are primarily bucks that are brought in to increase the size of the backside of our animals."

It may sound very 'matter-of-fact', but that is the way of doing business at Silver Hill Farms. They are about the quality of their herd, which directly correlates to the quality of the meat that is placed before consumers. Nancy is very serious about her goats, and if you don't believe it, show up at the ranch somewhere around 7 a.m. and watch her "commune" with her goats.

To bring scope to the task, perhaps it is best to start with the audience of nannies, billies and kids that Nancy goes out every morning to "visit" with.

 
   
 
"We have about 500-600 nannies here at any given time," Nancy says, "so that means that between March and May, which is when we primarily like for kids to be hitting the ground, we probably have about 750-850 baby goats on the farm during that time. With the wethers, billies and replacements we have, that means that the majority of the time, there are about 2,000 goats on the farm."

Veterinarians might shy away from everything but the fee of checking on 2,000 patients every morning, but to Nancy, it's just part of the daily routine. The way she sees it, one animal in the herd with a problem is a potential danger to all of the others and requires all of the attention necessary to make that one animal well. Again, quality is business, so the business is about maintaining the quality.

With hundreds of acres fenced, and nearly 2,000 goats to feed, shelter and care for at any given time, there's a lot of planning to be done at Silver Hill Farms. 
   


Thanks to a wealth of engineering experience, owner-operator David Marazzo has made many of the tasks on the farm infinitely easier, putting his knowledge to great use in the management of his herd.

"I'd like to say that I drew out extensive plans and adhered to a grand scheme," David says, "but a lot of it was just that I knew what I needed, went into the shop, and started to cut, weld and put things in place."

The cream of the farm, and what David says really separates Silver Hill Farms from many others, is the carefully planned and constructed bonding pens. A 50-foot x 100-foot building, centrally located on the farm, houses approximately 40 individually constructed pens where new mothers can rest comfortably after giving birth to new members of the herd.

"This is one of the things that really make us unique when compared to many other farms," David says. "There are very few farms that I have ever seen that have anything like this."

Each 4-foot x 8-foot stall has a pre-constructed gate and plywood side walls, and is bedded with hay for the comfort of mommy and babies. Each has its own holders for hay, water and grain buckets, and is its own unique nursery.

"There are several advantages to this design, and why we went to the extent to construct this," he says. "Even with the large number of goats we have here, it's a way to be able to screen each nanny as she gives birth. If there is any trouble with the birthing process, they are isolated, so it's easier to catch. It's also the easiest way to do any other veterinary work that needs to be done at that time, to ensure the health of the herd."

Because of the efficient and proven results of her health practices on the farm, Nancy admits that there are many farmers with whom she networks to share the wealth of her knowledge.

"Of course, everyone has their area of expertise," she says modestly, "but there have been many cases where other goat farmers that I am familiar with have called their vets for advice on a particular matter, and their vet's advice is to call that lady up at Silver Hill."

"They really are very sweet, lovable animals that are enjoyable to be around," she says. "Yes, it is work, but I enjoy getting up every morning and spending time out on the farm, checking to see how they are all doing. Yes, I do believe that diligence lends to quality control, but it's also personally gratifying."

On the day of the tour of the farm, nearly 2,000 goats roamed the pastures at Silver Hill. In the congregational feeding area of the building which houses the bonding pens, one lone kid lay on the hay, not far from a self-feeder.

"He's a little guy, and he's not feeling well today," Nancy said, kneeling next to the small goat. "I just thought he might feel better if he could lie around where it was cool, away from the others, and eat by himself whenever he feels like it."

A gate at the rear of the building was ajar, and another goat; a nanny, came wandering through at the sound of Nancy's voice. The gate led to an expansive fenced area, approximately an acre, where only three other goats were lazily grazing.

"Those and this girl here are some of our replacement nannies. He's an orphan, so I don't want him to feel like he's completely alone. That gate's open so that he and his friends can come and go as they please. He just doesn't feel like it right now."

Even with 2,000 goats, that kind of individualized animal care is one of the primary reasons that Silver Hill Farms maintains its level of quality and continues to be a prime example of the standard for the industry.

David and Nancy are working to expand their market, and are looking into the possibility of making members of this prime herd available to consumers at selected locations in Nebraska and Kansas.



 

[mikey]

Mixing Spiders & Goats Produces 'Silk Milk' Stronger Than Steel.
August 05, 2008 03:24 PM EDT (Updated: August 05, 2008 03:37 PM EDT)
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Naturally occurring "spider silk" is widely recognised as the strongest, toughest fibre known to man. The end result is a web-like material called Biosteel.

Biotechnology - Good or Evil?


According to reports scientists have successfully genetically altered a goats embryo with the DNA of a spider.  These genetically altered goats produced (mutated) in a laboratory are presently producing milk that is being used to make bullet-proof vests.  The claim is that the fibers contained in the spider goat's milk are twice as strong as Kevlar!

Genetically modified (GM) Goats that now produce spider's web protein are about to revolutionise the materials industry.  Stronger and more flexible than steel, spider 'silk milk' offers a lightweight alternative to traditional carbon fibre.

A Canadian company claims to be on the cutting-edge of producing unlimited quantities of spider silk which is ultimately extracted from goat's milk.   Remember Dolly the sheep?  Well, techniques similar to those but more specific to nuclear transfer are currently being used by scientists at Nexia Biotechnologies in Quebec.





BioSteel supposedly has advantages that make it compatible with the human body too, allowing for the development of tough artificial tendons, ligaments and limbs. Tissue repair and wound healing are also top of the list as well as ultra-thin, biodegradable sutures for eye or neurosurgery.

"The medical need for super-strong, flexible and biodegradable materials is large," said Costas Karatzas, Nexia's Vice President of Research and Development.

Okay, now for those Gather members who are lovers of goat cheese there's no need to worry.  This milk will not be for human consumption.  The goal of Nexia is to retrieve the spider-silk proteins from the milk and turn them into BioSteel, which could be used in everything from body armor to spacecraft construction.  It could even strengthen the structural steel used in buildings. (Although it would have to be carefully sealed from the environment so bacteria wouldn't eat it.)

These genetic advances have many people concerned. Every advance in cloning makes it more likely that someone will try to clone a human, which many opponents feel would threaten the integrity of being human.  And, yet doomsdayers see a nightmare world in which clones are created simply to provide body parts.  Since the clones would be genetically identical, organs from them would not be rejected by the original's body.

Additionally there are paramount concerns about the cross-species exchange of genes. Critics point out that living systems are so much more complicated than we appreciate that we can't know what consequences cross-species engineering will have.

[mikey]

Raising Goats for Their Hair
Into the world of cashmere and mohair. Transcript of radio broadcast:
04 August 2008
 
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This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

 
Angora goats
Goats are valuable not just for their milk and meat. Or for their ability to help renew grasslands and control weeds. Or even for their ability to be friendly and gentle around children.

Goats can also be valuable for their hair.

Cashmere goats produce cashmere and Angora goats produce -- thought we were going to say angora? No, angora fiber in fact comes from rabbits. Angora goats produce mohair.

Mohair is used in sweaters, scarves, coats and other clothing. Mohair is also used in floor rugs and carpets and things like doll hair.

An adult Angora can produce as much as seven kilograms of hair each year. As the goats grow older, however, their hair becomes thicker and less valuable. Hair from white or solid-colored goats is the most popular, but the appeal of mixed-color mohair has grown in recent years.


The United States is one of the main producers of mohair, and exports most of its production.

Angora goats are also popular show animals. They require little special care. The animals need milk from their mothers for three or four months. They reach full maturity when they are a little more than two years old. But even then they are smaller than most sheep and milk goats.

Cashmere goats are usually larger than Angoras. They can grow big enough to be kept with sheep and cattle.

The outer hair of the animal is called guard hair. Behind it is the valuable material on a cashmere goat. Cashmere is valued for its softness and warmth without much weight.

Some farmers comb their cashmere goats to remove the hair. But if the animals do get a haircut, it often takes place at the time when they naturally lose their winter coat -- between December and March.

Angora goats generally get their hair cut two times a year, in the spring and fall. The job can be done with simple cutting tools or by hiring a professional shearer. Angoras may need special protection from the cold for about a month after shearing.

The value of an animal's coat depends on the age, size and condition. But whatever kind of goat you choose, be sure to have a good fence. Goats love to explore.

[mikey]

Passionate about goats
Home » News » Farming
By Sally Rae on Fri, 8 Aug 2008
News: Farming
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Margaret Tomes and her champion goat Garberdine. Photo by Sally Rae. Dairy goats have been a passion for Margaret Tomes since she was first given a kid by a friend 20 years ago.
"I couldn't not do the goats. They get under your skin," Mrs Tomes explained.

She has enjoyed considerable success over the years with her Toggenburg and Saanen goats.

This season, she won the New Zealand Toggenburg Society's associate record doe of the year with Lagooncreek Garberdine, goatling of the year with Gar-berdine's daughter Georgette, and breeder of the year.

She also won most points in doe of the year, with Garberdine, for Premier Dairy Goats New Zealand.

Mrs Tomes and her partner, Craig Batchelor, farm at Island Stream, near Maheno, and used to milk the goats commercially.

They have since reduced numbers to about 100.

Goats were the only animal she knew which "love you to bits - forever".

The Toggenburgs were inclined to be mischievous while the Saanens were more placid.

Mrs Tomes, who has exported goats to Korea and Thailand, encouraged people to consider keeping dairy goats.

They were ideal for lifestyle properties, but she urged people to keep and breed "good" goats.

The standard in New Zealand was fairly good at the moment. .

Exhibiting her goats at A and P shows was a way for her animals to be seen and also to raise public awareness of dairy goats, she said.

[mikey]

Couple runs fiber mill
By DENISE GAMINO Austin American-Statesman © 2008 The Associated Press
Aug. 9, 2008, 8:33AM
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Share  Print Email Del.icio.usDiggTechnoratiYahoo! BuzzBLUE, Texas — Deborah and Jim Sharp are living a dream they didn't know they had.

Jim, whose face is being overtaken by a white beard he started in June after retiring from 38 years as a children's cancer doctor, sits under the vital shade of a blackjack oak. Deborah, in jeans and a teal blue medical scrubs top, stands nearby with a goat whose mohair fleece is so thick and long you can barely see its eyes.

The Sharps are hosting a barnyard barbershop.

They have 75 colored Angora goats, and most are in need of their twice-a-year shearing. Another 60 or so fluffy goats milling about belong to other Angora goat raisers from across Central Texas who came to get haircuts for their animals, too.

"Maaaaah, maaaah," cries an unhappy charcoal-colored goat. Third-generation shearer Stephen Franco of Rocksprings flips over the goat and runs an electric clipper over its legs and belly. Then, in an eye blink, he ties the goat's four legs with a thin leather thong so he can shear the long, spiraled locks on the animal's sides, back and head.

"Maaaaah, maaaaah," cries the upside-down goat, its pink tongue flitting in and out to reveal a row of bright white teeth. Franco, who's won medals for shearing in the Calgary, Alberta, rodeo, can shear a large goat in just three minutes.

Shearing day is a time-honored chore on fiber farms. But there's something unusual about this early summer ritual at Inglenook Farms, the Sharps' home about 45 miles northeast of Austin.

For the first time, the curly mohair fleeces, many weighing more than 10 pounds, won't be going far from this outdoor pen. Just 150 yards away is a fiber mill that can wash and process fleeces into yarn.

Deborah and Jim Sharp have raised goats here for just five years, but in January they launched a project unique in Texas.

They invested more than $200,000 of their own money to start the Texas Fiber Mill, the only place in the state open to anyone with fiber-producing animals, whether common or exotic. The mill uses large machines to wash the fleeces, separate and comb the fibers into long strands, and then spin them into yarn.

"We've processed quite a bit of mohair and alpaca," Deborah Sharp said. "We've also processed quite a bit of llama and some cashmere and some buffalo and various kinds of wool.

"We haven't yet processed camel or yak."

The fiber will be sold to knitters, crocheters, handspinners, weavers and others interested in the fiber arts, which are experiencing an explosion of international interest.

And the fiber industry is feeling the same "buy local" movement as the food industry. Consumers want to know who grew their food, and knitters want to know who raised the animals and spun the fiber they use. The Texas Fiber Mill allows farmers and ranchers to process their fleeces close to home and gives artists and hobbyists the opportunity to buy yarn and roving that comes from animals on the farm down the road. Roving is a long rope of loose fiber used to hand-spin yarn.

Until the fiber mill opened, some Central Texas fiber animal farmers shipped their fleeces to New England or the Rocky Mountains for processing. Some even used mills as far away as Peru, Mexico and Canada.

The Texas Fiber Mill is what is known in the industry as a mini-mill or a micro-spinnery. "

The mini-mills are "the only part of the (textile) industry that is growing," said Chris Lupton, a research scientist specializing in fiber at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research Center in San Angelo. "Everything else is moving to China."

The story of how Jim Sharp, a 71-year-old pediatric oncologist, and wife Deborah, a 51-year-old clinical social worker a dissertation short of a doctorate, came to open a fiber mill in the post oak savannah near the tiny town of Blue, about 15 miles northeast of Elgin, has as many twists and curls as a skein of lustrous mohair yarn.

It is a story of sadness and loss, love and soulmates, animals and nature, and hard work and uplifting renewal.

Until five years ago, the Sharps were a professional couple living near Oak Hill with a total of nine children from previous marriages. Jim was Austin's original pediatric oncologist with a practice that had expanded to include other doctors. Deborah was pursuing a doctorate in social work at the University of Texas while teaching at then-Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos and counseling private clients.

They had met in 1987 under heartbreaking circumstances. Deborah's daughter, 7-year-old Jonna Daughn, was diagnosed with leukemia and was being treated by Jim Sharp, who at that time was the only pediatric oncologist in Austin.

Jonna was a delightful and exuberant, wise-beyond-her-years child. She fought cancer for 2 1/2 years, but died on May 20, 1990.

Afterward, Deborah became executive director of the Austin-area Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation, a support organization for children with cancer and their families. Her work brought her into regular contact with Jim, and a romance blossomed. Deborah and Jim married in 1995.

(Disclosure: I wrote about the life and death of Jonna in this newspaper and have remained friends with the Sharps. I also belong to a small group of knitters who meet periodically in the Sharps' home. However, I knew nothing about the fiber mill until it was operating because I had been out of contact.)

Both Jim and Deborah Sharp are drawn to animals and the natural world. Jim has a green thumb for roses, and Deborah raised milk goats when her four daughters were young. It was a dog that brought them to the community of Blue. In early 2003 they bought a Vizsla, a Hungarian breed that needs lots of room to run. They began looking for a weekend home in the country. They bought 40 acres outside Blue and named their place Inglenook Farms, not knowing exactly what they would do with the land.

After much research, the couple decided to raise colored Angora goats, whose fleeces can be black, silver, brown, honey or even mixed. Most Angora goats, like most sheep, are white.

"We talked about the fact that we sure didn't like the idea of raising animals for slaughter," Deborah Sharp said. "That was not going to add joy to our lives. And Jim's work has always been very emotionally taxing. We wanted something that was going to add joy to our lives. Something beautiful, having baby goats and the kids born every year. The idea of renewal. We wanted it to be a place of renewal for both of us."

Their inquiries led them to Lisa Shell, an experienced fiber artist who had raised colored Angora goats for two decades. By serendipity, Shell lives only five miles down the road and quickly became a good friend and mentor. One of her colored bucks had especially spiraled locks and spiral horns. That caught the Sharps' attention because of their affinity for labyrinths and circles.

"We shared a history of cancer and death and dying and loss, and part of the way of understanding that is that life and death are all part of the same cycles and that life is a journey, somewhat like a labyrinth," Deborah Sharp said, "that you follow your path not really knowing where you're going to end up, and to a certain extent you have to operate on faith and enjoy the moment rather than being completely about your destination."

The Sharps began with nine goats, including some purchased from Shell. They later bought two alpacas, which are housed in a barn away from the goat pens.

When their original goats were sheared, a task that occurs twice a year, Deborah Sharp learned to wash fleeces by hand. After ruining a lot of fiber, she realized the task of processing the first 70 pounds of mohair fleece by hand was unrealistic. She decided to work with a fiber mill in Biddeford, Maine.

When the Sharps bought their first goats, "we didn't realize we were talking about hundreds of pounds of fiber," Deborah Sharp said. "If you're holding a handful of kid mohair, that's glorious stuff. But if you have a hundred pounds of raw mohair, that's overwhelming."

The Sharps are conscientious goat raisers and put long hours into their care. Two winters ago, an ice storm froze one newborn kid and another kid was abandoned by its mother after it became chilled. Deborah Sharp brought the kids indoors and kept them warm in a bathtub filled with towels. She bottle-fed little Nippy and Charlotte for almost a week until the weather warmed enough for them to live outdoors.

In just a few years, the Sharps' goats gained national attention. In 2006, they won grand champion doe and best fleece on animal at the Colored Angora Goat Breeders Association national show in Sedalia, Mo. In 2007, at the Wool Festival at Taos, N.M., they won best fiber goat fleece for the mohair shorn from Charlotte, one of the rescued kids.

Deborah Sharp also learned to knit and spin yarn on a spinning wheel. She helped form the Blue Earth Guild, a small group of knitters and spinners who meet once a month at Inglenook Farms. Over the past few years, the conversations at those gatherings often centered on fiber mills: What are you going to do with your fiber? What mill are you using? Where is the closest mill?

"It would always come back to 'I wish there were a mill around here,' " Deborah Sharp said. "And, 'We should just open a mill here.' "

Then, an unexpected letter arrived last August. The woman who owned the fiber mill in Maine needed to sell her equipment to move overseas to be closer to family.

Deborah stood in her kitchen as she read the letter. Jim sat at the nearby table. She handed him the letter and said, "We ought to do this."

He read it. "Yes, we should," he said.

They went to Maine in early November to visit the Fibre Company. The trip sealed the deal. Less than two weeks later, Deborah Sharp had a booth of her fiber for sale at Kid and Ewe, an annual fiber festival in Boerne. She passed out a small flier that said "Shhh ... Tell only your closest friends. There is a new Fiber Processing Mill opening in Texas in January! Quick turn-around times!"

Word spread faster than a half-finished sweater can unravel.

By the time the equipment arrived in late January, almost 100 pounds of fiber had arrived to be processed as well as 75 pounds of roving to be spun.

"We were overwhelmed by the response," Deborah Sharp said. "People were trying to come to the mill before the equipment was here. It was clear that Texas needed a mill."

For the Sharps, the journey from city folks to animal fiber experts has been much like earning undergraduate degrees, masters' and doctorates all in five years. And as their national show ribbons attest, they graduated with honors.

They often reflect on their unexpected journey and laugh about their "retroactive planning."

"We didn't really plan on doing what we're doing," says the soft-spoken Jim Sharp. "But it worked out and it's great."