World Goat News:

[mikey]

Published: August 11, 2008 01:18 pm             

Grant will aid goat producers

Special to the Daily Times

FRANKFORT — The Kentucky Department of Agriculture, in cooperation with Kentucky State University and Western Kentucky University, has been awarded a matching grant of $55,780 to identify new niche market opportunities for sheep and goat products.

Direct marketing to Kentucky’s ethnic consumers and retailers will be looked at, as well as alternative channels such as local butcher shops and meat processors.

“This grant will help open up new markets for Kentucky sheep and goat producers,” Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer said, “and allow their numbers to continue to grow in the Commonwealth.”

Kentucky is one of the top five states in number of goats with 81,400 as of Jan. 1, according to the Kentucky office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service. Kentucky’s sheep inventory totaled 37,000. Sales of Kentucky sheep and goats totaled an estimated $20 million in 2007.

Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer announced matching grants provided under the Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program. More than $1.3 million was awarded to Kentucky and 23 other states and territories to support agricultural market research.

“Farmers are the first important part in the chain of food production,” Shafer said, “and these USDA matching grants support new and practical links from farm to market.”

         

[mikey]

FARMER'S NOTEBOOK

If not cattle, goats also provide low-cost organic inputs


M.J. PRABU


The plant growth promotor called attottam can be used for different crops 





— Photo: special arrangement
 
Good alternative: Mr. V.S. Arunachalam of Erode district in Tamil Nadu at a training camp for farmers.

Getting a good yield is never an easy task for farmers, especially in the present circumstances, when they have to battle rising prices of chemical pesticides and fertilizer shortage.

Farmers are ready to try any alternative means that promise a reduction in input cost, and at the same time offer a bountiful harvest.

Organic practices seem to fit the slot very well. Several farmers across the country are turning to organic methods for cultivation as they are convinced that organic inputs can be prepared by them personally and are cost and pest effective.

Not a problem

According to Dr. G. Nammalvar, organic scientist, fertilizer shortage or high cost of chemical pesticides is not a problem for organic farmers, because most of them have cattle (cows).

They use the milk, dung and urine of the cow for making panchagavya, dasagavya, vermicompost and vermiwash.

It is fine for those who own cattle. But what about those who do not have them?

Cow wastes play an important role in organic farming. But for those who do not have cows, the goat is a good substitute.

Attotam

Goats are commonly found in all the villages. The milk, dung and urine of a goat have the same value as those of a cow, and the manure made from the goat’s milk and waste is called “attottam,” explains Dr. Nammalvar.

According to Mr. V.S. Arunachalam, who is responsible for developing attottam, this is among the best plant growth promoters for crops such as paddy, vegetables, cotton, chilli, groundnut, sesame, and flowering plants.

It stimulates plant growth, stops withering of leaves and fruit buds, and improves the smell, taste and weight of the produce.

Aattottam is made by taking about 5kg of fresh goat’s dung, 3 litres of goat’s urine, 1.5 kg of either soya or groundnut cake or green gram or black gram (after grinding), and soaking them in water overnight.

The next day about 2 litres of milk (goat’s milk), curd, coconut water, toddy and sugarcane juice each, and about a dozen ripe bananas (any banana variety) are added to it.

Toddy substitute

Toddy can also be substituted with about 50 gms of yeast dissolved in 2 litres of warm water and sugarcane juice can be substituted by adding 1 kg of jaggery dissolved in 2 litres of water.

All the ingredients should then be mixed together in a plastic drum and left under shade for about two weeks (14 days), after which the mix can be used.

Stir the solution

It is advisable to stir the solution about 50 times in a clockwise and anticlockwise direction each, once during the day and again in the evening.

The mouth of the plastic drum should be covered with a thin cotton cloth to prevent insects and worms from laying eggs on the surface of the solution.

The shelf life of the solution is about six months, (provided it is stirred twice everyday in the manner explained above.) If the solution becomes too thick to stir over time, water or tender coconut water can be added to dilute it.

For an acre

For an acre about two litres of attottam diluted in about 100 litres of water should be sprayed on the crops.

Before pouring the solution into the hand sprayer, it should be filtered properly so the spraying holes do not get blocked. For good results, spray before flowering and fruit setting.

For more information readers can contact Mr. V.S. Arunachalam, Elunkathir pannai, Kulavikaradu, P.Vellalapalayam PO, Gobichettaipalayam Taluk, Erode:.638476, email: elunkathir@gmail.com,

[mikey]

Ethnic tastes help fuel local goat industry
Posted By DONAL O'CONNOR, Staff Reporter
Posted 6 hours ago
 

Interest in goat farming is growing by leaps and bounds.

Organizers were expecting 220 participants at the International Goat Symposium and Caprine Classic that winds up today at the Stratford Agriplex but found themselves stretching the menu to feed up to 340 people.

And they had to turn down some late requests for exhibition space, said symposium chair Bob Reid.

"It meant some people didn't get too much to eat," he said.

The numbers were good news for organizers, confirming predictions that holding the symposium in Perth County would be more convenient to goat farmers.

"I'm really, really pleased to see so many people," said Mr. Reid, who also credited Tobin Schlegel of the Canadian Caprine Classic show in London for joining in the symposium.

About 125 of 200 or so goat farms in Ontario are concentrated in southwestern Ontario, said Mr. Reid, and the availability of the new Agriplex offered a good central location for the symposium.

In past years many regarded goat farming as something that was "kind of cute," he said, but now the burgeoning industry is being seen as a growth industry, and people are taking it seriously.

The growth is being fuelled by immigration from Asian, African and Central American countries where goat's milk and cheese and meat are staples, said Mr. Reid, himself a Perth County goat farmer.

Ethnic populations in Toronto and Vancouver are providing Canada's largest areas of demand.

Worldwide there is more goat's milk consumed by humans than cow's milk, he said.

Continued After Advertisement Below

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Use of goat's cheese in high-end restaurants and on cooking shows is also promoting growth of the industry -- as is its appeal to consumers with a lactose intolerance.

Meanwhile, the much lower capital costs in goat farming as compared to dairy or hogs or cash cropping is making goat farming accessible to younger farmers or farmers who are switching over from other areas.

"To milk one cow costs $33,000 for a licence. You can buy a lot of goats for $33,000," quipped Mr. Reid.

While doors are being closed to people who want to farm in other areas "here, we are welcoming them in," he added.

Along with the growth in demand for milk and cheese -- they account for about 80 per cent of product -- there has been accompanying growth in the equipment and feed supply end of the business.

Milking parlours with sophisticated equipment akin to dairy have been replacing the old fashioned bucket collection. Individual animal identifications are becoming part of farming practice. And herds that once were typically 20 or 30 animals are now often numbering in the hundreds.

Mr. Reid said he knows of a farmer who is planning a herd of 1,200 animals.

Along with the growth of the milk and cheese end of the market there has been an increase in demand for meat. Young bucks which in the past had been discarded by farmers are now being raised to about 40 pounds for sale.

Lambert Dekort and his wife Linda from Dutton were among the many goat farmers attending the symposium. Mr. Dekort said he started in goats about seven years ago and now maintains a herd of 250-300 animals.

They started small, he said, and it was mainly his wife who looked after the goats. When a fire destroyed his cow dairy operation he decided to expand the goat operation.

"There's a lot more interest now and people are taking it a lot more seriously," he said, echoing Mr. Reid. A lot of information has been coming from France and Holland.

Mr. Dekort runs a 20-unit milking parlour. "I thought it was modern when I put it in five years ago, but now it seems outdated ... There's better stuff out there."

One of the exhibitors at the Agriplex, Woolwich Dairy Inc. based in Orangeville, was offering samples of its various cheeses.

Demand has been growing by 12-15 per cent annually, said Michael Domingues, vice-president of marketing for the company, which he said is the largest goat cheese maker in Canada.

Mr. Domingues cited health-conscious consumers and the popularity of goat cheese at restaurants for the growth the company has been seeing.

"It's almost become mainstream now," he said.

Apart from the dairy at its Ontario headquarters, the company operates a dairy in Quebec and another in Wisconsin.

Article ID# 1157224

[mikey]

Texas biologist: Cuero chupacabra is a pit bull
David Biello   
                     

All good cryptid stories come to an end and so it goes with the chupacabra video. Although it is difficult to make a definitive identification from the tape, biologist Scott Henke of Texas A&M University-Kingsville says "It's a dog for sure."

Since coyotes run a little more gracefully, it's likely to be a bull mastiff or pit bull, or perhaps just a mutt. "Dogs just roaming and being stray is quite a problem in southern Texas," Henke says. "The probability of it being a mixed breed dog is higher than anything else."

He notes that the original chupacabra findings—headless goats with drained blood—turned out to be the work of a Mexican cult. And the chupacabra's other hallmark—not eating the livestock it kills—is also a feral dog favorite. "Feral dogs are much more of a problem than coyotes for losing livestock like goats," he says. "Especially if the animal is killed and the throat's bit. A coyote will eat the meat too, if they're going to go to the effort to kill it. If they're just torn up, it's most likely a feral dog."

In other words, the chupacabra's killing spree is just a fighting dog running loose and treating goats like a chew toy.

Credit: © Marshall Boprey/istockphoto.com

 

 

[mikey]

STARTING RIGHT WITH HOMESTEAD GOATS
This versatile livestock is an excellent source of milk and cheese, includes: buying, housing and fencing, feeding, birthing, milking, bucks, kids.
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Loyal personable hard working. . . and a source of wonderful milk and cheese.

The goat is undoubtedly the most versatile livestock a homesteader can own. The homestead hog will eat your garbage and can produce lots of piglets for meat or sale, but you're not going to milk one or make any money selling cheese from a pig. Sheep, chickens, rabbits, turkeys, ducks, and the traditional milk cow all have their respective uses, but none will provide all of the following — milk, cheese, meat, brush control — within a handy one to two-hundred pound package that will also pack your gear on a hiking trip. The goat is the only animal named that you could honestly describe as personable. A homestead goat that's raised right is as loyal, charming, and companionable as the family dog, and in most cases a lot more useful.

Goats come in a great variety of breeds and strains. They are perhaps best defined by their three main commercial uses. Thus we have hair goats (that produce mohair and cashmere), meat goats (the Spanish goat and the Boer goat dominate the current market), and milk or dairy goats (common breeds include the Toggenberg, Nubian, Saanen, La Mancha, Oberhasli, and Alpine). The hair goat and meat goat industries are most prevalent in the American Southwest. Although hair goats and meat goats can be milked, butchered, or used for packing (my own homegrown goats have a lot of Spanish blood), most small-farm or homestead goats are dairy goats.

GETTIN YOUR GOAT
Since we're assuming that you are just starting out with the joys of homestead goats, the best goat to start with is a female (called a doe) that is pregnant. A pregnant doe will soon give you the priceless experience of birthing and raising baby goats (called kids), and shortly after that will provide the family with better milk and cheese than money can buy, often with some left over for sale. The breed, in my opinion, is not important. Goat fanciers, like dog and horse fanciers, like to brag about their breed, and they will argue the merits of their breed over those of any other breed. But the fact is that all the dairy goat breeds mentioned above produce good, hardy, milk-goats that will yield about a gallon of milk per day and be a pleasure to have around. Various hybrids and crosses of those breeds can be just as good. Note, however, that all the breeds mentioned can produce some real lemons, too, that may be unhealthy, poor milkers, and hard to handle. Jesse — bless her heart — is a case in point.

[mikey]

Tiny farm's owner a big cheese in contest
by Jaye Beeler | Press Food Editor
Wednesday August 20, 2008, 3:31 PM

Press Photo/Emily Zoladz
Farm-fresh: Roast chicken breasts are stuffed with basil goat cheese filling and accompanied by squash gratin with goat cheese feta and heirloom tomatoes.RECIPES
• Summer squash gratin
• Basil-goat cheese stuffed chicken breasts
• Jason Moniz' goat cheese mousse in Parmesan crisps

When Barbara Jenness, of Dancing Goat Creamery near Byron Center, entered her farmstead goat cheese in the prestigious American Cheese Society competition in Chicago, she did not tell a soul.

She wasn't even present for the announcement of the winners.

"I just entered to get some feedback from the experts," said Jenness, known as the "goat lady." "I'm not afraid of constructive criticism, so I wondered what they would think of my chevre."

Afterward, Jenness picked up the judges' scoring sheet and discovered her Dancing Goat chevre had taken second place in the fresh-farmstead-cheese category.

"Wow, I was so excited," Jenness said. "My feet didn't touch the ground."

Back on her 3 1/2-acre DogWood Farm at 10385 Wilson Ave. SW, Jenness works with 20 alpine goats out of a 100-year-old barn, a tiny cheese room and the smallest cheese plant in Michigan.


Barbara Jenness makes nearly 100 pounds of goat cheese a week at her Byron Center farm. She crafts "farmstead" goat cheese -- meaning cheese from the milk of her herd is processed on her farm.

Besides the chevre, Dancing Goat's lineup includes cracked black pepper, red pepper, sun-dried tomato, honey-orange zest, Michigan cherry pecan chevre log and feta marinated in sun-dried tomatoes and olive oil.

The new favorite is pesto chevre, made with basil and garlic from Jenness' garden.

As the warm weather dwindles, so will Jenness' supply, likely ending by Halloween.

"Goats don't produce in the winter," Jenness said. "You can finagle things to have the goats lactate over the winter, but lactation is seasonal. The goats need time off -- to take a breather, to get their girlish figure back. In the spring, we'll bring in a boy, and it starts all over again."

Jenness' silver-medal status with the American Cheese Society has put an exclamation point on a wonderful summer.

Her Dancing Goat chevre will be spotlighted in the Slow Food Nation, the four-day exhibition in San Francisco over Labor Day weekend. Her son, Jason Moniz, executive chef at Flora Restaurant in Oakland, Calif., will feature his mom's goat cheese on the menu during that time.

In the fall, Jenness will conduct cheese-making classes, limited to five participants, Sept. 27 and Oct. 13, on the farm.

[mikey]

Goats replace cows on Lancashire dairy farm
26/08/2008 10:30:00
FWi
Milk production is still the main source of income on the Gorst family's farm at Dolphinholme, Lancaster - but none of it comes from cows.

Their long established pedigree Holstein herd has now been replaced by 1000 dairy goats in the first phase of a major change in farm policy that will steadily see the unit expand to 2000 milking nannies.

 It's just over 18-months since John and Barbara Gorst and their son Mark decided to set up a large-scale goat milking enterprise at their Dolphinholme House Farm. For three months the family milked its dairy herd as well as the foundation herd of nearly 600 dairy goats, but by mid-summer last year the cows had gone and goat numbers were heading towards 1000.

The first 600 goats were bought as an entire herd - along with the herd's 30-aside headlock milking parlour - comprising a range of breeds including pure and cross-bred Saanen, Toggenburg, Anglo Nubian, Old English, Golden Guernsey and British Alpine nannies.



Further additions last year took numbers to almost 1000 head which have now produced about 500 female kids to continue the expansion.

The Gorsts admit that running a dairy goat herd brings a new set of challenges compared to milking cows. "You've got to have a disciplined system to be able to manage so many individual animals every day - and foot care is the big management issue with goats," says John Gorst.

The farm ran a 200-cow herd averaging 9500kg, but increasing cow numbers wasn't an option. The challenge was to find a way of expanding the farm business - and large scale commercial goat milking gave the family the ideal opportunity.

"Based on a cow giving 30 litres a day and a goat giving three litres meant we needed 10 goats for every cow. Because goats' milk is twice the price of cows' milk we needed 1000 goats to generate the same income as 200 cows. So if we could milk 1500-2000 goats we could double the size of the business," says Mr Gorst.

"A female kid is in-milk by the time it's a year old, so provided we make good use of superior genetics we should make relatively rapid progress and improve the herd's quality and output - certainly much faster than we could do with a new dairy herd," says Mark Gorst.



This year should see the herd average 900-1000 litres. Average daily yield is three litres although the best nannies can give up to 10 litres. Herd improvement is based on selecting females on yield, freedom from foot problems and conformation as well as using superior sires. Although "improver" genetics may be imported as semen from France, billies from leading commercial milking herds in the UK are also being used.

"This isn't like breeding dairy cows. Goat dairying in terms of recording and genetics is way behind the dairy cattle industry. We're using the best Saanen and Toggenburg billies - based on stature, udder and yield - on nannies of mixed breeding because in a purely commercial enterprise cross-breeding is accepted as the norm," says Mark.

The breeding cycle runs from August to March, but with the higher winter milk price paid from September to February the Gorsts have goats going dry from the end of February and to start kidding in May after a five-month gestation.

"The aim is to get the benefit of the high winter milk price, so nannies are mated in December and January. We run around one billy to 70 nannies," says Mark.

The herd is housed in straw yards and fed big-bale hay and a specially formulated dairy goat concentrate offered ad-lib. Concentrate intakes are about 3kg a day with a small amount fed in the parlour purely as an incentive to get the goats into the stalls.

Goats, which can be productive for about six years, are run through a foot-bath every day, but there's a strict three-week foot treatment programme in place to control the spread of foot rot.

Nannies prefer to kid unattended most produce twins although three or even four kids is not uncommon. Kids are weaned after six weeks on a milk machine, but the Gorsts say they're far more delicate than calves.

by Jeremy Hunt (About this Author)

[mikey]

Goats were 'starved' during 65-hour road trip
August 27, 2008 12:36am
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A QUEENSLAND truckie has faced court over starving 1500 goats of food and water during a 65-hour trip to the Northern Territory.

Keith Simpson, and his company Keith Simpson Transport, have pleaded not guilty to 96 animal cruelty charges involving more than 1400 goats the company trucked 3000km from near Bourke, NSW, to Acacia, on Darwin's outskirts.

Twelve goats were dead on the truck when it arrived in Darwin on July 27 last year after a 65-hour trip, the Darwin Magistrates Court heard. And - despite veterinary treatment - a further 318 died or were euthanased as they continued to suffer from the stressful trip through to November.

The Northern Territory News was told that if the case against Mr Simpson was proved, it would be the biggest animal welfare conviction in the Territory's history.

Mr Simpson's lawyer David Francis said the truckie was only a middle operator in an export chain "where a number of linkages" had "fallen down in their duty".

But Brisbane-based exporter, Adam Armstrong, who hired Mr Simpson and was going to on-sell the goats for export to Malaysia, said the truckie had agreed to a transport plan that included two drivers - or one driver and a 12-hour water, food and rest stop en route to the Territory.

Mr Armstrong said Mr Simpson went against this and "the goats went straight through" with one driver, who took rest stops, suffered a flat tyre, and had a minor accident on a bridge along the way.

Darwin mango farmer, David Joyce, who agisted the goats, said he was "not happy" to see dead goats on the truck when it arrived.

He said the sick goats - which were "staggering" - reminded him of the "bad old days" when animal welfare standards were not enforced.

He said the accepted time limit for transporting goats without food or water was 38 hours.

The hearing continues.

[mikey]

Regional demand for high breed goats increasing     
Written by Watoro Kamau     

Milk at a Nakumatt supermarket outlet in Nairobi. A dairy goat registered with the Kenya Stud Book fetches about Sh20,000September 16, 2008: Rising demand for high grade dairy goats in the East African region has seen increased interest by farmers to have their herds registered with a breed certification body.

A dairy goat registered with the Kenya Stud Book (KSB) fetches about Sh20,000 in the region where some governments keen to promote the activity are purchasing goats for distribution to organised groups of farmers.

Rwanda and Uganda are among countries in the process of buying 1,000 dairy goats from Kenya for introduction to farmers.

Last year, local farmers exported several heads of pedigree cows to Rwanda. The Kenya Livestock Breeders Organisation (KLBO) says the opportunity should motivate keepers to improve husbandry and rear quality herds.

“You can only determine the quality of the animal by having it registered with the stud book where records regarding its breed, production capacity and other traits are kept,” KLBO chairman Christopher Chirchir said.

“A registered Dorper ram sells locally at Sh15,000 while a registered ewe sells at Sh5,000. A dairy goat fetches Sh8,000 locally. The export prices are three times higher than local prices,” Mr Chirchir said. The organisation runs the Kenya Stud Book. The ready market has spawned an upsurge in the number of farmers seeking to register the livestock with KSB over the past few months.

Close to 4,500 new applications for registration of stock are pending at the Kenya Stub Book whose processes are yet to be automated.

Despite the opportunities locally and in the region KLBO says only a few farmers have quality dairy goats. Foreign buyers are usually interested in animals with documented history.

Apart from live animals Mr Chirchir said there was overwhelming demand for animal products like milk and meat in the region, including from DR Congo which has enquired about purchasing beef from the country.

“Butchers there want an estimated 40 tonnes of beef per month,” Mr Chirchir said.

Mr Chirchir advised livestock breeders to enhance the breeding of dairy goats and pedigree cows to cash in on the demand for the animals.
Prices for registered pedigree dairy cows stand at between sh170,000 and 250,000, Mr Chirchir said.

The country is currently experiencing an acute shortage of quality dairy animals following the loss of an estimated 170,000 cows during post election violence.

The animals were either killed or stolen from the farms at the peak of the violence. Some of the cows died of diseases as farmers were displaced from their farms.

Unlike cows which take longer to reproduce dairy goat farmers can multiply their stock within a very short period. A litre of dairy milk   fetches  Sh150 in Nairobi, mostly as an alternative for consumers allergic to cow milk.


Ranching sector
Mr Chirchir said it was also economical to keep a dairy goat as compared to a cow. Estimates show that a litre of cow milk costs Sh18 to produce, about four times that of a litre of goat milk, at between Sh4 and Sh5. The farm gate price for a litre of cow milk is Sh20.

A number of organisations including German Technical Co-operation, International Livestock Research Institute and Heifer International are supporting KLBO to improve animal registration with an outreach programme set for the country’s ranching sector.

The Agricultural Development Corporation (ADC), Mr Chirchir said, has also started registering its livestock after the state owned corporation was revamped. 
 

[mikey]

Goats take bite out of pesticide bills

Published Thursday, September 25, 2008
PALMER, Neb. (AP) - When Ladd Reeves invited Michelle Wendell and more than 600 of her friends to his ranch for dinner, he put one item on the menu: weeds.

Instead of turning up their noses, Wendell’s hairy friends stuck their muzzles in the weed salad and have kept them there for two weeks.

"They love it," Wendell said earlier this month while surrounded by the herd of goats munching on weeds on a small plot at Reeves’ hilly 1,440-acre ranch.

Like an increasing number of cattle ranchers - who for decades have used chemicals and other means to fight stubborn weeds - Reeves is giving the walking weed eaters a shot. He invited the goats to his spread as part of a project with the Nebraska Grazing Lands Coalition.

In the biological buffet line of a pasture, cattle shun weeds in favor of grass.

But goats go straight to invasive, tough-to-control weeds such as leafy spurge musk thistle that can choke out grasses and ruin a pasture for cattle grazing.

Even cedar trees, which ranchers despise for their ability to overtake pastures, are a favorite entree for goats.

"You can raise them on what everyone else classifies as junk - they eat it willingly," Wendell said.

He said goats choose the junk over grasses, process them, destroy the seeds - and their waste is good for the soil.

Among farmers and ranchers, goat grazing still isn’t close to replacing chemicals as the preferred method of keeping weeds in check, which is required by state laws.

But sightings of the sturdy creatures, whose unusual eating habits and four-chambered stomachs make some consider them the garbage disposal of the animal kingdom, are becoming more common, as are sheep.

"In the last three to five years, the number of goats has increased," said Dana Larsen, range specialist for the Nebraska Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Last year, the agency started a program to help ranchers pay for such services.

"People are looking for a nonchemical, nonmechanical means of controlling weeds," Larsen said.

Chemicals and other traditional means of weed control are "a direct cost with no return," Larsen said. "With goats ... they may at least get a product."

The American Meat Goat Association said goats were one of the first animals to be domesticated, about 10,000 years ago. Goats are extremely adaptable, able to live in the high altitudes of the Himalayas, the humid tropics and bone-dry desert climates.

A hundred years ago, goats were more prevalent, raised for their milk and meat. But as the demand for beef increased, cattle replaced goats on many pastures across the country.

Now a movement is afoot to bring goats back to help the habitat of the cattle.

The number of goats used for meat and milk still dwarfs those mainly used for weed control, said Bob Sims, director of the American Meat Goat Association.

But that’s changing, as Amy Jeanroy and her husband, Cal, can attest. They raise about 25 goats near Ravenna, Neb., using the goats’ milk to make cheese.

Lately, neighbors have been asking for more than cheese to put on their crackers.

"We’ve had a lot of people interested in using our goats for weed management," Amy Jeanroy.

Wendell, who also raises organic hay with her husband at their ranch, sees more than a paycheck when she watches her goats work. "There’s nothing more satisfying than putting them on a patch of what people perceive as weeds and getting rid of them while the goats get fat and shiny," she said.

[mikey]

Man and Goat Hikers Get the Boot
By Jon Greenberg on Friday, September 26, 2008.
listen: 
About a month ago we told you the story of a young man who was hiking the Appalachian Trail in the company of a goat. The goat, Ali Baba, seemed to engender good will wherever he went. But man and goat drew a very different response from the people who manage the trail.

Earlier this week, the National Park Service said they’d have to hike someplace else. Goats are considered pack animals and pack animals are not allowed on the Appalachian Trail.

New Hampshire Public Radio’s Jon Greenberg has this update.

Web resources:

Video with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy Staffer
A through-hiker's protest against the goat ban
To bring you up to speed, in early March, Joseph Mangum started hiking the Appalachian Trail in Tennessee. As it happens, he has a cousin who breeds goats and Mangum decided to use one to help carry his gear. Man and goat spent five months hiking north and were on their way home through Pennsylvania when they were stopped by a local trail representative.

CUT: apparently he has some big position with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and since it says no pack animals, he decided to rain on my parade.

Mangum’s arguments that his goat, Ali Baba, does less damage to the trail than dogs, which are permitted, and is actually just like a small deer, which are everywhere on the trail, got him nowhere. So did his point that the official trail web site specifically bans horses and mules but not goats.

He spoke directly with the top law enforcement officer for the Appalachian Trail, Chief Ranger Todd Remaley of the National Park Service. Remaley says the web site might not list goats but the compendium to the federal law does.

CUT: 36 CFR A, for the purposes of regulations, horses, mules, burros, goats and llamas are designated as pack animals.

Remaley says there are many good reasons to keep goats off the Appalachian Trail. It crosses land owned by many different people and organizations and they might object to goats. Goats might disrupt the ecology by eating endangered native plants or by introducing foreign plants to the trail in their droppings. Remaley also said the park service must protect other hikers. One should not overlook the destructive capabilities of goats.

CUT: A classic example would be to have food or gear damaged whenever a hiker has limited supplies for the duration of their trip.

But Mangum counters, this goat has only enhanced the trail’s reputation. He says Ali Baba is the talk of the 2008 season.

CUT: Some people think it’s a legend, a myth. The Goat man. And others finally meet Ali Baba and they’re just so overjoyed and it’s been nothing but positive for the AT and the conservancy,. And these guys have just decided to end this journey and I think that’s a really bad thing to do.

Mangum has an email list of people he’s met along the way and some of them have told him they plan to press the park service to change its rules. One has posted a couple of videos on You Tube. For now, Mangum is staying off the trail.

Chief Ranger Remaley says he’s sympathetic and has offered to help Mangum and Ali Baba find rural roads they can use to finish their hike. He also says the official web site will be updated to send a clear message. If you want to travel the Appalachian Trail, leave your goat at home.

For NHPR News, I’m Jon Greenberg

[mikey]

Riyadh: First it was camels. Now Saudi Arabia has held its first "beautiful goat" pageant.


Owners of pedigree "Najdi" goats from around the Gulf region converged on Riyadh this week, hoping to win the prize for top male and female goat, following in the footsteps of lucrative camel competitions which have taken off in recent years.


"The Najdi goat is a pure national product like nothing else in the world," said Sheikh Faisal al-Saadoun, a leading Saudi breeder who organised the show.


"They are different in terms of beauty, shape and how eye-catching they are."


The goats are named after the central Najd region of Saudi Arabia, where the goats have a distinctive high nose bridge and shaggy hair with a fine, silky quality.


They were given a thorough shampoo for the show, according to the official website (wwwl.al-nawader.com) which displayed the winners.


Most of the goats in the competition were bred from one star goat, Burgan (Volcano), from Saadoun's stable and have been exported around the Gulf in trade worth millions of riyals.


Burgan was not on display at the show as the owners fear he could be afflicted by the "evil eye".


But that did not stop offers from the Qatari royal family to buy him, the compere told the gathering.


Saadoun sold dozens of goats from his stable for at least 100,000 riyals ($26,000) each at the show, adding to some 8 million riyals he has made over the years breeding from Burgan.


"This male goat is different. He is historic and he has contributed to developing the Najdi goat," he told Reuters, as poets recited odes in praise of the goats over loud speakers.


The winner in the male category was a son of Burgan with a value of 450,000 riyals.


The gathering at a ranch outside Riyadh gave breeders a chance to trade but Abu Ahmed, a breeder from the United Arab Emirates, was disappointed that Saadoun did not take his offer of 350,000 riyals for a one son of Burgan.


"I wanted to develop the breed from the point it has got to," he said. However, camels remain the pride of the Bedouins. Delicate females or strapping males can sell for more than a million riyals and camel-racing is a popular throughout the Gulf.


Last November a leading authority of Saudi Arabia's hardline school of Islam condemned camel beauty contests as evil, saying those involved should seek repentance in God.

[mikey]

Associated Press of Pakistan
 
MUZAFFARGARH: A land owner and his sons allegedly slaughtered six goats of a fisherman in revenge after the animals entered his agriculture field in Basti Jhabail area.

According to details, six goats owned by a fisherman Ghulam Shabbir Jhabail entered the agriculture field of Qazi Muhammad Siddiq.

The entry of animals angered Siddiq who along with his sons Muhammad Suhail, Muhammad Waqas, and Ahmad Saeed allegedly slaughtered the animals.

Villagers gathered at the site soon after and handed over the accused to Muzaffargarh Sadar police.

Police have registered a case and took the slaughtered goats in possession.

Meanwhile, MNA Jamshed Dasti also reached the site, provided financial assistance to the poor fisherman and promised to get him justice.




 

[mikey]

Forget herbicides, weed-whackers: get some goats, study says
Last Updated: Thursday, November 6, 2008 | 11:59 AM ET
CBC News
A study found goats effectively cleared properties of hearty weeds including thistle, hawk weed, dandelion and horsetails. (Betsy Trumpener/CBC) Municipalities across Canada should consider swapping herbicides for goat herds to control weeds on environmentally sensitive lands, a British Columbia study has concluded.

The study, led by University of Northern British Columbia professor Annie Booth, tracked the eating habits of goats for two summers in Prince George. The study found the goats effectively cleared properties of hearty weeds including thistle, hawk weed, dandelion and horsetails.

"As soon as we unloaded them, they turned around and started eating dandelions," Booth said. "They do their job — which is clear up and clean out the weeds here."

"We were very pleased to discover that goats do provide a very effective form of weed control, particularly for some tricky weeds that are difficult to eradicate even with the use of herbicides."

While different communities around the globe have used goats to control weeds, Booth's study is believed to be the first study of its kind quantifying the efficacy of the method. The research was conducted by a partnership between UNBC and the City of Prince George.

Booth also noted that using goats in place of herbicides is kinder to the environment and suggests municipalities might consider leasing herds of goats for the summer months.

"[They can] work with goat owners in the area to lease out a herd every summer," she proposed. "I think [it] would be a very effective way for a city to go. We'll see if Prince George decides to move in that direction."

Booth will present her findings to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities

[mikey]

Goats’ milk offers chance to be a big fish in a small pond
News | 13 November, 2008

COMMERCIAL dairy goats offer an opportunity for some conventional dairy farmers, says the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers.

But caution is urged in this comparatively diminutive sector that accounts for 22 million litres, or 0.1 per cent, of UK milk volume.

Looking at returns, establishing a dairy goat enterprise stacks up, says RABDF’s Laura Dickinson.

“Return on investment is significantly greater when compared to a conventional dairy cow enterprise. These require a considerably higher investment to meet various compliance requirements, including the challenges of the NVZ Action Programme.

“However, swapping dairy cows for dairy goats is far less attractive than it was say five years ago when farmgate dairy goats’ milk averaged 40ppl compared with dairy cow milk at 17ppl.

“But the investment costs remain lower, for example a milking goat from a high health status herd costs approximately £250 and parlour modification can cost in the region of £40,000.

“Dairy cow farmers have the basic requirements of some accommodation and a parlour, which can be readily modified.”

The UK’s 45 herds vary in size from 250 to 4,000 milking goats, averaging about 900 litres per lactation, with an average working life of six lactations.

“The dairy goat product sector has expanded by around 20 per cent year on year in the decade to 2006/07 and 16 per cent last year.”

However, she says domestic production sits against imports, mainly from the Netherlands, accounting for some 65 per cent of the 50 million litres used annually.

Goats’ milk is traded and processed by five main companies, who each set farmgate prices.

There is no collection mechanism for a farmer levy and in the last year, money spent on advertising and PR has been relatively small.

Also, few if any dairy goats worldwide have been progeny tested and AI use is minimal.

“Dairy goat farming has yet to be accepted as a real commercial enterprise. It may be possible to be a big fish in a very small pond, and help drive forward a sector on the cusp of further development.”

How dairy goat conversion adds up

* Nick Brandon has gradually swapped a 170 cow pedigree Holstein herd for 1,600 goats at Upper Enson Farm, Sandon, Stafford.

* Expansion to 2,000 head by next year is planned.

* The herd averages 800 litres per 48 week lactation.

* A gross margin of £136 per head and £680 per acre is achieved.

* All milk is sold on contract at 42.24ppl to Delamere Dairy.