Federated Farming: Goat farming more than just a lifestyle choice

Goat farming is a valid lifestyle choice.

Taranaki couple Richard and Lynne Milne have been successfully farming goats in support of their dairy operation for more than 30 years.

Goats can add resilience to your farm by being integrated into other livestock enterprises. Making a success of goat farming takes plenty of dedication and effort but the rewards can be significant.

The Milnes' dairy farm production has not suffered with goats grazing amongst them at a moderate level and in recent seasons, goats and bulls have enabled the business to make a profit rather than a loss. Originally goats grazed the gullies and the cows the flat land, with emphasis placed on the goats for improving the fibre quality (hence the dollar return from the goats) and on internal parasite control to reduce drenching frequency.

Parasites are managed by a programme of faecal egg testing and culling.

The Milnes decided to bring the kids up to a year of age onto the dairy farm and eliminate dosing in these young animals until 18 months of age. They made the valuable discovery that doing this had very little impact on the production of the dairy cows.

With space available in the gully area they established a third source of income -- dairy service bulls.

The outcome has been profound, with bulls and goats providing a significant part of the farm income, while allowing capacity to harvest large amounts of surplus pasture to bring home to the dairy platform.

This surplus feed comes because bulls leave the farm early October and this frees up a huge amount of pasture for supplement. Production has exceeded 1750kg milk solids per hectare with goats grazing alongside the cows.

The Milnes' system is relatively straightforward. The most important thing to ensure is the survival of the kids, as this is where the profit is made.

So just prior to kidding, the does come out of the gully into a small paddock close to the house with good access to shelter.

After a week to 10 days they move onto the dairy farm with their mothers. Does are drenched at this time. They remain there until weaning in February/ March, and with milk and cows controlling parasites, no drenching takes place.

During autumn/winter the kids remain on the dairy farm or the flat on the yearling bull block while the does return to the gullies. At one year of age, as the grass growth starts to exceed demand, the young goats start their life in the gullies.

The goats income stream comes primarily from their fleeces, so after 30 months the goats either enter the breeding flock or are culled. Culls averaged $51 this past autumn and the culled animal ranged from old age does to poor producing hoggets.

The average fleece income is $100 per goat every 12 months except the breeding does who average $65 to $80. However, the best producers are returning $120 in 12 months and a buck that they have recently imported from Australia has shorn 9kg in 12 months valued at $20kg.

The Milne farm, at Alton, South Taranaki, comprises of flat dairy land intersected by steep gullies and was deliberately purchased to suit farming both species.