Description
Farming Meat Goats: Breeding, Production and Marketing by Barbara Vincent is a highly practical, scientifically grounded agricultural reference guide published by CSIRO Publishing. It serves as a comprehensive manual for commercial farmers, smallholders, and agricultural students looking to establish, manage, and scale a profitable meat goat enterprise.
The Core Premise: A Professional Enterprise
The book argues that meat goat farming should move away from being viewed merely as a casual sideline or a weed-control hobby. Instead, Vincent frames it as a highly sophisticated, stand-alone agribusiness. To succeed in a rapidly expanding global market, producers must shift from opportunistic harvesting to structured, professional livestock management techniques tailored specifically to goats rather than sheep or cattle.
Core Structural Pillars
The handbook covers the entire production lifecycle, organized around three primary commercial phases:
Breeding and Genetics
-
- Breed Selection: Evaluating the strengths of major meat breeds (such as the Boer goat) and understanding how to effectively crossbreed with hardy rangeland or dairy stock to maximize meat yields.
- Reproductive Management: Step-by-step guidance on managing the breeding cycle, buck-to-doe ratios, artificial insemination, and maximizing kidding percentages.
- Kid Survival: Specific protocols for neonatal care, weaning strategies, and protecting young stock during vulnerable early growth stages.
On-Farm Production and Husbandry
-
- Nutrition and Grazing: Detailing the unique nutritional requirements of goats, including their specific browsing habits, supplementary feeding regimes, and pasture management to prevent overgrazing.
- Health and Biosecurity: Comprehensive advice on diagnosing, treating, and preventing common caprine ailments, with a heavy emphasis on managing internal parasites (worms) and foot rot.
- Infrastructure: Designing goat-proof fencing, handling yards, and shelter facilities built specifically to accommodate caprine behavior and agility.
Marketing and Supply Chain Economics
-
- Market Specifications: Understanding what domestic and international buyers require in terms of carcass weight, fat scores, and age.
- Supply Chain Compliance: Navigating transport regulations, animal welfare standards, quality assurance programs, and strict export protocols.
- Value Maximization: Strategies for timing sales to align with seasonal peaks, cultural festivals, and high-value export windows.
Target Outcomes
Written in clean, universal language with highly scannable tables, charts, and checklists, the guide aims to help farmers cut production costs, significantly reduce kid mortality rates, and optimize the quality of their livestock to consistently meet elite market specifications.
Paperback. First-Edition. 274 Pages. Very-Good Condition.
