Kentucky's Goat News is a quarterly publication of the Kentucky Goat Producers Association and distributed by The Farmer's Pride. KGN is free to KGPA members and is also distributed to all Farmer's Pride subscribers.
Here's a sample of articles from the most recent issue:
No, Chicken Little, The Sky’s not falling!
Flat Creek File by KGN editor Ray Bowman
So far 2007 has given us plenty to be concerned about; skyrocketing feed prices, a late freeze, and an early drought. These are challenges that would depress any livestock producer, but it’s not the end of the world. With a little determination and creativity, we can find ways to rise to these challenges and come out ahead.
What troubles me more than these temporary problems is something far more insidious and potentially damaging. Rumors are probably causing producers more sleepless nights than anything else.
Every time there’s a dispersal sale of some sort, the rumors about the eminent collapse of the goat industry start to fly. Not only that, just let one producer get a little less for their goats than they think they should at a sale and suddenly the market has crumbled. Let’s take an honest look at why some things happen and perhaps it will put a few minds at rest.
As to the matter of dispersal sales, I defer to an article written by my esteemed colleague from Texas, Jack Mauldin who stated “There are several reasons why some of the well known breeders have gotten out of the business in the past. Many are related to health reasons and age. One breeder had a big business opportunity come up that left them no time for the goat business also. Some of the well known breeders became well known just by being one of the early breeders with goats and as more people got in, they just could not produce better animals than the other breeders. Finally, there are a few breeders that are making a living at having an annual total dispersal sale.”
On the topic of prices, we should always keep in mind that sale prices are cyclical and go up and down due to pre-established patterns and sometimes due to extraordinary events that influence supply and demand, like drought. Most farmers and ranchers who have dealt with livestock for a period of time understand these trends and take them in stride, even though there may be a few discouraging words uttered in conversation with other producers. Many goat folk, however, are newcomers to the livestock industry and have no previous experience with the rollercoaster that sale prices can be. Tess Caudill, Sheep and Goat Marketing Specialist for the Kentucky Department of Agriculture says this year might be a particularly bitter pill to swallow. “The ‘summer slump’ happens every year about this time. It was expected, but it came in with a vengeance because of the drought.” Tess says prices are fully expected to recover and may even spike in the future as there will be less animals available for market due to this sell-off.
Taking a half-empty (or bone dry) view of the glass doesn’t make life any better, especially when others are being infected by pessimism. Instead, we need to be looking at all the positive things that are happening in our infant industry and realizing just how fortunate we are.
One of those positive things, the new Sheep and Goat Development Office is now OPEN! Please feel free to contact me at kygoat@fewpb.net or snail-mail us at Kentucky Sheep and Goat Development Office, 1009 Twilight Trail Suite 121, Frankfort, KY 40601. The phone number is 502-352-2434.
The 2007 Buck Performance Test Sale – An Opportunity to Improve your Goat Herd
The 2007 Kentucky Buck Performance Test Sale is right around the corner. Scheduled for
In the absence of EPD information,
A new twist to the 2007 Kentucky Buck Performance Test is the addition of a conformation scorecard. Each buck offered for sale will be evaluated and scored in areas such as mouths soundness, teat structure, structural soundness and muscling. This scorecard information will be posted for buyers’ convenience.
Producers not currently in the market for a buck can still benefit from this sale. Several paternal half sisters to the tested bucks will also be offered for sale. Producers with top performing bucks will be allowed to enter a doe kid out of the same sire as their buck allowing producers opportunity to capitalize on these proven genetics by adding a quality doe kid to their herd.
The 2007 Kentucky Buck Performance Test Sale will be held at the
Letter from the President
Greetings from Western Kentucky to the goat producers across the Commonwealth! I hope things are going well and you are coping with the drought. The late freeze and the dry weather seem to have taken a toll on our pastures all across
It was encouraging to see the improvement in spring goat prices. As we are going into summer we are already seeing some of our normal slump. Management of forage and feed resources is proving to be especially crucial for this year. The hay crop in our area seems to have been cut in half from normal years. It may be time to look closely at resources and make some decisions about culling some of the less productive animals.
The summer show season is upon us and going well. The number and quality of goats seems to be growing each year. It is great to have the great number of youth in
Ray Bowman is doing a great job as our Executive Director. He has attended many sheep and goat events across the state. I urge you to take time to get to know Ray when you get the opportunity.
As I conclude for now, I hope you will mark your calendar for upcoming events:
Buck Test
Field Day
Annual Meeting October 20
Good Goating,
Shawn
Tips for Goat Producers Dealing with the Drought
By Jackie Nix
Drought has made this a tough year for goat producers in many parts of the United States.
Drought-affected pastures rarely produce adequate amounts of forage. Hay is in short supply and what's available tends to be of below-average quality. Drought-stressed plants tend to be nutrient deficient, especially in protein, phosphorus and vitamin A.
How Does Drought Affect Nutrient Quality?
Drought conditions affect nutrient quality in a variety of ways. First, because there is very little or no new growth, goats only have access to older, less desirable plants in the pasture. Second, the nutritional quality of forages that are available is compromised by the stresses put on the plant by lack of water.
Drought stress negatively affects plant metabolic functions, resulting in low mineral and vitamin levels. Of these, phosphorus and vitamin A are usually most pronounced.
Drought-stressed plants also do not metabolize nitrogen into proteins. Consequently these plants contain low protein levels for use by goats. But the second negative result is the accumulation of nitrates. Excessive levels of nitrates (over 1.5%) are toxic to livestock.
Plants that are most susceptible to the accumulation of toxic levels of nitrates include:
sudangrass, sorghum-sudan hybrids, pearl millet, corn, wheat and oats. Some weeds are also known to accumulate nitrates. These are pigweed, smartweed, ragweed, lambsquarter, goldenrod, nightshades, bindweed, Canada thistle and stinging nettle. Be on the lookout for these weeds in your hay and pastures. Symptoms of nitrate poisoning are labored breathing, staggering gait and sudden death. The membranes of the eyes and gums are bluish due to lack of oxygen and the blood is a chocolate brown color, but turns to bright red when exposed to the air. The key to avoiding nitrate poisoning is to have all hay forage tested and request the optional test for nitrate levels. Contact your local feed store representative or local Cooperative Extension agent for more information about this forage analysis and the dangers of nitrate toxicity.
Dealing with Drought Conditions
Unfortunately, drought forces producers to make hard decisions. Options include early weaning of lactating does to reduce nutritional needs, moving animals to additional pastures, purchasing supplemental feed, and finally reducing herd numbers. In some cases a combination of each of these strategies is in order.
A doe's nutritional needs can be cut roughly by 1/3 just by weaning off the kids. In commercial situations, it may make sense to wean early and sell off light kids rather than pay the feed costs required to maintain lactating does and/or creep feed kids. You will need to calculate the value of your kids in relation to the cost of feeding them to carry them to "normal" market weight to decide if this is a valid option for you.
If the option is available, you may want to look into the possibility of moving goats to alternate grazing areas, such as hay fields and harvested crop fields. If your hay fields are too stunted to harvest as hay, allow the goats to harvest what is available. In the fall, you may want to consider allowing goats to make use of crop residues.
At some point, you will have to purchase at least some supplemental feeds to maintain your goats. One feedstuff that all goats need is hay. While high hay prices may lead you to look for alternatives, hay cannot be totally excluded from the diet. A good rule of thumb is that an average mature meat goat (150 lbs) will require about 6 pounds of hay per day. Kids (assuming 50 lbs) will require about 2.5 lbs of hay a day. You can use these rough figures to help you calculate how much hay will be needed to carry you through until pastures recover.
Use of feeds and supplement blocks can help to maintain productivity, especially when hay quality is suspect. Remember that it is vital to provide supplementation to pregnant does under these conditions. Mineral needs are increased due to pregnancy or lactation and drought-stressed forages are more likely to be deficient in nutrients such as phosphorus and vitamin A.
In summary, drought conditions this spring and summer will likely result in low quality hay and pastures for a variety of reasons. When feeding low quality forages, nutritional supplements are necessary to maintain reproduction and growth. Feed supplements pay for themselves in added production when used properly in these situations. For more information about protein supplement products for goats and information to help you decide how they fit into your management situation, call Sweetlix at 1-87SWEETLIX or visit www.sweetlix.com.
Tips for Stretching Your Feed Dollar
Here are a few tips that can help everyone to stretch their feed budgets.
1. Reduce the amount of wasted feed. If your goats tend to waste a lot of hay or feed, now is the time to remedy this. Solutions may include placing hog wire around round bales to prevent goats from walking on it or building trays under hay feeders or troughs to catch dropped hay or feed.
2. Deworm all animals and treat for coccidia. If possible, run fecals to assure effectiveness of treatment. Don't let internal parasites place added strain on your goats.
3. Cull unproductive animals. Now is the time to cull those marginal does and bucks that you were going to "keep around for one more year". Any goat that isn't meeting the production goals that you've set isn't paying for its feed.
4. Always provide a complete mineral/vitamin supplement to deliver recommended levels of phosphorus, copper, selenium and vitamin A. Mineral-deficiency lowers feed conversion efficiency in goats.
More efficient feed conversion, allows you to stretch your feed resources farther.
Prevent goats from climbing on or lying in hay to reduce waste.
Reducing wasted hay will help to stretch your feed budget. Notice the trough below to catch spilled hay and keep it off of the ground.