Goat Fibre Gateway launched
10 September 2024
Key points:
- A Goat Fibre Gateway platform has been launched, aiming to increase the number of mohair and cashmere growers in Australia.
- The goat fibre industry wants to encourage more growers to share insights into the benefits of producing mohair and cashmere.
AgriFutures Australia’s Future Fibre Farming program, in conjunction with neXtgen Agri International, is in full swing with the launch of the Goat Fibre Gateway platform.
The program’s goal is to increase the number of mohair and cashmere growers by providing the information and connections to assist growers introduce the enterprise. The Gateway was designed to become the resource centre for all things mohair and cashmere.
The following resources provide guides on the basics of fibre through to the management of reproduction, infrastructure, marketing, parasites and more. Information is conveyed through various formats including:
- fact sheets
- webinar recordings
- case studies
- the Fibre Frontier Podcast
- articles
- industry links and contacts
- news and events.
After a successful display at the Australian Sheep and Wool Show in Bendigo in July, more resources are expected to flow into the Gateway in the coming months.
Why fibre goats?
The most recent mohair auction in Narrandera saw the average price for greasy mohair hit $19.80/kg, with the top grades hitting $50/kg.
At a yield of 85% and Angoras cutting approximately 4kg/head annually, the economic benefits are clear.
Angora goats thrive in low rainfall areas, grazing on dryland pastures and browsing on scrub and woody weeds.
They’re equal to sheep in management efforts, minus the flystrike and there are no additional infrastructure needs from that of a crossbred sheep enterprise.
So why don’t we see more of them?
In the 1970s there was a massive influx of goat fibre producers; now, there are only a handful left.
This is mostly due to a price glut that saw many leave the industry and not return, as prices did so.
Those who remained are now retiring and have no one to pass the torch onto. Seeming like a well-kept secret until the Future Fibre program, the mohair and cashmere industries are aiming to encourage more growers to share the passion and financial benefits.
The majority of today’s global mohair production occurs in South Africa but there is little reason for either mohair or cashmere to become major exports from our own shores.
