Strategic supplementary feeding to boost production

Emma runs a 3,000 head commercial goat herd on 16,000 hectares near Eulo, Queensland, plus a seedstock herd of nearly 500 head near Kingaroy, Queensland.

Emma’s journey with goats started in the early 2000s with rangeland goats located in goat depots at Cunnamulla and Eulo, South-West Queensland. At its peak around 2015–2017, the depot enterprise was handling more than 200,000 goats per year.

“We would purchase large mobs of goats, draft them by weight and send them to two separate abattoirs in the region,” Emma said.

“The smaller goats in these mobs were kept to grow out at Eulo and the best young does were kept as the breeding herd.”

Emma would join these young does to Boer or Kalahari bucks to increase progeny weight gains and to begin a herd of F1, F2 and F3 does.

“We struggled to find Boer or Kalahari Bucks which were suitable for the western conditions,” Emma said.

“The traditional Boer bucks we purchased failed to thrive on our Eulo block and we also struggled to find good red bucks, our preference for coat colouring.”

This led to the establishment of a 283ha seedstock herd located near Kingaroy in 2016, where they also run their cattle.

“We developed our own seedstock herd in order to breed top quality red bucks selected for hardiness, early growth and good mothering of multiple births,” Emma said.

“The stud operates mainly on lovegrass, however we have focused on growing improved pastures including bluegrass and forage crops.”

Since 2016, the stud herd has grown to more than 400 head, with goals to grow the operation to 600 head in the future.

Emma selects the best bucks to sell twice annually, at Charleville in May and Cunnamulla in October.

“The enterprise now specialises in red bucks – Boer, Kalahari, Aussie Reds (Boer crossed with Kalahari) and Rangelanders (Boer/Kalahari crossed with Rangeland),” she said.

“I aim for three kiddings every two years with a weaning percentage of 150% or greater.

“We ensure we are constantly improving our genetics through the use of data recording and KIDPLAN Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs).

“We invest in good genetics and use embryo flush and transfer programs to improve our genetic performance.”

First foray into supplementary feeding

Emma’s first experience with supplementary feeding was through her involvement in the Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) funded supplementary feeding trial from 2016–2018.

The trial focused on supplementary feeding underweight goats to assess whether these goats could achieve market weight in a profitable way.

“From 2016–2017, the goats received normal pasture, supplemented with commercial pellets at a rate of one to two per cent of their body weight,” Emma said.

“From 2017–2018, the goats were supplemented with lupins at the same rate.

“The trial work showed supplementation increased goat weight gain by up to 70 grams per day.

“Supplementary feeding was profitable if the landed price of the supplement supplied was less than $400 per tonne.”

The trial work was severely affected by drought conditions during 2017, which may have affected the weight gain results. Winter stasis also affected weight gain of the goats.

“During winter stasis, we noticed the goats were not gaining weight even though they were provided with supplementary feed,” Emma said.

Currently, seasonal conditions are favourable, and Emma said growth rates without supplementation have reached record high levels on her property.

“Our goats are currently growing at 200 grams per head per day on average at the moment,” Emma said.

“The high achievers of our mob are growing at 300 grams per head per day.”

Strategic supplementary feeding

Emma now uses supplementary feeding strategically on her property to help improve production.

“The limiting nutrients in our goats on our property are protein and energy over winter, so we aim to keep supplementary feeding up during this period,” she said.

“We also use supplementary feeding at certain points of production including joining, when does are pregnancy tested in-kid, at peak milk supply and during weaning for kids.”

Emma initially stuck with the commercial pellet used during the MLA supplementary feeding trial but transitioned from using this once the feed costs rose.

“The commercial pellet reached $700 per tonne, so it was no longer viable to feed, and I needed to find a cheaper alternative,” Emma said.

“I reached out to Nutrition Service Associates who formulated a loose-lick ration.

“The loose lick is made locally and was $430 per tonne when it was originally made two years ago.

“It is now $537 per tonne however it is still profitable to use in my enterprise at that price.”

Emma feeds the loose lick ad libitum to her goats using bins when there is pasture to graze and through troughs at 200 to 500 grams per head per day when she is waiting for the winter forage pastures to grow.

“I will also supply the goats with large squares of vetch hay,” she said.

“It’s a great supplement which is high in protein and energy.”

Emma also ad lib supplements Megamin Graze and Grow 3% Urea and Olssons Ewe and Goat lick blocks in all paddocks.

“About 150 goats will go through two lick blocks a year,” Emma said.

Improved goat production

Emma believes supplementation has improved goat production in her enterprise.

“Our pregnancy testing rate has increased from 85% to 92% in the last two years,” she said.

“Our kidding rate has also increased from 144 to 146%, with our weaning rate a 10% drop from our kidding rate.”

Emma said supplementary feeding kids pre- and post-weaning has improved growth rates.

“Pre-feeding kids on supplementary feed two weeks prior to weaning and keeping them on the same feed six weeks post-weaning has improved growth rates,” she said.

“Our 90- and 120-day weights have definitely improved.”

Emma aims to keep her does at a body condition score of 3 to 3.5.

“I believe kid performance begins at pregnancy,” she said.

“I will use supplementary feeding strategically to keep that body condition score on the does.”

There are several challenges Emma wants to address to ensure a profitable and productive future for her goat enterprise.

“At the moment the feed prices are challenging,” she said.

“We can make feed cheaper if we mix it ourselves but there is still the cost of labour.

“We are also becoming more intensive as we become a bigger enterprise, which is making feeding the goats harder.

“I am looking at more forage-based solutions for feeding the goats such as lucerne trees, to ensure they continue to grow and maintain their condition.

“I am also looking into auto feeders for creep feeding and during weaning.

“Goats are my passion. I love hearing from other producers on their experiences and using this information to grow and develop my herd.”