GREY BRUCE GOAT DAY
Issues and Activities Update
January 8, 2016
GOAT INDUSTRY ON THE MOVE!
Excitement and optimism for the future growth of
the Ontario goat industry!
Ontario is the epicenter for NA
Goat cheese
named in “Top
50 Healthiest
Foods of All
Time”
OG PROGRESS REPORT
OG delivered on its 2 year
mandate of 3 main priorities
Consumer marketing and
promotions
Industry Communications
Cost of Production
6:1 ROI
Voluntary agreements for
2016 being collected
INDUSTRY COMMUNICATIONS
NEW: SCRAPIE RESISTANCE TESTING
Joint pilot project with Trent University and the COE
will:
Assess the susceptibility of the Ontario goat population
by genotyping the prion gene in 1500 Ontario goats
Establish the frequency of scrapie-resistant and
susceptible genotypes in breeds and herds across the
province
The susceptible genotype can then be eliminated
through implementing breeding strategies
No treatment or vaccine available, and all goats are
currently destroyed on farms where scrapie is detected
NEW: SCRAPIE RESISTANCE TESTING
The key to success of the program will be ensuring
proper record-keeping and traceability exists, so that
desirable production traits can be maintained while
disease susceptibility is being reduced
With few closed herds in the industry, good
management and enhanced biosecurity protocols on-
farm may make it possible to eliminate the susceptible
genotype in a few generations, leading to the
development of a scrapie status program for goats and
ultimately establishing a scrapie-resistant status in
Ontario
NEW: SCRAPIE RESISTANCE TESTING
Significant risk management tool for goat farmers
Low compensation rates for animals and costs for
cleaning and disinfection
Limited availability of replacement goats; expanding
goat herds
Whole goat herd is destroyed even if one goat is
identified; trace in and trace outs from other herds
are a risk for destruction orders
Loss of income
COST OF PRODUCTION STUDY
2014 results were released in July
$1.368/L based on 14 farms
Top 5 farms $0.965/L
2015 data collection is winding up with results to be
released this summer
Recruitment is still underway for the 2016 Dairy Goat
Cost of Production and Benchmarking Study.
As in 2015, data will be collected from 20 licenced dairy
goat farms that represent a cross section of the industry.
Producers interested in participating should contact Erin
MacDuff at the OG office
GOAT INDUSTRY ISSUES
Center of Excellence (COE) is wrapping up current
round of funding
Proud to be able to support research like Dr. Zobel
Extra label drug use and drug approvals
Minor use minor species (MUMS)
Antimicrobial resistance- human health
Cull goats at salesbarns
Productivity, yields, efficiencies
Long term industry plan and vision
GOAT RESOURCES
All licensed dairy goat
producers and OG
members have received
the manuals
Record-Keeping forms
available on website
Available for purchase
for non-members
Small investment
looking to start in goats
RESOURCES-AVAILABLE ON WEBSITE
So You Want to Be a Goat Farmer?
Commercial Dairy Goat Farming
Commercial Meat Goat Farming
Buying Goats
Selling Goats
Kidding Due Date Calculation Chart
Goat Meat Marketing & Holiday Calendar
Goat Milk Nutrition Factsheet
Goat Meat Nutrition Factsheet
BIOSECURITY RESOURCES-AVAILABLE ON
WEBSITE
Goat Movement and
Isolation Checklist
On-Farm Cost of
Livestock Disease
Calculator
Goat Livestock
Purchasing Guide
NEW RESOURCES
Hypothermia poster
Colostrum Management
Booklet and article
Management Practices for
Raising Dairy Buck Kids
for Meat
Booklet and article
Case studies
Feeding Options
Article
Case studies x 4
NEW RESOURCES- LAUNCHED DEC 2015
Kid Management booklet distributed with Alliance
magazine in December
Downloadable one page summaries Colostrum Management for Commercial Goat Production
Management Practices for Raising Dairy Buck Kids for Meat
Kid Management
Articles in the Alliance magazine
Selenium
Navel dipping
5 C’s of starting kids
NEW! E-NEWSLETTER: GOAT GAZETTE
• Goat facilities
• Hoof trimming
• Record keeping
• Biosecurity
• Winter checklist
• Clean drinking water
• Warming boxes
• Colostrum-what is
good and what is bad
• Back to BasicsFREE to SIGN UP!
Sent out the 3rd Tuesday of the month
NEW RESOURCES BEING DEVELOPED
OG has leveraged GF2 funding to develop
producer resources and education in order to assist
the industry with animal welfare
Covering a wide range of topics and using video,
resource sheets, posters, seminars
Body condition scoring
Kid welfare in the first 24 hours
Goat handling
Hoof trimming
Euthanasia
NEW RESOURCES BEING DEVELOPED
Early disease detection booklet
On farm welfare assessment - with Dr. Jennifer
Woods
Articles
Training doelings to milk
Getting goats unstuck
Restrain, treat and weigh
Disbudding
Healthy goat resource page
THANK YOU
OG Annual General Meeting and Producer Education
Day
Wednesday February 24th at Goff Hall, Woodstock
Questions, comments, suggestions please feel free to
contact us at anytime:
Tel: 519-824-2942
Email: [email protected]
Congratulations on the 50th Anniversary
of Grey Bruce Farmers’ Week
Top Related