Cashing in on goat fibre
Last month's inaugural New Zealand Cashmere Conference saw the opening of a new fibre processing facility.
The Schuler Brothers Ltd (SBL) dairy goat farm in Te Aroha has a unique milking shed.
Two 40-a-side Waikato Milking System Loopline herringbones, each with its own pit, makes the milking platform one of a handful in New Zealand.
The herringbones were part of SBL’s cow farm; it lay unused for 15 years until the dairy goat farm was set up three years ago.
With 500 cows milked year-round on the dairy farm, Kevin Schuler says the business owners looked at diversifying. Then an opportunity arose to supply Dairy Goat Co-op, Hamilton.
The farm milks 1400 goats twice daily, each goat yielding about 4L/day.
“Goats now are a big part of our operation, cashflow and revenue,” says Schuler. “We were 100% reliant on the cow cheque, but two years later we are only 25% reliant on it.”
Schuler says running the goat and cow operations side by side has its challenges; pasture management is critical.
Fresh grass is supplied to both lots of animals. The goats are also fed silage and dried distillers grain (DDG) from Oilseed Products.
Schuler says dairy goats are more of a challenge to manage than cows.
“Goats can be fickle; if you change something quickly they will throw their toys out of the cot.”
Schuler says WMS herringbones make milking goats easier for him and farm manager Rudolph Van Zuydam. Two persons milk the 1400 goats daily, each milking taking about two and a half hours.
One advantage of the herringbone is that 45-50 goats can be lined up on each side at a time, depending on the goats’ size.
Goats milk quickly: the first group’s finish coincides with cups-on for the next group.
“Milking takes up a big chunk of your day; the efficient herringbone system means you don’t get too fatigued.”
'A lot of interest and positive responses' appears to be the way farmers are viewing the Government's initiative to hold a series of woolshed meetings around the country.
A Southland farming leader wants the regional council to delay a proposed regional rates hike, much of which is intended to fund flood protection works.
Rural Women New Zealand (RWNZ) says access to personal banking services in rural communities is fundamental to promoting outcomes that benefit Kiwi consumers.
A group set up to boost education and promotion of wool says it has made positive strides during the first year of its three-year strategy.
Meat processor ANZCO Foods says despite a challenging business environment, it has posted a net profit before tax of $61 million for 2023.
Horticulture NZ chief executive Nadine Tunley will step down in August.
OPINION: Readers of this column will know that your old mate has been a long-time critic of $55 million of…
OPINION: The Hound reckons school teachers like nothing better than to complain constantly about how tough things are for them…