The Rural Voice, 1981-02, Page 16board of directors must decide by March
1 if they will accept the offer.
If the sale proceeds according to plan.
the new company plans to continue
operating the service to members and
even to expand. They are at present in-
vestigating possibilities of washing,
carding and combing machines. These
aren't available now in North America
but could open up world markets for
Canadian mohair.
Sanders hopes that the consortium will
continue as the co-op did.
The co-op paid their members $5 a
pound for wool, which is considerably
above the world price. Local spinners and
weavers are the most important
customers, Sanders says.
As the organization has a virtual
monopoly on Angora goats, it could
guarantee their members $100 for a
young nanny, and $150 for a six -month-
old billy. The reason for the higher male
price is that billy goats grow considerably
bigger than the nanny thus producing
more hair.
The bank had enough confidence in
Sanders' plans to lend him the capital
required to buy a herd of 50. At $350
each, his investment in breeding stock
amounted to $17,500. "But," Sanders
said, "if I can pay that off in four years,
that's not bad."
Sanders was a good ambassador, for
within weeks of his purchase, son Leo
bought another 100 goats, and his
daughter also started a small herd, as did
a neighbour.
Sanders takes his responsibilities as
director of the board seriously, and has
travelled to shows like "Sheep Focus" in
Brampton. where he had a display booth.
One angora goat gives five -and -a -half
to six pounds of mohair, twice a year.
That amounts to a gross income per goat
of $54 to $60 per animal, at the present
price.
Feeding costs have been compared to
ten goats against one cow, but Sanders
thinks these figures are too high. He says
that the river bottom land on his farm
grows a crop of Hawthorn bushes and
these provide a good diet for the goats,.
"We feed them a little bit of grain, up
to now mostly barley, but we are going to
change that to mixed grain and a bit of
corn, the same ration as milking goats,"
he said.
"You can count on 30 per cent twins,"
Sanders asserts. "Texas A & M
University does a lot of research on
Angora goats, as there are an estimated
seven million in that state."
"They claim there is no reason why the
goats shouldn't have twins from the first
kidding. `The only reason that you don't
get them is the poor feed the farmers give
them!' They say, 'Give them extra, it will
pay „
Sanders has not been able to confirm
that yet, because he hasn't had goats
long enough.
Mohair is approximately 18
centimetres long and an unshorn goat
looks much like a sheep.
All that hair isn't without problems, for
control of external parasites, in addition
to the internal ones, is a constant
concern.
There are other problems. While 50 to
60 sheep can be shorn before the clipper
gets dull. goat shearing dulls a blade
after half a dozen animals.
"It is a quiet animal. You pick it up
with your two hands and throw it on the
table; you keep its head down; it
struggles once or twice. For the rest it
keeps down, unless you nick'em. Then he
says, 'beh', that's all."
A fully grown male can keep producing
for 12 to 14 years and give 10 to 12
pounds of hair twice a year.
But Sanders is not satisfied to sit back
and stay with tradition. He wants to
experiment with whole skin of newborn
goats for rugs, or for the garment
industry.
This retired farmer will never retire!
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PG. 14 THE RURAL VOICE/FEBRUARY 1981