The Rural Voice, 2000-08, Page 31manufacturing plant in Kitchener
while Maureen has retired from
running a cafeteria in nearby
Plattsville where the couple lived for
23 years. Employees at the Targe
plant have provided the main market
for the young bucks they sell between
55 and 65 pounds for $125.
They will not allow any of the
animals to be slaughtered on the farm
as many of the ethnic buyers like to
do. Instead the animals are all killed
at a provincially inspected abattoir in
the neighboring village of
Heidelburg. "It is the only way we
will do it, for their (customers')
protection and ours," stated Bob.
So far all the young bucks have
been sold directly off the farm, taking
away the uncertainty of returns at
livestock auction barns.
The small herd is not able to
provide a significant income
yet, said Bob. He estimated it
would take 100 to 150 does before
that could be accomplished.
Their situation is typical of
Ontario breeders with most herds
having 20 to 30 females.
The larger Canadian herds are
found in Alberta with Ram H
Breeders Ltd. near Cochrane having
well over 1,000 breeding females.
That farm, along with two others in
the area was recently visited by
Catherine Schlegel, a Tavistock area
Boer goat breeder. One of the two
bucks currently being used by the
Burnetts came from her herd.
Schlegel estimated there are less
than 1,000 registered purebred Boers
in Ontario. Most of the herds are
comprised of percentage animals.
The majority of top Boer bloodlines
have been imported into Canada via
embryos from New Zealand or South
Africa, transferred into recipient does
here.
The early promotion of the Boer
breed in Canada was undertaken by
Landcorp, a New Zealand based
livestock company. The animals are
very popular there and the New
Zealand company worked closely
with the agriculture university in
Olds, Alberta to spread seed stock
across Canada.
The Canadian Boer Goat
Association is based in Alberta with a
representative, Cindy Hubble, of RR
2 Hastings being the sole Ontario
representative to the organization.
While the Targe numbers are in
Alberta, Ontario breeders have the
advantage of ready access to the fresh
meat markets created by the large
ethnic populations in the larger cities,
said Schlegel. The "emu -like prices"
that accompanied the first South
African Boer goats to Canada
($60,000 to $70,000 for top males)
have disappeared but the industry has
stabilized and shown steady growth.
Young bucks suitable for breeding
routinely fetch $700 now in Ontario
with proven mature animals
commanding $1,500.
Schlegel suggested that with much
of the livestock care on farms now
being mechanized there is less for
farm children to do in that area. This
has resulted in a number of small
Boer herds added to farm operations
to provide youngsters with a more
hands on experience.
Certainly the Burnetts are working
toward increasing their number of
female goats. "We have redesigned
our barn six times," added Bob,
trying to create the best arrangement
for handling the animals and most
efficient feeding system. He lamented
the fact that he could not find a book
that would tell him how to build the
best barn for housing the animals.
They have been fortunate enough
to find a veterinarian in Tavistock
interested in goats which has been a
tremendous help in maintaining herd
health. There is always the economic
consideration of how much a grade
goat is worth compared to how much
it will cost the vet to save such an
animal, said Bob.
It is Maureen's wish to travel to
Alberta to purchase at least one
purebred female from a top quality
herd. Already her son has been
helping her search the Internet for
just such an opportunity. She had
hoped to acquire a purebred female
from Ontario this year but the need to
insulate the barn wiped out the
budget for purchasing breeding stock.
She believes that goat meat, with
its lower fat content than other
livestock, will continue to
attract more customers willing to pay
a good price. She observed goat meat
in the St. Jacobs Farmers Market
selling for $7.99 per pound.
At the same time Maureen
expressed concerned that the young
male goats which are often seen as a
byproduct in the dairy goat industry
could put a lot of lesser quality
animals in front of the consumer.
They dress out at a far lower
percentage than the 30 pounds of
meat that are possible from a 55
pound live Boer goat.
The better quality animals are
needed if second and third generation
Canadians are to maintain the desire
for goat meat that their parents bring
to Canada, predicted Maureen.°
AUGUST 2000 27