TM Goats in Kentucky Ken Andries, Ph.D. CAFSSS Kentucky State University

Status of the Industry Currently numbers are growing slowly again. Market price has remained high through the year. Markets are holding and are expected to do so through spring. Health and performance issues still are the major issues being faced. Show and breeding stock still is focus of many producers.

Markets A large number of animals are still marketed direct off the farm. Commercial industry is starting to gain interest. Graded sales are still attracting numbers. Un-graded sales have gained in popularity in some areas. Ethnic market still is the main target for meat. Dairy is still held by regulations.

Health Issues Parasites are still major issue. – H. Contortus is gaining resistance, management over treatment is needed. – Coccidia is growing as a problem. – Other worms are starting to be seen as issue by some. Phnomunia is an issue being seen in more of the show herds over time.

Worm Treatment/Management Dewormers are not effective in many herds. Data collection and culling of animals is needed. Rotational grazing and use of alternative forages need to be part of parasite control programs. Browse can reduce parasite exposure if done properly. Use faster rotations with longer rest periods to avoid parasites, summer slump is an issue.

Coccidia Resistence is being reported in some herds. Sanatation is critical. Show and more confinement tend to show higher risk. Some off-label treatments have very long withdraw. Feeding programs need to be examined.

Forage and Goats Goats are effective in removing undesirable plants from pastures and small woodlots. Management and time is the key to success. GPS data has shown that they tend to graze in patterns through a field. High use areas can be problems so small areas work best to avoid paraistes. Predators may impact movements.

Alternative Forages Warm season forage is critical to forage based production of goats. Summer growth of kids will depend on availablity of higher quality forage. Working to establish plots to work on grazing prefernces and other aspects compared to fescue.

Breed Comparisons Currently comaring Boer (BR), Savanna (SA), and Spanish (SP) goats. SP are lighter at weaning while BR and SA are similar. SP have a higher survival rate to weaning and are showing more resistance to parasites. SA are tending to be better than BR on parasites and survival.

Breeds (Cont.) SP tend to be slower growing resulting in the poorer weaning weights, but improve post weaning. BR have slower growth rates post weaning during the summer. SA tend to have the better post weaning performance.

VariableObservationsMeanStd Deviation Birth Weight Weaning Age Weaning Weight Average Daily Gain Weight per day of age day Weight Adjusted Weaning Weight Number Born Number Weaned Meat Goat Data

IDSeasonsBWTWN Wt90D WtADJ WWT Production Records: Sires used in spring and fall breeding programs, entered the herd the same year.

IDWWTValue$ /20 kids$ /30 kids$ /40 kids$/50 kids $58.05$1,161.10$1,741.65$2,322.20$2, $65.81$1,316.14$1,974.21$2,632.28$3, $57.00$1,140.02$1,710.03$2,280.04$2, Value of These Bucks * Price based on $1.70/lb kid price in the 40 to 60 lb range. At this price with only 20 kids of average weight, $ difference in income. With 50 kids the difference is $ This value difference could cover the performance testing and cost of purchase.

Relative Value of Breeding Stock id#wwtValue$ /20 kids$ /30 kids$ /40 kids$/50 kids $58.05$1,161.10$1,741.65$2,322.20$2, $65.81$1,316.14$1,974.21$2,632.28$3, $57.00$1,140.02$1,710.03$2,280.04$2, Price based on $1.70/lb kid price in the 40 to 60 lb range. # top doesTotal life time $ 1$ $1, $1, $2, $2, $3,466.47

Information on NISP Currently the NSIP version provides genetic evaluation of goats across different breeds and across different flocks within a breed group. KIDPLAN is the goat version of LAMBPLAN, this is the program used by NSIP. An Australian Sheep Breeding Value (ASBV) describes a goat’s genetic performance expressed in terms of the expected genetic performance of it’s offspring. The breeding value is calculated by a BLUP analysis that can include information on the goat’s own performance and/or its relative’s performance. ASBV data is submitted to KIDPLAN through NSIP by members.

Final Thoughts Improvements in forage management and use of alternative forages needs to be stressed. Better attention to parasite prevention and selection is still needed and needs to be stressed. ACSRPC.ORG is the web page to go to for information. Better records and participation in GHIP will help, NSIP is the next step.

TM Ken Andries 400 E. Main St. Frankfort KY Office: Cell: