Meat and Livestock Australia

15 Orana Station Producer: • John Vagg Property: • Orana Station, 33 km north- west of Ivanhoe • Hunting eld Station, 70 km north-west of Wentworth Area: • Orana 19,595 ha • Hunting eld 7,335 ha Rainfall (av/a): • Orana 250 mm Enterprise: • Self replacing composite goat herd selling to abattoirs for export • Hunting eld is running Dorpers while the property is being developed and equipped to run goats Key messages • Boer genetics are integral in achieving increased growth rates and carcass quality. • The goat industry needs to transition into a more managed production system to ensure consistent supply. • A well managed goat enterprise has the ability to improve land condition, reduce work load and increase profitability. Looking back John has owned and managed Orana Station since 1983. Initially running Merinos, up to 10,000 sheep were shorn annually during the 1980’s. At this time John was also harvesting up to 2,000 rangeland goats each year. This continued until 1990, when a combination of the collapse of the wool market, heavy discounting of wool due to vegetable matter, and the attractive returns being made from goats convinced John to transition into a 100 per cent goat enterprise. The low cost, low input nature of goats presented an enterprise type that fitted well with John’s single operator business. From the initial decision to move into goats came the subsequent need to upgrade fencing to a hinge-joint type fence. This allowed him to capture the rangeland goats already present on Orana and retain those that were bred. John then began what is now approaching 30 years of trialing infrastructure designs, adapting animal husbandry practices and focusing on genetic selection. This has resulted in the development of a hardy, fertile, high yielding composite goat that underpins a profitable business. John has also witnessed substantial improvements in land condition since moving entirely to goats, which he attributes to the vastly different grazing habits of goats to sheep. This has been the final factor in what John considers to be the triple bottom line of a well managed goat enterprise; reduced work load, increased profitability and improved land condition. CASE STUDY