Meat and Livestock Australia

20 Bushley Station CASE STUDY Producer: • Greg Church Property: • Bushley Station, 85 km south east of Wilcannia Area: • 19,627 ha Rainfall (avg/a): • 300 mm Enterprise: • Self replacing composite goat herd selling to abattoirs for export • Dorper ock • Opportunistic cattle trading Key messages Sustained genetic improvement in rangeland goats through the introduction of Boers is hindered by the quality and availability of stock. • Managed goats provide a profitable, low input alternative to traditional livestock enterprises. • Shade is important to keep stock comfortable and easy to work with. Looking back Greg has owned and managed Bushley since 1993, originally running Merino sheep and cattle. However as goat prices began to rise in the later part of the decade, Greg began to more seriously consider the opportunity rangeland goats posed. The first step taken was to muster goats already on the property into suitably fenced paddocks. Greg then began sourcing and selecting rangeland goats for conformation, structure and coat type. As the six year journey of goat-proof fencing began, it was clear that goats would be a core component of any future business on Bushley. By 2000, all profits from goats were being consumed supporting the wool enterprise, at which point all sheep were sold. From this point on, Greg focused on breeding a superior rangeland adapted goat for his own commercial production and sale of breeding stock to other producers. While goats still remain a core enterprise, Greg has recently incorporated Dorper sheep into his business as means of diversification.