Meat and Livestock Australia

Rangeland goat production inWestern NSW: Where are they now? 33 Property and business development In late 2016 Keith purchased the neighboring property, Darling Downs Station. This resulted in an almost doubling of his operating area, allowing substantial expansion. The opportunity to up-scale was realised as Tindarey was developed to a point that allowed ease of management and minimal future infrastructure investment. The successful attainment of a carbon farming project also provided additional capital. In recent years, one of Keith’s sons has also returned home, providing another labour unit to the growing business. Infrastructure on Tindarey has largely been completed for some time. Fencing consists of 7/90/30 hinge- joint with electric offsets. These are particularly valuable in stemming the flow of pigs and kangaroos. While Keith acknowledges that this was a very expensive fence option to pursue, he believes it has proved most cost effective in the long term, both in longevity of materials and effectiveness of fence design. All waters on Tindarey are trapped to reduce the need for mustering and restrict access when paddocks are being rested. Tindarey also boasts a purpose built ‘goat shed’. In the same context that a shearing shed is used, Keith’s goat shed houses a set of yards that allow stock handling to be done in-doors. It provides a dust free environment where work can be done in the shade or under lights in the cool of the evening. Keith believes this has been of great value in order to reduce the toll of stock work on both people and animals. This is particularly important as much of his handling is done in summer. When receiving comments from people who have assumed that a new shed means he is going back into sheep, Keith remarks that his shed is used more frequently than a shearing shed so was a logical decision. On Darling Downs, Keith has already cleaned out all dams and expanded drainage lines to ensure sufficient water storage. Troughs have also been installed off some dams. While much of the fencing on the property has previously been upgraded or replaced with hinge-joint, further fencing will also be done following the same design as that on Tindarey. Hinge-joint fence with electric offset Goat shed on Tindary Station