Meat and Livestock Australia

Rangeland goat production inWestern NSW: Where are they now? 9 The need for supply chains to be better developed has been identified as restricting industry growth by both producers and industry bodies (Jones, 2012)(Hutchinson, 2014). In 2013, a MLA funded review was published assessing the extent and capacity of goatmeat supply chains (Hutchinson, 2014). Key findings and recommendations from this included the following: • Shift from a supply chain to value chain approach. This primarily shifts focus from the supply base to the customer base in order to provide value to all participants within the supply chain. For example, suppliers want greater feedback on their product, processors want supply security through feeding information forward, industry wants greater information on product movement. • Investigate key quality attributes (additional to weight) that producers and processors want. • Investigate impact of weather and seasonal harvest on supply chains (Hutchinson, 2014). In order to begin addressing some of the uncertainties of supply, a project was established between Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) and Department of Primary Industries (DPI). This involved forecasting goat population and slaughter numbers using information from aerial surveys, state departments and industry bodies (Crothers, 2017). With the initial project being funded to 2020, the intention is to develop a process for reporting of data that allows supply information to be forecast into the future (Atkinson, 2018). Research and development Research and development is an area where endless opportunities exist. While many questions remain unanswered there has been valuable development in this space. Majority of work undertaken in this space is industry funded, with 45 per cent of producer levies going towards research and development. The remainder of the 37.7c/hd levy paid by producers is used to fund the National Residue Survey, Animal Health Australia and marketing programs (MLA levies, 2018). The total annual revenue received by MLA via the goat levy has fluctuated between a low of $700,000 and a high of $900,000 between the 2013-13 and 2016-17 financial years (MLA, Sept 2017). At the time of writing, MLA had a total of 13 research, development and adoption type projects underway. These include sponsorship of goat producers to undertake leadership training, literature reviews into production factors, and the development of educational resources (Petty, Apr 2018). An impact assessment of MLA expenditure from 2010-11 to 2015-16 indicated that investment into the goat industry achieved a benefit cost ratio of 6.7:1 (CIE, 2016). Research and development projects are prioritised via a range of industry consultation processes and alignment to relevant strategic plans. The primary guiding documents are the Goat and Livestock Industry Strategic Pan 2020 and the Meat Industry Strategic Plan 2020. The Goat Industry Council of Australia (GICA) is consulted throughout the project planning and selection process. Producer forums are also held annually to gain input into the desired and most beneficial investment of levies (MLA levies, 2018). Literature reviews have been published in recent years regarding goat nutrition (Jolly, 2013) and factors affecting growth rates (Alemseged et al, 2015). These add to a growing body of resources directly relevant to Australian goat producers. Following the wet summer of 2010 and 2011, many producers reported the need for a registered pour-on anthelmintic for goats. At the time of writing, there is still no registered pour on available for goats. There has however been some work done in the area of parasite control. An MLA funded study was completed in 2014 assessing the efficacy and dosing practices of anthelmintics used on goats. Recommendations were made for effective chemical combinations and products to manage parasite resistance (Knox et al, 2014). Further to this work, Caprimec® was commercialised and registered for goats in 2017. This provided an additional chemical group available to goat producers to treat internal parasites. Previously, the only registered anthelmintics for goats were the benzimidazole group. This meant producers didn’t have access to the more effective macrocyclic lactones and the resistance management options they provide (MLA, Jul 2017). In order to overcome the commercial barriers to development faced by private companies, GICA co-invested with Virbac® to develop and register the product (MLA, Jul 2017). By including goats in the Wormboss program from 2016 also provided information and support to producers when making decisions about worm management (Kahn, 2016).