No kidding, goats are booming

AFTER starting a premium goat meat label just months ago, one Tasmanian producer is finding demand is outstripping supply. 

Boer breeder Callan Morse established the Tasmanian Premium Goat Meat brand in May this year with the aim of supplying fresh goat meat or chevon to local customers. 

With a growing number of customers, Mr Morse has been forced to source suitable animals from the main land to help keep up with demand. 

While frozen goat meat has been available in Tasmania for some time, Mr Morse said the fresh chevon was proving popular with customers who are purchasing Tasmanian Premium Goat Meat-branded products from a selection of local butchers in the North-West and Launceston region and also directly through the brand. 

Ideally, Mr Morse said he would like to work with Tasmanian producers to supply the brand with goats bred and finished in the state. 

He is encouraging local breeders and other farmers, who may be interested in growing their stock numbers or diversifying their operations to include goats, to get involved. 

“Basically, I have run out of stock,” he said. “I’ve tried pretty hard to source stock around the state, but that has led me to have to bring in slaughter stock from Victoria. 

“I’m quite happy to keep going to Victoria and New South Wales to get stock if I have to, but there’s a real opportunity here for primary producers that are in livestock to make a supplementary income on their properties.” 

Mr Morse said the over the-hooks prices for chevon in Tas mania were significantly higher than those seen on the mainland. 

“What I’m saying to the breeders here is if you can get me a 15kg carcass or more, I’ve got a market for it,” he said. 

While there are now some new breeders getting involved, Mr Morse said a reduction in large herds in recent years meant overall goat num bers in the state have declined. 

However, he is hoping the strong demand being seen for fresh chevon will encourage more local producers to increase their goat numbers and grow the industry. 

“There just hasn’t been an organised production line and distribution network and supply chain and I can create that, but I just need the volume of stock to make it sustainable because I don’t want it to be a seasonal meat,” he said. 

“I want it to be available at least monthly at independent butchers and maybe IGAs and restaurants and stuff, but I would hope we could make it more frequent than that as well and I don’t see why we couldn’t make it a fortnightly turn off.” 

Goats for the brand are premium quality and include Boer genetics. 

As well as producing good returns, Mr Morse said there are a number of other benefits to running goats including weed control. 

Mr Morse said Tasmania was ideal for goat for production due to the environment and lack of feral predators such as wild dogs which impact mainland based operations. 

Anyone interested in getting involved with the industry or finding out more can contact Mr Morse on 0407 910 383 or go to the Tasmanian Premium Goat Meat Facebook page.