It also featured a low-key and subdued tone with markets filling and animal quality average rather than exceptional. Producers could be reducing herds, given the time of year, and engaging in a general cleanup of their flocks and herds.

During the sheep sale, wool ewes dominated, but were not of top quality or even well maintained. Many were matted with burrs and struggled to even find and keep low bidding. The quality animals that were on offer were rewarded with better prices. A group of seven 157-pound Suffolk-cross ewes with good quality and structure fetched $1.25/lb. Overall there was less bidding than at the last sale.

Ram selection was limited, but despite this there was less buyer interest, allowing buyers to be more picky. The best example of this was a group of Suffolk-cross lambs and a Rideau-cross lamb with an average weight of 188 lbs. that brought $216.20 ($1.15/lb.). Meanwhile two Cheviot-cross rams and a Dorset-cross ram at 172 pounds brought $163.40 ($0.95/lb.). A 95-pound Katahdin-cross ram brought $103.12 ($1.075/lb.).

Lambs also saw selective bidding from buyers. Two 120-pound Rideau-cross lambs brought $192 ($1.60/lb.), yet a group of three 120-pound lambs later brought $163.20 ($1.36/lb.). A group of seven 111-pound lambs brought $1.66/lb.

Market lambs held in a price range from $1.67-$1.74/lb. The presence of burrs clearly showed a negative effect on price, with a winning bid of $1.44/lb. Exotic breeds were of little interest to buyers. Two 95-pound Icelandic-cross lambs brought $1.02/lb.

Feeder lambs saw slightly more buyer interest and more bidding activity. There appeared to be no price differences between wool and hair lambs. The average price ranged from $1.69 to $1.80/lb. An exception was a group of five 80-pound Dorset-cross lambs bringing $1.86/lb.

Lightweight lambs had the buyers in a selective mood once again. Four 74-pound Dorper-cross lambs brought $1.47/lb. A 70-pound Cheviot-cross lamb brought $1.61 per pound. A group of sixteen 77-pound lambs brought $1.98/lb.

A 60-pound Dorper-cross lamb brought $1.71/lb. A 65-pound Dorset-cross lamb brought $1.82/lb.

A 40-pound Dorset-cross lamb brought $2.10/lb.

In the goat sale, Alpine-cross does were the feature of the dairy side of the doe class, though many of the animals still required fattening. The thin appearance of an 85-pound Alpine-cross goat doe resulted in a price of just $0.91/lb., while an 85-pound Boer-cross goat doe brought $1.77/lb. The seasonal markets are filling so the visual appearance of the animals is showing more in the bidding.

There was also a large contingent of goat bucks at the sale, the result of herd management. The heavier Alpine-cross goat bucks were slightly lower in price when compared to the Boer-cross goat bucks. A 165-pound Toggenburg goat buck brought $0.59/lb. An 80-pound Pygmy goat-cross buck brought $0.78/lb.

Relative to some recent sales, buyers had an excellent selection of goats to choose from, including goat kids. This predictably resulted in lower bidding this sale. Sellers were disappointed to see this, knowing that growing demand towards the holiday season will likely result in higher prices at the next few sales.

There were quality Boer-cross goat doelings at this sale for any farmer starting to add to the herd.

The 60-plus-pound goat kids attempted to continue the strong bidding, as past sales. However, the bids fell short. The average price ranged from $1.98-$2/lb. The September 20, 2017 sale recorded a price range from $2.33-$2.68/lb. for meat and dairy goat kids in the weight class.

The 50-plus-pound goat kids could not maintain the prices seen at the last sale. The average prices ranged from $1.37-$1.67/lb., compared to an average price last sale of $2.15/lb. for goat kids.

The 40-plus-pound goat kids reflected the buyers’ choice nature of this sale in the bidding. Two different groups of Alpine-cross goat kids at 45 pounds brought $0.94 and $1.67/lb. Four 40-pound Boer-cross goat kid wethers brought $1.44/lb. and a group of 47-pound goat kids brought $1.44/lb. Six 40-pound Pygmy-cross goat kids brought $0.65/lb. Last sale, the goat kids ranged from $1.69-$2.52/lb. in this weight class.

Three 37-pound Boer-cross goat doelings brought $1/lb.

The Ontario Stockyard Report reported that all classifications saw difficulties in sales. The demand created very limited interest, so prices were much lower. Even the goats had stress and pressure on the bidding, not reaching the past sales standards.

The post As markets fill, prices drop appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

The buyers present were not interested in exotic sheep or lambs, but instead paid close attention to age and quality.

During the sheep sale, all ewes saw major interest from buyers, with no evident price difference between wool and hair breeds. Average prices ranged from $1.05 to $1.18/lb., with a couple of exceptions that resulted in prices ranging from $1.24 to $1.29/lb.

During the ram sale, there was a clearly demonstrated preference for hair rams from various buyers. Prices ranged from $1.20 to $1.31/lb. for these animals. Wool rams ranged in price from $1.09 to $1.13/lb.

A buyer interested in Icelandic-cross rams in quality and various colours would have found good value at this sale, with few buyers present showing any interest in exotic sheep

The heavyweight class was represented by a 120-pound Clun Forest-cross lamb that brought $151.20 ($1.26/lb.)

Once again quality was clearly visible within this classification, which buyers used to make their decisions. Various animals weighing 95 pounds brought prices ranging as widely as $1.66 to $2.13/lb., with extra effort beneficial for the producer. Average prices that weren’t an outlier ranged from $2.03 to $2.05/lb. One exception was a 95-pound Suffolk-cross lamb which brought $2.13/lb.

Feeder lambs saw a variety of prices. An 85-pound Katahdin-cross lamb brought $1.60/lb. Wool lambs brought a price range from $1.98 to $2.20/lb. Eleven 92-pound Icelandic-cross lambs brought just $1/lb. Once again these lambs had excellent colours.

The lightweight lambs of the 70-plus-pound class ranged from $2.20 to $2.26/lb. An exception was a 79-pound Suffolk-cross lamb bringing $2.07/lb.

The 60-plus-pound classification continued this strong bidding. The price ranged from $2.29 to $2.37 per pound. However, the Icelandic-cross lambs did not reach this range. The seven 63-pound Icelandic-cross lambs brought $1.10 per pound.

Katahdin-cross lambs represented the 50-plus-pound classification. Price ranged from $1.91 to $2.10/lb.

A 35-pound Suffolk-cross lamb brought $1.50/lb. Four 38-pound Katahdin-cross lambs brought $1.40/lb.

Alpine-cross goat does represented the classification at this sale. Quality and age were guidelines for buyers. These issues caused wide price ranges. One group was from $1.06 to $1.21/lb. and another price range was from $1.53 to $1.54/lb. An exception was two 98-pound Alpine-cross goat does that brought $1.79/lb.

The lighter-weight Boer-cross goat bucks brought the higher price bidding. An 80-pound Boer-cross goat buck brought $2.22/lb., while a 160-pound Boer-cross goat buck brought $1.38/lb. A 60-pound Pygmy-cross goat buck brought $1.42/lb.

Heavier goat kids continued the strong bidding, but as the lighter goat kids entered the arena the bidding was not as strong. The eleven 71-pound Boer-cross goat kids brought $2.11/lb.

Two groups of 65-pound goat kids brought different bidding; first was $2.12/lb. and the other brought $2.46/lb.

The 50- and 58-pound Boer-cross goat kids brought $1.35/lb. and $2.07/lb.

A 45-pound Boer-cross goat kid brought $1.67/lb.

The group of two 28-pound Pygmy-cross goat kids and two 28-pound Alpine-cross goat kids, sold as a group, brought $1.16/lb.

The Ontario Stockyard Report indicated a higher bidding for well-fed light and heavy lambs compared to the last sale. All other classifications brought steady bidding.

The post Exotic sheep see little interest appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

A case in point is the concept of using goats to beat back the bush and other invasive species on pastures. Instead of paying for pasture land, some goatherds are being paid up to $1.50 per goat per day to graze other people’s land. Now that’s crazy.

But for the landowners, it’s well worth it.

In Saskatchewan, where a goat-browsing service is being used to clean up poplar and other invasive brush at the AESB Wolverine Community Pasture for $1 per doe per day, there are some rather astounding opportunities for revenue emerging.

“So, if I have 1,000 does for 90 days, that’s 90 grand for camping out all summer,” and that doesn’t include the value of the fall kid crop, goatherd Brian Payne told a recent Multi-Species Grazing Conference near Humboldt, Sask.

Goats tend to eat the things cattle don’t, so it’s possible for the two to coexist to the mutual benefit of both. In fact, research is showing grazing goats and cattle together can actually increase the carrying capacity of pastures.

Overlay that against the worsening problem of leafy spurge in Manitoba.

According to Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives, the losses in beef production due to lost grazing capacity alone amount to more than half a million dollars per year. There is also reduced land values, lost natural habitat, and effects on water quality and soil.

Surveys have shown that up to 1.2 million acres of Manitoba is infested already, which is a ninefold increase over two decades. It’s moving along roadsides and across what little remains of natural prairie, choking out the native species.

Chemical control is expensive, not terribly effective and not possible in terrain that can’t be reached by a sprayer.

Burning or tilling it have had limited success and are not very environmentally friendly. At best, producers are able to achieve modest control using a combination of herbicides and cultural methods.

However, grazing spurge with goats and sheep has proven to be an effective means of controlling its spread and reducing its dominance so other plant species can compete with it better. The weed is noxious to cattle, but nutritious for goats and sheep, who are unaffected by the milky latex it produces.

“Although grazing in itself does not kill the plants, it will prevent seed production, and if grazed at a sufficient intensity, will lead to a depletion of root reserves and an associated decrease in plant vigour,” a MAFRI fact sheet on controlling leafy spurge says. “This will result in a reduced ability of the weed to compete against grass species, as well as withstand effects of herbicides or other control means.”

So we have a well-established and worsening problem that is sucking millions of dollars out of the province’s economy. We have a control mechanism that is effective, economical and environmentally friendly. And it involves a species of livestock for which market demand is on the rise, particularly among newcomers to Canada.

Consider this against the backdrop of other animal agriculture in Manitoba. It’s been well established in the past few weeks that our hog industry is in crisis, again, because of high costs and razor-thin margins.

Now a new report from the Canadian Agricultural Policy Institute is telling us our beef industry is dying a slow death, stuck in a competitive rut with no clear idea of how to get out of it. Canada’s cow herd has declined by 20 per cent — more than a million head — since 2005, making it questionable whether Canada will retain the critical mass necessary to meet future market opportunities.

One can envision nomadic goatherds — possibly university students as either summer employees or entrepreneurs — roaming the Prairies, rotating from spurge patch to spurge patch helping landowners get the problem under control while earning enough to live through the winter without student loans.

It’s entry-level animal agriculture with no requirement for multimillion-dollar production complexes or manure storage. Operators don’t have to buy or lease land; they get paid to use someone else’s.

Equipment costs would be minimal, perhaps some herding dogs, and a form of transportation such as a horse or ATV, and a camper for shelter. With the communications and Internet capacity of today, they could even stay in touch with their friends.

A crazy idea? Maybe. But when you read what’s happening to the rest of animal agriculture in this province these days, you have to wonder which is worse, being crazy or depressed.

The only thing wrong with this picture is that no one here is trying it.

The post What’s wrong with this picture? appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

“I really help out with the feeding,” said Kemp. “One of the mothers had only two of her baby goats survive, and she rejected one of them. So I have to hold her up to the mom so she can drink while someone holds her. She’s the girl with the green ribbon around her neck.”

The Kemps just took over the care of the miniature goats’ moms this past year, so they are a new addition to their clutch of laying birds, some rare black Sumatra chickens and a pair of luxuriously softwoolled angora goats.

Kemp also volunteers one day a week after school at the local veterinary clinic in Killarney. He helps with sweeping, cleaning kennels, mopping up after the vets and walking the dogs that are in for longer-term treatment.

When he noticed a lump recently on the pygmy goats’ necks, he asked one of the doctors at the clinic what it might be, and learned that they were goiters, and that the animals probably needed iodine as a treatment. Now he supplies the goats with an iodine salt block as part of his caretaking duties in the goat house.

“I’ve been helping at the vets for about two months,” he said. “I’ll probably do it until the end of the school term. I just do it because I like it; it’s not for school or anything. And I learn things too.”

This knowledge may come in handy as he continues to care for the family’s baby goats.

–Kim Langen writes from

Holmfield, Manitoba

The post Looking After The Goats appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

“Supply cannot keep up with demand,” said Bill Paulishyn, president of the Manitoba Goat Association, “but the downside is that this liver fluke infestation is just wiping us out.”

That’s not hyperbole, said Paulishyn, who raises goats near Anola.

Liver flukes, a parasite with a complex, multi-year life cycle that passes through deer and freshwater snails, has cost him $11,000 worth of breeding bucks, nannies, and kids goats in recent years, reducing his herd to just 13 animals from 50.

The good news is that after over a year of pleading with government officials, he and the estimated 90 other goat producers in the provincial association managed to secure a streaml ined process for importing a liver fluke drench called Fasinex, which stops the parasites cold at all stages of their life cycle.

“I’ve got 13 does at home and they’re having kids now. Now I know that I can keep them alive,” he said.

The drug, already approved in seven countries including Ireland and South Africa, was previously only available via an expensive and slow process that ended up costing hundreds of dollars in regulatory fees.

“When you did get the emergency drug release form, it used to take four to six weeks, and then you had to buy it from the supplier, who wanted $230,” he said at the association’s informational booth at the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair.

“Meanwhile, you could buy it for $70 in Ireland, off the shelf.”

Previously, goat herds who went through the process and paid the money could not legally share the drug with their neighbours because permission was only granted for individual applicants.

Now, that Health Canada has streamlined the process, multiple names on the drug release form are now acceptable, and the four-to six-week waiting period has been slashed to next-day service.

A typical five-to six-centilitre oral dose is enough to treat one goat.

DEER HOSTS

Liver flukes, which typically attach themselves to the bile ducts in deer, seldom cause problems in their hosts. However, once they are ingested – typically via wet grass or sloughs where snails can be found – they may cause havoc with internal organs of sheep, alpacas, goats, llamas, bison, and cattle.

In larger ruminants, they may not kill the animal, but secondary infections may lead to “poor doers” and condemned livers at the slaughterhouse.

Infected animals may show no symptoms for months, then die suddenly in early winter due to massive internal bleeding.

Paulishyn said he suspects the liver fluke problem, which first appeared in eastern Manitoba about three to four years ago, came from Minnesota, where the whitetail deer population is exploding.

“In some areas there, they have said to the farmers there that we don’t give a damn what time of the year it is, you can shoot any deer you see,” he said.

In some parts of Manitoba, he added, especially near urban areas, restrictions on hunting have sent deer populations soaring and that could be what’s behind the burgeoning liver fluke problem.

On the plus side, the demand for chevon in Ontario and Alberta is strong. Breeding animals are currently selling north of $200 each, and butcher goats bring $1.65 to $2 per pound on the hoof.

There are about 13,000 goats in Manitoba, with plenty of room for further expansion, said Paulishyn.

Every Tuesday morning, 10 to 15 goats are slaughtered by a halal butcher at a provincially inspected plant in Carman, then shipped to a store in Winnipeg the following day.

“On Thursday, you go in to the retailer and there’s nothing left,” he said.

daniel. winters@fbcpublishing.com

———

“I’vegot13doesathomeandthey’rehavingkids now.NowIknowthatIcankeepthemalive.”

– BILL PAULISHYN

The post Access To Drug Gives Goat Producers New Hope appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

The ewes sold at slightly higher than steady. Katahdincross ewes had good body structure, but sold for a slightly lower price.

The selection of the rams was dominated by Suffolkcross rams, which ranged in weight from 198 to 250 pounds and brought $192 and $217.50 (97 and 87 cents per pound) respectively.

A three-year-old, 202-lb. Rideau-cross ram brought $176.30 (86 cents/lb.).

There was only one group of heavyweight lambs: 10 142-lb. Suffolk-cross lambs brought $149.10 ($1.05/lb.).

Lambs in the 95-to 110-lb. range brought $1.33 down to $1.05 per pound. Only four groups of lambs were sold in this classification, limiting buyers’ selection.

Market lambs were much more dominant at this sale, creating a higher selection and good bidding. These lambs ranged from 82 to 94 pounds, which brought $106.60 to $125.49 ($1.30-$1.41/ lb. ) respectively.

Lightweight lambs kept steady with the higher bidding, competing well with the market lambs on price. The 73-to 78-lb. lambs brought $105.85-$103.74 ($1.45 down to $1.33/lb.) respectively. The 70-lb. and 79-lb. Katahdincross lambs brought $86.80 and $93.22 ($1.24 and $1.18/lb.); a group of 68-lb. Suffolk-cross lambs brought $97.92 ($1.44/ lb.) and a group of 65-lb. Suffolkcross lambs brought $94.90 ($1.46/lb.).

A very lightweight group of Dorper-cross lambs brought $61.74 ($1.26/lb.).

BUCKS WANTED

Buyers had a good selection of goats for the sale. Does sold steady, in the range of 82 to 95 cents/lb. A group of 20 66-lb. Boer-cross nannies brought $90 ($1.36/lb.) although a group of heavyweight does at 158 lbs. brought $94 (60 cents/lb.).

Demand for bucks created some major bidding from the crowd. The bucks were lightweight, rather than heavy, for this sale; they ranged from 50 to 63 lbs. and brought $79-$120 ($1.58-$1.91/lb.).

Lightweight wethers produced a higher return than heavy wethers. A 135-lb. Boer-cross wether brought $140 ($1.04/lb.) while 70-lb. and 57-lb. wethers brought $125 and $83 ($1.79 and $1.46/lb.) respectively.

The classification of doelings was represented by Alpinecross and Boer-cross goats, each group producing higher prices than bucklings at this sale. The 45-and 63-lb. Alpinecross doelings brought $72.50 and $101 ($1.61/lb. in both cases) respectively. The 60-lb. Boer-cross doeling brought $95 ($1.58/lb.).

Boer-cross bucklings dominated the classification; the weight ranged from 51 to 57 lbs., producing $77 to $95 ($1.51-$1.67/lb.). The 50-lb. Alpine-cross buckling brought $80 ($1.60/lb.).

The audience was entertained by groups of small goats and their frolicking manner and behaviour. Groups of very lightweight Boer-cross doelings and bucklings brought 73 cents to $1.13/lb.

A group of 50-lb. Pygmy-cross bucks brought $79 ($1.58/lb.). A family unit – a doe with two bucklings) – sold as a unit and brought $100 ($1.01/lb.).

———

Table 1. Winnipeg Livestock, Sales, Sept. 2

Class (weightsinlbs.)Ewes Lambs

142 95-100

80-94 80

70-79 60-69

49

Pricerange (peranimal)

61.20-153.36

149.10 105.00-132.30

106.60-125.49

86.80-105.85 94.90-97.92

61.74

The post Sheep &Goat Sales – for Sep. 16, 2010 appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

Goats are just the right size for Jessica, nine, Tyler, 11, and Joshua, 15, to handle. The same goes for Mel’s wife Nita.

But ease of handling is only a small part of the reason Penner and his family have 70 to 80 Boer does on a 40-acre parcel of land just north of the Canada- U. S. border. Their real aim is to develop a goat business. And it isn’t easy.

Although goats have probably existed on Manitoba farms since the early settlers arrived, a viable goat industry has never really taken off in the province.

According to the latest census figures, Manitoba in 2006 was home to 13,159 goats on 470 farms, fewer animals than in 2000. Most are meat goats. There is only one goat dairy in the province.

Most goats are sold out of province because the market for them is undeveloped here. There were only 241 goats slaughtered in Manitoba abattoirs in 2006. Goat meat and milk sales that year were valued at a mere $3.5 million.

So why have the Penners kept at it for 10 years?

“They’re cheaper than cattle,” Mel offers. “And they’re very interesting animals.”

In fact, Mel estimates it costs only $50 a year to keep a goat, not counting overhead. The Penners grow their own hay, of which a full-size goat will eat around four pounds a day. The main expense is a special Boer goat pre-mix ration containing grain and minerals. Another is electric fencing – essential to have because otherwise a naturally curious goat will range everywhere and climb up on just about anything.

Indoor facilities and maternity pens are also essential because goats are not adapted to Manitoba-style winters.

Otherwise, the family finds goats easy to raise. The problem is in finding them.

The last time the Penners obtained a good-quality buck, they had to go all the way to Regina to do it. Mel and Nita get phone calls from as far afield as Thunder Bay, Ontario asking if they have breeding stock for sale.

“We need more breeders,” said Mel.

The Penners breed and crossbreed most of their animals for seed stock. A few are slaughtered at a provincially inspected abattoir in Carman and the carcasses sold to an ethnic grocery store in Winnipeg, where the meat is cut and packaged.

Mel says he gets a better price selling to a private buyer than through Winnipeg Livestock Sales, where sporadic goat deliveries make price discovery more difficult.

But that doesn’t mean he’ll leave his plastic recycling business in Morden and go into full-time goat production any time soon.

Currently, the province requires more infrastructure to develop a full-scale goat industry, said Mamoon Rashid, a small ruminant specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives.

Producers need more information, better access to goat products (minerals, feed, drugs), knowledgeable veterinarians and improved genetics to develop their herds, Rashid said.

He said the industry was beginning to make headway before BSE appeared in 2003, sweeping goats and other ruminants into the same net as cattle. Exports dried up, prices fell and people stopped raising goats because there was no money in them.

Although the Manitoba Goat Association has roughly 80 members, people keep dropping in and out. Only a relative handful can be considered commercial producers. Many keep only a few animals as a sideline.

The good news is that more producers are becoming serious about production and herd sizes are gradually increasing, said Rashid.

“The one achievement we have is we’re coming out of the hobby phase. That’s a good thing.”

There’s more than enough demand for goat meat in Manitoba to meet the current supply. But until more indigenous Canadians eat goat, the primary market will continue to be within the ethnic community, Rashid said.

Globally, goat is one of the most widely eaten red meats. In Rashid’s native Pakistan, which has roughly eight per cent of the world’s goats, the meat is a staple food. That’s also the case in China (the world’s largest goat producer), India (the second largest), southeast Asia, Africa and the West Indies.

People from those communities flock to the Grocery Bazaar, a Winnipeg food store where owner Mazhar Ali can’t keep up with the demand for goat meat.

“When the meat comes, we sell it the very next day. Then we wait for the next week,” he said.

Ali currently receives 10 to 13 carcasses a week from Penner and another producer through the Carman plant. He believes he could sell at least twice as many.

Customers are willing to pay a premium for Manitoba-grown goat because they find its quality superior to imported New Zealand goat, said Ali.

Some people hesitate to try goat because of its allegedly gamey flavour. But Nita Penner says that’s not true of Manitoba goat.

“It tastes like pork.” ron@fbcpublishing.com

———

“We’recomingoutof thehobbyphase.”

– MAMOON RASHID, MAFRI

The post Goat Industry Needs Infrastructure – for Sep. 2, 2010 appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

The ewes sold steady, but with a few exceptions. The average price range was $0.73 to $0.85 per pound. The ewes in the July 3, 2010 sale, brought $0.55 to $0.78 per pound.

There were only four rams for this sale. The price ranged from $0.54 to $1.13 per pound.

Last sale, only one ram was sold. It went for $0.74 per pound.

The lightweight lambs classification dominated the lambs sold at this sale. A major portion of these lambs were in the steady in prices, ranging $0.72- $1.04/lb. There were a few exceptions, some of the does brought higher prices – $1.13-$1.37/lb.

The choice of bucks was good, most breeds were available for the buyers. The heavyweight (195 to 240 pounds) bucks brought a price range of $1.05-$0.63/lb. The lighter weight (60-105 pounds) bucks brought a price range of $1.92-$1/lb.

The first group was wethers, 73-pound Alpine cross, brought $88 ($1.21/lb.) and the second group of wethers, 95-pound Saanen cross, brought $110 ($1.16/lb.).

The lightweight goat kids, 29 pounds, brought $51 ($1.76/lb.) and the 26-pound goats brought $39 ($1.50/lb.).

The two groups of 52-pound bucklings brought $84 and $75 ($1.62 and $1.44/pound). Another group of bucklings, 54 pounds, brought $86 ($1.59/lb.).

The goats in the 43-to 48-pound range brought $74- $77 ($1.72-$1.60/lb.).

———

Aug. 5/2010

———

95 -110 lbs.80 -94 lbs.

$123.75 -$181.20 $168

———

n/a $167.89 -$177.02

EwesLambs 110 lbs. +30 -39 Lbs.$34.20 (36) New Crop $87.58 (1.51)July 8/2010June 3/2010

$58.32 -$145.30 $58.80 -$131.93 $78.56 -$172.96

n/a n/a

$54 (1.44)

$85.75 (49) n/a

n/a $94.50 -$129.60

$99.96 -$125.96 $97.90 -$138.16 $157.52 -$165.62 70 -79 lbs.$70 -$106.50 $101.84 -$124.82 $118.63 -$129.21

60 -69 lbs.$84.50 -$94.52 $94.25 -$108.12 $112 -$121.72 50 -59 lbs.$55.10 -$82.94 $75.50 $81.20 -$106.2040 -49 lbs.

$51.25 (41)

The post Sheep &Goat Sales – for Aug. 19, 2010 appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

Researchers from the Britain’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) said deadly and debilitating animal diseases are rampant in many parts of the developing world, threatening the lives of farmers and their families and stifling prospects for global trade and economic growth.

“In many poor countries livestock are crucial capital assets, they are walking bank accounts, cushioning the shock that poor communities receive to their livelihoods,” Jeff Waage of the London International Development Centre told a briefing in London to announce new research funding.

Just one animal can meet a whole family’s needs and offer a way out of poverty, he said, but often such animals and their potential are wiped out by waves of animal diseases like foot and mouth, swine fever and goat plague and liver fluke.

To help in the fight against such diseases the BBRSC and the British government’s Department for International Development (DFID) and the Scottish government announced 13 million pounds ($20.37 million) of funding for new research projects aimed at improving food security and building scientific knowledge.

“Healthy animals can mean the difference between feeding a family or being plunged further into poverty and malnutrition,” said Junior Development minister Mike Foster.

“This new research will reduce poverty, increase animal welfare and ultimately improve the quality of life for some of the world’s poorest people.”

The projects will match British scientists with researchers in Asia, Africa and other parts of the developing world.

They include studies on foot-and-mouth disease – one of the most devastating animal diseases and one which affects all cloven-hooved animals; goat plague, which causes serious disease in sheep and goats; and liver fluke, which can hit cattle, buffalo, goats and sheep in many areas of Asia and Africa.

A scheme in Tanzania will aim to map the genetic variation in foot-and-mouth viruses to help develop ways of controlling the disease, which is endemic in parts of the world.

Another project will seek to develop a vaccine for liver fluke worms in India, where experts say their impact can lead to as much as 3.1 billion pounds a year in losses for farmers.

Douglas Kell, BBRSC chief executive, said the studies should help farming authorities develop a range of tools from better vaccinations to more sophisticated diagnosis methods which could “transform the lives of millions across the developing world.”

Waage said climate change and global trade were also driving increasing incidence of animal disease from Africa and Asia into Europe and other parts of the Northern Hemisphere, meaning the studies would be of future value there too.

The post New Program To Combat Animal Disease appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

“They don’t actually faint… when they get scared, their muscles lock up and they sometimes fall over.”

When Erin Orchard goes out to feed her goats, some can get so excited that they will just fall over. Orchard, who runs a goat farm called Caprine Falls, is one of the few breeders in the province who raises myotonic or “fainting” goats.

Orchard began raising pygmy, Nigerian dwarf and dairy goats in 2000, and purchased some myotonic goats in 2004. She generally keeps a mixed herd of about 70 goats out on 10 acres.

Myotonic goats have a genetic condition called myotonia congenita, which causes a temporary stiffening of the muscles, which causes the goat to tip over. “They don’t actually faint,” says Orchard. “When they get scared, their muscles lock up and they sometimes fall over.”

Older goats sometimes learn to control this trait and can walk about on their stiff legs. This stiff condition will wear off after about 10 seconds and the goat can get up and run again. The goats never lose consciousness when they fall over.

Orchard says the animals will show the condition when they are scared or startled, or even when they get excited when they see the feed bucket. Once the condition has occurred, it takes a while before it happens again.

The myotonia congenita gene is a recessive one, and can sometimes be bred out of the goat. However, if a goat is more than three-quarters myotonic, it will generally show the stiffening trait. Sometimes the trait will skip a generation, but will show up in the offspring.

Myotonic goats are meat goats which are calm and friendly and unable to jump fences, says Orchard. The breed originated in Tennessee. Myotonic goats lack the eyebrow ridge found in most breeds of goats and have ears that stick straight out. The goats are typically black and white, but they can also come in other colours, and can have any eye colour. The goats are very muscular and slow growing.

“They will get their height by three years, and will generally fill out by the time they’re five,” says Orchard.

The goats can be long haired or short haired. Myotonic goats can also be polled or have horns. When the myotonic goats are crossed with Boer goats, they grow faster, and produce more meat with less fat.

Orchard raises her goats as pets and breeding stock. She said all the myotonic breeders that she knows have long waiting lists for their animals. There are only three myotonic goat breeders listed on the Alberta Goat Breeders website. People who keep registered myotonic goats in Canada have to register them in the United States, as there are no registries for them in Canada.

STOCK TIP: Oreo, this black and white myotonic goat, exhibits the straight

ears typical of the breed.

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