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Monday, December 05, 2005
Goat Raising: Something new from the old
By Edwin G. Espejo and Bong S. Sarmiento
WHAT pungent smell when cooked in herbs and spices is most palatable and is considered aphrodisiac to most Filipino males? Which eyes are used as paraphernalia by gigolos of the night? Which stocks are bought for as much as P60 grand per buck? Of course, you, the reader, already knew. They are the horned, hoofed goats. But goats are no longer your ordinary farm and backyard animals.
Raising goats, in fact, has become a serious business. Just asked former Presidential Assistant for Mindanao Paul G. Dominguez.
He said owning pedigreed stocks for breeding has become his favorite past time--as if he still has time to squeeze from his tight schedules.
Paul, PGD, as he is often called among his staff and close business and political associates, proudly said he bought his stock, three bucks and five does from Bebot Abello of Bacolod City for P30 grand each.
"They are pedigreed. Their parent stocks are winners in an agri-fair in the US," he proudly said.
Oh, before we forget, these are Boers--known for its high quality meat and excellent productive qualities.
Noli Cajutol, who oversees PGD's fledging herds, said a Buck could mate up to 40 does.
A doe, on the other hand, could produce as many as three kids--although the average is two per birth.
Boers are fairly large compared to local goats and even the Anglo-Nubians that are known for their milk.
Boers are large, double muscled animals developed through the years in Southern Africa.
They can produce more muscling in less time than any other breed of goat and are known to pass these qualities even when crossbred with other breeds.
Boers are easy to raise, have mild temperaments, are affectionate, require no milking, no special care, no shearing, and no fancy fences.
Boers and Boer crosses also have huge rumen (digestive system) capacity.
They were first developed to clear land and they spend a lot more time grazing than other types of goats.
They are so versatile that they also can graze in winter under negative temperatures.
Best among red meat
Boer meats are said to contain less cholesterol and are easily digestible.
They are excellent alternatives to chicken and beef sans the after taste of most "native" goats.
Now wonder, 63 percent of total meat consumption throughout the world comes from "chevon" or "cabrito," or goat meat.
According to American website, www.boergoatshome.com, the Arabs and Mid-easterners, Asian, African, Latin American and Caribbeans prefer goat meat than any other veal-like meat.
Most of these groups would trade their money whenever they can find goat meat and they are willing to pay the price for higher quality meat.
Just roam around the city to see for yourself. You will find plenty of "goatbingans"--eateries that serve goat meats cooked the old Filipino fashion way--kilawin, papaitan and caldereta.
Getting into serious business
A local company here has planted the seeds of growth for commercial goat raising in the country and is eyeing to adopt a technology that would significantly advance the fledging industry.
Vincent Garcia, managing director of A.C Garcia Corp., said they started commercial Boer goat-raising at Villa Salud farm here in 2003 with only 100 stocks imported from Australia.
After only two years, he said, the herd has grown to 650 heads.
"Basically, the goat industry is still controlled by backyard raisers. Commercial growers are just taking one percent of the pie. I hope to reverse the situation some years from now," he said.
Many of the first generation offspring of his imported Boer goats (Capra hircus) are now weighing over 30 kilos, which means the females goats are ready to become new mothers.
Garcia said he plans to dispose 250 live Boers this December to spread the good genetics of the herd to those interested in growing goats.
"That would be the biggest one-time disposal of Boers in the country by a single company," he noted.
He, however, would not sell Boer does but only bucks (male goats) at a price ranging from P10,000 to P40,000 per head.
Although the cost is prohibitive to most ordinary farmers, Garcia assured that
"it's a good investment" because of the Boer's potential to make a lot of money in the future.
He said that Boer bucks could sire native female goats, resulting to a much better offspring than when fathered by a native male goat.
In fact, Cajutol said cross breeding Boer with the now famous Dadiangas Goat strain is proving to be a success.
When matured, Boers could weigh from 90 to 140 kilos, compared to native goats that usually weigh less than 35 kilos.
Moreover, Boer goat female kids can reach puberty at 6 months of age and are considered as early breeders.
Male kids, on the other hand, can be used for breeding at 5 to 6 months of age but can reach puberty or reach a body weight of 32 kilograms as early as 3 to 4 months of age.
Garcia predicted that commercial goat raising would become a billion peso industry in the years to come that would generate significant employment opportunities.
He pointed out lamb as an example. About four years ago according to him, lamb was a luxury in Metro Manila.
"But now lamb's meat is already proliferating in Metro Manila supermarkets because the animal is already raised in the country," Garcia said.
It will not be far-fetched that Boer goat raisers would follow, or even surpass, the feat of lamb growers, he added.
Just like native goats, Boers also thrive by eating grasses. But in the case of Villa Salud, the herd is grown with additional feed supplements, which is produced by the company itself, to hasten their development.
"Boer goat raising is not "really that expensive" if you think of it because the return [of investment] is huge," Garcia said.
The Boer goats at Villa Salud are nourished 80% of grass and 20% of feed supplements.
Embryo technology
Garcia said he is keeping his Boer does intact for the meantime because he plans to fast track the multiplication of the herd using the "Embryo Technology" method.
Embryo Technology, which is not yet common in the country, he said, is being practiced in other nations in the past several years.
"I am considering embryo transfer maybe by next year as it will be able to contribute to a faster pace of genetic improvement and a more reasonable and affordable price of Boer goats," Garcia said, adding there are experts in the field of embryo transfer in the country who are just waiting to be tapped.
In Embryo transfer, he noted that all one needs is to transfer surgically the embryo of a Boer even to native goats.
"In other words, the fetus of the Boer is already developed that when you transfer it to goats of other variety, it will not inherit whatever the traits of the host goat. In this case, you preserve the integrity of the Boer quality," he explained.
Unlike artificial insemination, Garcia strongly believes that embryo transfer would eventually be beneficial to his Boer venture.
The other method might produce an offspring that would inherit the strains of the mother, he added.
Artificial insemination, which is also common among humans, is done by collecting semen and then introduced it into the uterus without sexual interaction.
Through embryo transfer, Garcia expressed optimism he could provide quality live Boer goats for butchering into staple menu in restaurants across the country.
Harris Diamad, also a "goat herder", said there is a huge demand for goat meat in the Middle East. And he is willing to trade some of his best breeds for a Boer.
Presently, Villa Salud supplies goat meat to big shopping malls in Central Mindanao as he pointed out a shortage of the product in eatery chains. Goat meat could be bought by at least P200 per kilo.
"Hopefully, we can provide a steady supply of goat meat in the restaurants in Mindanao by next year and the rest of the country in the near future. The market for it (goat meat) is really big," he stressed.
There were restaurant owners who already approached Garcia for a steady supply of goat's meat but he had to turn them down as he is still building his Boer stock.
Recently, Garcia purchased about 300 native female goats ready for siring by his Boer bucks. He generally keeps the Boer and native goats in separate cages with roofing for protection from the rain. This is to control quality of the animals.
Goats could give birth twice a year with an average of two kids. At this rate, Garcia can further produce 1,200 hybrid goats in a year's time. Goats have fertility period of up to ten years.
In a few years' time, he said that backyard goat raisers interested in Boer would no longer have to place their orders ahead.
When he disposes around 250 goats with a Boer bloodline this December, Garcia, said that customers, mostly politicians and small businessmen, have been required to book ahead and give a down payment.
Before he imported his Boers from Australia, Garcia recalled that he tried to get it locally from a religious congregation but failed.
"The waiting time was one year. Moreover, they would only allow you to buy one head," he said.
(December 5, 2005 issue)
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