Posted on 05/23/2005 7:42:47 PM PDT by SJackson
Judy Brown Regional Editor
REEDSVILLE - Boer goats, bred for meat, hardly resemble dairy goats, says Christine Kocourek of Floppy Ear Farm.
Ms. Kocourek and her husband, Keith Schroeder, who own a 10-acre farm in Manitowoc County, are securing more land for an expanding meat goat business built around Boers.
The animals grow quickly to 80 pounds, and then are butchered at up to 10 months old. Unlike their dairy goat relatives, Boer goats are solid meat animals with bucks weighing 200 to 300 pounds.
"They gain weight real fast compared to dairy goats," Ms. Kocourek said.
She said Boers are a hardy, browsing breed that work well at clearing brush and graze with other animals such as cattle and sheep. They have brown heads or capes and white bodies.
Boer goats, native to South Africa, are desired by Indians, Greeks, Jamaicans and Hispanics.
"Eighty percent of the world's population eats goat meat," Ms. Kocourek said.
The United States annually imports millions of pounds of goat meat, mostly from Australia.
"It's not just a fad where you have to develop a market," she said. "The market is already there."
Floppy Ear Farm started with one buck and two pregnant does.
"I thought it was really neat, but at that time a percentage doe was bringing $2,000," Ms. Kocourek said.
Since then prices have decreased. Does sell for $150 to $200 and registered bucks sell for as high as $1,000.
So far this season, 30 kids have been born, with nine more does due, Ms. Kocourek said.
Old Boer does produce two crops of kids a year.
Floppy Ear Farm sells meat goats, wethers and breeding stock.
"We don't advertise our meat, but now we sell everything," she said.
All Floppy Ears Farm goats are registered, but the registry lets them register animals that are half Boer bloodline "so you can breed up," she said. "When they become fifteen-sixteenths you can register them as American purebred."
The farm's breeding stock has sold as far away as Mexico, she said. Ms. Kocourek sells full, purebred and percentage animals.
Some of her foundation animals are fifth generation. The selection of breeding animals is based on rate of gain, milking quality and birthing ease, she said.
Floppy Ear Farm will host the second annual Midsize Market 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 4 at the Manitowoc County Expo in Manitowoc.
Five Wisconsin farms have registered to take Boer goats to the sale.
"This is our farm's attempt to provide an economical and excellent facility for small breeders to showcase their animals," Ms. Kocourek said.
If we all fail and fall to fraud, I just saw another thread that Australia discovered another planet that can sustain life.
I wonder what the fishing is like there....
,,, all those light years of travel just to find perch or something similar?
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Kabobs !
Where is your sense of adventure?
,,, it's confined to a credit card.
Sorry, just wanted to make sure you'd seen it.........I searched for yer moniker to make sure ya weren't pinged to it twice....my bad...:o)
In Qater we had these spicy kabobs, wrap em in a steamed kale leaf and drench em with squeezed lemon juice.........Great Stuff !
Stay safe !
Hahaha.
Rights, farms, environment ping.
Let me know if you wish to be added or removed from this list.
I don't get offended if you want to be removed.
If nothing else, this business could also be a lead into a Terrorist Dating service. Perhaps we should track the goats as they are sold overseas.
In TX we eat goat roasted over mesqite wood. It is quite good.
"Trust me, if you have ever tried to raise them and been around them long enough, you won't mind killing them."
ROFLMAO! I agree completely. I used to take care of the goats on my Aunt's farm in the summers when I was a kid. Man, I hated those smelly, unruly mean-spirited Nannies! I can still "feel" the stench of them up against me while I milked them, all these years later.
However, by friend raises Angora Goats for their wool (fur? hair? I dunno.) and they are very sweet and not so smelly.
I'm still talking DH into letting me get a milk cow. *SIGH* Someday!
Ping!
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