Goat Artificial Insemination Course

Do you know how to artificially inseminate a goat? Artificial insemination allows easier access to much superior genetics and a wider variety of breeds than might usually be available and also helps maintain the biosecurity of a herd.  Christine Ball of Goat Genetics is running a training course on Wednesday 25th and Thursday 26th of September.  The course is kindly hosted by Ian Johnson of Ashbourne, near Derby in the UK and will have both theory and practical sessions. Understandably places will be limited so if you are interested contact Christine by email peaclond@talktalk.net.

Irish Kid Goat Gets Gourmet Treatment

I've long been a fan of Neven Maguire of MacNean House & Restaurant in Blacklion, Co. Cavan and I've been lucky enough to both eat and stay here on a number of occasions. The experience is simply the pinnacle of Irish food and hospitality.

Neven’s obvious appreciation for the exceptional quality of food we have in this country has always been reflected through his books and television work and I was delighted to recently see Kid Goat added to the MacNean House menu.  The dish reads as follows:

Kid Goat - Smoked Loin , Confit Leg & Foie Gras Terrine & Braised Shoulder Bon Bon.

Not only does it sound delicious but is visually stunning, you can check it out here. It is wonderful to see one of Ireland’s best and most loved chefs giving quality Irish goat meat the recognition it deserves and demonstrating the potential of this exceptional product.  I wish Neven and his team continued success.

Wild Irish Goat Conservation Assistant Required!

I've brought the Old Irish Goat Society to your attention before, but there is now a rare chance to get up close and personal with the animals themselves as applications are being sought for a Wild Irish Goat Conservation Assistant.  This position is being offered as a JobBridge Internship and for anyone who has unfortunately found themselves out of work, is an excellent opportunity for anyone with a genuine interest in either goats or the conservation of Irish species.  You can get more details on the Old Irish Goat Society Website or from JobBridge.

Calling for Vets!

One of the major challenges when goat farming in Ireland is looking for expertise when your goats fall ill.  The fact that goat farms are generally widely dispersed means that finding a vet who has knowledge and experience in dealing with goats isn't always straightforward.  In the UK they have a veterinary goat society (www.goatvetsoc.co.uk) but we aren't blessed with the same resource here.  To this end I have been in touch with Peter Bishton in Veterinary Ireland and he has been very helpful. I have received a number of contacts as a result of his work, and have listed them on the Goat Hub page.  So far the list is quite short so if anyone else has been lucky enough to find a vet with knowledge or experience when dealing with goats please let me know and I'll add them to the list.  Hopefully we'll soon have a nationwide database of goat-wise vets!

Old Irish Goat Society

Hi again! It's great to be back posting after a very busy few weeks running two goat courses in Thurles and Navan.  I recently heard of a very important project to preserve the Old Irish Goat.  In recent years it was discovered that the breed was rapidly heading for extinction and a group of concerned individuals came together to preserve and promote the breed.  This is not just a heritage project either, there are plans to assess it's use in domestication.  Many of the goat breeds typically found on farms in this country are poorly suited to the Irish climate and the Old Irish Goat may well be capable of bringing traits of real value to the Irish goat industry.  The society have a very comprehensive and interesting site which you can check out here.

Introduction to Goat Farming Course

I'm delighted to say that I'll be running two goat farming courses in the very near future.  Each course will take place over four days from 9.30 to 4.30 each day and will involve two farms visits per course.  The dates and venues are as follows:

Thurles Office    Tuesday 26^th and Wednesday 27^th February AND Tuesday 12^th and Wednesday 13^th March.

Navan Office      Tuesday 5^th and Wednesday 6^th March AND Tuesday 19^th and Wednesday 20^th March.

 The areas to be covered include:

· Housing & Fencing

· Feeding & Nutrition

· Reproduction

· Health and Disease

· Kid Rearing

· Dairy Goat Husbandry

· Meat Goat Husbandry

· It is also proposed to include a module on Product Development

The proposed charge of €150 is required by Monday 18^th of February and confirmation of each course will issued to applicants by Thursday 21^st of February.  If you are interested in attending please contact me by email for an application form.  I hope to see you there!

Bord Bia Small Business Open Day

Firstly I'd like to start by wishing you all a very happy new year.  2012 was a difficult year but I'm confident that with increased partnership and cooperation between us all 2013 can prove to be much more positive and a very firm footing for strong progress in the future.  For those of you who have started your own business or are thinking of doing so Bord Bia are holding a Small Business Open Day in the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Blanchardstown on Wednesday January 23rd.  A wide range of topics will be covered including Bord Bia services and opportunities in Irish and UK markets.  There will also be a showcase of service providers and an opportunity to network with like-minded individuals.  You can find out more about this event here and download the agenda for the day here.

Goat Study Tour 2012

At the end of August I travelled to the UK along with almost 30 members of the Irish Goat Producers Association for a two-day goat study tour.  It really was a superb couple of days with visits to five elite producers of milk, meat and breeding stock.  Not only was it an excellent learning experience but it gave those involved in the Irish goat industry a rare opportunity to meet socially and discuss all aspects of goat production.  I also must say thanks to Bernie Whyte of the IGPA and Christine Ball of Goat Genetics for all their work in organising the trip.  I thoroughly enjoyed the trip and really look forward to doing it again in the near future.  You can read my full report here.

Broughgammon Farm

Last week I had the pleasure of travelling with a colleague to Ballycastle in County Antrim to meet Charlie Cole of Broughgammon Farm. Along with farming sheep and harvesting seaweed, Charlie has recently taken to rearing male dairy goat kids that would usually be put down at birth.  Indeed, Charlie's new enterprise featured on BBC's 'The Farm Fixer' in September.  Having spent a few hours in his company I really had to admire his determination and conviction in the potential of his new enterprise.  There are already some very promising signs for Charlie and I look forward to seeing his business go from strength to strength. To find out more about Broughgammon Farm you can check out their website.

Irish Goat Meat

For any of you that missed the article on goat meat on RTE's Ear to the Ground, Ella McSweeney has made a short audio sample available on Audioboo.  You can listed to it here. The article featured Claudia Marl who is rearing some of her goats for meat. She has also recently started making a delicious goats' milk ice cream which I was lucky enough to sample at this year's Electric Picnic. You can get all the products made by Claudia through her website Barba Goat Farm.

US National Goat Expo

The National Goat Expo takes place from October 7th-11th next in Des Moines, Iowa.  It will be a huge event over five days with clinics, seminars, shows and workshops covering every aspect of goat keeping and farming.  It highlights the extent to which the goat industry may be developed in any particular country. and aspects of goat production never even considered in Ireland. Unfortunately I won't be able to attend, but you can read all about it here.

The Irish Goat Hub

In my time working with goats in Ireland I've discovered many passionate and hardworking individuals who are committed to their craft, often with little support or publicity.  There is also no overall association who work to advertise and develop the overall goat industry from the animals being looked after on farms to the finished product of milk, meat, cheese and cosmetics sold in shops and markets. To this end I've created a 'Goat Hub' where I intend to list any websites or links relating to people working in the goat industry in Ireland.  It will be a place where anyone can visit and discover some of the great work done and products created by these individuals in this country.  The Hub is available on the bottom right hand side of this page or you can check it out here.

2012 - United Nations Year of Cooperatives

Did you know that this year is the United Nations Year of Cooperatives? In light of this fact a conference is being held in Macreddin Village in Wicklow on Friday, August 31st next.  A number of important national organisations are jointly involved, including Teagasc.  The focus of the conference is on the practical needs of farmers in bringing food products directly to consumers.

Since the goat industry in this country is relatively small, it is very important that we all work together to promote and develop the sector.  Cooperatives may well play an important part in achieving this. Outlets for goat products, be they dairy or meat, are not widely available and it is hugely important to be proactive in creating new outlets and markets. Whether you wish to sell goats' milk, cheese, ice cream or develop a meat product this conference will provide lots of useful practical information regarding the creation and development of a successful cooperative. Among those taking part are members of well established and highly regarded cooperatives already in operations such as Ring of Kerry Quality Lamb and Burren Beef and Lamb. 

For more information you can download the conference programme here.

Irish Goat Producers Association

If you're interesting in breeding or showing goats in Ireland, be sure to check out the Irish Goat Producers Association Facebook page. Bernie will keep you up to date with all of the latest news from the shows and there are some great pictures up on the page. Most of the members are very experienced goatkeepers and their knowledge could be invaluable if you're new to goats. You can check out the page here.

Cream of Irish Goats Cheese Rises to the Top!

Congratulations are in order to Yeats Country Food and once again to Michael Finegan for awards recently picked up at the International Cheese Awards in Nantwich, UK. A deluge of of prizes were awarded to Irish cheese producers and among them Yeats Country Spreadable Goats' Cheese and Michael's Boyne Valley Blue. A testament to the quality of goats' milk produced in this country and the dedicated cheese makers turning it into a delicious end product.

Did you notice anything wrong with my headline? If you leave fresh cows' milk overnight you will find that the cream separates and rises from the milk below.  This is due to a compound called aggultinin.  However most cows milk undergoes a process called 'homogenisation' which prevents this separation taking place.  Goats' milk does not contain agglutinin and is therefore naturally homogenised.  This is just one of the claimed health benefits of drinking goats' milk. You can read more about these benefits here.