How to set up a goat farm?

How to set up a goat farm?

Are you looking for expert advice on how to start up a goat farm – what is the land requirement, how many goats are required, what is the male to female ratio, what are the best breeds, or where to buy the goats?

Goat is the first domesticated animal and a poor man’s cow. The products available from goats are mutton / milk / ma    nure / skin and lustrous fine hair. The goat meat is lean and low in fat so it is liked by all. The demand for goat meat is increasing, even though the price is high. They are profitable under stall fed condition.

Goat Meat and Byproducts
The capital investment of purchase of goats is very low. For a price of 1 cross-breed cow, one can purchase 10 quality goats. They have shorter gestation period and can be sold at any stage of their growth. They are resistant to diseases. Since they are stall fed, the expenditure on medication/ treatment is marginal.

The population of goats in the country is increasing though 60% of the goats are slaughtered every year. The farmer is bringing additional fallow lands under cultivation, cities and villages are also expanding fast and because of this the grazing land is decreasing day by day.

Therefore a necessity has arisen to continue to maintain the goats by way of stall fed system. The total life of goats is 15 years. Mortality in percentage overall is 3% (with proper management).

Requirements for Goat Farm,

 “The land requirement for 40 goats is 1 acre. A start-up can start with 40-60 goats. The ideal ratio of male and female goats is 20:1. The variety most suitable for Madurai region is Thalachery-Boer combination. You can buy goats from good farms maintaining records and doing proper vaccinations. The specification for stage preparation and design for 1 goat is 20 sq.ft and the per sq ft expenses was Rs. 150 to Rs.350.”

 “There should be 25 goats for every 1 acre. The area for the shed should be as follows: 1456 sq ft inside the shed for protecting the animals against theft and bad weather; and another 2912 sq ft open space or paddock this can be made use for feeding the goats in hay racks, water and relaxing. For kids and specific partitions has to be made as per requirement. The areas inside shed should be 14 sq ft per goat. For 125 goats you need 1 skilled labour + 1 helper.”  for 100+5 goats, the investment required would be Rs. 16 Lakh (one can start with Rs.3.5 Lakh). By second year minimum profit will be Rs. 15 lakh. The breakeven point should be below 2 years. The minimum profit will be Rs 1 crore in 6 years.”

Southern peninsular region comprising Maharashtra, Karnataka. Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and some territories in the central region has about 30% of the total goat population of the country comprising Osmanabadi, Malbari, and Sangamheri breeds of goats.

 “Osmanabadi goat breed is best because it gets easily adaptable to any climatic condition. Starting a goat farm with osmanabadi goat breed is highly viable and most profitable as compare to other breeds.

The main reasons are:
1. High resistant power against diseases, so mortality rate is low as compare to other breed.
2. High yielding capacity of milk and kids.
3. Higher palatability of meat with high protein content.
4. Eats any farm fodder.
5. Cost of goat is low as compare to other breeds like boer, sirohi, and jamnapari. So it’s affordable breed.
6. No problem in marketing, as it has very high demand for meat and breeding purpose.

Rearing Methods
Proper rearing methods should be employed to ensure profitability, which include regular vaccination and deworming, proper supplementation, detecting heat signs and controlled crossing with high breed bucks, prevent kid mortality, labor management, maintain farm hygiene, and strict quarantine procedures.

Government Schemes and Subsidies
The various government schemes and subsidies. “There are lots of government schemes available for goat farming, and the main scheme is of NABARD that provides 25% subsidy for open caste and 33.3% subsidy for reserved category on total project cost. This is a nationalized scheme for all states. The main condition of this scheme is that you have to avail loan from any nationalized bank as then only you are eligible for subsidy. Other schemes changes from state to state and so you have to visit your districts or villages livestock development office to know the present schemes in your areas.
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Challenges
The main challenges faced in the business are middle men, electricity problems, labor deficit, and uneven monsoon.

SOURCE (www.agricultureinformation.com)