Goats eat everything? Absolutely not. It is important to understand goat feeding habits to be able to successfully farm with them. Like almost every livestock operation,the greatest expense in goat operations is feeding costs which can be reduced with good grazing management. While goats have a unique capability of grazing plant species that other livestock may not prefer, it’s still important to understand what they prefer as this makes farming with them easier. We will explore their feeding preferences below. The focus will be on veld feeding habits

Where is the money in goats?

Is there money to be made in goat farming?… For me the answer is absolutely…so where is the money? Well that is the million dollar question. Whatever angle you look at money is made from this simple equation… Profit = sales minus costs. I am going to approach this from a business perspective and thus my focus will be on commercial production of goats. My focus will also be on breeding meat goats as that is my area of expertise. There are of course goats for milk and wool which could also be viable

On Twitter spaces yesterday hosted by @Gugulethu_CM and @foodformzansi, @ndakaripa shared some insights for those who wanted to venture into goat farming. For those that missed it, follow Gugu and look out for the link to the recording when its posted. It will assist you greatly. I wanted to reiterate some of the important nuggets shared last night and add my own personal experience and observations to such an important topic.

Good morning! Just for some motivation… we are quick to abandon ideas because we focus on what we lack rather than what we have to address whatever we lack… I have banished the words “I can’t” or “it’s impossible” from my vocabulary.. I rather focus on “HOW” can I get it done. I can’t get funding is a common “I can’t”I hear often.If you proclaim you can’t, you will surely not be able to.. focussing on the “how” is much more powerful… Lets discuss “how”a bit to demonstrate what I mean..If I don’t have funding I can partner with someone…or start small

Continuing with goat nutrition… this thread is more to provide some practical nuggets around the topic having laid the foundation earlier… Goats are predominantly browsers rather than grazers… although they can graze head down in pastures like sheep, if given the choice, they often prefer to reach for the leaves of trees or shrubs – heads up!. Goats that browse are happier and healthier goats!

Goat nutrition thread… Goat Nutrition is the science of feed preparation and feeding goats to produce either milk, meat or wool. I will cover the main principles in this thread and share another thread with more practical nutrition tips. The way I think of goat nutrition is that as a meat goat farmer, I am in the business of converting feed in its raw state into meat. It is thus important to understand goat nutrition as it significantly affects both quality and quantity of meat. It also affects quality of ..

Price vs Value…Goat farmers or farmers in general, it’s important to understand the difference between the price of something and its value. Its something that I have taken time to unpack and its empowered my buying decision making. I hope this thread is insightful to you. Price is the money or amount paid to get something. Value is the utility of worth of the commodity of service for an individual. Price is the amount you pay. Value is what the product or service pays you. A product with one price can have different values for different people.

The curious case of a goat cellphone farmer. I would like to state upfront that the line of this thread is not to discredit full time farming, there are instances where that it is preferable.. This thread shares insights from farming remotely and is based on my own experiences. My interest in farming started at a tender age when every school holiday of my high school, I would visit my late uncle who had an A1 farm in Nyanga, Zimbabwe. I credit him for inspiring my passion in farming.

Most farmers rely heavily on dewormers to treat worms. However many cases of worm resistance to dewormers are being experienced and it’s important to use dewormers in a responsible manner. Rather than rely on treatment of worms, rather follow the plan suggested below:- There are a few misconceptions and misinformation that is shared as good practices that has actually been proved wrong by recent studies on worm resistance to dewormers. I will cover a few of these below.

What are the key success factors for goat farming? The thread below are my own reflections on the key success factors in goat farming. I have farmed with Boers, KRs and Mashona goats. #ZimAgricRising #GOAT Have a passion for goats. For me this is the biggest and most important aspect. I read every publication I can find on goat farming. I research issues. I talk to other goat farmers. I visit goat farms. I am on lots of goat farming groups. Talk, sleep, dream, think, read goats!!!