Boer goat - Easy to raise, big profit

With innovative and creative thinking, along with diligence and hard work, currently, with 1,000 Boer goats raised in a semi-industrial, herd-based manner, on average, each year, Mr. Nguyen Van Tu's family in Hop Ly commune (Lap Thach) earns about 600 - 800 million VND. Thereby, not only increasing the family's income but also creating regular jobs for a number of local workers, opening up a new direction in livestock development in the area.

The Boer goat farming model of Mr. Nguyen Van Tu's family is highly economically efficient, opening up a path to wealth for many local people.

Coming to Phu Cuong village, Hop Ly commune, asking about the commercial Boer goat farming model of Mr. Nguyen Van Tu's family, everyone knows, because this is a new farming model, the first in the commune with high economic efficiency.

Mr. Tu said: After being invited by the Farmers' Association to visit effective agricultural economic development models in some localities inside and outside the province, I found that the model of raising goats for meat brings high income and is quite suitable for the local advantages. In 2019, I discussed with my family and boldly invested in building a barn with an area of 200 m2, bought 100 Boer goats for testing, with a total investment cost of 1 billion VND.

Boer goats are an imported breed that grows quickly, has high productivity, and produces a lot of meat, especially for a large consumer market, because the meat is delicious, soft, and contains many nutrients. However, "all beginnings are difficult", due to lack of experience, the "start-up" goats of Mr. Tu's family suffered from many diseases such as bloating, flatulence, and foot-and-mouth disease, causing the herd to grow slowly, with a high loss rate, so the income was not enough to cover the loss.

Not discouraged by difficulties, Mr. Tu continued to invest and restore his herd, while actively seeking out goat farms in and outside the province, participating in the National Goat Breeding Association to learn from experience; proactively seeking knowledge from books, newspapers, television and the internet. Thanks to that, from the second batch of goats onwards, the herd developed well, gained weight quickly, and had few diseases. After 4 months of raising, after deducting the initial breeding capital, Mr. Tu's family earned hundreds of millions of VND per batch.

With the experience and revenue achieved, in 2021, Mr. Tu invested an additional 6 billion VND to expand the scale, multiplying the goat herd to nearly 1,000 goats and raising them in the form of herd support and capital rotation. Thanks to proper care and strict adherence to disease prevention and treatment, every month, Mr. Tu's family has goats for sale. Currently, his family creates regular jobs for 3 workers, with an income of 7 million VND/person/month.

Mr. Tu shared: Compared to raising pigs and chickens, raising goats is easier and the price is more stable. Goats are easy to raise and gain weight quickly, but they are also susceptible to respiratory diseases and parasites, especially in winter and the rainy season. To raise goats economically, farmers need to master the techniques and proactively vaccinate against anthrax, foot-and-mouth disease and other respiratory diseases during the changing seasons.

The barn must be cool and dry, and the food must be guaranteed to prevent the goats from getting bloated and flatulence. Regularly monitor, check, and promptly treat if the animal is found to be sick.

With a frequency of feeding 3 times/day, to save costs and ensure both refined and rough food, the family planted nearly 1 hectare of elephant grass and invested in a grass cutter, as well as bought more beer dregs and fermented elephant grass to increase nutrients for the goat herd.

With a 3-4 month raising period, from the time of catching the offspring (20 kg) to the time of selling, the commercial goat reaches 40-45 kg. The price of commercial goat meat is currently from 130-140 thousand VND/kg, after deducting expenses, his family earns 600-800 million VND/year.

Sharing about future plans, Mr. Tu added: “To better meet market demand, replicate many effective de boer farming models locally, and contribute to promoting the local economy, my family plans to expand the barn area to 1,000 m2, increase the number of herds, and is willing to share experiences and goat farming techniques and advise on barn construction for households in need.”

Article and photos: Hong Tinh

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