Boer goats - Easy to raise, high profit

Through innovative thinking, creativity, and hard work, Mr. Nguyen Van Tu's family in Hop Ly commune (Lap Thach district) now earns an average profit of 600-800 million VND per year from raising 1,000 Boer goats in a semi-industrial, staggered herd. This not only increases the family's income but also creates regular employment for several local workers, opening up a new direction for livestock development in the area.

Mr. Nguyen Van Tu's family's Boer goat farming model has proven highly economically effective, opening up opportunities for wealth creation for many local people.

Upon arriving at Phu Cuong village, Hop Ly commune, and inquiring about the commercial Boer goat farming model of Mr. Nguyen Van Tu's family, everyone knows about it, as it is a new and pioneering livestock farming model in the commune with high economic efficiency.

Mr. Tu said: "After being invited by the Farmers' Association to visit successful agricultural economic development models in several localities inside and outside the province, I found that the goat meat farming model provides high income and is quite suitable for the local advantages. In 2019, I discussed it with my family and boldly invested in building a 200 m2 barn, buying 100 Boer goats for experimental breeding, with a total investment cost of 1 billion VND."

Boer goats are an imported breed that grows quickly, is highly productive, and yields a large amount of meat. They are particularly in high demand due to their delicious, tender, and nutritious meat. However, "the beginning is always the hardest," and due to a lack of experience, Mr. Tu's first batch of goats suffered from various diseases such as bloating, gas, and foot-and-mouth disease, causing slow growth and high mortality rates. As a result, the family's income was insufficient to cover their losses.

Undeterred by difficulties, Mr. Tu continued to invest and rebuild his herd, actively seeking out goat farms both within and outside the province, and participating in the National Goat Farming Association to learn from their experiences. He proactively sought knowledge from books, newspapers, television, and the internet. As a result, from the second litter onwards, the herd thrived, gained weight quickly, and suffered from fewer diseases. After 4 months of raising the goats, after deducting the initial breeding costs, Mr. Tu's family earned hundreds of millions of dong in profit per litter.

With the experience and revenue he had achieved, in 2021, Mr. Tu invested an additional 6 billion VND to expand the scale of his operation, increasing his goat herd to nearly 1,000 animals and adopting a staggered breeding system to rotate capital. Thanks to proper care and strict adherence to disease prevention and treatment methods, Mr. Tu's family consistently sells goat meat every month. Currently, his family provides regular employment for 3 workers, with an income of 7 million VND per person per month.

Mr. Tu shared: Compared to raising pigs and chickens, raising goats is easier and the prices are more stable. Goats are easy to raise and gain weight quickly, but they are also very susceptible to respiratory diseases and parasites, especially in winter and the rainy season. To achieve high economic efficiency in goat farming, farmers need to master the techniques and proactively vaccinate against hemorrhagic septicemia, foot-and-mouth disease, and other respiratory diseases during seasonal changes.

The enclosures must be well-ventilated and dry, and the feed must be of good quality to prevent the goats from developing bloating and gas. Regularly monitor and inspect the animals, and treat them promptly if any illness is detected.

With a feeding frequency of 3 times a day, to save costs and ensure both concentrated and roughage feed, the family planted nearly 1 acre of elephant grass and invested in a grass cutting machine, while also purchasing beer residue and silage elephant grass to increase the nutritional value for the goat herd.

With a rearing period of 3-4 months, from the time the goats are raised (20 kg) until they are sold, the commercial goats reach 40-45 kg. The current price of commercial goat meat is 130-140 thousand VND/kg. After deducting expenses, his family earns 600-800 million VND per year.

Sharing his future plans, Mr. Tu added: “To better meet market demands, replicate effective goat farming models in the locality, and contribute to boosting the local economy, my family plans to expand the farm area to 1,000 m2, increase the herd size, and is ready to share our experience and techniques in goat farming and provide advice on building barns for households in need.”

Text and photos: Hong Tinh

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