Andrea Macko
Staff Reporter

The goat industry is pretty great  – but a little help from improved genetics wouldn’t hurt.
Stratford played host to the International Goat Symposium last week, a three-day event sponsored by Ontario Goat, the provincial association that oversees this rapidly expanding segment of agriculture.

The federal government believes in this growth as well. During the symposium, Perth-Wellington MP Gary Schellenberger announced over $700,000 in funding for the development of an integrated dairy goat genetic improvement program.

“The goat industry represents one of the largest growth opportunities in Ontario agriculture today,” said Schellenberger at the official announcement last week. “This project has great potential to help goat producers become more profitable, increase sales and access new milk and meat markets.”

The pilot project will help determine the value and benefits of a domestic genetic improvement program specifically geared to the goat industry and will work with several existing programs, including CanWest DHI for milk testing, www.goatgenetics.ca for goat evaluations, and Gencor (a leader in the cow genetics industry) on genetic evaluation and assessment of artificial insemination tools.

For Tony Dutras, the symposium’s keynote speaker, the announcement was “music to his ears.” Speaking to delegates the day after, Dutras, the CEO of Orangeville-based Woolrich Dairy, stressed that improving the genetics of milk-producing herds is key to continuing growth.
Woolrich Dairy is the largest goat cheesemaker and distributor in Canada, as well as in the United States. Dutras has overseen the company for the last 22 years, and the firm also has plants in Quebec and Wisconsin.

While the number of licensed dairy goat farms in Ontario alone has increased to 262 in 2010 from just 12 in 1985, Dutras says that the province is still lagging behind the United States due to milk production.

“Genetic development is the difference between one litre of production per goat and seven litres,” he said.

While litres of milk production per goat is also on the rise in Ontario, the average of three litres daily, just can’t compete on a global scale, when some goat stock can produce up to nine litres per day.

“The world market is exploding,” Dutras says – not just in terms of health-conscious consumers seeking alternatives to dairy milk and cheese, but also for cultured products such as butter and yogurt. Goat milk is even being used in skin care products such as lotions and lip balms, as well as hand santizers.

To meet this increasing demand, Dutras believes that in the near future, Ontario goat farms will have to ship milk within 48 hours to processors – and in some countries, the future is here.

“Certain plants in certain countries are already doing this – it won’t be an option,” he said.

While shipping within 24 hours is ideal, Dutras own research around the world indicates that 48 hours is “acceptable” in terms of bacteria content, taste and odour.

While some goat farms may take some downtime – either by the milk-producing nature of the goat, which tends to be more productive in the spring, or for vacation – producing fresh milk all year round will also be necessary to meet consumer demand. Dutras says that his largest US customer basically dictates Woolwich’s delivery – and that includes during the busiest time of year, from US Thanksgiving to Christmas.

The need for fresh milk is even more important for smaller, artisanal cheese producers, who rely more on quality ingredients than a larger operation, which can play with environmental conditions to achieve a good product.

The predominance of these artisanal cheese makers in Ontario is a great sign for the goat industry, Dutras said.

“I am thrilled to death when I go into a supermarket and look at the specialty cheese department,” Dutras said. “(These cheese makers) have done a fabulous, fabulous job – they’ve created as good as a (taste) experience as if you had gone to Europe.”

Grocery store buyers are demanding local products because customers are, and it grows the industry as a whole, he explained during his speech.

When fresh milk is combined with healthy, responsible herding techniques that don’t allow for spread of disease and illness, the future is bright for goat farms and dairies in Ontario, especially with the influx of government dollars.

“It’s about better quality, fresher milk,” says Dutras of goat farming. “And genetics can get you there.”