COMPLICACIONES DE LA PUNCIÓN LUMBAR 60

GICA is the peak body in the goat industry and is responsible of overseeing the sector and developing strategic planning, in collaboration with MLA (McGregor et al., 2007). Together, they set objectives for industry marketing, communication, research, producer training and industry development. GICA is an affiliate member of the National Farmers’ Federation, with representatives elected by each state farmer organisation and their goat industry committee. The Boer, Cashmere and Mohair breed societies are affiliate members of GICA. GICA’s responsibilities include strategic planning in conjunction with MLA (McGregor et al., 2007).

Being a designated Commodity Council of the Federation, GICA operates under the following rules:

• GICA determines and implements policy on all matters of a specific commodity nature affecting the goat industry in Australia. In such matters, the GICA shall have complete autonomy from the Federation. • Matters affecting the rural sector generally, of which the goat industry

is a part; or matters affecting more than one commodity, whilst open to determination by the GICA, shall be referred to the Federation for the determination of policy for the whole rural sector.

• While the Council may decide policy on all matters affecting the goat industry, it shall consult with appropriate organisation on all matters of common interest. (GICA website, 2018)

GICA’s objectives are to:

• represent and promote the interests of Australian goat producers

• function as a specialist goat industry organisation with concern for the livelihood of all goat producers

• carry out activities necessary to advance the goat industry

• collect and disseminate information concerning the goat industry

• maintain a high level of liaison and cooperation with members, relevant government departments and authorities at local, state and federal levels and with other relevant industry organisations

• promote the development of the agricultural and pastoral industries of Australia (adapted from GICA website, 2018).

These rules and objectives make GICA a strong player delivering policy to the goat sector, including goat meat, and coordinating the activities of different stakeholders in the industry. Members on GICA’s board are the New South Wales Farmers’ Association; Agforce Queensland; the South Australian Farmers’ Federation; the Victorian Farmers’ Federation; and the Pastoralists & Graziers Association of WA (GICA, 2010). In addition, there are associate members on the council: Australian Cashmere Growers Association; Mohair Australia; Boer Goat Breeders Association of Australia; and Dairy Goat Society of Australia.

Other service providers to the goat industry include LiveCorp, Australian Meat Processor Corporation, National Residue Survey, Animal Health Australia (AHA) (GICA, 2015).

MLA conducts goat research and programs in collaboration with GICA and AHA. This research is funded through a compulsory levy of $0.377 per head at each point of sale, out of which $0.167 is allocated to research and matched by the federal government (GICA, 2015). GICA also developed the Goatmeat and Livestock Industry Strategic Plan 2020, which sets R&D targets for the industry for 2015–2020.

The NSW DPI oversees management of primary industries in the Western Division and the rest of the state, with the aim of increasing the value of these industries and drive economic growth across the state. DPI manages a broad range of initiatives from resource to industry, covering areas of natural resource management, research and development, pest and disease management, food safety, industry engagement, and market access and competition (NSW DPI website, 2019).

Other players in the industry include abattoirs and export processors. While some abattoirs process goats alongside sheep, others specialise in goat—skin-on or skin-off. For example, Thomas Foods International, one of two leading goat meat processors in Australia, supplies ready-packed goat meat for both domestic and export customers, alongside beef, lamb and mutton (Thomas Food International, 2018).

At this stage, all our goats, I would say 99% of our goats are exporting. Right. We process on an average around 7,000 a week … We do anything up, the maximum we’ve done is probably around 12,000. Minimum is probably around 2,000. It fluctuates dependant on the time of years obviously … Out of that 99% exported, I’d say probably about 80% will go to the US … all our products are processed as halal. (P9, processor)

Another large export processor is Western Meat Exporters, who produced retail products, carcasses (skin-on and skin-off), boxed meat, offal and skins, all destined for different markets (Western Meat Exporters, 2018):

As we are tier two, we can do domestic supply, but because our large volume of goat—what we do here in one day would oversupply the Sydney market. Sydney market probably out of one day’s production every three or four weeks. So, we need an export market. The export market has been our biggest focus: has always been our focus. I would say that we’re 99 per cent export … the main countries are of course US, they’ve been our number one partner, the Caribbean, Canada, Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, China, Reunion Islands, throughout the EU sometimes and into Belgium, as well as various others. That would be the top 10. (P12, processor)

Alongside producers, processors are the second-biggest stakeholder in the goat system. Australian goat meat is in high demand, and the major importers value the quality of the rangeland goat meat as a lean and clean meat, coming from a wild animal:

I find the rangeland suited to the environment. They are high in vigour, they have almost like local knowledge and they know when to move on and get going and what waters to be at. They can move with the seasons a bit better and the reproduction is terrific. They are lovely and lean which is what the customer wants. They don’t want large amounts of fat internally. They suit the market as well as suit our climate. They are the perfect breed which has been derived from its own national selection. (P12, processor)

In addition to these two export processors, there are other smaller-scale abattoirs in NSW. In the Western Division, a new abattoir in Bourke was under construction at the time of the fieldwork. This abattoir was viewed as a region-changing exports processor; it is set to contribute to the supply of the growing goat meat export industry, in addition to providing much-needed jobs for Bourke and the region. It was partly funded by the federal government’s Stronger Regions Fund (Ellicot, 2017).

There are also some informal institutions within the goat meat industry. For example, producers in the rangelands constitute an informal institution as a group of people with peer-accepted set of rules and behaviours that govern how they manage goats in the rangelands. This research discovered a culture around how to harvest goats, and the legitimate release of some animals back to the wild after mustering to ensure a mob will be there when needed. These unwritten rules are often spread among producers who, for most of them, constitute a close-knit community and often assist each other. The following quotation is an example:

He’s someone that we’ve been dealing with well since he started up … My father Neil was one of the first people that pushed goats his way to try and encourage him to actually get up and running, because he felt that more competition in the area was good, and to actually have someone that was close by and handy it was either more in our advantage, so at times there it might have taken a little bit less for goats than what we may have got over the hook or at an abattoir. But to get him established and to see the way that that business blossomed is a reward in itself. And over the years he’s certainly returned that favour. I know that in the dry times of 2008–2009, I had about well over a thousand small goats in the goat paddock, that water was running out, they were virtually out of feed. And there was probably more feed in the goat paddock than what was outside the goat paddock, so I was really thinking about putting sheep in there to utilise it. Because they do use a different type of feed and I rang him up ... I basically rang him up and got onto his wife and said look I’ve got a thousand goats here, if you want them they’re yours. They’re all small,

they’re under-sized, they’re not worth anything to me. I don’t want to let them out, because if I let them out there will be less food for the livestock or the last thousand sheep that I had left and a few cows that I had left. So, the only option was to destroy them, to shoot them. And they basically said yep no worries we can handle it. So two trucks turned up, they loaded them up, loaded them in and a week later $17,000 appeared in the bank account. I said no, no, no you don’t have to pay for them. I said these are yours. Oh no, no they’re fine, they’re not bad goats, they’re better than the average ones, we can do something with them. Now that was $17,000 that I got out of those and a problem solved, it was a win/win for everyone. And hopefully they did all right out of those goats. (P18, producer)

This story does not seem to be unique in the Western Division. When conducting interviews there I became aware of strong community ties among these producers and their families. A common theme I heard from several participants was that they began working with goats upon encouragement from their ‘mate’, who had been ‘in goats’ for some time.