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25/01/2025

By far the best we've ever done on goats going for meat at an auction. Received $3.25/lb on the gals and $2.97/lb on the boys. Not many head, but we were ecstatic about it.

18/09/2024

I was speaking to an individual about NSIP and EBVs. We were discussing the general lack of participation amongst goat breeders in submitting data. They mentioned that one of the common roadblocks they hear for goat breeders seems to be the associated cost. I decided to throw together a cost/benefit spreadsheet using NSIP's current fee structure.

The short and dirty summary of it is, even in very small operations, you only need to get about 3 lbs per kid more to pay for itself or be able to charge an additional $9/goat. If you have more animals, that can cut in half. Considering many registered animals are selling for over $1,000 (some much more), I don't think buyers would baulk at $1,010 if you said that animal had performance data to back it up. And if they do, they're probably not the buyers you want.

Consider that beef producers have been using EPDs for over 30 years, and sheep producers for over 20 years, that tells you how far behind the other meat producing industries goat producers are. I find it fascinating that we're baulking at these fees when sheep ranchers, who often get less per pound than goat producers, have no qualms with it, and are even paying higher fees so they can get additional genomic enhanced data, over and above the EBV data.

Consider taking the step today to become an NSIP member and submit your animals data so you can receive valuable performance data on your herd. Help propel the goat industry forward!

NSIP recently hired a new director, David Scales. Don't hesitate to reach out to him and get any of your questions answered. The www.nsip.org website also has lots of resources to learn more about EBVs, how they're calculated, and why they're helpful.

National Sheep Improvement Program

We also have a Q&A page on our website, specifically addressing questions around EBVs at https://www.rafterplivestock.com/ebvs-faq

02/09/2024

Can you smell him?! Sure a fine looking buck though in our opinion.

19/07/2024

Pictures of the breeding bucks this morning. I love watching nice bucks.

06/07/2024

588. Out of 516 (doe) and 521 (buck). Our first kid we've retained from all RPL registered stock. Born March of '23. She's one we retained for ourselves and glad we did. She is the best looking in our opinion and had the numbers to back it. Excited to breed her this fall.

10/06/2024

Good ole DS Shootout. Just passed 4 years old. Haven't had to hardly touch this guy over the years. Talk about low maintenance. He's got plenty of feed right now though! Was looking prime tonight, so snapped a quick one of him.

10/05/2024

A few of the gentlemen on the place posing for a picture this morning! Starting to slick off with the warmer weather and green grass.

01/05/2024

Goat kid picture overload! Pretty happy with this round of kids. Out of 4 different bucks (Shootout, Big Country, 538, and 521). Excited to see how they develop and the growth stats that will accompany them. As always, we'll retain all kids until at least 6 months to get birth, wean, and 6 month weight, all submitted for EBVs.

11/04/2024

Love cute kids!

06/04/2024

30 degrees, 20 MPH winds, and it's snowing again. Have kids hitting the ground. We were hoping if we could wait until April we'd be good this year. 😆 So much for that! Up to 10 kids so far. So grateful for a barn to kid in. Cute kid pictures forthcoming...

02/04/2024

Literally 24 hours apart. Sunny is today. Babies could be hitting the ground any day now

22/03/2024

RPL 538 (still working on a name) this buck was born a year and a half ago. We decided to retain him for ourselves. He's turned out super nice in our opinion. Stacked dude. Did a couple test breeds out of him that should hit the ground in a week or two. Excited to see how they turn out.

02/01/2024

For those of you looking for a good method to feed through the winter, we've really really liked this simple fence line feeder system. Two 2x6's, and one 2x4 then about a 7 to 8 inch spacing and another 2x6. It's worked for 6 month old on up. Everything from the big bucks to the doelings. Way less waste, easier feeding, and not having to pitch it over the fence or see them laying in it. Probably wouldn't work with babies in the mix, but working extremely well for the mix we have.

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