October 2009 Issue |
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IN THIS ISSUE: |
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• Subscribe to Meat Goat Mania • Email Us • Onion Creek Ranch • Bending Tree Ranch • OCR Health & Management Articles • MGM Archive |
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Do you eat meat? Do you enjoy a nice tasty roast or a thick juicy steak? Pretend you have to go out to a pasture and pick the beef that is going to end up on your table. What do you look for? Will you pick an animal with long skinny legs, a narrow back, no chest, or ‘hams’ that are pinched and narrow? Of course not. You will look for a ‘ham’ that will allow nice thick slices or roasts and a thick loin that will give you good sized steaks – you will pick an animal that has MEAT on it. What I am trying to point out is the need for visualizing where the MEAT comes from on an animal. Those of us who raise meat goats are raising MEAT for the table. Or, we are raising animals that will PRODUCE the animals with MEAT for the table. It should be obvious that ‘what you see is what you get.' It doesn’t do much good to look at a pedigree registration to determine how much meat will be on the animal. You will need to look at the places on the animal that the MEAT comes from. It’s not the long neck, the long legs, the pretty color - it’s the front end, the loin, and the back hams. Does the animal you are planning to buy/raise/breed have MEAT on it in the places that count? This is not to say that you can’t start out with less meaty does and breed up to an animal that carries the meat you are looking for. Other factors are certainly important. When I had my own herd I looked for does that were good mothers and were parasite tolerant. Without good mothering and a good tolerance for parasites it won’t matter much if they have meat or not – they or their kids will die. However, if we are raising MEAT GOATS we need to think hard about where the meat comes from and breed for animals that have meat in those places. It should be obvious to anyone who looks at your animals that you are raising goats for MEAT. In short, like the lady said, “If you have to ASK if it’s a meat goat then it ISN’T a meat goat!” Lynne Moos 10-09 |
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Want to save this country from the professional politicians and their lobbyist cronies and bring Government back to the people?SALES INFORMATION: HOW TO BUY ONION CREEK RANCH GENETICS Onion Creek Ranch goats are heavily-muscled animals -- unlike those found elsewhere in the meat-goat industry. There are four different meat types to choose from: Tennessee Meat Goats™, TexMasters™, OCR Myotonics, and Myotonic crosses. Each of these meat types has been bred to fulfill a specific function. When buyers inquire about availability and price, it is Onion Creek Ranch's policy to ask questions about the buyer's goat-ranching operations, experience, and intended goals so that we can provide the proper type of meat goat to achieve those goals. Since most prospective buyers have never seen any of these goats and many people have misconceptions about what they are, this evaluation process is extremely important. Tennessee Meat Goats™, for example, are fullblood Myotonics but larger and more heavily muscled than other fullblood Myotonic goats. TexMasters™ are not simply one-half Myotonic one half Boer or even 5/8-3/8. The precise mix is known only to Onion Creek Ranch management and is the product of multiple complex breedings accomplished since 1995. How these goats perform for the buyer directly reflects back upon Onion Creek Ranch's breeding programs so we have an intense interest in getting the right goats matched with each purchaser. Developing these animals has taken the better part of two decades. This isn't just about making money. This is about producing the best meat goats on the planet.
You won't find a Sale page with lots of photos of goats to choose from on Onion Creek Ranch's website www.tennesseemeatgoats.com. That approach doesn't achieve the goals mentioned above. So be patient when you call or write, because the questions are not being asked to be intrusive but instead are asked so that Onion Creek Ranch representatives can best serve your meat-goat breeding stock buying needs. Our success depends upon your success. Prospective buyers visiting Onion Creek Ranch and Bending Tree Ranch must do so by appointment. At Onion Creek Ranch, it takes four-and-one-half hours to view the goats and learn about them. There is no single Sale pen; the goats are in multiple pastures in their native environment spread over several hundred acres. Producers interested in purchasing goats should contact Suzanne Gasparotto or Pat Cotten. Suzanne can be reached at 325-344-5775 or email onioncreek@tennesseemeatgoats.com. Onion Creek Ranch's Marketing Director, Pat Cotten, may be telephoned at 501-581-5700 and her email is btrocr@cyberback.com. Suzanne and Pat are in daily contact and work together to provide buyers with the goats that they need, so it is not necessary to contact both of them. Goats of all breeds but not necessarily all ages are usually available year-around. |
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Contact Suzanne Gasparotto at |
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WHEN MEAT MATTERS... |
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Tennessee Meat Goat™ does at pasture |
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