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RELATIONSHIPS OF GOAT
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suitable for greenhouses and hothouses; requirements for goat manure are a fifth of those for cow manure and a quarter of those for horse manure. One goat housed on bedding during the stall period provides 350–500 kg of manure.
Goat milk has curative and preventive qualities, so in the last decade people’s interest in dairy goats has increased in Belarus. The milk’s physical and chemical properties and taste compare favourably with the milk of other animals. The chemical composition and properties of some goat milk are similar to those of cow milk, but goat milk is richer in calories and has higher contents of dry solids, fat, protein and minerals. It is whiter than cow milk.
Currently, Belarus has about 67 000 goats in backyards and about 1 300 on smallholder farms housing about two dozen goats each.
Figure 2 shows the distribution of livestock on goat farms of all categories.
FIGURE 2. DISTRIBUTION OF GOATS ON FARMS OF ALL CATEGORIES IN BELARUS
As shown in Figure 2, large agricultural organizations in Belarus are not involved in goat breeding, and goat breeding on farms is at an early stage of development. The largest smallholder farm engaged in goat breeding is DAK farm.
DAK farm is located in Dzerzhinsk district, 20 km southwest of Minsk. The farm is owned by the family of Dmitry Krylov and Galina Vauchaninoy, who have a staff of six to nine employees, depending on the season.
DAK farm was founded in 1992. Initially, the government granted 10 ha of land, but since then the farm has expanded three times, and currently covers 100 ha of farmland.
Over the years, good results have been obtained: the dairy herd of 295 goats is the largest in Belarus; the farm regularly takes part in agricultural shows and has the official status of a breeding farm; and every year it produces 120 tonnes of goat milk.
Currently, DAK farm collaborates with the International Public Association of Animal Breeders (IPAAB) East-West, with the aim of converting from traditional to organic agriculture. A significant achievement in the 2012 season was the farm’s first audit for certification of production in accordance with Council Regulations 834/2007 and 889/2008. Experts from IPAAB East-West prepared the necessary documents for re-cord-keeping in organic production, developed a conversion plan and contracted the certification body Organic Standard Ltd from Ukraine.
Under the conversion plan, the farmers invested in the construction of a milk processing unit capable of producing a wide range of products from goat milk (milk, yoghurt, sour
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to the conversion plan, the farm was to be completely converted by the end of 2014 as the first farm in Belarus with farm-based, small-scale organic milk processing.
A significant problem for goat breeders in Belarus is the challenge of processing prod-ucts. Currently, goat milk is processed only at the Slutsk cheese-making plant and at Bellakt in Volkovysk. The Slutsk cheese-making plant has managed to reach production of 3 tonnes/month. Milk is purchased from farmers or private traders, and pasteurized, filtered and bottled. The production line is designed to process 300 litres/day, but goat milk is processed only three times a week.
At Bellakt in Volkovysk, goat milk is processed with the same frequency. The low demand for goat milk, coupled with the need to purchase and install additional equipment for its processing, inhibits development in this area. Bellakt processes about 60 tonnes of goat milk per year, buying it from four farmers throughout Belarus (from Grodno to Gomel regions).
Another problem is that there are no large farms breeding dairy goats in the country, so the priority issue is the acquisition of breeding animals. Weak stock breeding work, where it is difficult to avoid animal inbreeding, leads to breed degeneration. Success of the dairy goat depends largely on the possibilities for acquiring breeding animals abroad, contacting goat breeders from different countries, developing internal connections for the production and sales of products, and obtaining support from government agencies.
Belarus has goats of mainly dairy breeds, including Saanen, Toggenburgen, White Rus-sian, Gorky and improved local breeds. The Saanen goat is considered the best breed for milk yield. Pure-bred Saanen goats were first imported into Belarus in the late 1980s for three public collective farms: Voykov Minsky and Progress in Grodno, and Politot-delets in Lepel district.
A considerable part of the offspring of these goats has been utilized. Unfortunately, all of these facilities eliminated their goat herds in the early 1990s, for various reasons.
Saanen goats have the highest live weights of any goat in the world. Adult females are 75–77 cm high at the withers, and their live weight averages 50–60 kg; adult males weigh 80–90 kg. Saanen goats are characterized by high fertility and precocity. The reproduction rate is from 180 to 250 kids per 100 females. The lactation period lasts for ten to eleven months, during which a dam gives an average of 600–700 kg of milk.
Average fat content is 3.8–4.5 percent (Lebedko et al., 2010).
Saanen goats are well adapted to different climate zones. When they are crossed with other breeds, they steadily transmit their economically useful qualities to offspring.
Like Saanen, Toggenburgen goats are also bred in Switzerland. The live weight and size of Toggenburgen goats are inferior to those of Saanen. The height of does is 70–75 cm, with live weight not exceeding 45–55 kg; adult males weigh 60–70 kg. Toggenburgen goats have similar fertility to that of Saanen goats. Milking of Toggenburgen goats produces 400–1 000 litres/doe/lactation. The average fat content is about 4 percent (Lebedko et al., 2010).
Russian White breed goats were imported to Belarus from central and northwest regions of the Russian Federation. These goats have good milk production. For eight months of lactation under normal maintenance conditions, Russian White goats give 350–500 litres of milk; fat content is 4–5 percent. Russian White goats can be valuable improvers of local breeds (Lebedko et al., 2010).
In some areas of Belarus, there are Gorky dairy goats; this breed is based on the im-provement of local goats through cross-breeding with Saanen goats. Gorky goats are
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mainly white, with short wool and little downy undercoat. The males’ live weight is 50–60 kg; that of does is 38–42 kg. Milk yield per nine- to ten-month lactation period is about 450–500 litres; fat content is about 4.2–5.2 percent. Reproduction is up to 190 kids per 100 females (Lebedko et al., 2010).
Because for many years goats have been bred on only small farms where breeding work is almost non-existent, most goat farmers have local dairy goats of different breed lines that were previously imported to Belarus.
Features of local dairy goats are their need for only simple housing and their good ad-aptation to local climate conditions. Local dairy goats are heterogeneous: they vary in size, colour and other characteristics. Adult females of local dairy goats weigh 38–45 kg, occasionally reaching 50 kg; adult males weigh about 50–60 kg. During the six to eight months of lactation, does give about 300–400 kg of milk; fat content is about 4–4.2 percent. The reproduction rate is about 150–180 kids per 100 females.
Various research activities, scientific training and skills development in animal husband-ry are carried out in Belarus to increase the efficiency of goat breeding. The purpose of research is to:
- improve the goats bred in Belarus and develop new breeds, types and lines;
- develop new kinds of compound feed and feed additives based on local sources of raw materials;
- improve feeding, housing and the use of animal technologies.
Conclusions
Dairy goat breeding has good prospects for development in Belarus. Its development is hampered by lack of adequate specialized dairy breeds, domestic equipment for animal maintenance and milking, processing capacity for small batches of goat milk, and cooperation in the marketing of raw materials.
References
Лебедько Е. Я., Никифорова Л. Н. Коза в личном хозяйстве. – М.: Аквариум-Принт, 2010
http://www.belniva.by/news_full.php?id_news =26102 http://mshp.minsk.by/sh/animal/sheep/
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