First, I've noticed the increase production in meat goats. A few years ago I sat next to a gentleman at the auction whose words continue to echo in my thoughts. He was there to see how to establish an auction company and run one in the north end of the state to provide meat for the incoming Muslim population. Through the years, I have also noticed an increase in the attendance of Hispanics. This is not racial profiling or bigotry, it's simply a fact of the cultures. I eat goat meat, but it's not the primary meat of my diet, deer is, also undoubtedly due to culture . . . In this particular area of the US, pork is probably the most consumed creature, also based upon culture. And let's face it, everybody eats chicken! They don't tend to sell at auctions, though. Dairy goats are simply not the main event at a sheep and goat auction, which is also based upon our Western culture. Goat milk is simply not the mainstay of American dairy products.
The price of goats is astronomical this year. I haven't seen prices this high, ever at the auction barn. When I first began homesteading, I got suckered a couple of times, but that was by individuals selling registered livestock. It used to be, some animals through the livestock barn were registered, but I haven't seen that for awhile. There are more wethers, also being sold. A wether is a castrated buck, so his only future is the dinner table. The odd fact about the price of goats this year is the fact that grain and hay are in abundance and at significantly low prices. Granted goats past their prime do go down in value, but there's something about this imbalance that is disconcerting.
Next, the subject of GMOs enters the picture. I've made sure my feed is GMO free for the past 3 years and although not all of my goats have been on the place that long, I've noticed an increase in multiple births, again. Up until four years ago, twins were very common, much more frequent than single births. For several years the size of my goat herd nearly tripled every spring and it was not unusual to see mamas run through the auction ring with twins, even triplets. Between four and five years ago, I changed brands to what I thought was organic, but organic is defined quite vaguely and can include GMOs. That spring, there was only one set of twins born on the place, the rest were singles . . . I did my homework and went fully non-GMO for sure, and the twin rate has increased dramatically. Now, back to the sale barn.
With GMOs and additives, the meat goats have truly altered in appearance. Meat breeds in goats were very much like meat breeds in cattle, with a smaller udder and less milk production. In the past couple of years, I've noticed a vast difference in the udder size and formation of the does of these meat breeds, as well as a reduced presence in the anatomy of the "working bucks." Until the last couple of years, you could smell a big "working buck" from the stock yard before he ever entered the ring. Those big bucks would enter the ring with an amazing stride and prominent sac. Those bucks with a presence are now the exception, not the rule and even the large alpha bucks are far from what they used to be in anatomical appearance. In reading reports that GMOs can cause fertility issues, the evidence does seem to be indicating exactly what is being reported. How that will ultimately affect our food chain, I can't say, but tampering with creation will undoubtedly bring judgment. The fact that I've experienced the increase I'd lost tells me it's not too late to change our ways, but we do need to act fast!
And G-d made the beast of the earth after his kind . . . and G-d saw that it
was good. And G-d saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the
evening and the morning were the sixth day. Genesis 1: 25, 31
No comments:
Post a Comment