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Going for goat: the story of how a long-established beef and cropping farming family with over 100 years history in the Collie district aims to make goat meat an Aussie staple.
Jo and Craig Stewart’s journey into goats started back in 2007 when their daughter was given a Boer kid called Olivia. They couldn’t have anticipated that Olivia’s arrival on their property near Collie in western New South Wales would mark the beginning of a new farm business and change their lives forever.
“After becoming a Mum, I’d been looking for something to do, to contribute to the farm and Olivia was just so much fun,” she said. “So initially we went and bought ten more goats and it just grew from there.”
Some 15 years later, the Stewart's have survived two droughts and now keep about 1000 breeding does and kids on foot. But Jo Stewart said it hasn’t been an easy ride. “During the last drought Craig fed more than 1150 days continually. It was absolutely wearing,” she said. At the height of the drought, the Stewart’s were paying out $20 thousand a month in feed to keep their operation going. “We had to make a decision to ride it out and keep our breeding stock, so once the drought broke we could get back on with production.”
The long hours of hand feeding and cost paid off and they now send branded goat meat predominantly into the Sydney market. “We continue to supply to the finest butchers and our meat features on the menu at some of the city’s top restaurants.”
Jo Stewart said their operation raised a few eyebrows in the early days especially as the family had been farming in the area for more than a century. But as the business slowly got off the ground, she became known affectionately as the Gourmet Goat Lady and the name was so perfect they adopted it.
“It just worked,” she said. “We want to help turn farmed goat meat into a healthy staple food for all Australian families.”
While goat meat is growing in popularity, Jo Steward said the word ‘goat’ is still a barrier in Australia. “Eating quality has a long way to go for consumers to have a consistent experience with goat meat but it is changing slowly.”
