David Russell has been selling rural property for 43 years in the western area, but he's never seen such a seismic shift both in prices and the farm businesses themselves.
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"Some of that southern country was $60 to $70 an acre three or four years ago and here we are over $100," Mr Russell said.
"Some of our rougher Mulga country was in that $20 to $30 range and now it's probably about $60 to $70, so there's been a huge, huge lift here."
"I'm a staunch Merino breeder myself and Santa Gertrudis cattle bloke but it's very difficult to justify running big numbers of Merinos at the moment when you look at some of the blokes that are leaps and bounds ahead who have been in the Dorper or the red meat industry for ages," Mr Russell said.
NSW is Australia's biggest source of goats, accounting for nearly 70 per cent of national supply in 2020/21, and the Western Division produces the bulk of those.
... they're actually quite a low-input enterprise not in terms of thought that we put into it, but low input in terms of physical things you have to do.
- Megan Mosely
Goat meat prices have been good, too. From June 2015 to June 2021, they rose 105pc, compared to 41pc for the Eastern States Trade Lamb Indicator and 89pc for the Medium Mutton Indicator.
A 2017 survey of 454 NSW goatmeat producers found 71pc had a harvest enterprise, while 29pc operated a managed or semi-managed enterprise. Those numbers seem to be shifting fast.
Gallagher central NSW territory manager Brendan Ryan said enquiries for the tall, strong fabrication fences capable of containing Dorpers and goats alike had risen more than 40pc in the last two years.
One of the best known names in the goat and Dorper game are the Moselys, who've farmed goats on their 26,000 hectare property near Cobar for 25 years.
It's a multi-faceted enterprise that incorporates a large white Dorper stud selling 200-300 rams a year with a commercial meat sheep operation, a red Angus stud and commercial beef operation, and a meat goat enterprise. Megan Mosely said the three species made for a labour-efficient and profitable enterprise with the right infrastructure.
"The animals we've selected are all short coated and highly adapted to the environment," she said.
"We're not chasing blowflies, we're not shearing or chasing lice, we're not doing any of that.
"So, they're actually quite a low-input enterprise not in terms of thought that we put into it, but low input in terms of physical things you have to do."
They complemented each other when it came to landscape management, too.
"The goats help us handle some of the scrub invasion and open country up," Andrew Mosely said.
"The cattle are fantastic for creating animal impact that break up western NSW's traditionally hard capping red soils and for cycling the bulk of grass in years like this."
Dorpers had a slightly smaller profit margin than goats, Mr Mosely said, but Western Division landholders had only recently begun to fully embrace goat management. That shift had been driven by both the smaller number of free-moving goats after the drought and the clear financial rewards while wife Megan said their ability to thrive in the semi-arid environment was another big plus.
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