New Zealand Cashmere co-owner and farmer David Shaw says the local industry needs 25,000 goats right now to satisfy current demand.
From there the industry will be large enough to be able to scale up, but it’s going to take many more farmers to get involved.
Last autumn about 2-3000 does were mated.
Shaw, who farms in South Otago, was recently in the North Island meeting with farmers interested in the industry and more trips are planned next year.
He says plenty has changed since the industry’s boom and bust days of the 1980s.
There is now more than 30 years’ experience and research of farming cashmere goats in integrated livestock management systems.
Today’s genetics are also superior, with more than three decades and multiple generations of breeding and selection.
Cashmere is a high-value fibre, attracting prices of $110-$150/kg depending on grades.
Shaw says there are other advantages for farmers.
They provide income from weeds, with goats eating plants like gorse, broom, briar, thistles, ragwort and scrub, while cattle production increases when goats are integrated through better hill country pasture utilisation.
