Stud farming: reputation is everything

As the saying goes, it takes years to build a reputation, but only minutes to lose it. In the case of a stud breeder, one inferior gene can diminish the quality of an entire herd and erase all the hard work of previous years.

While Eddie Goosen, owner of Maggiesdal Kalahari Red Goat Stud near Mbombela, Mpumalanga, is relatively new to the business, he understands the importance of laying a strong genetic foundation at the start.

“Developing a successful stud farm takes time, because you’re building not just the quality of your herd, but also your reputation. And without a good reputation, you can’t really make a success of stud farming, because people want to know that they’re getting what they paid for. There needs to be a system of genetic traceability in place that you can trust,” he explains.

Although not new