Production and quality of cashmere grown by adult wether goats fed low quality forage with supplements of either whole barley or lupin grain.

Abstract

The effects of the provision of cereal (barley) and legume (lupin) grain supplements when 50 adult wether cashmere goats were individually penned and fed on senescent temperate summer pasture (DDM 46.9%, N 0.67%, ME 6.2 MJ/kg DM) were investigated using a factorial experiment. The goats grazed senescent temperate pasture during summer before pen feeding for 9 weeks and were then grazed on germinating autumn pastures for 3 months until shorn in mid June. The production and quality of cashmere was affected by: (i) provision of whole grain supplements, (ii) type of supplementary grain fed, and (iii) level of feeding of supplementary grain. Unsupplemented goats grew 95 g cashmere with mean fibre diameter 17.01 m and mean cashmere fibre length 52 mm. During the period of pen feeding unsupplemented goats lost 95 g liveweight/day. Provision of whole grain supplements significantly increased total yearly cashmere growth to 179 g (+88%) which was 26 mm longer (50%) and 2.12 m coarser (26%) than cashmere grown by unsupplemented goats. Increasing the level of supplementary grain resulted in linear increases in feed intake, cashmere growth, fibre diameter and length. For each 100 g/day of lupin or barley grain fed during the pen-feeding period the regression coefficients indicated an extra 33 g of cashmere was grown, which was 0.6 m coarser and for barley 10 mm longer and for lupins 17 mm longer. Cashmere (fibre length/fibre diameter²) ratio was increased by supplementary feeding, increased feed level and liveweight gain during the experimental period. Relatively longer cashmere was produced as the level of nutrition increased. It is clear that a base diet of senescent temperate pasture that is low in digestible nutrients and low in nitrogen results in suppressed cashmere growth. Strategic grain supplementation for at least 9 weeks during late summer and autumn has the potential to significantly increase cashmere production and cashmere fibre length when adult cashmere goats are grazing pastures deficient in digestible energy and nitrogen. However feeding high levels of lupin and barley grain to adult goats is contra indicated as cashmere mean fibre diameter may exceed market limits. The practical application of the results is discussed in light of previous research.