Vicki Mitchell with one of her beautiful Boer goats.
Goulburn Valley breeder Vicki Mitchell never thought her fascination with Boer goats would ever lead her to international appointments.
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Ms Mitchell has recently returned home after travelling overseas to judge at a Mexican agricultural show.
Boer goats, which originated in South Africa, are big business in many overseas countries and are one of the world’s biggest livestock businesses.
Ms Mitchell and her husband, Geoff, have a Boer goat stud at Coomboona which exports livestock overseas.
She became the first Australian woman to judge at the Mexican fair, and she has already travelled to New Zealand and England to judge.
Ms Mitchell judged at the one-day show called the National Potosina Fairy, in San Luis Potosi, a city of about a million people in an area famed for its silver mineral production.
“It was a huge show, with thousands of people. We had two judges from England,” she said.
Ms Mitchell has been judging in Australia since 1999 and has completed a course to hone her skills in South Africa, but she never thought her interests would take her to so many overseas destinations.
Vicki and Geoff Mitchell export Boer goats overseas from their Coomboona stud.
One of the reasons the goats are so popular in many bigger Middle Eastern countries is there is no religious barrier to meat consumption and the animals can thrive in tough climates.
Australia is one of the world’s largest exporters of goats and the Mitchells export live goats by air to China, Brazil, the Philippines, Malaysia and New Zealand.
The recent foot and mouth outbreak in Indonesia has temporarily stopped the importation of live goats into Australia.
Vicki Mitchell at the Mexico fair where she judged Boer goats.
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