Removing grass seed from Angora goats is time-consuming and labour-intensive, but it's definitely worthwhile. The table of the past season's average prices (see below) makes this abundantly clear by showing that a farmer can potentially lose tens of thousands of rands on a single bale.
Prevention of contamination requires a basic knowledge of the problem seed:
Small carrot seed grass (Tragus berteronianus, wortelsaad)
This is the first grass to respond to good summer rain. After a short establishment, the seeds ripen within a week following warm weather.
Keep animals in camps that are already grazed. If you move them at this stage to rested camps, they will become heavily contaminated.
• Spear grass (Heteropogon contortus, steekgras)
This only becomes a threat after a good summer rainfall season. Avoid camps where this grass grows. If you can, use pressure grazing by cattle or non-wool sheep to absorb some of the contamination.
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