Amid what is probably the best livestock market in Australia at the moment, Boer bucks sold to a top of $1510 and averaged $854 in an AuctionsPlus goat sale this week.
The last best price in the public auction system was $1050, according to marketing agent Anthony Hyland, GDL St George, who said that price was paid at a buck sale at St George last year held in conjunction with AuctionsPlus and recording a 100 per cent clearance.
The average price at that sale was $650.
"I'd like to think we are only just touching the surface of this," Mr Hyland said. "Everyone has got a fence going up, and goats are a hardy animal that can cope with drought plus they take the risk out of the market."
The 31 single lots were offered by Jake Berghofer and Emma Patterson's Springvale Boers based at Eulo, west of Cunnamulla.
Ms Patterson said they had begun breeding goats when they were struggling to find good quality Boer bucks for the rangeland goat depots they were operating at Cunnamulla and Eulo.
"This week's sale went absolutely gangbusters," she said. "It's a real milestone for the goat industry."
The top priced buck, a 52kg 11-month-old Red Boer from Armadown Magnum and Yarrabee F bloodlines, was purchased by J and K Gillon at Gordonbrook, near Kingaroy.
Morven's LG & LE Jukes and Sons paid $1500 for a Kalahari Red buck aged between 16 and 18 months and weighing 58kg liveweight.
They also outlaid $1300 for the heaviest buck in the catalogue, an 11-month-old Red Boer weighing 61kg, and purchased six bucks all up.
Lance McQueen, Bundah Rural at Talwood was the sale's volume purchaser, paying up to $1210 for 13 of the 31 lots.
The mixture of traditional and Red Boers and Kalahari sires were sold as far afield as Mildura in Victoria, as well as to Inverell and Bourke in NSW, and to Queensland purchasers at Wyandra, Barcaldine and Cunnamulla.
The result bodes well for a multi-vendor goat sale involving breeders from throughout southern Queensland as well as two from NSW, to be held at Allora on September 26.
Organiser David Jenyns from Lazy Acres Boer Stud at Pittsworth said it had been planned for two years but had been held back by adverse weather conditions.
Mr Hyland said Mr Berghofer and Ms Patterson had shown a lot of foresight in lifting the production and quality of their operation, and investing in marketing.
"Goats used to be the extra income that paid for a holiday," he said. "Nowadays they're paying for the property."
According to AuctionsPlus, there were 140 registered bidders for the sale - 57 from Queensland, 54 from NSW, 24 from Victoria, and four from South Australia.
Of those, there were 31 active bidders and 1527 online bids made.