Plentiful Forage

The Western Maryland Pasture-Based Meat Goat Performance Test is over a month away, but the forage is already plentiful. Next year, plans are to start the test in the first half of May, so we can take advantage of the plentiful spring forage.

The pasture resource consists of 10 acres. There are five two-acre paddocks. Half of the test acreage is composed of orchardgrass and MaxQ tall fescue. The other five acres are being replanted this year.

Our two acre field of chicory was being overwhelmed with thistle. Since we are unable to spray for thistle (the chemical would kill the chicory), we have replanted the chicory into another two acre paddock. It is beginning to come up. Chicory has several components that give it an "anthelmintic-like" effect. The goats "love" it.

In place of the old chicory paddock will be pearl millet, a warm season annual grass that saved last year's test during the drought. Last year, the pearl millet was planted on the outside of the grazing system and had to be fenced in with electric netting. The goats don't seem to prefer the pearl millet, but they will eat it.

Another acre of orchardgrass had developed some disease problems. We are going to try forage kale in its place.

We have received nominations for more goats than we will be able to accomodate in the test. Though we could graze hundreds of goats now, we don't want to exceed our forage base during the summer when forage quality and quantity dimish or in the event of drought conditions. Maryland has experienced varying degrees of drought in each of the past three years.

The nomination period closes on May 15. Preference will be given to previous consigners and Maryland residents. We will also give consideration to travel distances and arrangements. We will try to include as many consigners as possible. In the first two years of the test, we were unable to get 50 goats. We appreciate the support of this year's test.

A field day and sale will be held on October 4 at the Washington County Agricultural Center (an ajacent property). Dr. Dan Waldron from Texas A&M University will be the featured speaker at the field day.

49 goats nominated for 2008 test

So far, 49 goats have been nominated for the 2008 Western Maryland Pasture-Based Meat Goat Performance Test. Nominations have been received from producers in Maryland (8), Virginia (5), Pennsylvania (12), Delaware (5), Illinois (9), Mississippi (5), and Kansas (5).

At least 15 additional nominations are expected based on e-mail communications. The nomination period closes on May 15. Consigners will be notified as soon as possible to let them know if and how many of their goats have been accepted for the test.

In the first two years of the test, we were unable to reach our goal of having 50 goats on test. This year we will have to limit some of the consignments. Several of the paddocks are being replanted, so we have to be careful not to exceed the capacity of our forage base.

Preference will be given to previous consigners and Maryland residents. Consideration will also be given to travel distances and costs.

We appreciate the interest in this year's test and will strive to make the Western Maryland Pasture-Based Meat Goat Performance Test the BEST small ruminant central performance test in the United States.

Half-full already

As of today, we already have 26 nominations for the 2008 Western Maryland Pasture-Based Meat Goat Performance Test. The nomination period opened yesterday. Nominations must be postmarked by May 15.

If we receive nominations for more goats than we are able to acommodate in the test, preference will be given to previous consigners and Maryland breeders.

We are able to accept up to 50 goats for the 2008 test. So far, goats have been nominated from Maryland (5), Pennsylvania (7), Delaware (5), Illinois (4), and Mississippi (5).

This year's test will include an educational field day, performance-tested buck and invitational doe sale, and slaughter component.

Get your nominations in early

Get your nominations in early for the Western Maryland Pasture-Based Meat Goat Performance Test, to be held June 7 through October 4, 2008, at the University of Maryland's Western Maryland Research & Education Center in Keedysville, Maryland.

The nomination period is April 1 through May 15. Due to the addition of a slaughter component, sale, and field day, it is expected that this year's test will fill up early.

Male goats of any breed or breed cross, approximately 3 to 5 months of age and weighing between 35 and 70 lbs. are being sought for the test which will measure growth performance, parasite resistance, and carcass merit.

A $20 per goat deposit needs to accompany the nomination form. An additional $55 will be due when the goats are delivered to the test site. There will be a $25 fee for goats that are slaughtered to collect carcass data. A maximum of five goats may be consigned per farm. Two may be selected for slaughter.

The top 20 goats will be eligible to sell at the Performance-Tested Buck and Invitational Doe Sale on October 4 at the Washington County Agricultural Center. Consigners to the test may nominate up to five does per goat in the test for the doe sale. Does should be contemporaries of the male goats on test.

A field day will be held in conjunction with the sale. All events are sponsored by University of Maryland Cooperative Extension.

2008 Guidelines and Protocol

Goats sought for 2008 Pasture Test

The 2008 Western Maryland Pasture-Based Meat Goat Performance Test will be conducted from June 7 until October 4, 2008, at the University of Maryland's Western Maryland Research & Education Center in Keedysville, Maryland. The test is sponsored by Maryland Cooperative Extension.

The nomination period for this year's test is April 1-May 15. A nomination fee of $20 per goat must accompany the nomination form. Checks should be made payable to the University of Maryland. An additional $55 will be due when the goats are delivered to the test site.

Goat producers from any state may consign up to five (5) male goats to the test, though preference will be given to previous consigners and Maryland residents. The pasture resource will accomodate approximately fifty (50) goats.

The guidelines stipulate that the goats be between 3 and 5 months of age at the start of the test. There is a minimum weight requirement of 35 lbs. and it is suggested that goats weigh no more than 70 lbs. They should be weaned prior to the test and have received two vaccinations for clostridium perfringins type C and D and tetanus (CD-T).

During the test, the goats will be managed as a single group on pasture. They will be rotationally grazed among five 2-acre paddocks. For 2008, the paddocks will consist primarily of orchardgrass, Max Q™ tall fescue, chicory, pearl millet, and forage kale.

The goats will always have access to a central laneway containing port-a-hut shelters, water, minerals, and a handling system. As this is a pasture test, supplemental feed (nutrition tubs and/or grass hay) will only be provided if environmental conditions necessitate their use.

While on test, the goats will be evaluated for growth performance, parasite resistance, and carcass merit. They will be handled every two weeks using low stress livestock handling techniques to determine body weight, FAMACHA© and body condition scores and assess overall health. Only goats scoring 4 or 5 on the FAMACHA© eye anemia scale will be dewormed, unless other clinical signs are observed.

Fecal samples will be collected every 14 days until the goats require deworming. Scrotal measurements will be taken at the beginning and end of the test. Ultrasound carcass measurements will be done towards the end of the testing period.

Consigners may nominate up to two (2) goats for the collection of slaughter data. There will be an additional fee of $25 per head for this option. The slaughter component is NEW for 2008.

There will be a Performance Tested Buck and Invitational Doe Sale on Saturday, October 4, at the Washington County Agricultural Center in Boonsboro, MD (an adjacent property). The TOP twenty (20) bucks based on performance data and minimum standards for structural correctness and reproductive soundness will be eligible to sell via live auction.

In addition, consigners will be able to nominate up to five (5) doe kids for each male goat they have on test. Sale does must have on-farm performance records.

A Goat Field Day will be held at the research center prior to the sale. The field day and sale are NEW for 2008.

For more information about the 2008 goat test, sale, and field day, contact Susan Schoenian at (301) 432-2767 x343 or sschoen@umd.edu; Jeff Semler at (301) 791-1304 or jsemler@umd.edu, or Jeanne Dietz-Band at (301) 432-7296 or jdietzba@umd.edu.

Information can also be obtained from the blog at http://mdgoattest.blogspot.com/.

2008 Nomination Form
2008 Guidelines and Protocol
2008 Maryland Health Regulations
2008 CVI and self-cerfication form

Pennsylvania Buck Test

The 2008 Pennsylvania Buck Test is open to purebred and papered percentage bucks born between September 1, 2007, and February 28, 2008. Bucks must be weaned at least two weeks prior to the test and weigh at least 30 lbs. upon delivery.

The test will start on April 29. The bucks will be weighed every 14 days. The final 70-day weighing will be conducted on July 8. While on test, the bucks will have free-choice access to a commercial concentrate diet of at least 16 percent protein. The diet will contain a coccidiostat and ammonium chloride. Grass-alfalfa hay will be fed free choice.

The top 75% of bucks within any breed or breed group will sell. The tentative date for the sale is August 2, 2008. The sale will include an invitational doe sale.

Nominations for the test are being accepted until March 15, 2008. A nomination fee of $20 must accompany each nomination form.

2008 PA Meat Goat Testing Program

AMGA Buck Range Test

The 4th annual AMGA¹ Buck Range Test began on November 1, 2006, with 46 bucks. Unlike the Maryland test which is conducted on only 10 acres of pasture for a little over 100 days, the AMGA test is conducted in a 400 acre pasture, over a 200-day period. The test is conducted at the Marvin F. Shurley Ranch, which is 4.5 miles South of Sonora, Texas.

According to Marvin Shurley, the 2006-07 test was one of the best out of the past several years from the standpoint of range condition and rainfall. From November 1, 2006, until the test ended on May 19, 2007, 13.54 inches of rainfall was received. The top goats gained about 1/3 of a lb. During the latter part of the test, when half of the rainfall fell, some goats gained over 0.5 lbs. per day. Based on records from previous years, Shurley believes bucks should be capable of gaining 0.25 lbs. per day on forage.

The top ten animals in the test included five fullbloods (four Boer and one Spanish). The rest were crossbred goats. Breeds represented included fullblood Boer, Boer crosses, Kiko crossbreds, and Spanish. Tests like these show that there is as much variation within breeds as there is between breeds.

¹AMGA - American Meat Goat Association.

Thanks to Marvin Shurley for providing information about the AMGA test. Though environmental conditions differ significantly from Texas to Maryland, the AMGA test was the motivation behind the Western Maryland Pasture-Based Meat Goat Performance Test.