Another request to fill out survey

If you haven't already completed the Western Maryland Pasture-Based Meat Goat Performance Test online SURVEY, please do so at your earliest convenience. The survey was off-line for a couple of weeks this month, as the subscription to the survey tool had expired.

The survey is back online at http://www.surveyshare.com/survey/take/?sid=81688.

Answers are confidential and will help us to design a meat goat performance testing program that is beneficial to the majority of meat goat producers.

Thank you for your thoughtful answers.

Preliminary information on 2009 test

The 2009 Western Maryland Pasture-Based Meat Goat Test will be conducted from Saturday, June 6 through Saturday, October 3 at the University of Maryland's Western Maryland Research & Education Center in Keedysville, Maryland.

Goats must be delivered to the test site on Saturday, June 6. With prior approval, it is possible to deliver goats to the test site before June 6, but not after. For growth rate determination, there will be a 13-day adjustment period.

There will be a Performance-Tested Buck and Invitational Doe Sale and Field Day on Saturday, October 3 at the Washington County Agricultural Education Center near Boonsboro, MD (an adjacent property). The only bucks eligible to sell will be those meeting minimum (gold, silver, and bronze) standards for growth rate, parasite resistance (fecal egg counts) and parasite resilience (FAMACHA© scores and anthelmintic treatments). Consigners to the test will be eligible to consign does to the sale.

The test is open to goat breeders in any state. A breeder may consign up to five goats. Preference will be to previous consigners and Maryland residents. Male goats of any breed or breed cross, with or without registration papers, are eligible for the test. Goats must be born between December 15, 2008 and March 20, 2009 and weigh between 35 and 70 lbs. at the start of the test.

Meat Goat Test Survey

We are surveying consigners to the Western Maryland Pasture-Based Meat Goat Performance Test -- and others who are interested in the performance testing of meat goats.

It is an online survey. The url is http://www.surveyshare.com/survey/take/?sid=81688.

The results of the survey will help us to design a meat goat performance testing program that is beneficial to the majority of meat goat producers.

We appreciate your time and thoughtful answers.