Va. co-op hosts monthly goat & sheep sale

Goats are an ordinary sight at Mike Holland's farm in Drewryville. He is a volunteer vice president of a coop that holds goat and lamb sales once a month in Emporia. -- Submitted | Holland Farm

BY STEPHEN H. COWLES/CONTRIBUTING WRITER

tidewaternewsdotcom

EMPORIA—An average of 25 to 35 buyers and sellers and as many as 260 animals are part of the monthly goat and lamb auctions at the Greensville Ruritan Club grounds.

It’s been a year since the auctions, held the second Saturday of the month, were moved to Emporia from Victoria Livestock Market in Lunenburg County

Lower overhead costs contributed to the move, said Mike Holland, vice president and a founder of the Mid-Atlantic Meat and Lamb Marketing Co-op. The volunteer-led organization got its start in 1999.

“The sale (in Lunenburg) was costing us close to $1,000 for one day a month,” said Holland, who lives in Drewryville. “With the $650 rental plus utilities, we couldn’t make any money.”

The move to Greensville also allowed the co-op to attract buyers and sellers from northern North Carolina. In addition to Emporia, Holland said there are five or six other places in Virginia that sell goats and lambs.

The co-op receives a $6 commission for the sale of every animal.

“Money that the co-op gets goes back to the lamb, sheep and goat community,” he said.

Proceeds have gone toward a market goat obstacle course at the state fair and goat expo clinics.

Sale time is 1 p.m. The check-in for the animals is 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

To learn more, contact Holland at 373-3348, hollandfrm@aol.com or visit www.marketgoats.com.