Goat workshop Aug. 4 in South Texas

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Rod Santa Ana, Special to the Herald

WESLACO – Got a few acres in South Texas you’d like to work? Consider goats, said Barbara Storz, a Texas AgriLife Extension Service horticulturist who has organized an upcoming goat workshop.

It will be held from 8 a.m. to noon Aug. 4 at the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Weslaco, 2401 E. Highway 83 in Weslaco. The registration fee is $15.

“All over the country, but especially here in South Texas, land is being broken up into smaller tracts and people are interested in working those few acres for income or just to pay taxes and other expenses that come with owning land,” she said.

“One can invest in small vegetable production, or in small animal production like goats that don’t require the amount of land and expense that raising cattle does.”

Income from goats can come from meat and dairy production, or from the production of cosmetics, including soaps and lotions that can be sold at local markets, she said.

“Meat and milk production requires a considerable investment and regulations to follow,” she said. “But making hand-made, goat milk soaps and hand lotions for sale at a farmers market requires little investment and no rigorous state regulations. It’s an excellent opportunity to create marketable products and start a small business.”

South Texas is an excellent location to raise goats on small parcels of land, Storz said.

“You can easily raise several goats per acre,” she said. “And there are many native shrubs here that make for an excellent goat diet. Goats have been an important part of our Hispanic culture down here in South Texas for generations, so goat products are always in demand and they can be made with little investment. It just takes know-how.”

Speakers and topics include: Andy Calcote, a registered sanitarian with the Texas Department of State Health Services, state regulations for goat dairies; Scott Horner, a Prairie View A&M Cooperative Extension Program specialist, at Prairie View A&M University, how to choose meat and dairy goats and keeping them healthy; Julie Hammond, owner of Hammond Farm and Dairy in Houston, developing a successful goat dairy; and Vidal Saenz, AgriLife Extension agent Hidalgo County and farm advisor, obtaining funds from a new loan program for small producers.

The goat workshop is one of three workshops to be presented in August for small-acreage producers. The others include a workshop on agricultural products marketing on Aug. 17 and another on hydroponics on Aug. 24. These will be held at the Texas A&M-Kingsville Citrus Center, 312 N. International Blvd., Weslaco.

“We’re able to keep the registration fees for these workshops as low as possible, thanks to a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Risk Management Agency and the National Center for Appropriate Technology,” Storz said.

For more information, contact Storz at b-storz@tamu.edu or 956-383-1026.

Two Elite Coalition bucks bring $12,000 each

Active bidding from a capacity crowd and numerous online bidders kept the auctioneer and the ringmen busy at the Elite Coalition Boer Goat Sale held July 14 at the Four-States Fairgrounds in Texarkana, Ark.

Two bucks consigned by the Able Acres group brought $12,000 each to tie for high-selling buck. Lot #1 was a solid March-born buck out of the Duncan's new outcross buck HBS Absolute, who has deep roots in the wether industry. The other high-selling buck was Ripper's Reload, a Dec. 2009 son of ANR Wide Load, a Ripper son.

The high-selling doe was Lot #3, an elegant December 2011-born Status Quo daughter consigned by Dr. Bob Dressler of Pair A Docs Boers. 

For more photos and complete sale details, see the August issue of Goat Rancher. If you are not a subscriber, sign up now at www.goatrancher.com.

Lot #1 AABG NBD Holy Moley sold for $12,000

to Fonda Shipley and Ron Alden of Missouri.

Lot #3 MFR1 2DOX No Equal sold for $9,000

to Rollie Rosenboom of Illinois.

Lot #27 BDK2 AABG Ripper's Reload sold for

$12,000 to Marshall and Janet Griffith of Tenn.

Don Smith bucks take top spots at IBGA Nationals

TLB Special Delivery, owned by Don Smith of

Talpa, Texas, was named the 2012 National

Grand Champion Buck.

DSM Quarter Mile, also owned by Don Smith,

was crowned Reserve National Champion Buck.

From left, National Reserve Champion Fullblood Doe Agnew's Gem Breaker,

owned by Agnew Boers of Weatherford, Texas, and 

National Champion Doe Pittston's Ms. Hollywood, owned by Alex Prickett

of Denton, Texas.

 

More than 300 Boer goats were exhibited in the International Boer Goat Association's National Show held July 5-7 in Louisville, Ky. The top winners are listed above. Other National overall winners included:


Grand Champion Percentage Doe — Elk Creek Abbie
Res. Champion Percentage Doe — Agnew's Bo Lily


Junior Show
National Champion Buck — Hobby Duke of Diamonds, exhibited by Nicole Hobby.


National Champion Wether — Cheyenne Whaley, showing an Alvin Tingle (Showbarn Genetics)-bred wether. $1,000 award.


Reserve National Champion Wether — Cooper Bounds, showing a wether bred by Miller Boer Goats. $500 award.


For more photos and notes from the show, visit the International Boer Goat Association Facebook page.


More photos and details will be in the August issue of Goat Rancher. If you are not a subscriber, visit www.goatrancher.com and sign up today.

Goat: The other red meat

By Andrew Darin
Epoch Times StaffCreated: June 18, 2012Last Updated: June 18, 2012

Related articles: Life » Food

     

Grilled goat meat. (Dreamstime) If you live in America, you already know that we consume mostly beef, chicken, turkey and pork. If one lives near the coast, seafood may also be a staple. On occasion, Americans consume duck or lamb. Those who are even more adventurous may include venison, rabbit, or pheasant. But what about goat? Is goat also a viable source of meat? The answer is yes. Beef has gotten a bad reputation over the last couple of decades for a number of reasons like the cost of beef production, growing health concerns that red meat is bad for you, or more recently the debate as to whether or not beef is a “green” enough food source. This bad reputation beef, has nonetheless influenced people to consider other options—like goat. Advertisement However, goat meat cannot substitute beef. Although it’s a red meat like beef, it’s not beef. If your the kind of person who really likes a good steak or burger, you’d probably be disappointed with a goat substitute. Goat meat in cut, consistency, and taste, is probably most similar to lamb and could probably pass off as lamb quite easily in most recipes. Having said that, if one likes lamb, they would probably like goat as well. Like lamb, if it’s not prepared well, it could easily be very unappetizing. Generally,l amb is a meat that is liked only by few. Lamb (like goat) can be very tasty, but the key is that it has to be prepared well. Cultures such as India, the Middle East, or Greece are known for their dishes featuring lamb. Using recipes from these cultures is a good way to start incorporating goat into your cuisine. Mexico, Latin America, parts of Middle America, and some southern states in the U.S, regularly consume goat and also have a number of tasty dishes. With the growing Mexican population in the U.S, many of their foods and ingredients are becoming more and more common place particularly in urban areas with large immigrant populations. Although it might still be unusual to see goat meat available at the local butcher at Jewel or Whole Foods, many Mexican supermarkets and authentic restaurants offer it daily. It’ll be labeled as cabra, birria, cabrito, or chevon. Nearly every major American city now has a Mexican community and so finding a Mexican meat butcher isn’t that difficult. If your thinking about giving goat a try but are worried you might not like it. Here are some other things to consider. Ounce per ounce, compared to beef, goat meat is leaner, has fewer calories, less saturated fat, and less cholesterol. It’s high in iron and is also a rich source of potassium. So give it a try.