Spring goat events planned in East Texas

  

By Fred Vandermartin

The East Texas Goat Raisers Association Spring instructional and general membership meeting will be held at the ETGRA Home Place on Saturday, April 5^th starting at 10 a.m. The speaker will be Dr. Kelly Thompson, DVM from Prairie View A&M and she will be addressing the subject of general goat health. Dr. Thompson has worked with both the dairy and meat goat herds at PVA&M and will be ready to answer all of those questions ya’ll have been itching to ask! The election of officers will be addressed so if you want to cast your vote by mail and see how it was counted then come on to the meeting. There’s always other topics of discussion brought up so if you’d care to share an idea or propose something then stand and be heard. Of course we’ll also have our traditional pot luck dinner in between the instructional session and the general meeting so bring an appetite and a taste of your favorite vittles to share with others. I like desserts!  Directions to the ETGRA Home Place can be found at http://www.etgra.com/etgra_property_is_located_midway.ht.  Acting president Gwen Vandermartin has approved of this message!

   The East Texas Goat Raisers Association would like to invite Dairy Breeders to their inaugural April Showers Dairy Show on Saturday, April 12th, 2014 at the Navarro County Expo Center in Corsicana, Texas. This two ring ADGA Sanctioned show will feature the Junior/Senior Nigerian Dwarf, Junior/Senior Nubian, Junior/Senior AOP, Senior Alpine, and Senior LaMancha breeds. The Judge for ring A will be Scott Horner and the Judge for Ring B will be Tamara Taylor. ADGA rules will apply. Friday evening at 7 p.m. there will be an educational seminar and clinic given by Mr. Horner followed by a showmanship jackpot. Winner receives cash prize. For registration information please visit our show page at http://www.etgra.com/shows.htm or our Facebook events page at https://www.facebook.com/events/173213586209365/. We also have sponsorship opportunities. For more information contact Gwen VanderMartin at dewgoats@gmail.com. Also if anyone is interested in having a vendor table please let Gwen know. We also are going to have a Raffle/Silent auction as well.

    The East Texas Goat Raisers Association is sponsoring a Forages for Goats Seminar and Pasture Walk on Friday, May 16, 2014, in Alba, Texas.  The event will focus on practical information about forage and parasite management for goats and includes a pasture walk at Lake Fork Kikos. Registration begins at 8:00 a.m. at the Family Community Center, 147 Hopkins Street, Alba, Texas (directly across the street from the U.S. Post Office).  Cost for the event, which runs until 4:00 p.m., is $15.00 per person and includes a delicious chevon lunch.  Advanced registration by phone (903-316-6959) or by email (kstemme@gmail.com) is greatly appreciated. Speakers at the seminar will be Clint Perkins / CEA-Ag Wood County, Ryan Walser / USDA-NRCS Grazing Lands Specialist, John Stone / USDA-NRCS District Conservationist, and Kraig Stemme, DVM.  Lake Fork Kikos, a 32 acre farm in Wood County, Texas, was the 2013 recipient of Top Herdsman Grand Champion Award from the Oklahoma Forage Buck Performance Test sponsored by the OSU Extension Service and Eastern Oklahoma State College in Wilburton, OK.