Monthly Archives: January 2012

Meeting called to order by President Janene Jones. Attending were Denise and Katie Drake, Marilyn O’Leary, Wayne & Lindy Gifford, Gary & Clara Askew and new member Kahla Shigeta. Minutes of last meeting read and approved. Treasurer’s report, we have $3413.83 in the bank, with a check for $200 to Judy Novak for a doeling for the for the Youth program and a deposit for 2012 dues.

Old Business:

Show committee: Dates are set for Boers de May show are 5 & 6 May 2012. No judges determined yet. Possibilities were discussed. We will go with cash prizes again. Discussion about building pens for new goat barn at fair grounds . It was decided if we could get enough 4-H and FFA members to help, we could do it. I will contact Kathy at the fairgrounds to find out what all will be need to be done. Wayne Gifford will supervise the workers. Wayne will also be able to supply straw for the show.

As Judy Novak had a barn burn down yesterday, we have no report on the June show at this time. She is fine and her goats are fine, but the shed was a total loss.

Youth Committee: Dallen Johnson is still uncomfortable with birthing out his doe by himself, so Lindy is going to help. As we need for more 88%+ disbudding doelings for the the program, a question about changing the doeling qualifications to 50% was brought up. That would open the restrictions so more donations can possibly be made. Lindy will bring it up before the Youth Committee Board

Marketing Report: E-mail from Evelyn Simon as follows:

We continue to receive calls from people looking to start into the meat goat business, and people looking for bucks (not papered, even weanlings), and bred does. Papers not necessary. We have a deposit for 5-6 bred does and later on an unrelated buck too, as a starter herd for a couple in Utah. I am looking for a buck that would work for them, he should be fullblood Boer.

A couple months ago we put together a half dozen bucks for a commercial goat operation in Whitebird, ID. We found some nice ones (thank you, Patsy & Kim!) and could have used more. We learned there are a lot of bucks in southern Idaho that should be wethers-without fail they were only a small part Boer, and that ‘back yard type’ running with a couple of family does. Afterwards we wished we’d bought them anyway, for sausage, and to get them out of the gene pool!

One call a couple weeks ago was from a man in upstate New York that will be out this way in April. He is looking for 10-20 breedable does and an unrelated buck. Papers not necessary. He mentioned High percentage, purebred, Boer cross. He used to have meat goats and family had 350 acres, and now he has young children and wants to start a herd of meat goats. I’ve sent his information to Yvonne at Smoke Ridge in Montana also. Sean Mills 315 576 1413. seanmil21@aol.com

Here’s the webpage for the Meat Goat Handbook. Yvonne said they cost $19.99 each if buying 2 or more, and that price includes shipping. You can also ask her to autograph them, she did for the four I got. I also see them on Amazon, and the Goat Rancher sells them too. (Amazon would be my last choice…. to help out the goat folks buying direct from them is better) http://www.smokeridge.net/meatgoathandbook.htm

We also discussed having calendars made for a fund raiser. Evelyn has a contact that can make them for $3 each cost to us. She will find out about having it be an 18 month calendar so we can sell them at the May show.

Janene checked about the AI Clinic. Prices have gone up, $1500 to $1900. We would have to pay per diem, travel and accommodations. So it would be more expensive, so we would need more people to participate in order for it to be cost effective. We would need a fairgrounds type area. The goats would have to be housed for 2 days. A covered area would be needed to set up 7 AI stands. Janene will send out a flyer to find out how many people interested. We would have to make a $200 deposit which we would lose if we can’t get enough participants.

New Business: Treasure Valley Dairy Goat Assoc is having their national convention in Boise this year. They’ve invited us to host the hospitality room one day. The dates are October 14 thru 20th. We would have to provide snacks & drinks for visitors. In order to have enough food and drink, we would have to have an idea how many people usually attend. We could man the room in shifts, so no one would have to be there all day. USBGA will also be holding a judging certification. They will need 4 kids, 4 yearlings, 4 mature does and 4 mature bucks from different herds There will be 2 types of training, one for certification and one for audit. We will need to check & see if they’re having classes on Sunday or if that’s a good day for us to host. We also need to find out where the room will be as the flyer says that the convention is at the Riverside Motel. Janene will check for more information.

I went to the seminar put on by the Idaho Dept of Agriculture about Q fever on the 8th. It was informative in that I found out most goats carry Q fever antibodies, which doesn’t mean they have the actual disease. Goat milk can be tested for the antibodies. You would need to send it to the Dept of Agriculture on Penitentiary Rd in Boise. You can comingle the milk from a group of goats and freeze it in a leakproof container for mailing. This test costs $17.00. If Q fever antibodies are present, then a test on individual goats can be done and sent to Cornell University to see if the actual bacteria is present. This test costs $30.00. There was a lot of information shared in the course of the talk and I’m not a very good note taker. So, if you have questions, the contact person is Dr Scott Leibsle at Idaho Dept of Ag. I did speak to him about giving his talk at our show and he said he’d be glad to. So Saturday, May 5 after the show is over, we’ll arrange to have one of the 4-H buildings available for him.

Wayne will have some goat equipment for sale. Contact him for items and prices. He has a goat cam and grooming stand.

It’s time to pay your 2012 Association Dues. They are $20 for the year for individuals and $25 for 2 adults or and adult and child.

Next meeting will be in April. I’ll let everyone know when the date and place are set.

Clara Askew

Secretary/Treasurer