Meeting called to order by Wayne Gifford (President Janene Jones had to go back to work for a few minutes). Present were Dale and Angie Ogden, Karen and son Dillon Kellar (and grandkids), Kahla Shigeta, Wayne Gifford, Marilyn and Matt O’Leary, Will, Heather, Hannah, Logan , Morgan Field, Janene Jones, and Ben & Marilyn Snider. It was good to see so many Junior members.

Minutes of last meeting and Treasurer’s report were given and approved. We have $6712.28 in the bank, which includes the entry fees for the Production Sale. The Boers de Mayo show and the Jackpot in May lost $136.80. The Boers of Summer in Jerome made $9.38. The Treasure Valley Classic lost $672.00, most of which was the judge’s fee and expenses. The Production Sale’s entry fees are $2310.00.

Old Business:
Youth Committee: No new applicants for the Doeling Program. Katie Drake will donate a doeling back to the program next year as she was unable to get this year’s doeling registered ABGA, due to the sire being USBGA.

Show Committee: May show was a success with more exhibitors. The Jackpot was very popular and will be held again next year. Janene Jones is resigning as the show clerk. We want to thank her for her many years of hard work and for doing such an excellent job. Marilyn O’Leary is going to take it over and has started to get judges lined up for next year. She will need help with the Jackpot as she has not done one before. Clara Askew said she would help with that. Boers de Mayo show dates for next year will be May 3rd and 4th.

Judy Novak was not at meeting, so no report on June Show.

Treasure Valley Classic Junior Jackpot was great fun for the kids who attended and showed their goats. We hope to get more exhibitors next year. It was discussed about who should be contacted to get the word about the show out. The county extension offices were notified, but it seems they didn’t pass on the information. Individual 4H leaders need to be contacted apparently to get better participation.

The exhibitor numbers and the quality of the goats at the county fairs were really up this year. Hopefully we can get a list of exhibitors from the fair superintendents and mail out flyers for the show to let the 4H & FFA kids know about the jackpots.

Sale Committee: We have approximately 130 lots in the sale this year. The partial catalog is on our website and www.boergoats.com. It is noted in the catalogs whether the goat is ABGA, IBGA or USBGA registered and this will also be announced before each lot is sold. Since we have so many goats this year it was decided to not have a raffle. Wayne Gifford has been working very hard getting everything ready. Dr. Jack Walker from Weiser will be our vet. His fee will be $40 for the visit plus $20 for the first health certificate for an out of state buyer and $5 for each additional goat for that buyer. This will be announced at the beginning of the sale so there will be no surprises when the buyers come to pay. Out of state consignors are reminded to get health certificates on their animals to bring them into Idaho.

Set up for the sale will be at 10 am Friday the 20th. We will need at least 4 people to set up the staging chute. We are buying the straw left over from the Payette Fair. There are 65 bales, but it is all in the beef barn, so if you have a straw cart or wagon, please bring it to help move the straw to the goat and sheep barns. We will have crockpot dinners for consignors and workers Friday night. Association will provide water, pop, bowls, plates and utensils. We need someone to check in the goats and check that tattoos are legible and match the papers. Steve Myers, the fairgrounds maintenance person, will help us move the bleachers and the auctioneers stand.

One of the local 4-H clubs is going to provide concessions for Saturday, breakfast burritos and lunch items. They will also have a variety of beverages.

Matt O’Leary will keep the goats in order of their lot numbers, so that transition from the barns to the sale ring moves along well. He has done this in the past and is very good at keeping everything going smoothly. Wayne is going to set up a table dedicated to phone and proxy bids. Phone numbers to be used will be published in the catalog and on the websites. Sold goats cannot be loaded until after the sale is over. As we will be using all three barns this year, goats will be loaded out of the east end of the center barn. Marilyn O’Leary will be the check-out person stationed there to collect the buyer’s slips and release the goats. A buyer check –out protocol will be given out with the buyer numbers.

New Business: The following is an article from the Capital Press; Idaho producers will find it interesting. I have been trying to get a hold of the Idaho Wool Growers both by email and by phone to no avail. Going to try individual members this week. Any feedback would be appreciated from our membership.

http://www.capitalpress.com/content/SE-goats-080213

Idaho goat producers could be assessed fee for first time
SEAN ELLIS ~ Capital Press

 

BOISE — Idaho goat producers could be required to pay a state assessment fee for the first time ever.

The Idaho Sheep and Goat Health Board has recommended assessing goats 80 cents per head at the point of sale. Fifty cents from every assessment would go to help fund predator control efforts and 30 cents would go toward helping fund the ISGHB.

The board has always been charged with regulating goat health in Idaho and ensures goats entering the state are free from scrapie, scabies or symptoms of other communicable diseases.

But until last year, the board never had the authority to assess goats, which means sheep producers financed all of the board’s efforts.

Boise area sheep producer Frank Shirts thinks it’s fair that goat producers chip in.

“I think they should,” said Shirts, a member of the Idaho Wool Growers Association’s board of directors. “The sheep man, he’s been packing the load.”

The 2012 Idaho Legislature gave the board authority to assess goats at a rate comparable to the sheep assessment (6 cents per pound of wool), and a 2013 bill allows the governor to appoint a goat producer to serve on the ISGHB’s five-member board.

The board is currently made up of all sheep producers.

Goat producers aren’t organized in Idaho.

For the goat assessment to go into effect, IWGA members must pass a resolution approving the ISGHB’s recommendation during their annual November convention.

There are about 25,000 goats in Idaho and about 10,000 are sold annually in Idaho at various livestock sales, according to ISGHB officials.

Sheep producers have recommended assessing themselves an additional 2 cents per pound of wool to help fund predator control efforts in Idaho, which have been hampered by a significant loss of federal funding since 2010.

Predators and animal health are issues for goats as well and it’s reasonable that the industry be asked to help out, said ISGHB Executive Director Stan Boyd.
“Wolves like goats, too, and so do coyotes and mountain lions,” he said. “The (board) regulates goat health also (but) has never collected anything from that industry.”

IWGA President Harry Soulen said he has not heard any opposition to the goat assessment recommendation and said that’s either because people are OK with it or they’re unaware it’s been proposed.

“I think it’s a reasonable program … and for the most part, it should be well-accepted,” said Soulen, who raises sheep near Weiser.

Tim Linquist, one of the largest sheep producers in southwest Idaho, said he wants to know more about the proposal and he doubts most goat producers are even aware of it.

“I don’t think I’m going to have a huge problem with it but I just don’t know anything about it,” said Linquist, who has about 300 goats near Wilder.
Clara Askew
Secretary/Treasurer