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May 2002

Inside this issue
baby goat
Champion lamb carcass - 2002 Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival
3.2 square inch rib eye - 0.1 inches of back fat - 1.6 yield grade
Exhibited by Bev and Sherm Pearsall, Thurmont, MD

Upcoming meat goat activities in Western Maryland

Meat goat judging school
Meat goats are the fastest growing livestock species at fairs and festivals, yet there is a shortage of trained, qualified judges. To address this issue, the Alternative Agriculture Center at Garrett Community College (GCC) in McHenry, Maryland, will host a Meat Goat Judging School on Friday, May 31, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Garrett County Fairgrounds. The judging school will be a hands-on, practical approach to selection of meat goats. Meat goat producers will gain valuable knowledge for selecting breeding stock and market animals. It will be an excellent opportunity for Extension Agents, dairy goat and other livestock judges to learn how to judge meat goats.

The judging school will be conducted by Dr. Alan Fires, an Extension Agent with Texas A&M University, and Ms. Susan Schoenian, Area Agent for Sheep and Goats with the University of Maryland. Dr. Fires has been raising and showing meat goats for over 20 years. He is an official judge with the International Boer Goat Association. Susan raises hair sheep and meat goats. Her most recent judging experience was judging the National Sheep/Goat Show in the Dominican Republic.

The judging school will include classes for market wethers, commercial does and doelings, and Boer bucks. The cost of the school is $20 per person ($15 for members of the MD-PA-WV chapter of the Midwest Meat Goat Association) and $10 for youth under the age of 18. The fee will include lunch and materials.

5th Annual Meat Goat Conference
The judging school will be held in conjunction with the 5th Annual Meat Goat Conference, which will begin at 3 p.m. at GCC. The conference will feature topics on health, .production, performance, scrapie and meat goat research projects in feeding goats. The cost of attending the conference is $10 per person. The conference will be followed by the 1st Annual Meeting of the MD-PA-WV Chapter of the Midwest Meat Goat Producers Association. The Annual meeting will feature a banquet dinner with goat meat. The cost of the meal is $15 per person. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Mt. Top Boer Goat Show and Sale
On Saturday, June 1, the MD-PA-WV Chapter of the Midwest Meat Goat Producers Association will host the 3rd Annual Mt. Top Boer Goat Show and Sale. The show will begin at noon and feature classes for fullblood and purebred Boer does and bucks, percentage Boer does, and market classes for bucks, does and wethers. In addition, there will be a fitting and showing competition for youth: junior, senior and children 5 to 7 years of age.

At 6:30 p.m., a Boer Goat Production Sale will be conducted. The sale will feature approximately 50 consignments from members of the MD-PA-WV Chapter of the Midwest Meat Goat Association. The Boer Goat Show and Sale will be held in conjunction with the 15th Annual Allegany Highlands Festival, which features Scottish country dancers, pipe bands, sheep dog demonstrations, crafts and much more. Admission to the Highlands Festival is $10 per person ($7 if tickets are purchased in advance). Anyone exhibiting an animal at the show will get two free tickets to the Festival. The Festival will stop charging admission at 3:30 p.m.

For information about any of these events, contact Willie Lantz at Garrett Community College at 301-387-3331 or wlantz@garrett.ncin.com or log onto www.gcc.cc.md.us/ agriculture. The registration deadline for the judging school, meat goat conference and banquet is May 24.

Join the MD-PA-WV meat goat association
The Maryland-Pennsylvania-West Virginia Chapter of the Midwest Meat Goat Producers was recently organized to:

Annual membership dues are $35 per person. Membership is open to anyone interested in meat goats. For information about this new association, contact President Willie Lantz at mpwvgoat@hotmail.com.

Scrapie update

While the new scrapie regulations do not require all sheep and goats to carry official scrapie identification, it is a good idea for producers to apply identification to any sheep or goat that leaves their premises. As a result, all sheep and goat producers should request a premise (flock) ID number and a 2 to 3 year supply of ear tags from their area USDA-APHIS office. The tags and applicator are currently free. However, there is a back log, and it may take several weeks before you receive your tags. Tags are sent in boxes of 100. If you do not need this many tags, you may request a smaller number of tags, though you will not receive a tag applicator with smaller tag orders.

According to Dr. Freeda Isaac of USDA-APHIS, the livestock auctions in Maryland are not yet requiring scrapie ID. However, once they do, they want all sheep and goats tagged, unless it is a slaughter only sale or you as a consigner stipulate that your animals can only be sold for slaughter. The stockyards do not have the time to determine which animals need tags and which do not. They would prefer not to do the tagging themselves, in which case they will probably charge you. In addition, while the mandatory tagging requirements are not yet being enforced, they will be soon, within the next month or so.

Health papers are required for exhibition at fairs and festivals and when breeding stock is moved across state lines.

Web sites:
www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/scrapie.htm
www.animalagriculture.org/scrapie/
www.sheepandgoat.com/scrapie.html

Ewe lamb incentive payments now available

The Lamb Meat Adjustment Assistance Program (LMAAP) is a 4-year program started in 2000 to help stabilize the lamb market. The $67.7 million program helps producers compete with foreign competitors in the marketplace. Each program year has various types of payments and eligibility requirements.

Year 1 of LMAAP included payments for rams, sheep improvement, and facility improvement. In year 2, producers were eligible to receive payments of $3 for each feeder lamb and $5 for each slaughter lamb. Years 3 and 4 add incentive payments for ewe lambs in addition to payments for feeder and slaughter lambs.

To be eligible for ewe lamb payments, applicants must be engaged in the business of producing and marketing agricultural products at the time of application. In addition, ewe lambs must meet the following criteria:

Eligible producers may receive $18 for each ewe lamb retained or purchased for breeding stock.The payment rates are $18 per head for each ewe lamb purchased or retained for breeding purposes during the period of August 1, 2001 through July 31, 2003. There are no maximum payments or herd limits.

Applications (Form FSA-383) are available at local FSA offices or on the Internet at http://forms.sc.egov.usda.gov/FormSearch.asp. Applications for Year 3 must be received in the FSA office by August 15, 2002 and by August 15, 2003, for year 4. Producers must complete the certification section of the form prior to submitting it to FSA. All data submitted on the application is subject to verification and spot checks by FSA. Refusal to allow verification will make the application invalid.

Web site:
www.fsa.usda.gov/dafp/psd

A successful Maryland Goat Conference

The Maryland Goat Conference, held March 30 in Westminster attracted over 85 goat enthusiasts from Maryland, Delaware, Virginia and Pennsylvania. The day long event featured an educational program, exhibits and door prizes. Kate Bennett, a local goat producer, prepared various goat meat dishes for attendees to sample. A portion of the goat meat was donated by David Feeser of A&W Country Meats, Inc., Taneytown, MD. Exhibitors at the goat conference included: Sheepman Supply Company Southfork Farms, USDA-APHIS, University of Maryland Eastern Shore and Carroll County Office of Economic Development. Door prizes were donated by Sheepman Supply, D-S Livestock Equipment, and Dr. Robert Herr (one of the speakers). Southfork Farms helped sponsor the morning refreshments.

If you were unable to attend the conference, you may view the proceedings on the web at www.sheepandgoat.com/GoatConference.html.

Ethnic calendar

At the Maryland Goat Conference, speaker Robert Herr stressed the importance of knowing when ethnic holidays are. Here's a list of important Christian and Moslem holidays over the next year or two. It is at these times of the year that the demand for lamb and/or goat substantially increases.

Western or Roman Easter
* April 20, 2003
* April 11, 2004

Eastern or Greek Easter
* May 5, 2002
* April 27, 2003
* April 11,2004

Start of Ramadan (Month of fasting)
* November 6, 2002
* October 26, 2003
* October 15, 2004

Eid ul-Fitr (Festival of Fast-breaking)
* December 6, 2002
* November 26, 2003
* November 15, 2004

Eid ul-Adha (Festival of Sacrifice)
* February 12, 2003
* February 1, 2004

Learn about Islam at Islam 101.

Summer breeding of meat goats

by Dr. Niki Whitley
Univ. of Maryland Eastern Shore
Princess Anne, Maryland

There has been a lot of research done and information published about reproduction in dairy goats, but not so much in meat goats. It is commonly known that Boer Goats are "less seasonal" than sheep and most dairy goat breeds, with an extended breeding season. However, they still primarily breed in the fall of the year.

My graduate student, Dahlia Jackson, therefore conducted a research study in which we looked at using a synthetic reproductive hormone, Melengestrol Acetate (MGA; like progesterone) to induce breeding in June compared to not using hormones. Does that had been totally separated from sight, sound and smell of any buck (or ram) for 3 weeks were divided into 2 groups (around 24 per group) so that each group was similar on average in age, weight, percentage Boer, and production status. Both groups were fed a purchased, 12% protein pelleted feed with or without MGA already added (Southern States 12% Cattle Pellet MGA or just the 12% Cattle Pellet).

There are other ways to use a progesterone-like hormone. Vaginal inserts are available, injections can be used, and other orally active ones are available. We chose MGA because it was easy to find and buy, relatively inexpensive, it was easy to use and its success was well-documented with sheep.

We fed the pellets for 10 days, then we put marking harnesses on four bucks and brought them back to the females, mixed all the females together with all the males and checked for colored marks indicating breeding twice a day. We checked them for 12 days (for 2 days after no more activity was noticed).

The results. The MGA was not needed – the buck effect worked just fine in early June. More animals not fed MGA got bred, were confirmed pregnant and kidded than those fed MGA even though there were equal numbers of kids available to market for both groups. The does all averaged over 2 kids born live and weaned. The treatment had no effect on kid birth weights, number born live or weaning weights.

Some things we learned in this study: MGA was not needed in Boer and Boer-crossbred goats bred in June on the Lower Eastern Shore of Maryland. We've noted some reported problems here and at Garrett County Community College with April and May breeding, so perhaps MGA could be used then.

The male effect (called the "buck effect" or "ram effect") is very strong in goats. This is the phenomenon of keeping bucks isolated from females for at least 3 weeks and then introducing them suddenly to induce reproductive behavior/synchronize reproduction in the females.

Some females prefer specific bucks over others for breeding (this is proven in sheep), and not necessarily the "boss" buck.

Our crossbred Boer bucks seemed to be more active during the summer (bred more females) than Fullblood Boer bucks. Sluggish breeding in the summer in Fullblood Boer bucks has also been noted at Virginia State University.

For information about breeding sheep and goats out-of-season, contact Dr. Whitley at UMES at 410-651-6194 or nwhitley@ mail.umes.edu.

"Easy care" sheep – the Katahdin

The Katahdin is an "improved" breed of hair sheep, the first hair breed to meet North American standards for carcass quality. The breed is growing rapidly in numbers, as it is gaining popularity as an "easy care" sheep that does not require shearing, crutching, tail docking, or frequent hoof trimming and deworming. All sheep have both hair and wool fibers. The difference is the ratio of hair to wool. The Katahdin is an American breed developed in the 1950's by amateur geneticist Michael Piel. The breed takes its name from Mt. Katahdin in Maine, near where the Piel farm was located. Katahdins are primarily a cross between British meat breeds, notably the Suffolk; and Caribbean hair sheep, specifically the St. Croix (or Virgin Island White). The Wiltshire Horn, a British shedding breed, was later added to improve size.

Katahdins may be any color, though white is oftentimes preferred. They are a medium sized sheep with a moderate amount of muscling. Though they grow faster than pure hair breeds, the most appropriate role of the Katahdin may be as a "ewe" breed, to be bred to meat type rams for the production of market lambs for either traditional or niche markets.

In contrast with the Barbados Blackbelly and St. Croix, Katahdins are more accurately described as a "shedding" sheep. They shed their coat, a mixture of wool and hair fibers, annually as the weather starts to change. Lambs shed out during the summer months. An adult sheep that fails to shed at least 2/3 of its coat is ineligible for registry in the International Katahdin breed association.

Katahdins are touted as an "easy care" sheep primarily because of their wool-less nature: however, the lack of shearing or tail docking aren't the only characteristics that make Katahdin sheep easy to raise. Research at various universities and experiment stations is showing consistently that Katahdin sheep are more resistant (lower fecal egg counts) and resilient (high packed cell volumes) to internal parasites, requiring less frequent anthelmintic treatments. This is not to say that Katahdins do not get worms because all sheep get worms, especially lambs. It's just that some breeds shed fewer eggs and are better able to withstand the effects of parasitism. The Katahdin is one of these breeds.

While the Katahdin breed has been around for about 50 years, not much is documented about the breed. As a result, Katahdins are being added to many sheep research programs around the country, including the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, which has a flock of about 40 mostly Katahdin ewes. Virginia Tech and Virginia State University also have Katahdins in their research programs. The purpose of these various research programs is to quantify the characteristics of Katahdin sheep, such as parasite resistance, and to determine the appropriate role for the breed to play in commercial lamb production systems in the U.S.

Web sites:
www.katahdinsheep.org
www.KHSI.org
Maryland Hair Sheep Resources

Maryland to host AGDA convention

Hagerstown, Maryland will be the location of the 2002 American Dairy Goat Association Convention. Sponsoring organizations include the Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia State Dairy Goat Associations. The convention will be held October 13-19 at the Clarion Hotel and Conference Center, 901 Dual Highway, Hagerstown, (301) 733-5100.

The convention will feature all of the traditional ADGA- sponsored events including the Judges Training Conference and Pre-Judges Training Conference, the Board of Directors Meeting, Type Conference, Youth Program, and Spotlight Sale. Other events will include the AASRP (American Association of Small Ruminant Practitioners) continuing education program for veterinarians and goat breeders alike, the Banquet and Dance, Welcome Dinner, Youth Banquet, Wine and Cheese party, Champagne Brunch prior to the Spotlight Sale, breed club and special interest group meetings, tours, clinics and workshops, vendor and breed club exhibits, hospitality, and a full week of educational programming for all goat breeders, novice to experienced.

Web sites:
www.adga.org
www.agdomain.com/web/Marylanddga/

Tips for giving injections

  1. Avoid the rear leg and loin areas when giving injections. These areas include high-priced cuts of meat. Use the neck region (in front of the point of shoulder).
  2. Give the injection subcutaneously (SQ) rather than intramuscularly (IM) if allowed. SQ injections cause less damage to the meat.
  3. Use the smallest gauge needle possible. This creates a smaller hole in the skin, reducing the chances of an abscess.
  4. Choose a location for the injection that is clean and dry. Wet animals should not be injected due to the risk of moisture and bacteria entering the injection site.
  5. Wash syringes in soapy water after each use. Rinse syringes with clean water to make sure that no traces of cleaning solution remain.
  6. Purchase high quality needles. Do not use needles that are bent, dull or dirty.
  7. Store needles and syringes in a dry, dust free cabinet or container out of the reach of children.
  8. Always use a clean needle when drawing up medications or vaccinations from a bottle. A contaminated needle introduces bacteria and can infect other animals. If multiple doses are drawn from a bottle, place a clean needle through the stopper of the bottle and use it to draw out the dose(s) needed.

Needle selection

  1. For SQ injections, use a ½ to ¾ inch needle;
  2. For IM injections, use a 1 inch needle;
  3. For thin solutions (e.g. vaccine) use an 18 to 20 gauge needle for both SQ and IM injections;
  4. For thick solutions (e.g. Penicillin), use a 16 to 18 gauge needle for both SQ and IM injections.
Source: Producing Consumer Products from Sheep: The Sheep Safety and Quality Assurance Program, November 2001.

Featured web site - Maryland State Fair

The featured web site is the Maryland State Fair: www.marylandstatefair.com. This is the web site for the Maryland State Fairgrounds. It contains directions to and a map of the fairgrounds, fair history and an interactive calendar of events. From the main menu, click on "state fair features" so you can access the home page of the Maryland State Fair, which contains online versions of the premium books (4-H and FFA, open livestock, home arts and farm and garden) and entry forms, as well as the fair schedule. All livestock exhibitors are encouraged to enter their exhibits using the online forms.

www.marylandstatefair.com

Maryland Wool Pool

The 2002 Maryland Wool Pool will be held June 26 and 27 at the Cow Palace at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium. The first morning of the pool is usually reserved for large consigners. In the afternoon, producers who are more than 50 miles from Timonium are expected to come. All other producers should bring their wool on the second day. The hours are 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Producers are expected to properly package their wool – no jute (burlap) bags. When wool comes into the pool, it is graded (by certified graders), weighed and packaged into square bales, re-weighed and loaded onto trucks to be sent to a wool scouring plant.

While this year's prices are expected to be low, wool prices are expected to gain strength over the next year are two. It has also been proposed that wool be added to the commodity loan program (see article below).

Volunteer labor is needed at the pool to help keep costs of operation low. Individuals who are willing to help should contact pool manager Rich Barczewski at (302) 659-1211 or rbarczew@dsu.edu.

Click here to see how the wool pool works.

Proposed new wool marketing program

A non-recourse marketing loan program for wool and mohair that would operate similarly to other commodity marketing loan programs has been proposed as part of the new Farm Bill. The program would provide producers with price support loans or loan deficiency payments.

A loan deficiency payment (LDP) is the difference between the "loan rate" and the "announced world market price." When wool prices fall below the loan rate, producers would be eligible to receive payments to bring their price up to the level of the loan rate. When prices are above the loan rate, producers would benefit from higher wool prices. LDP's change daily and are only good on the day of filing.

Producers would also be able to apply for a loan (based on the loan rate) for the wool they produce. Repayment of the loan would be based on the lower of world wool prices or principle and interest. If world prices are below the loan rate, the producer would keep the difference. If world prices are above the loan rate, the producer would benefit from higher prices, but pay back the loan according to the original terms. Producers could sell their wool whenever they wanted to.

The proposed loan rate would be $1.00 per lb. for wool and $5.26 per lb. for mohair. Adjustments would be made for differences in wool value (diameter, length and yield). 

Please let me know how I can be of assistance to you.

Susan Schoenian
Area Agent, Sheep and Goats
Western Maryland Research & Education Center
www.sheepandgoat.com

The new url for the newsletter is www.sheepandgoat.com/news. Please let us know if you would prefer to receive an e-mail message when a new newsletter has been posted to the web, in lieu of receiving a printed copy of the newsletter in the mail. This will help keep costs down and keep us from ever having to charge for the newsletter.

Calendar of events

May 31 (see article)
Meat Goat Judging School,
Garrett Fairgrounds, 9-2 pm

Meat Goat Conference, 3 pm
Garrett Community College

June 1 (see article)
Meat Goat Show and Boer Sale
Garrett County Fairgrounds

June 14-15
Eastern Stud Ram Sale
Augusta Expoland, Staunton, VA
540-231-9159

June 26-27 (see article)
Maryland Wool Pool
Fairgrounds, Timonium, MD

August 22-September 2
Maryland State Fair
Timonium, Maryland

October 13-19 (see article)
American Dairy Goat Association Convention
Clarion Hotel and Conference Center, Hagerstown, MD

Links are provided as an information service. They do not constitute an endorsement of any non-affiliated organizations, businesses, products or content of these pages by Maryland Cooperative Extension or the University of Maryland. Mention of product names is for information purposes only. It is the policy of Maryland Cooperative Extension that no person shall be subjected to discrimination on the grounds of race, color, sex, disability, age, religion or national origin.
 
The Maryland Sheep and Goat Producer is published quarterly by the Western Maryland Research & Education Center, 18330 Keedysville Road, Keedysville, Maryland 21756. It is edited by Susan Schoenian , Area Agent for Sheep and Goats in Western Maryland. Dr. Niki Whitley , Livestock Specialist at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore will be a regular contributor. Call or e-mail if you would like to be notified by e-mail when a new newsletter has been posted to the web or if you would like to be added or removed from the mailing list. My phone number is (301) 432-2767, ext. 343.

 

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