2009 Western Maryland Pasture-Based Meat Goat Performance Test

Western Maryland Goat Sale & Field Day

The 2nd Annual Western Maryland Goat Field Day and Sale will be held Saturday, October 3, 2009, at the Washington County Agricultural Education Center (fairgrounds) near Boonsboro, Maryland. The fairgrounds are adjacent to the University of Maryland’s Western Maryland Research & Education Center.

Meat goat bucks from the Western Maryland Pasture-Based Meat Goat Performance Test that meet Gold, Silver, and Bronze standards for growth, parasite resistance, parasite resilience, and minimum standards for reproductive and structural soundness will be offered for sale via public auction. 

This year there are 60 goats on test. Last year, 10 out of 58 goats on test qualified for the sale.  The top-gaining bucks as of September 10th are shown in the table below.

Thirty-four does have been consigned to the invitational doe sale. They include 25 fullblood, percentage and crossbred Kikos and 9 fullblood and percentage Boers. There are four yearling does and 30 doe kids.

Doe consigners include ALL Boer Goats (MD), Losch's Riverview Farm Boer Goats (PA), Caprine Genetics (VA), Chey-View Acres (KY), Cedar Creek Farm (DE), and Don and Jenny Smith (VA).

All of the goats will be sold via silent auction. In a silent auction, bidding is done on paper. The goats are not paraded through a sale ring. A silent auction gives bidders more time to consider their purchases. The bidding period will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The person with the highest bid at 2 p.m. gets the goat.

The field day will be held from 9 a.m. to 12 noon.  Dr. Richard Browning, a research animal scientist from Tennessee State University, will be the featured speaker.  Dr. Browning is in the midst of conducting a multi-year breed evaluation study, comparing Boer, Kiko, and Spanish goats and their reciprocal crosses.

Running concurrent to the field day will be a goat skillathon for youth, ages 8 to 18.  In the skillathon, youth will be tested on their knowledge of meat, dairy, and fiber goats.  Pre-registration for the skillathon is requested by September 26. Information about the skillathon can be found at http://www.sheepandgoat.com/programs/skillathon/goatskillathon.html.

Lunch will be available for purchase at the fairgrounds.

Contact Susan Schoenian at (301) 432-2767 x343 or sschoen@umd.edu for information about the field day and sale and to pre-register youth for the skillathon.

View pictures and data of top-performing (sale) bucks

View doe consignments | download catalog of doe consignments