Lamb Camp in Frederick County

The Frederick County Sheep Breeders Association is hosting a one-day Lamb Camp for 4-H and FFA members on Saturday, July 13, 2013, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the Frederick County Fairgrounds.

Ashley Fuss, Frederick County 4-Her

The purpose of the Lamb Camp is to help kids sharpen their knowledge and showmanship skills. The camp is limited to 18 youth. The cost is $50 per person. Lunch and refreshments will be provided.

The instructor is Scott Myers, a well-known 4-H and open class judge. Mr. Myers will be assisted by a few young adults who have demonstrated their skills at county and state fairs.

Participants will need to bring 1 or 2 sheared lambs, along with shearing equipment and a fitting stand. If someone needs to borrow a lamb, one will be provided.

Request a registration form from Dawn Richardson at (301) 908-5985 or GrindstoneRidgeFarm@yahoo.net. Additional information is available from Peter Vorac at (301) 371-4111 or pvorac@comcast.net.

www.fredericksheepbreeders.com

Delaware to host IBGA shows

The Delmarva Goat Association will be sponsoring a North Eastern IBGA¹ Show on Friday and Saturday, April 20 and 21, 2012, at the Delaware State Fairgrounds in Harrington, Delaware.

The Delmarva Classic North Eastern Junior IBGA Show will be held  on Friday, April 20.  The show will start at 6 p.m. and include a showmanship class.

There will be two Delmarva Classic North Eastern Regional Open Shows on Saturday, April 21.  The first one will start at 9 a.m. The second one will immediately follow. The judges are John Tart and Phil Myers.

For more information, including entry forms, visit www.delmarvagoat.com or  contact Maida Graves at gravesgoats@yahoo.com or (302) 236-2107.

¹ International Boer Goat Association

Show completed before Hurricane

With the threat of Hurricane Irene looming, the 4-H/FFA Meat Goat Show was held at the Maryland State Fair. The entire show was held on Friday, August 26, so that 4-Hers could depart the fair early, before the storm hit. The 4-H/FFA Livestock Auction was postponed until the following Sunday (September 4).

Market goats
Cooper Bounds, a 4-Her from Carroll County exhibited the Grand and Reserve Champion market goats.  Katie Mayne from Montgomery County had the Best Bred-and-Owned 4-H Market Goat. 

Grand and Reserve Champion Market Goats
Exhibited by Cooper Bounds (R)

The following 4-Hers had class winners in the market goat show:  Erica Sprout (2), Cooper Bounds (3), Tanner Ridgely, Troy Bennett, Katie Mayne, and Casey Bounds. Carroll County had the top county group of market goats.

Rate-of-gain
While there is no rate-of-gain requirement for the market goats at the Maryland State Fair, awards are given in recognition of superior performance.

The market goat with the highest rate-of-gain was exhibited by Charles Buckmeier from Frederick County. Charles' market goat gained 0.75 lbs. per day between county weigh-in and August 25th. Reserve champion rate-of-gain was won by Bryan Bowman from Howard County. Bryan's goat gained 0.54 lbs. per day.

Reserve and Grand Champion Rate-of-Gain
Bryan Bowman (L) and Charles Buckmeier (R)

Breeding goats
The 4-H/FFA Meat Goat Breeding Show is divided into a commercial, non-registered division and a registered division, with fullbloods and percentages competing against each other. 

Sam Zambuto from Cecil County exhibited the Grand Champion Commercial Doe. Dean Bennett had the Reserve Champion Commercial Doe.  Cooper Bounds had the Grand and Reserve Champion Registered Does. Cooper's doe was named the Best Doe in the Meat Goat Show.  

Rachel Novotny had the Champion Buck in the show. The Best Bred-and-Owned Breeding Goat was the Champion Commercial Doe exhibited by Sam Zambuto.

Showmanship
The 4-H/FFA Meat Goat Showmanship competition was swept by girls.  Heather Gleason was the 1st place novice showman. She was awarded a set of clippers donated by Frey's Livestock Supply. Crystal Stowers from Carroll County was the Champion Junior Showman. Rachel Novotny was Reserve Champion.

Margaret Holloway from Harford County was the Champion Intermediate Showman. Austin Stoner was Reserve Champion. Ashley Braun from Charles County was the Champion Senior Showman. Sam Zambuto was Reserve Champion.

Champion Meat Goat Showman
(L-R) Ashley Braun, Margaret Holloway,
Crystal Stowers, and Heather Gleason

Margaret Holloway was named Grand Champion 4-H/FFA Meat Goat Showman.  She defeated Margaret Buckmieier from Frederick County in the Dean's Showmanship Challenge.

Brent Jennings, a 4-H animal science specialist from North Carolina State University served as the show's judge for the second year in a row. Susan Schoenian is the superintendent of the 4-H goat show. Shannon Uzelac is the assistant superintendent.

The hurricane resulted in a very small Open Class Boer Goat Show two days later at the fair.

Summer market lamb and goat show

The Clarke County (Virginia) 4-H Leaders' Association will be holding the second annual Clarke County Summer Market Lamb and Goat Show on Saturday, July 2, 2011.

The show will take place at the Clarke County Ruritan Fairgrounds in Berryville, Virginia. All Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland 4-H and FFA members are invited to participate.

Prize money will be presented to first through fifth place, with ribbons to the top five in each class. Ribbons only will be presented to exhibitors in the (mandatory) showmanship classes. Bronze belt buckles and rosettes will be awarded to the Grand and Reserve champion lambs and goats.

All market lamb class will be determined by breed, weight, and number of sheep in the show. Market goat classes will be determined by weight only. The market goat show will immediately follow the market lamb show.

For information, contact Brenda Klepper (show chairman) at (540) 955-2416 or info@triplejboergoats.com or Hope Cather (association president) at (540) 550-4277 or hopeheather@aol.com.

All entries must be posted marked by June 25, 2011. Faxed or e-mailed entries will not be accepted.

Download show rules [Word 2007 document]
Download entry form [Word 2007 document]

Health paper changes (Maryland)

Maryland livestock require intrastate health papers in order to go to a Maryland show, fair, or other exhibition. Starting this year, there is no requirement for review, approval, and stamping of the Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (CVI) prior to the animals going to the fair or show.

The new form ((MDA-E-16(REV1/11)) is to be completed and signed by an accredited veterinarian after inspection of the animals listed on the form. The veterinarian is required to send the original top (white) copy to Maryland Department of Agriculture Headquarters, the middle (yellow) transport copy is to be retained by the owner of the livestock, and the bottom (pink) copy is for the veterinarian’s records.

Because the new form is a carbon copy and color-coded, it is not available at MDA's web site. The new forms for 2011 will be available for pick-up only at the Frederick or Salisbury laboratories and available for pick up or mailing from Animal Health Headquarters in Annapolis.  The older two page form (MDA-E-16(REV11/09)) will be accepted for use during this transition year if the new forms are not readily available.

Please call (410) 841-5810 or e-mail animalhealth@mda.state.md.us to request that forms be mailed to you. Any comments or questions should be directed to Annapolis headquarters at (410) 841-5810.

All out-of-state livestock (entering Maryland) must be accompanied by an Interstate Certificate of Veterinary Inspection. An approved copy of this certificate must be forwarded by the State of Origin to the MDA Animal Health Section.

Policy changes for 2011
2011 Fair and Show Requirements

"Delmarva Classic" Boer Goat Show

The Delmarva Goat Association is sponsoring a sanctioned ABGA and IBGA Boer Goat Show on Saturday, April 30, 2011. The "Delmarva Classic" will be held at the Delaware State Fairgrounds in Harrington, Delaware.

Don Smith from Texas will be judging the IBGA (International Boer Goat Association) show. John Tart from North Carolina will be judging the ABGA (American Boer Goat Association) show.

The Delmarva Goat Association was organized in April 2007. Its members are comprised of adult and youth producers, breeders and exhibitors of meat goats, dairy goats, and Pygmy goats.

The purpose of the Delmarva Goat Association is to promote the Education, Breeding, Showing and Marketing of all goat breeds within the Delaware, Maryland and Virginia (DELMARVA) region through networking, professional seminars, clinics, breeding and marketing services, and sanctioned shows.

Download show rules
Download class listings
Download entry form

Maryland 4-H/FFA Meat Goat Show

Market Goats
Seventy-two market goats ranged in weight from 46 to 115 lbs. and were divided into ten weight classes.  The following 4-Hers exhibited class winners:  1) Brianne Hevner (Carroll, 45-54 lbs.); 2) Emma Mayne (Montgomery, 57-61 lbs.); 3) Charles Sasscer (St. Mary's, 62-65 lbs.); 4) Declan Kenney (Carroll, 66-71 lbs.); 5) Maggie Holloway (Harford, 74-78 lbs.); 6) Sara Harshman (Frederick, 79-84 lbs.); 7) Cooper Bounds (Carroll, 85-90 lbs.); 8) Claire Bennett (Howard, 91-96 lbs.); 9) Austin Stoner (Carroll, 96 lbs.); and 10) Casey Bounds (Carroll, 100-115 lbs.).

Champion Market Goats (L-R)
Cooper Bounds, Brent Jenkins, and Austin Stone

The Grand Champion Market Goat was an 85-lb. wether exhibited by Cooper Bounds.  Austin Stoner had the Reserve Champion Market Goat, a 96-lb. wether.  Claire Bennett was the recipient of the award for the Best Bred and Owned Market Goat.  Carroll County had the top county group of market goats.

Rate of Gain
Market goats exhibited by Casey Bounds (Carroll) and Paige Stowers (Carroll) tied for Best Rate-of-Gain.  Both goats gained 0.42 lbs. per day.   The Champion and Reserve Champion Market Goats both gained 0.33 lbs. per day. All of the market goat exhibitors received premiums for rate-of-gain:  blue. > 0.31 lbs per day; red, 0.21-0.30 lbs. per day; and white, < 0.20 lbs. per day.

Champion Rate-of-Gain (L-R)
Casey Bounds, Brent Jenkins, and Paige Stowers

Breeding goats
The Champion Commercial Meat Goat Doe was exhibited by Claire Bennett.  Dylon Youmans (Carroll) had the Reserve Champion Commercial Doe. Cooper Bounds exhibited the Champion and Reserve Champion Registered Does and Grand Champion Doe of the Show.  Aaron Lantz (Garrett) had the Champion Commercial Buck. Margaret Buckmeier (Frederick) had the Champion Registered Buck and Champion Buck of the Show.

The Best Bred and Owned Breeding Goat was exhibited by Cooper Bounds. Many of the exhibitors in the 4-H/FFA Meat Goat Breeding Show also competed in the state fair's first Open Class Boer Goat Show.

Fitting and Showing
Junior fitting and showing was won by Crystal Stowers (Carroll).  Ashley Braun (Charles) was the champion intermediate showman.  Cooper Bounds was the Champion Senior Showman.  In the Dean's Showmanship Challenge, last year's winner Claire Bennett successfully defended her title.

Champion Fitting and Showing (L-R)
Ashley Braun, Claire Bennett, Cooper Bounds, and Brent Jenkins

Ribbons and trophies for the show were provided by the Maryland State Fair. Additional awards were donated by the University of Maryland Small Ruminant Program and College of Agricultural and Natural Resources, Good Shepherd Lamb Coats LLC, and Frey's Livestock Supply. The judge for this year's show was Brent Jenkins, 4-H Youth Livestock Specialist from North Carolina State University.

The superintendent of the 4-H/FFA Meat Goat Show is Susan Schoenian.  She was assisted by Dr. Nelson Escobar, Small Ruminant Extension Specialist at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, and Shannon Uzelac, 4-H Program Assistant in Washington County.

First Boer Show at Maryland State Fair

For the first time, there will be an Open Class Boer Goat Show at the Maryland State Fair.  It is an American Boer Goat Association (ABGA) sanctioned show.  There are classes for percentage does, fullblood and purebred does, and fullblood bucks.

The goats will be in place at the fair by 8 a.m. on Saturday, August 28.  They will be housed and exhibited in the Cow Palace. The show will be held on Sunday, August 29, beginning at 10 a.m.  The judge is Jeremy Church from Sentinel, Oklahoma.

The superintendent of the Open Class Boer Goat Show is Wilson Bounds.  For more information about the show, contact Wilson at (410) 259-4955.

2009 Champion 4-H meat goat doe
exhibited by Cooper Bounds (R)

4-H/FFA Meat Goat Show

The first 4-H/FFA Meat Goat show was held at the Maryland State Fair in 2003.  There is competition for market goats, breeding goats (commercial and registered) and showmanship.

This year's show will be held on Friday, August 27, beginning at 2 p.m.  The 4-H/FFA goats are housed and exhibited in the Swine, Sheep, and Goat Building. This year's judge is Brent Jennings, 4-H youth livestock specialist from North Carolina State University.

Ten market goats are eligible to be sold in the 4-H/FFA Livestock Sale, to be held Saturday, August 28 at 7:30 p.m. in the Cow Palace.

The superintendent of the 4-H/FFA Meat Goat Show is Susan Schoenian, University of Maryland Extension Sheep & Goat Specialist.  For more information about the show, contact Susan at sschoen@umd.edu or (301) 432-2767 x343.

View Maryland State Fair schedule of events

Biggest show ever

The 2009 4-H/FFA Meat Goat Show was the biggest ever. It was judged by Dr. Brian Faris, Extension Sheep & Meat Goat Specialist at Kansas State University.

Dr. Faris selected an 78-lb. fullblood Boer doe kid exhibited by Austin Stoner from Carroll County as the Grand Champion Market Goat. Charles Sasscer from Charles County exhibited the Reserve Champion Market Goat, which was also named Best Bred and Owned Market Goat.

Class winners in the market goat show included Brianne Hevner (33 to 50 lbs.); Levi Lantz (57-64 lbs.); Shelby Sasscer (64-66 lbs.); Danielle Moore (67-69 lbs.); Austin Stoner (70-78 lbs.); Casey Bounds (80-87 lbs.); Cameron Mullinix (89-95 lbs.); and Claire Bennett (102-117 lbs.).

Champion rate-of-gain was awarded to Ashley Hevner from Carroll County. Her 102-lb. wether gained 0.67 lbs. per day. Danielle Moore from Howard County had reserve champion rate-of-gain with a goat that gained 0.55 lbs. per day.


Claire Bennett from Carroll County exhibited the Champion Commercial Doe. Levi Lantz from Garrett County had the reserve champion commercial doe. Cooper Bounds from Carroll County had the Champion Registered Doe.

Cameron Dorsey from Frederick County had the reserve champion registered doe. Cooper's doe was the Grand Champion Doe in the show. Cameron's was reserve champion. Cooper Bounds exhibited the Grand Champion buck of the show and the Best Bred and Owned Breeding Goat (doe kid).

The champion junior showman was Makenzie Charles from Charles County. Reserve champion was Jacqueline Bowen from Calvert County. Intermediate champion was Ashley Braun from Charles County. Reserve champion was Evan Charles from Charles County.

Claire Bennett was the champion senior showman. Cooper Bounds was reserve champion. In the Dean's Showmanship Challenge, Margaret Buckmeier from Frederick County, last year's champion showman, successfully defended her title.

Ten market goats sold in the 4-H/FFA Livestock Sale. The champion market goat brought $450 and was purchased by the Mill of Bel Air. The champion rate-of-gain goat brought $300 and was purchased by The Baalands (Susan Schoenian). The Maryland State 4-H Office purchased two goats in the sale.

Awards for the 2009 4-H/FFA Meat Goat Show were donated by the Maryland Agricultural Fair Board, Frey's Livestock Supply, and the University of Maryland Small Ruminant Extension Program.

Special thanks to everyone who helped with the show: Dr. Nelson Escobar, Shannon Uzelac, Dwayne Murphy, Willie Lantz, Jeff Hevner, and Carla Eastburn.

Maryland 4-H/FFA Meat Goat Show

Fifty-one (51) market goats competed in the 2008 4-H/FFA Meat Goat Show at the Maryland State Fair. The Grand Champion Market Goat was an 87-lb. (40 kg) wether exhibited by Cooper Bounds from Carroll County.

The Reserve Champion Market Goat was a 90 lb. (41 kg) wether exhibited by Claire Bennett from Carroll County. Claire's Reserve Champion Goat was also selected as the Best Bred and Owned Market Goat.

A county group consists of four market goats exhibited by at least three 4-H/FFA members from the same county. Carroll County had the top county group of market goats, followed by Frederick and Cecil Counties.


Rate of Gain
The market goats ranged in weight from 44 (20 kg) to 125 lbs. (57 kg) and averaged 75.8 lbs. (35 kg). Average daily gain for the 51 goats ranged from 0.03 (14 g) to 0.58 lbs. (264 g) per day and averaged 0.342 lbs. (155 g) per day.

The goat with the highest average daily gain (ADG) was a 97-lb. wether exhibited by Konnar Miller from Washington County. Ryan Hevner from Carroll County had the goat with the second highest rate of gain. Ryan's 94-lb. goat gained 0.57 lbs. per day.

Three additional 4-H exhibitors had market goats that gained more than a half pound per day: Cooper Bounds (0.52 and 0.53), Nikita Miller (0.53), and Austin Stoner (0.52).

Blue awards are given to market goats that gain more than 0.3 lbs. per day. Red awards are given to goats that gain between 0.2 and .3 lbs. per day. White awards are given to goats that gain less than 0.2 lbs. per day.

Fitting and Showing
The Junior Champion Meat Goat Showman was Dean Bennett from Carroll County. The Intermediate Champion was Ryan Hevner.

Margaret Buckmeier from Frederick County was the Champion Senior. Margaret also won the Showmanship Challenge where winners from previous years compete with the current year's winner.

Breeding Show
The breeding goat classes are split into two divisions: Commercial (non-registered) and Registered (percentage, purebred, and fullblood). Claire Bennett exhibited the Champion Commercial Meat Goat Doe. Cooper Bounds exhibited the Reserve Champion Commercial Doe.

Margaret Buckmeier had the Champion Registered Doe. Grace Garst from Frederick County had the Reserve Champion Registered Doe. Margaret's Champion Registered Doe was named Best Doe in Show.

Margaret also had the Champion Buck in the show. Cooper Bounds had the Reserve Champion Buck. The Best Bred and Owned Meat Goat was a registered yearling doe exhibited by Grace Garst.

For the second year in a row, Dr. Frank Craddock from Texas A&M University served as the judge for the 4-H/FFA Meat Goat Show at the Maryland State Fair.

Open Meat Goat Show

There will be an open class meat goat show on July 20 at the Washington County Ag Expo and Fair in Boonsboro, MD. The open class show will follow the 4-H show which begins at 10 a.m..

There will be classes for Boers and Kikos. Fullblood and purebred (15/16 or greater) animals will show together. Percentages (1/2, 3/4, or 7/8) will show together. Commercial meat goat classes are open to any non-registered commercial goat breed or breed cross. Bucks will be brought for the show day only.

Entries are due by 4 p.m. on June 25. For more information, go to http://www.agexpoandfair.org.