Greta Dise, President



Colleen Reed, President

Tracy Ross, Vice-President

Nina Cooper, Treasurer

Mindy Wilson, Secretary

Pat Harder, Board

Melanie Pitts, Board

Sue Reimann, Board

Cassy Schooling, Board

Amanda Pennington, Board

Vol 25 May 2017 No. 1

Happy Spring to all the wonderful goat folks out there!

I've noticed time is moving faster as I get older. Goats that were just yearlings last year are turning eight years old already and have grandkids in the next pasture over. Here in Virginia, kidding season is mostly done and, with one last wacky snowfall behind us, we are headed into the muddy fields of true springtime. I consider all this unlovely mud just another reminder to check the FAMACHA scores and keep an eye on those pellets when they fall.

The EAGMA board is discussing the fall shows in Berryville (SVFF) and Rhinebeck (NYS&W). Your participation is encouraged. Volunteers are always wanted, so please speak up if you are available to help in either VA or NY.  We are also talking about what it might take to bring back the Wooster show for 2018. If you are interested in helping with planning, or want to support the Ohio idea with your participation or sponsorship, please let us know.

The spring newsletter is usually devoted to catch-up news and look-forward notices. Check out the listing of upcoming shows and events. And of course, since this newsletter is for the people, it should be by the people as well. Please send any contributions for content to Amanda for inclusion.

I hope all is well across the EAGMA regions. I hope you have time to snuggle your goats and walk your fields, and that the kids grow up straight and true. I look forward to seeing them as hearty big babies in the fall.

In peace and harmony,

Colleen

EAGMA was founded in 1987 as “VAGMA” (Virginia Angora Goat and Mohair Association) to foster and support, through education and marketing, small Angora goat farming, small mohair-based business, and the acceptance of a non-traditional farm animal.

In 2008, in recognition of the growing diversity of the membership, VAGMA became the Eastern Angora Goat and Mohair Association.

The latest EAGMA 2017 SVFF Show News

The EAGMA Goat Show for 2017 will be at the Shenandoah Valley Fiber Festival at the fairgrounds in Berryville, Virginia on September 22-24, 2017. This show will also be the National Show for the ACAGR registry. Fred Speck from Texas has agreed to judge our show this year. Dr. Speck is a 5th generation angora goat producer. Today, Fred is active as a 4-H leader and is superintendent of the Texas Open Youth Angora Goat Show in Kerrville, Texas. Fred is a well-known Angora goat judge and has judged in Australia, England, Canada, and throughout the US.

The goat show will also have Red Card classes again this year. These classes are an opportunity to show animals that are not fully white, so are disqualified from the white show, but do not exhibit enough color to show well in the colored classes. See the full class description on the website - Goat Entry Form.

The Mohair Fleece show process will be the same as 2016. Fleeces will be entered, judged, and sold (if noted for sale) at the SVFF fleece sale. Fleeces entries are processed in the Arts and Crafts Building on Friday, September 22nd from 10am to 2pm. All fleeces must have their SVFF form (and pay their fee). Each fleece to be judged will also need the EAGMA Fleece ID form (there is no additional fee from EAGMA). Fleeces will be judged Friday at 3pm in the same building.

EAGMA News

The board has decided to waive late fees for membership renewals for 2017 and to change the membership year start date to September in order to align with the submission of Shenandoah Valley Fiber Festival entries.

2017 EAGMA Mohair Pool

I have spoken with Steve Haynes at Priour Varga Mohair regarding delivering mohair. He was very helpful in giving suggestions on how best to sort and bag the mohair. First- and he couldn't emphasize this enough- try NOT to bag in plastic. Plastic, especially if it is sealed, will retain moisture which will not only cause mildew and felting, it can actually rot the fleece. Burlap is best The current price for 17x28 burlap sacks at Tractor Supply is 1.19 a bag. If you absolutely have to bag in plastic, there will be a re-bagging fee of 6.00 per bag of theirs that they use. They charge a grading fee of .17 a pound. He recommends letting them grade- the mohair will yield a better price because it is guaranteed to be that grade. If you grade it yourself, the warehouse won't guarantee it and buyers won't pay as much. Besides keeping white, colored, and stained separate (more on that below) you only need to separate adult from kid. Yearling goes with adult.

He suggests always shearing your white goats first, or having a separate area. White brings a better price, and any colored hair/fiber in there will bring that price down, if the buyer doesn't refuse it altogether. He suggests you keep your colored and sell it individually if you have a market. If you absolutely must send it, he will take it, but understand that it could take some time to sell- he has very few buyers that want colored, and it does cost the warehouse insurance money to sit on the fleeces. Colored will often only get the same price as stained. Remove your stained hair from the white and bag it separately.

Recap:

No color in white

No plastic bags if at all possible

Bag kid, adult, and stained separately (yearling goes in adult)

Current prices per lb (subject to change):

Adult- 4.50

Fine Adult- 5.95

Young- 6.50

Kid- 7.00

Stain- 2.55

We think we will be asking .50 lb to haul to the warehouse in an enclosed trailer. We will have a firm price the beginning June. We will be going either last week in June or first week in July. Our interstate route will be 64W to 81S to 40W to 30W. We are willing to stop at rest areas or truck stops along the interstates. If people who live near each other could communicate and coordinate so that we have fewer pick up sites, that would be greatly appreciated. It would probably be a good idea to put your name and phone number in each bag. For our sake, if you could write down how many lbs and how many bags, as well as your name, address, and phone number and have 3 copies of it- one for the warehouse, one for us, and one that you will keep- we will check off each item and sign as proof that we accepted your mohair. I'm sure questions will arise. This will be the first time we have done this, so we're open to any suggestions. My email is puffthemagicrabbit@ - don't hesitate to contact me with questions or advice.

Thanks,

Mindy

Welcome to New Members!

|Polly Holmes | |

|2JP Ranch | |

|Mountain Home, TX 78058 | |

Members & Membership

Did you sell any goats as gifts this year? Gift Memberships are now available for a maximum of one year and may be purchased by a current EAGMA member to give to a non-EAGMA member customer to whom you have sold goats. The cost is $10. At the end of that year, the new member will be encouraged to join for the following year for the usual fee of $25.

A Youth Membership is available for anyone 18 years old and under for an annual cost of $10. Youth Memberships do not have voting rights. The membership form on the web page will be updated soon so that the type of membership can be indicated.

((((

Raising Angora Goats

Janice Spaulding

(Originally published in )

Although we haven’t had Angora goats for many years, they are still near and dear to my heart. Angoras were the very first goats we purchased 24 years ago!

These ethereal creatures, although work intensive, are so much fun to have around. They are laid back, calm, quiet, gentle, and contrary to popular belief excellent mothers. They are very protective of their young!

One very interesting thing we observed in our Angora goat herd was the use of “baby sitters”. One of our older girls “Lily” always stayed behind will all of the babies while their moms went off to browse. She would just lay and watch all of the little ones run, jump, climb, and make general nuisances of themselves, always with a little smile on her face.

When the moms would get ready to head out, you could hear lots of talking between them and their kids.  It would almost seem that they were telling the little ones to stay with “Aunt Lily” and behave themselves. Then the moms would leave, browse and return about a half hour to an hour later. In the meantime, Lily would calmly keep peace and order out of that gaggle of tiny, curly white darlings.

In order to harvest the very best fleeces, though, you must keep after these goats as their hair grows. Mohair fleece grow about one inch of each month! The goats are shorn twice a year, spring and fall. Our rule of thumb was to shear just prior to kidding in the spring and just prior to breeding in the fall. This schedule worked out fantastically for us. The spring shearing would insure removal of hair from around the udder and the teats so that once the kids were born, the little ones could find the teats easily. Close trim around the [pic]butts made for an easy post-partum clean up. By shearing prior to breeding we were assured that the fleece would stay clean during the breeding process. The bucks can be rambunctious sometimes. And, by making sure the boys were shorn, it was less likely they retained the “eau du buck” scent once they had bred all of the girls. 

Between shearings, we watched both boys and girls like a hawk making sure that their fleeces stayed clean. To accomplish this required a bit of effort. The girls need to have nicely trimmed back ends so that their urine doesn’t wick into their fleece and ruin it. Urine soaked fleece can also cause some nasty skin problems!

As for the boys, they need to occasionally be sat on their butts and the fleece around their pizzle trimmed close to their skin. Again, urine soaked fleece can cause severe skin problems especially in the heat of summer. When we were novices, I encountered a serious problem from urine soaked fleece. This poor little guy developed some oozing sores that eventually attracted maggots! It took hours to get all of the maggots not only out of the sores but they had also traveled up into his pizzle button. Quarts of peroxide and multiple doses of antibiotics later, he finally recovered, but it was tough going for a while.

Folks have asked me how to clean mohair fleece; the process is similar to the way you would do a wool fleece. No sudden changes in water temperature, no agitating of the fleece, and I highly recommend Dawn Dish Liquid to cut the grease and remove the dirt.  The best way to keep lice off your goats and your fleece is to make sure the goats are de-loused immediately after each shearing!

____

North American

Angora Goat Shows for 2017

This is the first year I am attempting to compile a list of Angora Goat shows across the USA and Canada. Please send in any events that I missed. Thanks! –ed.

1/15-1/16 – Texas: Texas Open Commercial and Registered Angora Goats at the Hill Country District Junior Livestock Show



2/2-2/18 - Texas: Junior Angora Goat Show at the San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo – white goats only



6/10-12, 2017 – Montana: Big Sky Fiber Arts Festival



6/15-6-18 – California: Angora Goat Show at the Alameda County Fair



6/22-25 – Oregon: Angora Goat Show at the Black Sheep Gathering – note, all goats must be registered.



6/30-7/1 – Texas: Texas Angora Goat Raisers’ Association (TAGRA) Show and Sale



7/13-30 – California: Angora Goat Show at the California State Fair



7/30-8/5 – Michigan: Open Class Goat Show at the Monroe County Fair – Angoras are specifically ruled in the catalog, and can compete in the Open Classes, including non-dairy, pack, and cart.



8/1-8/6 – California: Open Angora Goats at the Orange County Fair – goats must be recorded/registered



8/19-8/20 – Iowa: White and Colored Angora Goat Show at the Iowa State Fair



8/18-8/20 – Michigan: Mohair Fiber Goat Shows at the Michigan Fiber Festival



9/22-9/24 – Virginia: Eastern Angora Goat and Mohair Association Show at the Shenandoah Valley Fiber Festival



9/23-9/24 – Oregon: Goat Show at the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival



10/10 – Ohio: Dairy/Angora Goat Show at the Fairfield Junior Fair



10/21-22 – New York: 20th annual Northeast Angora Goat Show at the New York State Sheep & Wool Festival



10/27-29 – North Carolina: Angora Goat Show at the Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair (NC)



2017 EAGMA MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY

Check marks denote farms with colored Angoras. If you see a mistake on this list or have any questions regarding your membership status, contact Nina Cooper, treasurer, nhcooper@

CONNECTICUT

Michele Moskaluk

Baa Baa & Black Sheep

Watertown, CT

(203) 206-0107

info@



FLORIDA

Lorie McCombie

A Fuzzy Farm

11785 E Cove Springs Path

Floral City, FL 34436

(352) 726-7183

afuzzyfarm@



GEORGIA

Karen and Jim Becksteine

Mockingbird Hilltop Farm

840 Pocket Rd.

Braselton, GA 30512

(706) 654-3282

mbhtf@



Tina Evans √

Dry Creek Naturals

160 Pine Bow Road

Taylorsville, GA 30178

(770) 324-4380

mohair@

Dawn and Rick Owens √

The Next Best Thing…

763 Davenport Rd

Braselton, GA 30517

(706) 654-9208

ponder4@

MARYLAND

Lisa & Bill Check

Flying Goat Farm

5241 Bartonsfville Rd

Frederick MD, 21704

(443) 538-8303

goatherd@



Mary & Mark Henderson √

Tree Stump Acres

3720 Danville Road

Brandywine, MD 20613

(301) 372-8614

Peggy Keeney √

Keen Valley Farm

3055 Mayberry Road

Westminster, MD 21158

(410) 346-7009

keeneypd@

Annie Lesch

4643 Wentz Rd

Manchester, Md 21102

410-374-4960

leschan1@

Karen J. Schlossberg √

Avalon Springs Farm

29100 Ridge Road

Mount Airy MD 21771

(443) 277-5670

AvalonSpringsFarm@



Susan & Pat Walsch

5429 Broadway

White Hall, MD 21161

(443) 992-8408

suziwrn@

Kathryn Withers √

The Withers Farm

6401 Woodbine Rd

Woodbine, MD 21797

(410) 795-6070

jmarckathy@



MASSACHUSETTS

Cynthia Herbert & Bob Ramirez

Moonshine Design at Keldaby

12 Heath Road

Colrain, MA 01340

(413) 624-3090

keldaby@



MICHIGAN

Marily Ford

Stack A Rock Ranch

65375 Balk Road

Sturgis, MI 49091

269-651-8230

marilymford@

Melanie Pitts √

MacGregor Hollow Farm

4515 Waters Rd

Ann Arbor MI 48103

734-741-9185

MelaniePitts@



Liz Stout

5767 West 32nd Street

Fremont, MI 49412

231-924-2063

lstout@

MISSOURI

Sue & Eric Reimann √

Alpaca Springs

10250 High Street

Belgrade, MO 63622

573-766-5716

alpacasprings@

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Bonny Collard √

207 Marlow Hill Road

Marlow, NH 03456

603-446-3944

Bonny.collard@

Elaine Driscoll √

Chickadee Haven Farm

Auburn, NH 03032

603-851-1176

chickadeehavenfam@

Facebook: Elaines Mohair Goats

NEW YORK

Lisa Ferguson

Laughing Goat Farm

1485 Mecklenburg Rd.

Ithaca, NY 14850

baa@



Dan Melamed √

Buckwheat Bridge Angoras

111 Kozlowski Rd.

Elizaville, NY 12523

(518)537-4487

FAX 518-537-6099



slhdem@

Chuck & Lisa Skillman √

Troll Bridge Farm

Arcade, NY 14009

716-560-7493

lisaskillman@

NORTH CAROLINA

Elaina M. Kenyon √

Avillion Farm

4737 Shanklins Dead End Rd

Efland, NC 27243

(919) 563-0439

avillionfarm@



Lori Rose

Rosehill Farm

4315 McIntyre Road

Gibsonville NC 27249

(336)214-0352

larose@triad.

OHIO

Sherri Brazak √

Acorn Ridge Angoras

14532 TWP Rd 13

Brinkhaven, OH 43006

30-377-4086

sbrazak@

Amanda Pennington √

Caravel Angoras

7535 Angola Rd

Holland, OH 43528

(419) 787-9669

caravelangoras@

caravelangoras.

Barbara Vasil

3MBJ Goats

8456 Harris Road

Lodi, OH 44254



Barbaravasil.3mbjgoats@

OKLAHOMA

Emmelita & Alvin Hoskins √

RebelRidge Angora Farm

5402 North Rebel Ridge Road

El Reno, OK 73036

405-919-8423

angoradoes41@

PENNSYLVANIA

Linda Apuzzo

Laughing Wolf Farm

16756 Mt Airy Road

Shrewsbury, PA 17361

Glen Cauffman

Glen Cauffman Farm

545 Centerville Road

Millerstown PA 17062

(717) 580-1416

grc1@psu.edu

William Churchill √

Underhill Farm

1658 West Loop Rd

Hollidaysburg PA 16648

(814) 695-8732

underhillfarm@

Abby Curtis

Centrefield Farmstead

135 Lower Julian Pike

Port Matilda, PA 16870

(814) 234-3900

centrefieldmohair@

Greta Dise √

Persimmon Tree Farm

12901 Pleasant Valley Road

Glen Rock PA 17327-8260

(717) 235-5140

persimmon2@

John Frett √

Pinxterbloom Farm

155 Good Hope Road

Landenberg PA 19350

(610) 274-1508

jfrett@udel.edu

Harry & Susan Graver

7525 Hickory Road

Stewartstown PA, 17363

717-993-5759

suegraver@

Leslie & Ron Orndorff

Tintagel Farm

6512 Blooming Grove Road

Glenville PA 17329-9407

(717) 235-2814

info@



Katrina Updike √

Fluffy U Fiber Farm LLC

1305 Detters Mill Road

Diver PA 17315

(717) 887-2364

fluffyufiberfarm@



SOUTH CAROLINA

Mary (Mea) Stone √

Stony Woods Farm

815 E Gold Street,

McCormick, SC 29835

stonemea@

Facebk: Stony Woods Farm

TENNESSEE

Janet Dale

Locust Mount Enterprises

912 Glendale Road

Jonesborough TN 37659

(423) 753-8662

pudenhead621@

Todd Eastin

On the Mountain

601 Johnson Hollow Road

Shady Valley, TN 37688

(423)739-5077 (h)

(423)291-2517 (c)

eastin@

Allie Goldberg

De Colores Farm

3272 New Hope Road

Hendersonville, TN 37075

(615) 390-3025

decoloresfarm@



TEXAS

Polly Holmes √

2JP Ranch

150 Scenic Drive

Mountain Home, TX 78058

(775) 750-2433

paulineholmes99@



Pat & Tracy Ross √

South Texas Angora Goats

PO Box 197

Harper, TX 78631

830-864-5561

tracy@angoragoat.us

VIRGINIA

Emily Bauer √

Peace Hill Farm

18101 The Glebe Lane

Charles City, VA 23030

susan@



Charles & Adrienne Hall Bodie

Solevento Farm

1002 Still House Drive

Lexington VA 24450

(540) 463-2808

candabodie@

Nina H. Cooper √

Hill & Dale Farm

PO Box 118

Free Union VA 22940

Diana Gulick √

Fairview Farm

5152 Old Auburn Road

Warrenton VA 20187

(540) 347-0546

fairviewfarm@

Pat Harder √

Kid Hollow Farm

PO Box 101

Free Union, VA 22940

(434) 973-8070

kidhollow@

Charlie & Maggie Harris

PO Box 112

Orlean, VA 20128

540-364-2111

540-270-3629

cmharris112@

Larry & Kristina Haas Lawwill

Peavine Hollow Farm, Box 86

Free Union VA 22940

(434) 973-2279

peavinehollow@



Patty Oglebay

193 Blinky’s Rd

New Canton, VA 23123

(434) 964-7445

patriciaoglebay@

Heidi Passino

Dragon Hill Farm

2531 Ruritan Lake Rd.

Scottsville, VA 24590

(434) 989-6541

Heidi@

Robert Phillips √

3689 Ridge Road

Timberville VA 22853

(540) 820-2849/(540) 896-9406

rphillips6664@

Colleen Reed √

Giant Cricket Farm

9424 Mountjoy Road

Marshall VA 20115

(540) 364-4728

giantcricketfarm@

Jessica and Bill Ressler

499 Mont View Lande

Luray, VA 22835

Ashlea499@

Cassidy Schooling √

Greenstone Farms

13320 Taylorstown Rd

Leesburg VA 20176

(703) 431-1539/(540) 822-4873

CassySchooling18@

Mindy Wilson

Puff (the Magic Rabbit)

214 Hanback Road

Gordonsville VA 22942

(540) 222-5760

puffthemagicrabbit@

Joan Yorkey √

Shenanview

777 Wagon Trail Lane

Shenandoah VA 22849

(540) 742-5927/ 652-6633

jyorkey@

EASTERN ANGORA GOAT & MOHAIR ASSOCIATION

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION FORM

Name ______________________________ Business/Farm Name ____________________________________

Address___________________________________________________________________________________

City__________________________________________________ State___________ Zip_________________

Phone: Daytime___________________ Evening_____________________ Fax: ______________________

E-Mail: ___________________________________ Website: _______________________________________

New application ____ Renewal ____ Gift____ ($10) Youth ($10) _____

White goats ____ Colored goats ____

[This gift membership is from: ______________________]

Dues are $25.00 per year ($30 late renewal), due prior to July 1 of every year

Free Line-Item Newsletter Advertisements for the Membership - All 4 EAGMA Newsletter Issues

Make check payable to EAGMA

Send form and check to

Nina Cooper, Treasurer, EAGMA

Hill & Dale Farm

P.O. Box 118, Free Union VA 22940

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FROM:

Amanda Pennington, editor

7535 Angola Road

Holland, OH 43528

TO:

-----------------------

EASTERN ANGORA GOAT & MOHAIR ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER



In this issue:

President’s Letter … pg 1

EAGMA 2017 Show … pg 1

Mohair Pool … pg 2

Welcome New Members! … pg 3

Raising Angora Goats … pg 3

Directory of 2017 Events … pg 4

Classifieds … pg 4

Membership Directory … pg 5

Membership Application … pg 9

Classified

These ads are free to members. Send them via any method to the newsletter editor. You may advertise any incidental goat-, fiber-, or farm-related sales.

FOR SALE: Recessive Colored Angora Goats from Persimmon Tree Farm. These goats are show quality from champion bloodlines. Most breeding stock is from CSPN Sharon Chestnutt, Oregon. Doe kids, a few buck kids, yearlings, and adults for sale. Reverse badger, badger, and solid black. Contact Greta Dise 717-235-5140 or persimmon2@

FOR SALE: Bucks and bucklings from Giant Cricket Farm. We have two yearling red bucks for sale who are sweethearts and easy to handle. They come from red does with a recessive black father. Also for sale are two kid bucks, one a reverse badger and one solid dark grey. Both kids are from the recessive/black gene pool. Photos and fleece samples available. Contact Colleen Reed at 703-402-8604 or giantcricketfarm@

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