Pink Shoelaces, Big Skies, Oranges, & ABGA?
Cyber Monday edition of The G.O.A.T.
American Agriculture comes in all shapes & sizes, and is comprised of people with all backgrounds, stories, and even PINK SHOELACES!
As I settled in to my seat on the flight from Phoenix to Bakersfield Friday morning, I couldn’t help from noticing the gentlemen in the seat next to me. He had on a unique NIKE graphic hoodie and white OnCloud shoes with Pink laces. My initial thought was “we will have noting in common” however, I made small talk with my neighbor for the next 75 minutes. Brian grew up in Michigan where he worked in the produce department at VG’s grocery. Brian took interest in learning the produce business and built Molly Pop Brands, a family owned and operated multimillion dollar company. On this day, Brian was on his way home from a citrus convention in New York AND interesting enough; VG’s is now one of his customers.
Dream Big - Take Risks - Be Goal Driven - Bet On Yourself - Pray Without Ceasing
Big Sky - Maverick Show Goats, Shepherd Montana
I enjoyed spending Thursday at Maverick Show Goats in Shepherd Montana, a short drive from Billings. Bryan Roe and his wife Bridget have a beautiful place with some incredible goats! Bryan is a Consulting Veterinarian in the Billings area and oversees thousands of cattle, as well as the two largest sale barns in the NW United States.
They started raising goats in 2013 with their son Maverick’s doe project and have grown to around 250 does. Bryan’s commercial cattle background is easy to see in the functionality of his doe herd. They are big, stout, sound, shaggy, and have to be able to kid on their own. Maverick’s formula for success is combining these highly functional females with more extreme bucks from most powerful genetic lines. They will be selling a great set of wethers, doe kids, and these two BIG TIME Buck Prospects early January:
Snowman: No Other (Keep The Faith son) x flushmate to “Tadpole” at Halfmann Livestock
Next Big Thing: Swap Meet Loui (Kelly Curly x Stud Monkey x Patron) x Bare Knuckles x 19K
Travel Tip: Eat at Jakes Downtown, order the campfire rub on your steak and get the potato cake side dish.
Oranges - Brem Livestock, Porterville California
I met Jim Brem sometime around 2010 on one of my first trips to California an immediately notices both his competitiveness and love for a good story. The Brem family have been in the citrus & livestock business for over 40 years. Their extensive resume includes purebred swine, show lambs, show pigs and show goats. Brem Livestock now consists of around 350 does nestled in the middle of the California “Citrus Belt”. This is one of the most beautiful areas in the country with endless orchards stretching to the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains.
The Brem’s manage an aggressive breeding program utilizing both LAP AI and selective natural mating. Uniquely; every doe at Brem Livestock must carry and birth her own babies which keeps female quality an extremely high priority. Brem’s have 8 sales scheduled starting January 11th at showgoats.com . This set is as good as I’ve seen anywhere in the country, make sure you pay attention!
Livestock Happenings - Is disconnect growing between Full Blood & Wether Genetics?
The American Boer Goat Association (ABGA) was formed in 1993 with the importation of Boer Goats to the United States. For years the Boer Goat dominated not only commercial genetics, but the show goat industry as well. However, two competitive actors have seemingly stole the show in the past 10 years.
The Junior Show Wether game does not require registration and has the attention of a complete different demographic of people. It also appears to be much larger in every measurable aspect than ABGA shows. The Junior American Boer Goat Association (JABGA) is the goats version of NJSA which possibly saved but surely revolutionized the junior purebred swine show business and has THOUSANDS of participants across the country with HUGE show turnouts. Another mountain to climb for Boer Goats is Dorper Sheep which are now grazing much of the land once inhabited by full blood goats or cattle.
So, whats the problem or is there one? Im going to look into this and will share my findings on future newsletters. In the time being, please take this survey and share your thoughts:
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A newsletter intended to be fun and enlightening while covering a variety of topics from Show Goats and the livestock world, to mom’s favorite seasonal recipe. Have a topic do you'd like to read about? Give Kevin a call or text 254-459-2788 or drop us an email info@showgoats.com