William Patrick

02/22/2013

Hello everyone!

Sorry for the delay in posting about our workshop/potluck on the 17th. My Windstream modem crashed and I just got a replacement, so I am back in business.

What an awesome day for everyone! Great information, an unbelievable raffle table and best of all, it was great to see old friends and meet new ones.

A great deal of gratitude to our presenters!

* Lynn Fleming, Lynnhaven Dairy, Pine Bush, NY. Lynn gave an outstanding presentation on herd management, vaccinations, feeding practices, culling-culling-culling, especially those bucklings and/or what age/weight to raise them to so that you make a profit with the meat. Plus she answered approximately a zillion questions!

* John Paul Burks, University of Florida, Department of Environmental and Global Health. John Paul gave an excellent presentation regarding a research being done at the university to determine the benefits of the raw milk we consume and CAE titers in our blood, which may in turn lead to HIV prevention studies. Please contact John Paul for further information and/or if you would like to sign up for this study. We all know how great goat milk and goat milk products are, the more we can educate the public of the benefits, the better for us and this animal we all love. John Paul can be contacted at:
[email protected]
cell - 352-226-6720
work- 352-273-9649

We had a great attendance of 42, but missed some of you due to birthing babies, couldn't handle the cold, etc. It was not the best day for an outside workshop, but everyone bundled up and we have had nothing but positive comments regarding how much they enjoyed the presentations and the day.

As always, there was an abundance of "yummy and delish" goodies to eat.

We had a ton of fabulous raffle items. Thanks so much to the people who brought all those great raffle items and also to those that purchased the raffle tickets. I think last Sunday holds the record for money made on the raffle and in turn paid for what we spent for silverware, napkins, drinks, toilet paper, ice, and ice tea and we now actually have money left to purchase the needed items for the next workshop without digging into our own pockets. Thanks everyone!

Thanks also to those special helpers!
* Alan Hart who brought tables, extra drinks, and a "to die for" bale of beautiful peanut hay for the raffle table, which was of course the first thing to go!
* Regina Stahl Briskey - our raffle gal
* John Paul Burks - who pulled out of the bag all the winning raffle numbers (close to 65 I believe), little did he know when he agreed to give a presentation, that I would also put him to work!
* Julia Shewchuk, Cindy Toth, Lynn Lukander, Erica Sistrunk and Christy Sias for also bringing tables.
* Christy Sias, Lynn Lukander and Erica Sistrunk who stayed late to help clean up the kitchen area, fold tables, stack tables, chairs and bag garbage.

If I forgot anyone, I apologize. It was kind of hard to keep track, but you know we greatly appreciated your help!

Thanks everyone who attended and especially those of you that traveled more than two hours to attend.

BTW- we had two tables left behind. If you left your table behind please contact me with the description so we can hold it for you to pick up at the next workshop or you can pick up here at the farm if we know you are coming.

We look forward to our next workshop/potluck, which will be announced on Realfloridagoats.yahoo list.

Real Florida Goat Association will continue to work for you. We are trying to keep it simple!
NO DUES! Spontaneous workshops/potlucks to help you raise healthy goats. Everyone is welcome.

Thanks
Glades Ridge Goat Dairy
Jan-T Goat Dairy
Lake Butler, Florida

02/18/2013

Great meeting yesterday! Wonderful friends, great presentations, and, as always, excellent food!! Thank you, Lynn Fleming, Lynnhaven Dairy, and John Burks, University of Florida, for very interesting and informative presentations. Even on what is likely to be the coldest day of the year, it was not too bad in the sun! We'll plan another in the Spring. It was great to see everyone!!!

02/12/2013

Just a reminder of the potluck/workshop being held at Glades Ridge on February 17, 2013. Speakers will be Lynn Fleming, Lynnhaven Dairy, Pine Bush, New York and John Burks, University of Florida.

PLEASE let us know if you plan to attend so that we can have enough main dishes and drinks for everyone and so that we do not over buy.

Please bring a chair, dish to pass, and if possible, something for the raffle table and a table.

Thanks all!

Joe and Jan


Jan-T Nubian Dairy Goats
Quality Nubians since 1976 that milk and show

Call 386-266-7041 if you get lost. Email Jan at [email protected] for directions or map 6395 SW 63rd Street, Lake Butler, FL 32054. Please be sure to let us know that you are coming!

09/23/2012

The newsletter has been posted to the Real Florida Goat Association's website http://www.realfloridagoats.com/articles.html

RFGA is a non-profit organization of folks learning more about goats.

08/02/2012

Don't forget you can register and pay for the Cheesemaking class on August 19 on the RFGA website http://www.realfloridagoats.com/registerForClass.html. If you want to attend you must register by August 11th.

You will be able to change quantities on the Paypal payment page. Use the Continue Shopping button on the Paypal page to add additional types of registrations or Mary Jane's book.

06/19/2012

Sharing...from my friends in Washington State...how to move goats in a mini Cooper...just in case it ever comes up!

You asked for it...

04/04/2012

Sharing the latest from Janice and Goat School!

Welcome to the blog about all things goat. Check back often for stories about raising goats, milking goats, and general goat mischief.

03/06/2012

Real Florida Goat Association Upcoming Monthly Workshop/Meeting

Date/Time: March 18, 2012 at 1 p.m.
Where: Glades Ridge Dairy - 6395 63rd Street -Lake Butler, Florida 32054
Contact: Joe Pietrangelo 386-266-7041
Jan Brewer 386-266-7317

Note: We had 64 members at our last monthly workshop - lets see if we can top that number this month - we are honored that this club only continues to grow by leaps and bounds! What an exciting time to educate and help other goat breeders. Thank you everyone and especially those who have agreed/volunteered to give our presentations. You guys are the BEST!!

11:00-12:00 - setup - chairs, tables, lunch area, etc - volunteers needed
12:00:1:00 p.m. - Steering committee members, plus anyone else who is interested in the progress and/or future of our association.
1:00-2:00 p.m. - Lunch (please bring a dish to pass - we furnish the main dishes, ice and drinks)
2:00-3:00 p.m. - Monthly program presented by Denise Key - Fainting Acres to include:
*FAMACHA - for the treatment and control of Haemoncous contortus (Barber Pole Worm) in the South, which is the primary internal parasite in Florida.
Burdizzo castration of bucks- live demonstration
3:00-3:30 p.m. Raffle (please bring something for our raffle table)
3:30-4:00 p.m. Clean up/Social

*FAMACHA eye chart should be used during inspection of your animal's eyes.
* Eye charts MUST be ordered no later than noon on 03/08/2012 to Jan at 386-266-7317 or [email protected]
* Charge per eye chart is $10.00 per chart for paid Real Florida Goat Association members or $15.00 per chart for non-members. Payment should be made payable to Real Florida Goat Association and mailed to Lynn Noble - PO Box 665 - Williston, Florida 32696

SUGGESTIONS FOR SUCCESS WITH FAMACHA

Due to worming our goats on a scheduled program and the chance we may not have any goats which are suspect for parasite overload, we recommend that you do the following so that you may compare your goat parasite load to the ideal with the FAMACHA eye charts.

1. Work with an assistant and have the goat's lower eyelid pulled down so that you can use your cell phone or a camera to take a colored picture of your goat's lower eyelid.
2. It is suggested that you take pictures of more than one goat in your herd as every goat is more resistant to parasites than another.
3. Bring your pictures to the workshop so comparison can be made with the FAMACHA eye charts.

Don't forget to bring a dish to pass, a chair, something for our raffle table and if you have an extra table - we can always use one. AND I must have notification of your need for an eye chart no later than noon on 03/08/2012. Thanks for your help on this.

Thanks and we look forward to seeing everyone on March 18th for another great workshop!

Joe and Jan


Jan-T Nubians
Lake Butler, Florida

Quality Nubians That MILK AND SHOW
Since 1976

02/06/2012

Sharing...

Goat’s milk has less lactose and more of certain minerals than cow’s milk (plus goat farms have a smaller environmental footprint).

01/26/2012

Sharing....

01/23/2012

Dear Fellow Dairy Goat Breeders:

For those of us trying to educate the public of the benefits of raw goat milk versus store bought pasteurized milk, I hope the following flyer/links from ARMI (Alliance for raw milk) will be of benefit to you and promoting our wonderful raw goat milk products. Please feel free to forward this to other lists that you may be on that you feel might be interested in this flyer.

I have been working with David and Annie Augenstein, ARMI, for the past few months regarding this flyer and feel they have done an outstanding job! Additionally, I asked our very talented Regina Stahl Briskey to draw a Swiss milk goat for the flyer and she is lovely. Thank you Regina!

These flyers are free to download from http://j.mp/armi2 at no cost to you. Just spend a few minutes to share this link http://j.mp/armi2 in your newsletters, yahoo.lists, e-mails lists, etc. There is power in numbers. Let your voice be heard that we have the right to choose the foods we consume.

Hand out these flyers at Farmers Markets, club meetings, health food stores, well you get the picture I am sure.

Customized flyers are also available at a very reasonable cost and I will send a separate link with that information for all.

Thanks everyone. A tremendous amount of work and dedication has been devoted to this educational flyer. I hope you will take the time to pass the word and use it for promotion of your dairy goat products.

Have a great week,

Jan Brewer

Hand out at farmers' markets, stores, events, food & farm groups, health clubs, doctor's offices. Mail out with your newsletter or shipments.