When deciding to raise goats, there are a lot of things to consider before making that first purchase. One decision to make is what breed you will buy. Another decision is how many goats you want to raise – that is, if you have a minimum or maximum number you want to stick to. Yet another consideration you should think about is if the goats you will purchase will be registered or non-registered stock.
When we first started raising goats at Briar Creek Farm, my husband thought that we were only going to have the original four (4) that we started with. I’m not sure where he got that idea from. I am positive that he didn’t get it from me! He also mistakenly thought we were only going to raise Nubians. Again, he didn’t get that idea from me. However, what we both agreed to, which has proven to be consistently accurate, was the fact that we would only raise registered goats.
Though there were other reasons for our “registered only" decision, the main factors included the following:
Traceability of lineage
Availability of performance programs (e.g., linear appraisal, milk production)
Participation in goat shows
Increased earning potential
As such, we became members of the American Dairy Goat Association (ADGA) as that is the registry where our new Nubian goats were registered with. Once we (I) decided to add Myotonic (fainting) goats to the mix, we purchased registered stock and subsequently became members of the Myotonic Goat Registry (MGR). Since fainting goats are on the endangered species list, we went a step further and Joined The Livestock Conservancy.
Fast forward to many more goats, additional research and to 2019. We made the decision to invest in dual registering our fainting goats with the International Fainting Goat Association (IFGA) due to the fact that not only do they register the breed, but they also hold their values and guidelines to the highest standard in order to maintain the quality of this wonderful breed of goat. The IFGA requires a picture of the goat in a myotonic state, or in the down position, and meet other breed standards in order for that goat to be registered with the organization.
We also joined the American Goat Society (AGS) during that time. However, that’s about as far as it went with our involvement with that organization. Fast forward to the end of 2021 and to earlier this month (January 2022). We were in the process of sending in membership fees to the different registry organizations when my mind went to what has transpired this past year. Although we haven’t had an issue, there have been several (a lot really) people upset with the ADGA and how the upgrade to their online registry was handled. With that in mind, and the fact that our fainting goats are dual registered, I made the decision to march forward and dual register our Nubians with the AGS.
I got busy, very busy in fact, completing the documentation necessary to register our Nubians with the AGS. Yes, it took a bit of doing – filling out the registration application for each one of our purebred Nubians, scanning into the computer the application and the corresponding ADGA registration, and then emailing each group to AGS.
Now we wait for the AGS registration applications to be processed.
Why are we doing this? Why is Briar Creek Farm registering our purebred Nubians with both the ADGA and the AGS? We are doing this because:
They both offer services that will benefit us and our goats.
They each provide educational opportunities that will benefit us and our goats.
Both organizations offer performance programs that will allow us to compare results (although one organization is currently not making LA available every year in our area) so that we may improve the quality of our stock.
Some folks that have had issues with the ADGA have opted to move their goats to AGS.
Finally, we are doing this because you deserve a choice of which registry to go with (either ADGA or AGS or both) when purchasing registered goats from Briar Creek Farm. We would like to help facilitate that choice by ensuring that our goats are dual registered with the leading registries so that together we can all build our herds the best that we can, with information that will assist us on our journey.