New Goat Expert Resident in Maryland

Let's give a big Maryland welcome to Dr. Enrique Nelson Escobar, who joined the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) as an Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist in Small Ruminants (goats and sheep).

As background, Escobar said he has worked with sheep and goat producers in Texas and Oklahoma and will provide leadership to the UMES Sheep and Goat Program.Dr. Escobar plans to continue the effort at UMES toward the research and adoption of Integrated Parasite Management practices in small ruminants.

Also, he wants to find links among the production, marketing, and utilization of meat and meat products from small ruminant species. Dr. Escobar is filling the position left by Dr. Niki Whitley, who went to North Carolina A&T University. For more information about the Sheep and Goat Program at UMES, contact Dr Enrique Escobar at (410) 651-7930 or enescobar@umes.edu.

FAMACHA Tests Show Fecal Egg Counts Down

Fecal egg counts on Wild Wind Farm are best determined by use of the FAMACHA test. But studies conducted by the Western Maryland Pasture Performance Test show that egg counts used by the same FAMACHA test are down this year as compared with past years.

Many reasons could be behind this decline, such as warmer temperatures, less rain in drier spots, better treatment, etc. Unfortunately, this is not an indication of what the future holds for the Barber Pole Worm or other parasites found in goat and sheep feces.

Susan Schoenian of the Western Maryland Agricultural Center in Keedysville, Maryland has conducted extensive research around this issue and data on her findings can be followed at one of two blogs she writes: Western Maryland Pasture-Based Meat Goat Performance Test and Shepherd's Notebook.

Wanna buy a goat?

It's coming! The 2nd Annual Western Maryland Goat Field Day and Sale will be held Saturday, October 3, 2009, at the Washington County Agricultural Education Center (fairgrounds) near Boonsboro, Maryland.

This is always a fun event, with a morning youth skill-a-thon, testing young farmer's knowledge of dairy, fiber and meat goats.

The skill-a-thon starts at 9 am and the auction bidding starts at 10 am.

Of note this year is Dr. Richard Browning, a research animal scientist from Tennessee State University. Dr. Browning is conducting a multi-year breed evaluation study, comparing Boer, Kiko, and Spanish goats and their reciprocal crosses.

Read more about the event.

Monkey as Goat-Herder?

This is a great story from National Geographic about a monkey who herds the goats on a farm in India.

See the video here.

The biggest issue on Wild Wind Farm is when younger goats get their heads stuck between the wires of the fences. It is hard to be there 24 hours a day to monitor. But how great would it be to have a monkey to serve as their shepherd and remind them that the grass, weeds or brush on the other side of the fence is no greener than the pasture in which they are grazing? Priceless.

The Sheep Poo Canoe? It's All About You ...

It's an "environmentally friendly resin," and now it is being tested as a challenge across the English Channel. The product is sheep poo, the remnants of sheep poo that has been transformed into sheep poo paper, then applied to the frame of a canoe and finished off with beeswax.

Lawrence and Lez are trying to raise money for the Wales Air Ambulance. According to the site, poo floats and the effort will be used to help a cause which is there to "help you when you're up poo creek without a paddle ..."

Read more.

Sheep as Art ...

The busy summertime always reminds me of one more thing to do around the farm. Having said that, I am amazed that some farmers have so much time on their hands (what's the deal?).

But I guess with their free time they had an opportunity to create this multimedia masterpiece, utilizing their sheep as the primary actors. Enjoy!

Organic Dairy Farming in Frederick County

I came across a great story about an organic dairy farm in Jefferson, Maryland - in Frederick County - where the whole family plays a part in producing quality, organic dairy products.

Having visited this farm, I can say they have a really great operation.

Read more.

The machinery in the first picture is their current dairy operation, equipped to milk many of their cows all at once, aiming for efficient production twice per day.

The device in the second picture is designed to eliminate the flies that tend to congregate around cows out in the sun. The cow walks through here, equipped with machines that work similar to a bug-zapper, and it eliminates the majority of the flies.

The purpose of the device is to eliminate the need to medicate a cow with fly spray or ointment (remember, this is an organic operation, i.e., no chemicals, antibiotics, pesticides, herbicides, etc.).

While I think this would be very hard to manage an entire operation, I admire the Holter's for doing such a great job with it.

As for me and Wild Wind Farm, I think we'll stick with the all-natural approach as best we can and go from there. But it certainly is a great operation.

Farming for Sanity's Sake ...

Times have not been the best in 2009, but it is amazing to me to see the number of recent articles about different types of hobby farming as therapy, as escape, and as that added boost to help people cope with the insanity of the world around them.

For example, take the recent Hometown Annapolis newspaper in which a couple decided to give up the urban hustle-and-bustle for the respite found in alpaca farming. Read the article.

In The Washington Post, another couple decided to hang it up with suburban living and are escaping to more peaceful confines on the Eastern Shore to raise chickens. Read the article.

A recent documentary on the National Geographic Channel takes a closer look at farming as therapy with, "The Farm," chronicling how the Louisiana State Penitentiary System uses farming to help inmates cope with their circumstances and as an outlet for many of their inmates. Read more.

There it is, your moment of Zen ...