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situations and accuracy.
Opportunities to attend educational seminars, contact specialists, and
locate printed materials exist, but inquiring minds must know how to
access these resources, as they are not easily found.
In
my situation, I worked in an educational/university environment and part
of my job responsibilities included identifying resources of information
that were commodity specific. During that time I was able to
attend seminars specific to meat goat production; met numerous goat
producers, visited their farms, and learned about several monthly
publications that offer significant amounts of information for a
reasonable annual subscription rate.
It
was during that time I realized existing and potential producers had a
significant need for information regarding various aspects of meat
production, so I began "surfing" the Internet to see what
sources of information were available in Cyberspace. I was
overwhelmed with the amount of credible information made available on
everything from worming to Alpines that can be found in
Cyberspace. As time has progressed, so has the amount of
information available; it is almost overwhelming.
I
realize not everyone has access to the Internet, but they generally know
someone who does. This provides an ideal opportunity to spend time
with a friend or family member (including grandchildren), to sit down
and search the Internet. It can be a valuable learning experience for
everyone.
All
states surrounding Alabama offer at least one goat specialist who will
address relevant issues, return phone calls and e-mails, conduct
frequent farm visits, and initiate seminars. Unfortunately, at
this time Alabama lacks an agency or institution that readily offers a
specialist specific to goat production. This is unfortunate considering
that Alabama ranks eighth in states with a significant goat
population. However, Cooperative Extension does deserve credit for
having a web site that has some goat specific information. It can
be found by visiting http://www.aces.edu/pubs/,
then type goat in the search box.
Some
of my preferred web sites for goat specific information include, but not
limited to:
http://fiascofarm.com/goats/index.htm
http://www.jackmauldin.com/
http://www.tennesseemeatgoats.com/
As
you can see from this article, there are sources for information on goat
production; it is just a matter of knowing where to find them. For those
of you who may not be aware, Tuskegee University has their annual goat
workshop planned for later this spring; Auburn University is putting on
a goat workshop April 1st, and the Goat and Sheep Producers of Alabama
are putting on their second annual workshop May 13th.
I
would like to thank several friends of mine in Alabama for encouraging
me to continue writing articles on goats: Ray and Judy Cox in
Athens and Edie Grover in Wetumpka–they have been a tremendous
inspiration.
Robert
Spencer is Agribition Center Facilities Manager at Alabama A&M
University. |
