Advancing and Promoting the Dairy Goat


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Meet The Members!

(If you are a member and wish to share your story with us,
please email it along with pictures to: Marylanddairygoat2021@gmail.com)

MUNCHIN HILL FARM
Color! Color! Color! Our advice to prospective goat owners, is that if you are looking for a breed of dairy goat with amazing color variations, you must consider the Alpine! That is the one factor that drew our family to purchase and begin breeding French Alpines over 40 years ago. We suggest you always buy from reputable breeders who have healthy CAE negative herds and good management and are willing to help you even after you have completed a purchase.

We bred Alpines outside Poughkeepsie, NY for 24 years before moving the farm to West Virgina where we showed goats for another 18 years. Then in 2018 circumstances made it necessary to relocate to Beaver Falls, PA with our daughter who is able to assist with many of the daily chores.

Some of our Alpine lines come with diva-like attitudes, but that only adds to the breed's elegance, especially when entering the show ring. There, one of our best years was 2019 when our solid black 5 yr old doe went Best in Show ten times while competing in five different states. Our brags also include breeding a Junior National Champion, a National Show 1st place Produce-of-Dam and a National 1st place three-year-old. The best part of shows though, is connecting with fellow breeders, many of whom become friends and a support group for life in this addictive dairy goat world!

 


BLUE RIDGE DAIRY GOATS

History

Blue Ridge really began in 1973 when we initially purchased two Alpine milkers because our son was lactose intolerant and could not drink cow’s milk. Several years later our younger daughter became interested in the goats and joined 4H. She showed Alpines for many years and later Oberhasli. Eventually we showed Grades, Nubians, Oberhasli and lastly LaManchas. In 1997 we attended our first Nationals and one of our Obers won her class and our daughter was named rookie of the year (rated on show placements) and won a set of golden A5 clippers.  Since 1997 we have attended Nationals in Harrisburg, Louisville, KY, Indianapolis, IN and Columbus, OH. With three minor exceptions we have always placed in the top ten in every class we showed at Nationals. We always retire our does when they complete their permanent Championships and do not show them except to attend Nationals.

Here & Now

Over the years we have finished fifty-three (53) Permanent Champions and won 23 Best-Doe-in-Show awards, we have had 5 does with a 92 linear appraisal final score. Our herd is annually inspected and we raise on CAE prevention. We also offer 4H discounts to encourage our youth to become involved in dairy goats. We have most of our bucks collected and selectively use semen from them. In 2005 we built a new barn and dairy (100 goats), sold milk to be made into cheese and at its peak, cheese was sold at seven farmers markets in the larger cities. A few years ago we began to sell our herd to select individuals with a possible dispersal in the next 2 years due to age/health issues.

Words of Wisdom

My best advice is to follow Harvey Considine’s quote, “Fathers to daughters, mothers to sons, that is the way heredity runs”.  We use this in our selection and breeding programs. Harvey was the most knowledgeable goat person we ever met and is famous in the goat world.

Raising dairy/show animals – We feel success is split three ways: 1/3 genetics, 1/3 care/feeding, 1/3 showing. First, get the best you can afford. Second, care begins as a kid and continues daily throughout their life. All our animals are looked at by one of us every 12 hours, even if someone else is caring for them. Third, like an athlete prepping for a specific event, select and condition for that time. Know your does faults and how to minimize them when showing, a good showman can make up 1-3 placements in a class. Learn a judge’s preferences and select does to be shown based on that knowledge.