Get Goating! Youth Program
Come see us at the North Florida Fair!
Dairy Goat Project Camp is offered on Sundays throughout the school year beginning in February and three times in the summer. Our season for 2024 will begin in February.
Our Theme for 2024: A Day in the Life
For the 2024 project year, we will spend some time exploring different careers in the livestock industry including veterinarians (practice and research), nutritionists, inspectors, judges, extension agents, agricultural teachers, farm managers, geneticists, and more!
In the Dairy Goat Project, youth will:
•Discover opportunities in the dairy goat industry by selecting a project goat, raising it, developing their own herd, and exploring careers in the industry
•Learn how to make products such as soap and cheese
•Understand the nutritive value of dairy products and promote their use
•Acquire skills in dairy goat production through ownership and care of dairy goats
•Learn marketing, processing, distribution, consumption, and use of dairy products
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The camp serves as an introduction to dairy goats and showmanship. Participants can (and should!) continue their project throughout the year.
Juniors
Intermediates
Seniors
•Know your dairy goat breeds
•Select your animal
•Identify parts of the animal
•Learn to evaluate your animal
•Feed your animal
•Demonstrate multiple showing
techniques
•Grooming your animal
•Keep cost expense records
•Research on where to find
answers to all your dairy
questions
•Showmanship techniques
•Ramp up your judging skills
•Make ethical decisions
•Identify a sick animal, how to
treat it, and future prevention
•Understand medication uses,
storage, administering of
medication and how it relates
to food safety
•Learn appropriate handling
techniques and housing of
dairy goats
•Evaluate feed quality and how
it affects digestion
•Find a career in goat
production
•Learn body condition scoring
•Debate animal welfare issues
•Use records to make
management decisions
•Investigate signs and causes of
mastitis
•Balance a goat ration
•Learn about breeding and
reproduction techniques
•Promote the dairy industry
•Explore different career
opportunities
Show your goat!
.
Youth who would like to continue will be given the opportunity to lease their very own goat for this year’s show. They will be required to come to the farm a minimum of four hours per month(not to exceed a two hour block per week to count toward requirements) to work with their goat in order to prepare for the show. After the initial camp, there is no cost for this program, Youth who want to continue the following year may be able to choose a goat from the next kidding to work with in the future.
.
Alternatively, youth who do not want to lease their own goat are welcome to come to the fair and help us (and partner farms) with shows without the responsibility of their own goat charge.
.
The cost of the program is $100 for the camp, which is one afternoon a week for one month. Leases are $10 per month to help cover the cost of feed, meds, etc.
We believe no child should be excluded from joining the Dairy Goat Project due to lack of funds if they want to participate. If camp fees are a challenge for your family, please fill out our scholarship HERE. We have limited scholarships, so please apply by need. Otherwise, we are happy to split payments across camp weeks.
If you and/or your business would like to sponsor a youth for camp, please call Melissa Hughes at 850-666-4714, email at melissa@goathousefarm.com, or visit our Goat Project Campaign HERE.
