The American Dairy Goat Association or ADGA is a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

not-for-profit corporation A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

dedicated to dairy goats. Its purpose is to promote the dairy goat industry, by providing and circulating sound information about goats and goat's

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modulatin ...

; maintaining and publishing herd books and production records of milk goats; and issuing certificates of registration and recordation; improving and developing the milk goat breeds; and providing publicity and service for the goat

dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on a ...

ing industry. The principal operation of the corporation is in

Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is the county seat of Boone County, Missouri, Boone County and home to the University of Missouri. Founded in 1821, it is the principal city of the five-county Columbia metropolitan area (Mis ...

, and its headquarters are in

Spindale, North Carolina Spindale is a town in Rutherford County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 4,321 at the 2010 census. History Spindale originated as a mill town from its first textile mill, Spencer Mills, in 1916, until its last textile mill, Sto ...

History

The association was organized in 1904 as the American Milch Goat Record Association, and published its first herd book in 1914. It published Volumes 11-23 of the American Milch Goat Record in 1921; a comprehensive compilation of details on its registered animals. According to the

Missouri Secretary of State The people below have served as the Secretary of State of the U.S. state of Missouri. List Gallery File:Warren E. Hearnes.jpg, Warren E. Hearnes File:James C. Kirkpatrick.jpg, James C. Kirkpatrick File:Rep Roy Blunt.jpg, Roy Blunt File:Mat ...

, the nonprofit corporation was created on January 15, 1944, as the American Milk Goat Record Association. On 22 July 1965, its board accepted a proposal to change the name of the organization from its original name to its present name.

Historical records

Many of the historical records kept by the association were in bad shape from age and mold. The association transferred these records to the

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...

National Agriculture Library The United States National Agricultural Library (NAL) is one of the world's largest agricultural research libraries, and serves as a national library of the United States and as the library of the United States Department of Agriculture. Located ...

Dairy Science Collection for historical preservation. The records date from 1914 to the 1950s with some dating as late as the year 2000.

Membership

As of 2015, membership in the American Dairy Goat Association exceeded 15,000 regular members.

Breed registry

The ADGA maintains separate official herd books for purebred herds and American breed herds. These are official lists of registered animals. A purebred goat is one that has been born of a purebred sire and a purebred dam of the same breed and conforming to breed standards. An American breed goat is one born to a sire and dam of the same breed, going back a minimum of three generations for does and four generations for bucks. There are eight currently registered ADGA breeds for which the organization issues certificates of registration and maintains herd books and production records: seven standard size breeds Alpine, Lamancha, Nubian,

Oberhasli The Oberhasli is a historical '' Landvogtei'' or ''Talschaft'' in the Bernese Highlands, Switzerland, bordering on the cantons of Obwalden (OW), Nidwalden (NW), Uri (UR) and Wallis (VS). From 1833 to 2009, Oberhasli was incorporated as the O ...

Saanen Saanen (french: Gessenay; Highest Alemannic: ''Saanä'') is a municipality in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is the capital of the Obersimmental-Saanen administrative district. History The village was first mentioned in 1228 as ''Gissi ...

Sable The sable (''Martes zibellina'') is a species of marten, a small omnivorous mammal primarily inhabiting the forest environments of Russia, from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, and northern Mongolia. Its habitat also borders eastern Kaza ...

, and

Toggenburg Toggenburg is a region of Switzerland. It corresponds to the upper valley of the river Thur and that of its main tributary, the Necker. Since 1 January 2003, Toggenburg has been a constituency (''Wahlkreis'') of the canton of St. Gallen ( S ...

, and one miniature breed, the Nigerian Dwarf. The standard size breeds can be registered in the Purebred and American herd books for their breed, and crosses between these seven may be recorded in Recorded Grade Herd or Experimental Herd books. Lamancha and Sable breed goats have 'open' herd books, which means grade (or nonpedigreed) goats of these two breeds can be 'bred up' to established purebred registry standards and then registered as usual. Nigerian Dwarf goats are registered only in a purebred herd book and there are no provisions for 'breeding up' grade goats of this breed. Offspring of a Nigerian Dwarf goat which are the product of a cross with a standard size breed or any other breed may not be recorded in any ADGA herd books. No breed purebreds or crosses with

Boer Boers ( ; af, Boere ()) are the descendants of the Dutch-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled this area ...

, Angora,

Pygmy In anthropology, pygmy peoples are ethnic groups whose average height is unusually short. The term pygmyism is used to describe the phenotype of endemic short stature (as opposed to disproportionate dwarfism occurring in isolated cases in a pop ...

, Cashmere, or any other types of goats are accepted for registration. The association initially preferred registered goats to be descended from known European breeds, but was willing to accept upgraded goats as well. In addition to its eight currently registered breeds, the ADGA at one time registered several other breeds that are no longer available in North America, including the British Alpine goat, the Calcutta Llama, the Indian goat, the

Maltese goat The Maltese is a breed of domestic goat from the east and central Mediterranean area. It originates in Asia Minor, and takes its name from the island of Malta. It is raised mainly in southern Italy, and particularly in the islands of Sicily a ...

, the Murcien or Murciene, the Norska goat (and other Norwegian breeds), the Rock Alpine goat, the Rome goat, the Royal Murciana goat, and the Schwartzenberg-Guggisberger goat.

References

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External links