Thanks to some behind-the-scenes work, Texas AgriLife Extension’s 2007 batch of soremouth vaccine produced at the Sonora (Texas) Experiment Station has been approved for distrubution.

I reported in an earlier post (scroll down) last month that the soremouth vaccine would not be released due to failing a dosage safety test in which a couple test animals–guinea pigs–died, but the vaccine has now received the go-ahead from officials, according to word relayed from Texas Sheep and Goat Raisers Association officers who heard it from AgriLife Extension.
For more information about the vaccine, call the Sonora Station at (325) 387-3168.

The good demand for finer grades of wool the industry has seen the last year and a half or so is likely to continue, along with sustained strong prices, according to Dr. Ron Pope of Producers Marketing Cooperative, Inc. Pope gave a wool and mohair market update at the semi-annual meeting of the Texas Sheep and Goat Raisers Association in Fort Stockton Feb. 16.

The Australian wool market from August 2007 has shown a steady trend upward in prices, “not huge increases but week on week just a substantial gain . . . all the way through January of this year,” Pope said. The climb came after a three month decline in 2007.

Texas had seen “very decent prices” for its spring selling season last year and “then it started tailing off into June.” But the price rebound observed in Australian wool sales should carry over to the spring sales in Texas and elsewhere in the United States, he said.

“It’s good to see these markets rebound and continue to see a good trend and steady growth over a long period,” Pope said.
Currently the Australian market indicator is at U.S.$4.06, per pound, clean.

“This trend that we’re looking at as far as the growth is reflected in the 24 micron and finer wool types, which certainly includes the majority of wool that’s produced here in Texas,” he said. “The 25 to 27 micron range has seen growth or improvement in prices, not quite as proportional as the finer types.”

Wool coarser than 28 microns has seen flat but stable prices for several years. “There’s just not much movement in those prices on those microns,” Pope added.

U.S. Wool producers benefit with the U.S. Dollar weak against the Australian dollar. “ This creates kind of a double or two-fold increase in your prices that you receive – as the market’s moving up and the dollar gets weaker you get the benefit of both of those movements in terms of what you receive from your wool clip.” Pope said.

Only a few early clips had come into the warehouse in mid-February, but Pope said the quality of the clips he’d seen indicated strong wool with good fiber diameter “maybe just a tick coarser” than usual and relatively little vegetable matter or other contamination. Some of the wool he’d seen had shorter than average staple length.

Mohair

After nearly a year and a half of very strong prices on mohair with good clearances, hair prices began sliding a bit in October 2007. Adult mohair was bringing $3 and maybe a little above that through summer and into early October. Then at a sale in Texas a small lot of hair sold for $2.85 and prices dipped, Pope said.

The South African market remains unchanged. “Their currency was stable and yet they were being offered around 15 cents less than what the market should have been. This has continued and now we see recent sales of shorn adult at $2.70,” he said.

Though its too early to get a read on the spring Texas mohair clip, the fall clip here was “surprisingly free of defect,” he said. “It was probably one of the cleanest fall clips most people can remember seeing,” Pope said.

Demand from first stage mohair processors has dropped due larger than usual inventories of adult greasy mohair or top, he said.
“That’s putting a little bit of pressure on this adult market. Whether these inventories will be cleared by the time the spring harvest is over remains to be seen. Again, currency is playing a factor in the mohair market,” he added.

March 16-22 in National Agriculture Week and Ag Commissioner Todd Staples is taking the opportunity to both honor farmers and ranchers in Texas and educate the public about the contributions agriculturists make to the country’s high standard of living, according to a press release issued by the Texas Department of Agriculture.

“This week is a time to recognize the incredible impact agriculture has on our daily lives. The food we eat, the clothes we wear, the flowers we offer on Mother’s Day and now the fuel we put in our vehicles are all rooted in one industry — agriculture,” Staples said.

The 2008 Western Maryland Pasture-Based Meat Goat Performance Test will be conducted from June 7 until Oct. 4 at the University of Maryland’s Western Maryland Research & Education Center in Keedysville. It is sponsored by Maryland Cooperative Extension.

This Kiko buck was the top performing goat in the 2007 Western Maryland Pasture-Based Meat Goat Performance Test in Keedysville, Md.

Nomination period for this year’s test is April 1-May 15 requiring a fee of $20 per goat nomination form. Checks should be made payable to the University of Maryland. An additional $55 will be due when goats are delivered to the test site.

Goat producers from any state may consign up to five male goats of any breed or cross, though preference will be given to previous consigners and Maryland residents. The pasture resource will accommodate approximately 50 goats. Guidelines stipulate that the goats be between 3 and 5 months of age at the start of the test. There is a minimum weight requirement of 35 pounds and it is suggested that goats weigh no more than 70 pounds They should be weaned prior to the test and have received two vaccinations for clostridium perfringins type C and D and tetanus (CD-T).

During the test, the goats will be managed as a single group on pasture. They will be rotationally grazed among five 2-acre paddocks. For 2008, the paddocks will consist primarily of orchardgrass, Max Q™ tall fescue, chicory, pearl millet, and forage kale. Goats on the test will always have access to a central laneway containing Port-A-Hut shelters, water, minerals, and a handling system. As this is a pasture test, supplemental feed (nutrition tubs and/or grass hay) will only be provided if environmental conditions necessitate their use.

While on test, the goats will be evaluated for growth performance, parasite resistance, and carcass merit. They will be handled every two weeks using low stress livestock handling techniques to determine body weight, FAMACHA© and body condition scores and assess overall health. Only goats scoring 4 or 5 on the FAMACHA© eye anemia scale will be dewormed, unless other clinical signs are observed.

Fecal samples will be collected every 14 days until the goats require deworming. Scrotal measurements will be taken at the beginning and end of the test. Ultrasound carcass measurements will be done towards the end of the testing period. Consigners may nominate up to two bucks for collection of slaughter data. There will be an additional fee of $25 per head for this option. The slaughter component is new for 2008.

There will be a Performance Tested Buck and Invitational Doe Sale on Saturday, Oct. 4, at the Washington County Agricultural Center in Boonsboro. The Center is an adjacent property. The top 20 bucks, based on performance data and minimum standards for structural correctness and reproductive soundness, will be eligible to be sold via live auction. In addition, consignors will be able to nominate up to five doe kids for each male goat they have on test. Sale does must have on-farm performance records. A Goat Field Day will be held at the research center prior to the sale. The field day and sale are new for 2008.

For more information about the 2008 goat test, sale, and field day, contact Susan Schoenian at (301) 432-2767 x343 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ; Jeff Semler at (301) 791-1304 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , or Jeanne Dietz-Band at (301) 432-7296 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Information and forms can be obtained here: http://mdgoattest.blogspot.com.