Tuesday, August 11, 2009

7:30am – Registration – Farmers’ Mutual Building, Lindsay Fairgrounds

8:00 am - Bus Tours – Coach departs from Farmers’ Mutual Building
Tour successful goat farms in the region on a bus tour that will return you to the fairgrounds in time to see the end of the Dairy Doe Show. The farm tour cost is $45 including a boxed lunch with an early bird fee of $35 if paid before August 7th. Register here for the bus tour.

Tour 1 (8am – 3pm):
Hop on a bus and head north and enjoy a day at three milking goat farms in the KL area. Lunch is provided with the bus tour. Farms include Grasshill Farms (Wick’s Family), Terry McNeely’s farm and the Stoll’s.

Grasshill Farms
Milking 110 purebred Saanens, the main focus is on having top genetics and have a goal to have goats produce up to 3,000kg/year. Another goal is to open world wide markets for Canadian genetics in a similar manner as to what the dairy cattle breeds have had access to world-wide.
Visit their website

Terry McNeely
Milking 120 purebred Sannens, Alpine, Nubian and grade Lamanchas. They converted a beef barn into a goat barn and use a double 24 parlour. Their main focus is to bring in top genetics for both type and milk

Stolls
This herd is milking 150 Saanens and Alpines and they milk in a double 15 parlour. Their top animals are registered. They feed a pea silage out of a silo.

Lenberg Farm / Vandenberg’s
The tour will visit the kid facility. The main facility for young animals holds 700 kids. The does are fed a pellet and dry hay ration. The bucks are fed a pellet and straw ration. The farm raises 900 bucks for meat.

Tour 2 (8am – 3pm):
Hop on a bus and head to the south and west of Lindsay to see 3 farms in the region. Visit the Benschop’s Valview milking goat herd, Thompson’s herd, and Lenberg Farm kids barn where a session will take place on successfully raising kids.

Valview Farm
Milking 550 Goats in a double 50 rapid exit parlour. The herd consists of Saanen, Alpines and Lamanchas. Most of the Saanen’s and alpine’s are registered. The registered does and bucks are classified.

Scott Thompson
This herd milks 300 – 400 goats in a converted free stall dairy barn. The herd consists of Saaneen, Alpines and Lamanchas.

Lenberg Farm / Vandenberg’s
The tour will visit the kid facility. The main facility for young animals holds 700 kids. The does are fed a pellet and dry hay ration. The bucks are fed a pellet and straw ration. The farm raises 900 bucks for meat.

3:00 pm – Bus Tours return to Fairgrounds to see Show Parade of Champions