It’s time to get ready for travel to the Indiana state fairgrounds for our 2006 National Show in July. You will have the option of ordering a National Show packet through the ADGA web site this year. Your request will be submitted directly to the shipping department. Please note that the youth and adult forms will be combined into one packet and it will not be necessary that you request them separately. We also plan to have the entry form and information downloadable from the web site.

Remember that you have only a few weeks left in which to take advantage of the DISCOUNT fee for registration of your animals. Save a dollar on each registration by postmarking your application before April 1, 2006.

Eligible voters will be receiving a primary ballot for Director nominations in early May. Serious consideration should be given to your nomination as the position of Director is an important one. Please participate! Exercise your Right to VOTE!

There has been much discussion regarding the draft guidelines of the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). USDA indicates that the program being discussed is currently a voluntary program. It will be a cooperative effort between animal health officials and producer partners. Its ultimate goal is to have a system that can identify, within 48 hours, all animals and premises that may have come in contact with a foreign or domestic disease of concern. To keep up-to-date with this issue, and to offer your comments, visit http://www.usda.gov/nais. Some states may be discussing mandatory programs, and members may want to contact their state officials to see what is happening on a local level. There are links to individual states on the NAIS website.

USDA is looking for direction from producers. Species working groups were established to help develop recommendations as to what would be workable for the various species. The Goat Working Group, comprised of volunteers representing the major sectors within the U.S. goat industry, is developing a viable plan for permanent identification for goats and addressing other concerns such as types of movement that might be reported. An overview of their discussion and recommendations can be found at http://www.usanimalid.com. A survey seeking input from goat owners is also under development.

As the office prepares for Rush Season, we’d like to remind you to mark the outside of your envelope “RUSH” when Mailing registration applications with rush fees. If you Fax your application to ADGA for rush service, please mark it clearly and include a cover sheet with your requests. The Online registration application has a box which should be selected if you desire rush service.

Thank you for being a member of ADGA. Please let us know how we can better serve your needs.

Sincerely,

Shirley McKenzie
Association Manager, ADGA