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We started in goats in a two car garage behind our house in a 'horsy suburb of Milwaukee in 1982. It was our intent to have just a couple of milkers .. no pedigrees etc. .. just milkers to supplement the organic lifestyle we aspired to. Bruce and I had been into racing Whippets, and prior to that showing Afghan Hounds... big time pedigree research for both looks and performance. The goats were supposed to be a homestead venture. I have experienced that once you are addicted to genetics and what that piece of paper we call a pedigree can do for you it is impossible to have a total experience without it. We joined ADGA the following year. In 1985 we moved to Missouri, and it was that year that we bought our first good goats. Our first breed was Nubian due to a Nubian fixation I had developed as a ten year old child when I first saw them at the Illinois State Fair. In 1990 We added a few LaManchas that were to be Bruce's. now our herd of about 50 animals, 24 milkers is about half and half. The only goats I claim exclusively as mine are 5 Recorded Grade Experimentals, three 50/50 s and 2 that are 75% laMancha. These gals are a high impact group that boasts of a BIS doe, three GCH's, three top tens for Milk,fat, or protein, two more who have legs of some sort. Interesting to note they are three three year-olds, a GCH yearling, and an April kid. My family is my Husband of 17 years, Bruce. We are fortunate to share our goats each summer with nieces and nephews who visit us for extended periods. I ran for director in the same spirit that one hires a Sherpa guide and scales Mt. Everest ... It was there! The time was right in my personal life to spend a great deal of effort and thought in an attempt to give something back to the organization that has provided me with so much pleasure in the keeping of dairy goats. Goats and their care, the drive for increasingly better animals, and bigger milk totals have truly provided a framework for my life for the past ten years. I am fortunate to be an early retiree from teaching, as is Bruce. We treasure the time we have to spend working on various projects together. I pretend to be an organic gardener. Actually, I do pretty well at it until the county fairs start. I am somewhat of a gourmet cook, and an ex-Martha Stewart groupie. I do glass etching, some sewing, wheat weaving, and make harness. I have a great tendency to do something 110% day and night for as long as it is fascinating, and when I have done it completely walk away and never look back. I usually have a mental list of projects that I would like to do. I believe that we need to examine the computer project from another prospective. As much as I have read, heard, and talked about this topic, I feel that I do not have a good understanding of the whys and where-fores. I am concerned that the Board of Directors seems to be uninformed of matters that were handled by the Executive Committee. It would please me greatly if the general membership was exposed to the items proposed for discussion at the Spring EC meeting and at the General meeting at convention. I would like to see ADGA run by a more pure form of representative democracy. And it is my belief that there should be more opportunity for interplay between the membership of a district and the directors, the directors and the committee chairs, and the directors and the Executive Committee. I am concerned that the Sables and the Nigerians are not meeting encouragement and welcome in their attempts to join our association. It concerns me greatly that there is not a more rigid standard of uniformity held forth for Standardized Milk test data. If I had to chose one issue, I guess it would be to have a more representative form of ADGA government. I believe that if the board was able to hear what the constituents of their districts were saying, my other concerns would be well handled. Than you for the opportunity to introduce myself and to share your forum. Nancy Nancy and Bruce Nickel Nickel Nubians and LaManchas Clark, MO 
Check out some of the web pages that Donna has designed!!! Laurelstone Soaps http://www.oldfashionedsoap.com Kicking Bird Ranch http://www.kickingbirdranch.com
Shelters To Go
ADGA Annual Meeting and Convention site Cybergoat and then contact Donna at 6665 Blackwell Rd. Central Point, OR 97502 (541)664-1349
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