Your 2024 IDGA Officers:

President: Butch Sowers

Vice President: James McDaniel

Board of Directors: Deb Konen, John Wiebold, Aaron Lehmkuhl, Robyn Van Wyk, and Rich Hanson

It is with great excitement that I have been selected to help guide this busy organization. First, thank you to the officers and board members that previously served, your efforts are greatly agenda. I accepted this position to hopefully share the ability to help with ideas, my network of contacts, years of experience, and to delegate, ask you all for your help, and then get out of the way to watch us all shine.

So much has changed in the 30 years I've been involved with this organization and Dairy for you as a member, and what can we possibly do for you? In truth, not a whole lot. But, it is my belief that we still have a chance to be a big presence in the public’s eye. I believe we still need to nurture and mentor our youth. I believe there is great value in networking and building a community that has common goals because we are all stronger when we work together.

As we head into 2024, we have several appointments set in place. We are working to create more opportunities for our youth with more showing and fitting clinics scattered out around our great state. We also have a committee in place to find some new youth ambassadors, and we have people in place to regenerate our youth Iowa State Fair activities. Additionally, Jessica Hicks and Laurie Cavanh are putting their amazing talents to use to create a new website and newsletter. If you have something to contribute to our newsletter or website, please let us know.

As an organization, we are thinking big so we can continue to serve you and remain a relevant resource and network to grow the dairy goat community and industry in the state of Iowa. So yes, there is still opportunity for everyone to make a difference! If you've been away for a while, please consider being active again. If I call on you, please consider helping us shine as a community that excels in leadership. The more hands we have to help, the lighter the load will be, and the greater the benefit to all. As we head into the Holidays, may you all have a blessed season and see you all soon.

Best Regards,

Butch Sowers

My name is Emma Wiebold, I’m 16 years old and a junior at Boone High School. I play volleyball and I am a thrower for the Boone track and field team. I am also the Senior Vice President for the Boone A&M FFA chapter. I bought my first dairy goats in 2020 right before the pandemic shut down all of the shows. I started my herd with only two Nigerian Dwarf does. For the past three years my herd has grown from two baby Nigerians to twelve does and four bucks. I assist in milking our goats twice a day and do most of the kidding assistance myself. My favorite thing to do with my goats is to show them. I love to be in the show ring. I am almost finished with my time as the Iowa Dairy Goat Association’s Youth Ambassador. I’ve had a great time sharing knowledge and my love of dairy goats with everyone I’ve come in contact with at the many IDGA events. My favorite part of being the IDGA Youth Ambassador was during the Iowa State Fair when I was asked to participate in the celebrity milking competition.

If any young person is interested in owning dairy goats, I would tell them to absolutely do it. Dairy goats can be a lot of work and you have to dedicate some time every day to them, but it is worth it. Dairy goats have their own personalities, and it is fun to interact with them. If you are new and aren’t sure of what you are doing, the IDGA has so many great members that will be happy to mentor you, help you, and answer any questions that you have. I’ve learned so much in the three years that we’ve owned goats and it has really been rewarding.

My name is April Maier and I won Pepsi, from doing share-a-kid. She is a Toggenburg. She is not even a year old yet. She taught me what owning a goat is like. I have learned many things since I got Pepsi. I learned how to clip a goat, and about the different parts of a goat. I also learned how to show a goat and lead a goat. I learned what goats like to eat and what they can eat and can’t. I also learned how big of a pen they need, and how to trim my goats feet. I learned when a goat is in heat, how long a goat is in their heat cycle., and when they come out of heat. I now know how long a goat is pregnant too.

It was really fun showing my goat Pepsi at the Johnson County Fair. Pepsi is a really fun goat. So, if you want to show a dairy goat, you should enter the share-a- kid contest and you might get a goat to raise and show so you can learn all these things too. I had so much fun showing and I look forward to showing Pepsi again next year. ~April Maier

A big thank you to the Saathoff family for donating to the SAK program this year! They have raised American Toggenburg and American and Purebred Oberhasli dairy goats since 2015. Their daughter spent a couple of years showing at their local county fair and they found that they enjoyed showing and helping kids. They became dairy goat superintendents for their local county fair and then began showing their goats in ADGA shows.

John and Sue have been members of IDGA for about 7 years and have been a part of the SAK program for 5 years. They are grateful for the help that they received from other members, like Tim and Mary Schmidt, who helped them at shows and answered any questions they had no matter how trivial.

They wanted to get involved with the Share-A-Kid program to give back. Many great people in the IDGA welcomed and guided them, and they wanted to pass this on! The SAK program has allowed them to welcome and guide others in learning about raising and showing dairy goats.

They think it is great to get letters and pictures from the kids who receive one of their goats. They enjoy hearing about what the kids are learning and about their experiences with showing their SAK doeling.

Thank you John and Sue for your generosity and for sharing your love of diary goats with others!

Ingredients:

1 cup water, 2 tablespoons margarine or butter-softened, 1 egg, 3 1/3 cups flour, ¼ cup sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 3 teaspoons regular active dry yeast OR 3 teaspoons bread machine yeast or quick-acting active dry yeast

Directions:

Place all ingredients in bucket of your bread machine. Select dough cycle, allow machine to complete cycle and dump dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll into an 18x9 rectangle, spread with 2 tablespoons softened butter or margarine. Mix together ½ cup sugar and 3 teaspoons cinnamon, sprinkle over entire surface of dough. Starting with short side roll jelly roll style, slice into 9 equal rolls and place in a greased 13x9 inch pan. Cover, let rise 30 to 40 minutes until doubled. Bake in a 375º oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Drizzle with glaze while still warm. Glaze: Mix 1 cup powdered sugar, ½ teaspoon vanilla, & 1 to 2 tablespoons milk until smooth & thin enough to drizzle. ~Ellen Dorsey

Ingredients:

4oz. cream cheese (room temp.), 1 Tbsp. milk, 1 Tbsp Sugar, 1 1/2 cups Cool Whip,

1 graham cracker pie crust, 1c. cold milk, 2 (3.4 oz) pkg. instant vanilla pudding, 1 (16oz) can pumpkin, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. ginger, and 1/4 tsp. cloves

Directions:

Mix cream cheese, 1 Tbsp. milk, and sugar until smooth. Fold Cool Whip into the cream cheese mixture and spread into the pie crust. Pour 1 cup milk into bowl. Add pudding and beat with a wire whisk for 1 minute. Stir in canned pumpkin and spices until well combined. Spread onto the cheese mixture. Chill for 4 hours. ~Terri Lee

https://adga.org/dairy-goat-management-calendar/#fall