Our Activities Page
Our new officers as of November 12, 2002
Returning as President--Amanda Mabold
Vice President--Desiree Koch
Secretary-- Josh Arner
In her second turn as Treasurer--Samantha Erskine
New Reporter--Sara Mabold
In charge of Properties--Stacy Arner
Each year in May, BADGA sponsors a goat show at the Lawrence County Fairgrounds. People come from surrounding states to attend one of Western Pennsylvania's largest goat shows. Our club is usually well represented at this two day event and we get a chance to show our goats and compete against some of the best dairy goats in the country. Various prizes and ribbons are awarded for those entries doing well in the competition.
Last year, our club operated the concession stand at BADGA as a fundraiser for our 4-H activities. We learned a lot about how to run a business and how important it is to plan ahead, maintain inventories and manage financial arrangements. All in all it was a great learning experience for our club, we got to show our animals and we had fun!
The Big Butler Fair is always the week of July 4th at the Butler Fairgrounds and is our first week long show of the year. Our club is very active at the Fair in more than just Dairy Goats. Some of our members also show sheep, pigs, horses and other animals. Our club was also well represented at the petting zoo sponsored by 4-H.
We have 18 pens in the dairy goat tent, and they are usually occupied by 2-3 Dairy Goats each making for quite a lot of work by our members to keep everything neat and clean. One of the best things about Fair is spending a lot of time in the tent talking to people and answering questions about our dairy goats. One of the goals of our club is to "promote the goat" in Butler County and get others interested in the care and raising of Dairy Goats. Having our animals on display at Fair helps to do this. Next time you're at the Fair, stop by and see our goats and talk to some of our members.
Butler Farm Show
New Photos from the Farm Show
The Farm Show is a fun filled week in early August at the Butler Farm Show grounds. This is our biggest show of the year since it is the 4-H "roundup". Our project books need to be up to date on our animals, the pens set up and our animals fitted for the show. Our tent is usually located near the entrance to the Grandstand.
The Farm Show is similar to the Butler Fair except on a smaller scale and it is more oriented toward agriculture and to the promotion of 4-H and agriculture in Butler County. The Farm Show also offers an auction for the sale of market animals toward the end of the week. This gives our club members a chance to see the "fruits of their labor".
The Farm Show also gives the club another chance to answer questions about our animals and enlighten others as to how fun and profitable raising dairy goats can be. Stop by for a visit!
Each year in June, the 4-H office sponsors Sunnyview day at the senior care center in Butler. This event gives our club the opportunity to provide a community service to the residents by bringing our project animals or other displays to share. We spend the day talking to the residents and exchanging stories with them. We also have a picnic in the afternoon and demonstrations on how to fit animals for a show or milking or some other aspect of our projects.
Sunnyview day is a good chance for our club members to get together and talk about our animals and benefit from the experiences of others.
Each year in the fall, 4-H sponsors regional competitions where 4-H club members from neighboring counties can bring their animals to compete against other 4-Her's animals in goat shows, rabbit shows, poster contests, etc. It gives everyone the opportunity to test their skills against other 4-Hers outside their normal county competitors.
Each year in September, the town of Connoquenessing in Butler County has a community day where residents can get together for a family fun day. There are games, gymnastic demonstrations, and lots of food and fun. Our club set up a petting zoo last year as an added attraction at the event. We usually have goats, chickens, sheep, cows, rabbits and any other critters we can round up. The people can come and pet the animals for free and we may also sell candy or pumpkins to help offset the costs for the event. This event gives us the opportunity to get young children interested in agriculture and we benefit by getting to meet more residents of our host county.
We intend to continue to set up petting zoos at various locations in Butler
County in our continuing effort to "promote the goat" in Butler
County. Due to our limited "budget" we aren't always able to advertise
these events, so keep an eye out for the Caprine Connection Dairy Goat Club
at a theatre, mall, or gas station near you!