News at Echolight
We often get the neatest opportunities do some cool things throughout the year in our community, so here is what we're up to!
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8/16/2019 - Goat Yoga For a Cause @ The UP State Fair!
We partnered with Anytime Fitness and Lainey Morse, founder of Original Goat Yoga, to bring GOAT YOGA to the UP State Fair! All proceeds for this event went to sponsor children attending a local summer camp for those living with Muscular Dystrophy. The attendees had a great time enjoying yoga and interacting with our goats. Our goats were also on the news yet again! |
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6/08/2019 - 4th Annual Dairy Goat Open House!
Another successful and fun Open House kicked off the 2019 National Dairy Goat Awareness Week! Around 40 visitors enjoyed treats, baby goat cuddles, and tried their hand at milking a dairy goat! |
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6/07/2019 - We're on the radio!
Echolight was interviewed by Todd Pazz of Sunny 101.9, and aired the morning of the 4th annual Dairy Goat Open House! We chatted about our event, and why educating the public about dairy goats is our mission!
Echolight was interviewed by Todd Pazz of Sunny 101.9, and aired the morning of the 4th annual Dairy Goat Open House! We chatted about our event, and why educating the public about dairy goats is our mission!
3/01/2019 - And the award goes to...
Three of our does earned awards from the Alpines International Club for outstanding milk production in 2018!
"Josie" Abundant Acres MAX Melba - SILVER STAR Award
4yrs8mos old, 301 days in milk, 3471lbs milk, 97lbs/2.8% protein, 128lbs/3.7% butterfat
"Gabby" Abundant Acres MAXX Mad Gab - BRONZE STAR Award
4yrs10mos old, 307 days in milk, 2403lbs milk, 69lbs/2.9% protein, 108lbs/4.5% butterfat
"Amber" Echolight VIN Sweet Ambrosia - BRONZE STAR Award
2yrs old, 281 days in milk, 2544lbs milk, 68lb/2.7% protein, 101lbs/4.0% butterfat
Three of our does earned awards from the Alpines International Club for outstanding milk production in 2018!
"Josie" Abundant Acres MAX Melba - SILVER STAR Award
4yrs8mos old, 301 days in milk, 3471lbs milk, 97lbs/2.8% protein, 128lbs/3.7% butterfat
"Gabby" Abundant Acres MAXX Mad Gab - BRONZE STAR Award
4yrs10mos old, 307 days in milk, 2403lbs milk, 69lbs/2.9% protein, 108lbs/4.5% butterfat
"Amber" Echolight VIN Sweet Ambrosia - BRONZE STAR Award
2yrs old, 281 days in milk, 2544lbs milk, 68lb/2.7% protein, 101lbs/4.0% butterfat
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6/30/2018 - Goat Yoga!
Echolight was invited by Deep North Living to bring some of our kids out for a session of GOAT YOGA! Happy, Kalos, and Mooshie interacted with the 20 attendees and got more than a few giggles for their antics, as well as a lot of pets and attention! |
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6/09/2018 - 3rd Annual Dairy Goat Open House:
We had about 40 attendees to our Open House this year, despite unpredictable weather forcing us to postpone the date - not once, but TWICE! Thankfully the 3rd time was the charm as it was a gorgeous day, and what a better date than the first day of National Dairy Goat Awareness Week! Thanks so much to all who came out to celebrate "the superior dairy animals"! |
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5/18/2018 - Echolight's 2018 Linear Appraisal:
Words cannot describe how proud we are of our animals. Writing this through happy tears - we had our Linear Appraisal today, and our goats scored the following:
Clipper: EEEE91 (E in Shoulders, Front Legs, Back, and Rump)
Gabby: EEEE90 (E in Head, Shoulders, Front Legs, and Back)
Josie: VEVV89 (E in Head and Rear Legs)
Amber: VV+E88 (E in Rear Legs and Back)
Chaos: VV++84 (E in Rear Legs and Back)
Hosanna: VVV+85 (E in Front Legs and Back)
Bliss: +V+V84
Minty: ++AV82
Orbit: +EE86 (E in Back)
E - Excellent
V - Very Good
+ - Good plus
A - Acceptable
F - Fair
P - Poor
90% of ideal and up is E
85-89% is V
80-84% is +
70-79% is A
60-69% is F
59% and below is P
For being a goat that some have said to put in the freezer just because she has a blemished udder, Gabby finally got the credit she deserved. We cried tears of joy when our appraiser announced her new permanent score of EEEE90. Clipper finally also got her EX91 score, so very well deserved. Not to be outdone, with a whopping 44 Rear Udder Height, 49 Rear Udder Arch, 37 Medial, 24 Teat Placement - Josie was looking fantastic and still scored an E in rear legs with all that going on back there! These 3 does are the backbone of our herd, we believe in them, and they are the foundation we hope to continue to grow from.
Amber has also matured beautifully with a second freshening, increasing her score a whole 8 points, and Chaos' body is coming together nicely now after an awkward growth period last year. Our yearlings are all developing well and each show great promise.
Many many compliments from our appraiser on the quality of our animals. We could not be more proud!
Words cannot describe how proud we are of our animals. Writing this through happy tears - we had our Linear Appraisal today, and our goats scored the following:
Clipper: EEEE91 (E in Shoulders, Front Legs, Back, and Rump)
Gabby: EEEE90 (E in Head, Shoulders, Front Legs, and Back)
Josie: VEVV89 (E in Head and Rear Legs)
Amber: VV+E88 (E in Rear Legs and Back)
Chaos: VV++84 (E in Rear Legs and Back)
Hosanna: VVV+85 (E in Front Legs and Back)
Bliss: +V+V84
Minty: ++AV82
Orbit: +EE86 (E in Back)
E - Excellent
V - Very Good
+ - Good plus
A - Acceptable
F - Fair
P - Poor
90% of ideal and up is E
85-89% is V
80-84% is +
70-79% is A
60-69% is F
59% and below is P
For being a goat that some have said to put in the freezer just because she has a blemished udder, Gabby finally got the credit she deserved. We cried tears of joy when our appraiser announced her new permanent score of EEEE90. Clipper finally also got her EX91 score, so very well deserved. Not to be outdone, with a whopping 44 Rear Udder Height, 49 Rear Udder Arch, 37 Medial, 24 Teat Placement - Josie was looking fantastic and still scored an E in rear legs with all that going on back there! These 3 does are the backbone of our herd, we believe in them, and they are the foundation we hope to continue to grow from.
Amber has also matured beautifully with a second freshening, increasing her score a whole 8 points, and Chaos' body is coming together nicely now after an awkward growth period last year. Our yearlings are all developing well and each show great promise.
Many many compliments from our appraiser on the quality of our animals. We could not be more proud!
10/09/2017 - Goats In School Again!
We were invited to the Bonifas Arts Center’s Culinary Program for kids at Jones Elementary kitchens today! "Minty" represented the hard working gals at home as our goat mascot, while the (human) kids enjoyed some goat cheese and milk along with fresh bread and other goodies that they made! We got to talk about goats and why they are great dairy animals with the kids!
We were invited to the Bonifas Arts Center’s Culinary Program for kids at Jones Elementary kitchens today! "Minty" represented the hard working gals at home as our goat mascot, while the (human) kids enjoyed some goat cheese and milk along with fresh bread and other goodies that they made! We got to talk about goats and why they are great dairy animals with the kids!
9/15/2017 - Echolight's First Linear Appraisal:
WHEW! What a LONG day! After a 12hr round trip, our very first Linear Appraisal has come to a close. Here are the results, an explanation of what the results mean, and then a summary of the highlights!
SG Old Beach Majority Eclipse *M 5-04 VEVV88
Abundant Acres Maxx Mad Gab *M 3-05 VVV+86
Abundant Acres Max Melba *M 3-03 AVV+83
Echolight Vin Sweet Ambrosia 1-06 +++A80
Echolight Vin Albemarle Pippin 1-06 +++A81
Echolight Vin Chaotic Clash 1-06 A+AA78
Meadowwild Mojo's Penumbra *B 1-06 +VV85
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What do the numbers and letters mean?:
- The numbers and dash (ex: 5-04) is the age of the goat in yrs-mos. So a goat that is 5-04 is 5yrs 4mos old.
- The four characters after the age are a grade for four categories: General Appearance, Dairy Strength, Body Capacity, and Mammary. Bucks are not scored in the last category (obviously ;) The grades are:
E (Excellent - score of 90 out of 100 or above)
V (Very Good - score 85-89)
+ (Good Plus - score 80-84)
A (Acceptable - score 70-79)
F (Fair - score 60-69)
P (Poor - score 59 and below)
- The last number at the end of the characters is the final score. Clipper (88), Gabby (86), and Drake (85) are Very Good. Josie (83), Amber (80), and Pippy(81) are Good Plus. Chaos (78) is Acceptable.
- Age, condition, and stage of lactation can affect a goats score as well. Immature goats do not usually score as well as mature goats for example.
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Comments/highlights:
- We decided to do linear appraisal to add value to our herd, hopefully to confirm we are on the right track, and as always to learn something! I think we accomplished all 3 goals today!
- They almost all scored where I thought they would, so no unpleasant surprises!
- I loved the feedback I got and my feelings about each of my does was pretty well confirmed
- I felt I had a good grasp of the program, what the numbers mean, and was prepared. The appraiser commented that I was really on the ball for it being our first session ever
- Biggest and best surprise was that Gabby scored so well! I wasn't sure how much her having half a working udder would affect her overall score, but we were able to score the good half pretty well! As always, she impresses with her strong general appearance, strength and body capacity!
- Josie's rear udder scored very well, unfortunately her foreudder hurt her mammary score. She has very nice extension and strong attachments, but the fore attachments themselves are too far back. It was remarked that there is not enough goat for an udder that size. Yeah, she's an insanely productive little milk factory, but we knew that!
- Clipper got many compliments for her rump (we like big butts and we cannot lie!)
- Drake also got many compliments, especially for being a yearling in rut, as well as compliments for his easygoing manners and good behavior (thanks for making us look good, buddy!)
- The yearling first fresheners are very immature altogether right now (which is normal), especially Chaos
Best part of the day:
Our appraiser asked at the beginning of the session what my goals were. I said "milk, and a sound enough body to do the job!" She said at the end - "You are already meeting and exceeding that goal"
Yes, the miles time expense and stress was totally worth it!!!
WHEW! What a LONG day! After a 12hr round trip, our very first Linear Appraisal has come to a close. Here are the results, an explanation of what the results mean, and then a summary of the highlights!
SG Old Beach Majority Eclipse *M 5-04 VEVV88
Abundant Acres Maxx Mad Gab *M 3-05 VVV+86
Abundant Acres Max Melba *M 3-03 AVV+83
Echolight Vin Sweet Ambrosia 1-06 +++A80
Echolight Vin Albemarle Pippin 1-06 +++A81
Echolight Vin Chaotic Clash 1-06 A+AA78
Meadowwild Mojo's Penumbra *B 1-06 +VV85
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What do the numbers and letters mean?:
- The numbers and dash (ex: 5-04) is the age of the goat in yrs-mos. So a goat that is 5-04 is 5yrs 4mos old.
- The four characters after the age are a grade for four categories: General Appearance, Dairy Strength, Body Capacity, and Mammary. Bucks are not scored in the last category (obviously ;) The grades are:
E (Excellent - score of 90 out of 100 or above)
V (Very Good - score 85-89)
+ (Good Plus - score 80-84)
A (Acceptable - score 70-79)
F (Fair - score 60-69)
P (Poor - score 59 and below)
- The last number at the end of the characters is the final score. Clipper (88), Gabby (86), and Drake (85) are Very Good. Josie (83), Amber (80), and Pippy(81) are Good Plus. Chaos (78) is Acceptable.
- Age, condition, and stage of lactation can affect a goats score as well. Immature goats do not usually score as well as mature goats for example.
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Comments/highlights:
- We decided to do linear appraisal to add value to our herd, hopefully to confirm we are on the right track, and as always to learn something! I think we accomplished all 3 goals today!
- They almost all scored where I thought they would, so no unpleasant surprises!
- I loved the feedback I got and my feelings about each of my does was pretty well confirmed
- I felt I had a good grasp of the program, what the numbers mean, and was prepared. The appraiser commented that I was really on the ball for it being our first session ever
- Biggest and best surprise was that Gabby scored so well! I wasn't sure how much her having half a working udder would affect her overall score, but we were able to score the good half pretty well! As always, she impresses with her strong general appearance, strength and body capacity!
- Josie's rear udder scored very well, unfortunately her foreudder hurt her mammary score. She has very nice extension and strong attachments, but the fore attachments themselves are too far back. It was remarked that there is not enough goat for an udder that size. Yeah, she's an insanely productive little milk factory, but we knew that!
- Clipper got many compliments for her rump (we like big butts and we cannot lie!)
- Drake also got many compliments, especially for being a yearling in rut, as well as compliments for his easygoing manners and good behavior (thanks for making us look good, buddy!)
- The yearling first fresheners are very immature altogether right now (which is normal), especially Chaos
Best part of the day:
Our appraiser asked at the beginning of the session what my goals were. I said "milk, and a sound enough body to do the job!" She said at the end - "You are already meeting and exceeding that goal"
Yes, the miles time expense and stress was totally worth it!!!
The attendees for our very first Dairy Goat Management class!
8/05/2017 - Echolight Hosts Dairy Goat Management 101:
Six dairy goat enthusiasts joined us for our first Dairy Goat Management 101 class! We covered milking, milk handling, feeding, housing, grooming, conformation, and more! Thanks so much for coming out everyone, we loved having you and hope that you had fun learning more about goats!
Six dairy goat enthusiasts joined us for our first Dairy Goat Management 101 class! We covered milking, milk handling, feeding, housing, grooming, conformation, and more! Thanks so much for coming out everyone, we loved having you and hope that you had fun learning more about goats!
A moving moment shared between the breeders of the ADGA Grand and Reserve National Alpine Champions!
7/13/2017 - Echolight Spectates at ADGA Nationals
Congrats to Olentangy and Tempo for the amazing Grand and Reserve Champion wins with such classy animals!
So many worthy and deserving does; it was such a pleasure to be there today. This was our first time spectating at a goat show and we were impressed with the laid back environment; pretty much everyone was smiling and having fun! It won't be our last Nationals we're sure!
Congrats to Olentangy and Tempo for the amazing Grand and Reserve Champion wins with such classy animals!
So many worthy and deserving does; it was such a pleasure to be there today. This was our first time spectating at a goat show and we were impressed with the laid back environment; pretty much everyone was smiling and having fun! It won't be our last Nationals we're sure!
Frosty and Kirsten at Rapid River School
5/24/17 - Echolight Goes To School!
Frosty the "almost-famous" goat made a public debut at the Rapid River School's fun night. We set up a little booth and brought Frosty along for the kids to see and pet. As per usual, he took it all in stride! We also had fresh milk for the curious to try and handouts and coloring pages for the kids to take home!
Frosty the "almost-famous" goat made a public debut at the Rapid River School's fun night. We set up a little booth and brought Frosty along for the kids to see and pet. As per usual, he took it all in stride! We also had fresh milk for the curious to try and handouts and coloring pages for the kids to take home!
4/22/2017 - Second Annual Dairy Goat Open House a Huge Success!
Thank you SO much to everyone who was able to make it out today, and thanks to our friends and family who helped us put on this event! We had a great time and it sounds like you all did too; 150 people attended!! The weather was gloriously mild and made the day even better. Besides visiting with the goats, we had educational materials and goat dairy treats on hand to try and answered as many questions as our guests could think of to ask about goats!
We enjoy hosting this event so much that we're already looking forward to next year!
Thank you SO much to everyone who was able to make it out today, and thanks to our friends and family who helped us put on this event! We had a great time and it sounds like you all did too; 150 people attended!! The weather was gloriously mild and made the day even better. Besides visiting with the goats, we had educational materials and goat dairy treats on hand to try and answered as many questions as our guests could think of to ask about goats!
We enjoy hosting this event so much that we're already looking forward to next year!
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4/21/2017 - Echolight Is On The News!!!
Our Open House event has made the evening news! Check out the video! |
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