Goat School 2010!
Fall Semester
Saturday October 9th
and Sunday October 10th
10
a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday
9:30
a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Sunday
JOIN US!
More info coming soon in a newsletter! Sign up
to receive news by emailing us at:
kenjan@tds.net or call us at 207-938-3714
To view our latest
newsletter and Goat School information click here:
Newsletter
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GOAT SCHOOL, SPRING 2010
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It was rainy, cold and windy,
but a great time was had by all 112 folks from 22 different states! |
The food line stretched long,
but there was plenty for everyone |
|
Andrew Beals from Poulin Grain
was awesome! As usually he not only shared plenty of
information, but his sense of humor kept us entertained. |
Always time for questions.
Both Ken and Janice love answering the wide variety of inquiries!
It certainly keeps us on our toes! |
|
Janice and Carrie answer lots of
specific questions about milking. Dusk was so patient!
|
 
 
When it's cold everyone has a great appetite,
especially with such a variety of foods to choose from. |
|
Art Bosworth from SDIX was
another guest speaker with a wealth of knowledge to share. |
WABI TV 5 got into the "picture"
also! |
Thinking about coming? Here are a few comments from
Spring 2010 attendees:We had a wonderful time at goat
school. It was everything that we anticipated and more and held true to the
way it was advertised. We learned a lot and also confirmed that we were
doing a lot of things right. I would highly recommend to anyone wanting to
learn anything about goats that they attend your class. Your knowledge and
desire to share was refreshing and greatly appreciated.
The soap and cheese class was equally great. We could never have learned
what you taught us without a lot of trial and error .
Alan and
Yvonne, Ocklawaha, FL
We had a wonderful experience with goat school! The
school was just what we expected it would be and we learned so much!
Your farm is beautiful and so very unique. The stones around the farm
are like nothing I've ever seen. I especially thought the moss covered
rocks were beautiful. It is the perfect place for a goat farm!
These are pictures of the cheese and soap making
class. I'll send other photos along in a separate e-mail. Angie
Midland, MI
Thank
you for a great weekend. Sorry you couldn’t import some better weather
but we had a good time and learned a lot. My aspirations have been
tempered and my wife is more enthusiastic than before. So it worked out
perfectly. We may very well be in touch for more learnin’ and maybe
some goats in the not too distant future. Thanks again, Bart and Sam
(Schenectady, NY)
I wanted to again thank you for
the perfect weekend at Goat School. You two are wonderful hosts and
teachers. I am more enthusiastic than ever in getting goats and have
decided they will be dairy. By the way, my husband said when I retire I
can have as many goats as I want. I am hoping that "retirement" is
soon!
Thank you again for creating the
school and I am so glad I was able to attend and be a part of it.
Warm regards, Linda,
Mexico, MO
I just wanted to thank you and tell you that we had
a wonderful time at
goat school. You did a phenomenal job! We learned a lot and I could not
think of a better way to have spent Mothers Day than at goat school with
my daughter and niece. You guys are amazing. Thank You, Jill , Wyoming,
RI
Thank you sooooo much for the school. Tara and I had
a great time. We learned a lot and enjoyed the entire weekend. We
still have not decided which type we are going to get. Both the meat
and milk/cheese were wonderful.
Thanks again for the wonderful time. Bernie and Tara, Ashland, PA
FALL 2009 GOAT SCHOOL!
|
It was cold and windy but sunny
and bright so all in all, it was a great weekend! |
We love sharing the beauty of
our farm, especially in the fall. The color was just gorgeous! |
|
The food was plentiful.
Here are two lasagna's made with ground chevon and goat cheeses. |
The professional chef thrilled
everyone late on Saturday afternoon with his version of chevon
chops with an herb rub. |
|
Andrew Beals from Poulin Grain
had us all spellbound with the enormous amount of information he had
on goat nutrition.
He was so great, that we are
hoping to get him back for spring 2010 Goat School! |
Hoof trimming on cadaver hoofs
is always fun! |
| Thank you Kelly and Alex
for the great photos! |
|
SPRING 2009 GOAT SCHOOL
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Spring 2009 Goat School was
both warm and cold! Everyone enjoyed the food! |
The cold and wind didn't
stop us, but did make for some cuddling amongst the crowd! |
|
Annie, a yearling doe, stood
still while we talked about the difference between meat goats
and dairy goats. |
Ken holds Vin-E while he
waits to have his tattoo put into his ears. He was so
good!
Thank you to Kathy Harju for
the photos! |
|
The crowd was definitely
smaller on Sunday, but even with the cold wind, we had a great
day! |
Little Har-D gets his first
CD/T shot |
|
Vin-E is so personable that we
used him quite a bit for demos! |
Poor Vin-E gets to be the model
for a castration. Don't worry we didn't actually do it,
just another demo of how it's done! |
|
Break time |
Poor Gabe, he was just so
pooped out from all the meeting and greeting.
Thanks to Tina Tilley for the
photos. |
| |
|
Fall Goat School 2008
|
 |
Trimming hoofs was quite an
endeavor and actually great fun too!
First we demonstrate on real
live goats, then we switch over to cadaver hoofs and lots of rubber
gloves. It's a great way to learn without turning real goats
into guinea pigs. |
|
 |
Jan explains about worming
and different wormers. |
|
|
Putting several goats on
stands really demonstrates the difference in age, muscling and of
course the breeds. Twinkle and her daughter Sparkle are
compared with Isabella one of our Nubian girls. The ears are
the same but that is definitely where the similarity ends!
A very special thanks for
the photographs to Karl Schatz who with his wife Margaret Hathaway
wrote and photographed "Year of the Goat". |
Fall Goat School
2007
|
 |
Clear skies, chilly temps
and a bit of a breeze didn't stop the camaraderie and fun at Fall
2007 Goat School!
A great time, plenty of food
and wonderful friendships were formed.
We thought Fall of 2006 was
large, this Goat School surpassed all expectations!! So big, it had
to be two days. |
|
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Some found unusual places
to sit and relax during the lunch hour |
|
 |
This lasagna made with
ground chevon and it's twin didn't last long in the cold temps!
Believe it or not, these lasagna's weighed in at 14 pounds each! |
 |
Marshall Piper, Consumer
Protection Inspector from the Maine Department of Agriculture spoke
on Saturday about licensing, quality assurance and regulations |
|
 |
Demonstrating tattooing
on "Apple" whose tattoos had become faded. Freshening up a
tattoo on an adult goat is always an interesting project! |
|
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Al Maloney of New Aim
farm shares his marketing strategy with Goat School
participants. |
|
 |
Bob Glass from Pan
American Vet Labs was our keynote speaker. Here is Bob
demonstrating a blood draw. Ken is holding our precious
Patti. She's always so willing to participate...
Pan American Vet Lab is
located in Hutto, Texas. Bob flew up here to speak at Goat
School, what a thrill it was to learn from an expert!
|
|
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Bob showing the vial of
blood. As he explained, this vial is enough to proceed
with any and all tests that could be done to a goat.
Patti looks on still being
held by Ken. I wonder what she is thinking?
|
A very
satisfied Fall 2007 Goat School attendee writes: "Goat
School was fabulous. It's a great idea, an awesome service to a
niche community, and was so well done! I like the way you really
did it up, "soup to nuts," as they say. From the early-morning
parking help to the excellent everything-goat meals, to the
thoughtful thank-you card sent later....all so well-planned and such
nice touches. Getting excellent customer service always makes me
feel like I got my money's worth, and I surely came away feeling
that way after Goat School!
Of course, the main attraction
of the weekend was the information, the networking, and
camaraderie. All wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing your
experiences, knowledge, and contacts with us.
We are so appreciative of all
you did. :)" Kathy Kahler
Our most recent Goat School is
now just a fond memory. What a great time we had!!
Thank you to all who
participated!
Scroll down for photos of Goat
Schools past!
GOAT SCHOOL FALL
2006
Putting several goats on stands
gave everyone a chance to compare fiber, dairy, and adult and kid
meat breeds. |
One of our largest goat schools
ever! Everyone tried to squeeze in to check out the different
goats! |
Baldie seems to be enjoying the
attention! |
The food was enjoyed by all!
There certainly wasn't much to clean up afterwards. |
Explaining the milking
equipment. |
Ken talks about a little Angora
buckling. |
Jan explains about antibiotics
and giving shots. |
A special thanks to Al
Maloney of New Aim Fiber Mill in Waldoboro for the great photos! |
GOAT SCHOOL SPRING 2006
copyright
2003-2006
After days and days of rain (of course) the sun
finally came out and it turned out to be a great day for Goat School
Spring 2006!
|
It was pretty difficult to get a photo of the
whole crowd of over 35 people! |
Lunch time - a good time to meet, talk, share
stories, and eat! Every one seemed to enjoy the roast chevon,
chevon chili, goat cheese and corn chowder made with goat milk.
Oh, and lets not forget all the desserts! |
More talking, more eating... |
|
Our living room furniture was moved out for the
day, and tables laden with goodies moved in!
|
After many requests,
Ken and I have decided to do two more different seminars over the
summer and fall. One on marketing will take place this summer,
most likely in August. Another on fiber from the goat to
knitting needles will be scheduled for fall, around shearing time so
that we can include shearing in the syllabus. Watch for
dates!! |
|
Fall 2005
semester of goat school dawned rainy and cold! The
goats in the barn welcomed guests. |
Even with the tent, the rain still kept a
damper on things. Quite a few people braved the weather and as
it turned out, we accumulated 8 1/2 inches of rain in less than 36
hours!
Spring 2005 photos are below because with all
the rain, we couldn't get many of the fall semester. |
 |
Spring 2005 semester The
rain held off all day and a great time was had by all! The
Spring Semester of "Goat School" went off without a hitch.
Looking over materials and products available
before class starts. Dan & Deb Burk from GoTees had a
display of their great tee shirts, tote bags, and other screen
printed items. Good luck to them with their endeavor of
producing agriculturally based logos!
You can contact them at
da.burk@verizon.net
|
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Class begins, quite
an impressive crowd by any standards!
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| Ken and Janice gathering thoughts
prior to starting! Lots to teach, and lots to learn. |
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| Little Simon doesn't seem to be
excited to be the next one for an ear tagging demonstration.
Dave, why are you hiding behind the tree?
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Showing where the ear tag goes,
avoiding those little veins is very important. Garfunkel, a
little Angora buckling is being so patient. |
| And, of course Gabriel our Flat
Coat Retriever had to have his fun too.
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| Tattooing, everyone moves in for a
closer look. |
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| After all was done, we got out a
few mohair fleeces and covered washing, picking, blending and
enjoying mohair! |
 |
 |
Hey, I thought this was
Goat School? How come I'm over here and they're over there?
Looks like People School to me.....
Feeling left out like "Pale Face Girl"?
Sign up for our fall 2006 semester!
Click here for
more information. |
Great feedback from some of the
attendees!
HI JANICE AND KEN,
I JUSTED WANTED TO THANK YOU BOTH FOR SATURDAY. I REALLY ENJOYED GOAT SCHOOL.
VERY INFORMATIVE AND FUN.
YOU BOTH ARE GOOD PEOPLE!!!!!!!
TALK TO YOU SOON
MARTHA
I
want to thank you for your wonderful hearts concerning goats and their
care.Don and I really enjoyed your Goat School...very helpful. Kathy
We had fun! Got some great
ideas and fell in love with kids!! Now I HAVE to have some here on our farm!! If
I wasn't sure before, I'm sure now!.......I was also inspired to get to work on
my website!......Thanks for the great information and inspiration! You
guys are terrific! Wendy
Yesterday was
great. Quite a varied group of "goat enthusiasts". Alice
The photos are GREAT!
Thank you ever so much for the "plug" on your site! It made my heart soar!
xoxo Deb
(Also from Deb posted to the
New England Textile Artists Chat Group) Saturday I went to Goat School at
Ken and Jan Spauldings at Stony Knolls Farm...what a great day it was!!!
Twenty five -thirty of us were treated to tons of goatie information and a great
feast! I've learned a lot on line, but being with 100 goaties (Boer and
Angora) first hand was a whole new experience. The goats were fabulous and
friendly! Ken and Jan were so kind to invite us to set up a display about
our screen printing business - GoTee's and THEN put us in the photos secion
(Goat School) of their website!!! What great people!!
Thank
you very much for all of the information and experience at goat school (not to
mention all of the help that you have provided for us over the past months). We
take our goat raising endeavor very seriously and it's great to know that you
have always been there to help. We hope that we can contribute to
your success as you have contributed to ours. Thanks again,
Rich and Darlene
First off I want
to thank you for the class yesterday, it was very informative and helped a
lot....Thanks again for everything, Linda
What a great day!!! You
really put together a wonderful, helpful and enjoyable program! I'm sorry
Jeff had to miss it...Was glad to see the next Goat School Scheduled...Thanks so
much for all you do...can't tell you how much I appreciate everything.
Judy
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