This recipe is courtesy of former JABGA Area 4 Directors Noah Ridding and Isaac Ridding. You can find this and many other tasty recipes in the JABGA "Cooking for the Future", now available in our E-Store. Easy Goat Enchiladas Ingredients 12 tortillas 1 onion, chopped ¾ LB grated Cheddar cheese 2 cans cream of chicken soup 1 PINT sour cream 3 jalapeno peppers 2 CUPS cooked goat meat Directions Mix sour cream and soup in a saucepan; add chopped peppers. Heat mixture until bubbling. Heat tortilla in hot oil one at a time. Add onions, cheese, goat meat, and a spoonful of soup mixture in the center of each tortilla; roll and place in a large baking dish. Pour the remaining soup mixture over the enchiladas; top with remaining grated cheese. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit until the cheese has melted.

First Coni Ross Memorial Scholarship Recipient “Being chosen as the first-ever Coni Ross scholarship recipient means a lot to me,” said McKenna Blair, who is from Wagoner, Okla. “I considered her to be the best of the best.” Ranked 7th in her class, McKenna graduated Wagoner High School with a 4.0 GPA in May 2021. She now attends Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Okla. As a double major in Agriculture Education and Agriculture Communications, she has a 4.0 GPA. “I will forever cherish Coni’s impact on my life,” McKenna said. “I can still remember her smiling and walking around the ring doing what she loved most. She brought so much positivity to the barns that always brightened my day.” Known worldwide for her knowledge of Boer goats and her interest in sharing her knowledge with others, McKenna said she hopes to follow in Coni’s footsteps. “I can only hope to, one day, be as knowledgeable about livestock as Coni and expand my own education to help and mold the generations to come,” McKenna said. After she graduates from college, McKenna wants to be an ag educator and build her own Boer goat herd. “Boer goats are beautiful animals,” McKenna said. “There is nothing cuter than a baby goat.” But it goes farther than that for McKenna. McKenna also wants to pay it forward by providing show animals to kids who are interested in showing and building a bond with the younger generations. McKenna said if you look deeper into what the Boer goat offers, there are many reasons to like Boer goats. “At the show level, they teach youth and adults how to manage time as well as how to be good caregivers,” she explained. “I think one of the greatest things Boer goats have to offer is their efficiency to convert forage to meat production. If a person isn’t interested in the show aspect of the Boer goat, the market and farm-to-table aspect is very beneficial and should be utilized more in today's world.” #JABGA #news

Congratulations to Jiles Coble who was selected to the 2021 Georgia National Livestock Ambassador team! #JABGA #news

An Unknown Staple of Meat | A Study of The Boer Goat Industry Casey Stevens’ goal is to change the meat goat industry. Her research “An Unknown Staple of Meat, A Study of The Meat Goat Industry” came in 4th in the Ag Sociology category at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo. You can download and view her study here. #JABGA #news

By Alaina Blair Agriculture has provided me with vast opportunities and has impacted my life in many great ways: from skills learned and values instilled in me to hard work and responsibility are a way of life. It teaches perseverance, to hold tight to my faith, and know the sun will rise again tomorrow. Agriculture is not only cultivating the land, producing crops, and raising livestock, but it’s being a caregiver. It’s setting roots that run deep with family, history, and community. One day I will become part of a legacy left on the land as the next generation is raised. Agriculture is vital for all, for it produces the necessities that maintain life. ABGA has helped me find my passion and fuels my drive for the Boer goat industry. It’s given me the opportunity to be involved in the industry I so deeply love. Hopefully, one day I will be able to have a livelihood in becoming a veterinarian that specializes in small ruminants and giving back to the industry that has given me so much. Therefore, celebrating National Agriculture Week makes me think of gratitude and harvest time. Gratitude for the backbone of our nation that provides our food and a way of life to be proud of! It’s the past, present, and a promise of the future. It gives me a reason to celebrate the industry I love and settles my soul. Here’s to a lifestyle worth celebrating! #JABGA #news

By Logan Hollen What is Agriculture? As a girl growing up in Kentucky, I have been surrounded by ag my whole life. Throughout the past 18 years on this earth, I have learned what agricultural means to me. The foundation of the world is agriculture. Ag gives you everything – from the clothes on your back to the lights in your house. A few months ago, I found myself in front of a freshman ag class teaching them what agricultural is. After the lesson I left them with one last thing to remember, “without agricultural, we have nothing, without agriculture, we are nothing”. The American Boer Goat Association (ABGA) is a great representation of what agriculture is. This organization teaches young students about the importance of animals and how to properly care for them. We need more organizations such as the ABGA to share the importance of agriculture. I strive to share the importance of ag and continue to share with others why we must keep ag the focal point in everyday life. #JABGA #news

By Logan Hollen When going into any showmanship class the most important thing you want to do is have confidence. You can grow your confidence by having eye contact with the judge. When having eye contact it allows you to have a connection with the judge, and in hopes, they will remember you and set you apart from the rest. It’s very important to stay focused on where the judge is located in the ring. This is done by keeping eye contact. By knowing where the judge is at all times will let you have a smoother transition when moving around your goat and will help keep you focused on the class. This is definitely something that can be practiced at home with the use of a mirror. The use of a mirror in your barn will also help you with feet placement. Judges are very picky on how feet are placed. This will separate you from 1st place and 2nd place the majority of the time. The quicker you can place feet and be looking back up at the judge is what will push you towards the top of the class. #JABGA #news

“We all love to help the youth and promote Boer goats.” The Junior American Boer Goat Association holds a special place in the heart of Jodi Scholl, our JABGA Area 2 Regional Show Secretary. “It's where I saw my daughter bloom in her personality and find her niche after a life altering accident,” Jodi explained. “She has now served on the JABGA board for three years. I believe that if we give our youth the tools they need, they will thrive.” That’s exactly what she’s doing with the JABGA Area 2 Regional Show. She said the livestock industry is such a powerful tool to keep kids involved and teaches so much more than showing. The JABGA highlights some of those skills with the contest and activities they do at the regionals and nationals. “We have a great group of friends that help run our shows,” Jodi explained. “We all love to help the youth and promote Boer goats.” While it’s a lot of work, they have a great time doing this, she added. “Life is just more fun when you are around ‘family’,” Jodi said. Along with a group of individuals that helps run her shows, Jodi said she had access to a facility that was not utilized enough. “We thought it would be a great place for an ABGA show, and it just came together the first year,” Jodi explained. “We each took a job that we had strengths with. Mine just happened to be organizing, so that's how I got to be show secretary that I share with Lori Wickman.” That was 5 years ago, and the rest, you could say, is history. “We now have three separate shows that we have turned into a series, The Little Sioux Showdown Triple Crown,” Jodi said. “We try to do something new and different each year. This could not be done without the help of my amazing committee! While she joined the ABGA in 2011 so her daughter could be in the JABGA, Jodi said she’s found opportunities within the ABGA that have helped her operation. She’s also had the chance to get to know so many people. “I have two more children who are starting to really get involved with the JABGA,” Jodi said. “I hope to see the same growth in them as I did my oldest.” This is important to Jodi because she was also raised in the agriculture industry. “I grew up on a family farm where we had a cow calf operation, farrow to finish operation, and row crop,” she added. “I was always outside with my Dad helping with things on the farm. I was involved in FFA during high school.” Some things never change. “My husband and I with our three kids have been highly involved in agriculture,” Jodi said. “We have a small cow calf operation, our son has a small sheep herd, and we have around 100 head of goats at all times. I am still highly involved with my family farm helping my folks with their row crop. I definitely would not want to raise my kids any other way!” #JABGA #news

Day One of our Junior American Boer Goat Association Board of Directors Face-to-Face meeting is complete! Our JABGA Board members spent their first full day breaking the ice -- getting acquainted with each other and the ABGA office, writing National Show thank-you notes, and viewing a leadership TED Talk (video below). This sparked an afternoon of conversation: "What does JABGA mean to you? How do you see JABGA moving into the future? What would you like to see at the 2023 JABGA National Show?" The group finished out the night with pizza. Our JABGA Board of Directors has a fun-filled (and busy!) few days ahead of them! UP NEXT: a tour of the Angelo State University Meat Lab and Management, Instruction, and Research Center. #JABGA #news

Day two of our Junior American Boer Goat Association Board of Directors Face-to-Face meeting is in the books! Our JABGA board members started the day at The Texas A&M AgriLife Research Center in San Angelo. The group toured the laboratories and research pens. They were also introduced to the center’s research, which spans several breeds of sheep and goats, feeding programs, fiber sources, crops, and technology-led parasite identification. We owe a special thank you to Sheep and Goat Program Specialist Jake Thorne and Dr. John Walker at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research Center. Our JABGA board enjoyed hearing their knowledge. We also owe a special thank you to Robert Cope, Senior Instructor/Research Associate in the Department of Agriculture at Angelo State University (ASU), for his wisdom and time during the tour of the laboratory. The group then traveled to the ASU Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Product Development Laboratory, where JABGA members got to see the product of the Boer goat breed – the meat! This further developed the knowledge JABGA members learned at the 2022 National Show Carcass Evaluation Class. After lunch, board members sat down for their official business meeting at the ABGA office. ABGA Board Vice President Kathy Daves-Carr attended virtually. JABGA board members ended the day enjoying a Texas country music concert on the banks of the Concho River in downtown San Angelo. Courtesy of: Avery Holman Up Next: Tours of Denis Feedlot and Rocking Chair Ranch! #JABGA #news

Drumroll, please! The JABGA Board of Directors selected 2022-2023 officers as part of their annual Face-to-Face meeting on July 7, 2022. Your 2022-2023 JABGA officers are: President: Cecelia Knott Vice President: Logan Hollen Treasurer: Natalye Scholl Secretary: Helena Almli Reporter: Madison Reis Congratulations to these JABGA Board members! #JABGA #news

The third and final day of our Junior American Boer Goat Association (JABGA) Board of Directors Face-to-Face meeting in San Angelo, Texas is all wrapped up! JABGA directors kicked off the day with a tour of Denis Ranch Feedlot, in Vancourt; a small ruminant feed mill and custom feeder established in 1973. They house over 15,000 sheep and goats owned by independent producers. John Duke Hudson, a commercial meat goat broker and feeder, spoke about the feed mixes the mill produces and the efficiencies in health and growth they are trying to capitalize on. From there, the group traveled to the Rocking Chair Ranch owned by Loyd Whitehead. Ranch managers, Randy Wood, and Philip Vinson, along with Whitehead, guided the directors as they worked through pens of 5/8 3/8 Spanish Boer Cross goats. Discussions focused on crossbred versus purebred stock, management considerations, and Boer goat breed characteristics. The group also toured the sale ring space and spent time conversing about the challenges and opportunities facing the Boer breed, as well as the industry at large. JABGA extends its thanks to the generous people of the Rocking Chair Ranch and Denis Ranch for their hospitality and willingness to share their experiences and wealth of knowledge in animal agriculture. Directors resumed their business meeting at the American Boer Goat Association offices in the afternoon and capped off the trip with a hibachi dinner. #JABGA #news