Sept. 24, 2007

SAN ANGELO – The Junior Angora Wether Goat Futurity uses scientific image analysis – not just the judge's eye – to select winners, show officials said.

Thirty percent of an animal's score is determined by Texas Agricultural Experiment Station personnel who analyze which goats have the finest, thus more valuable fleeces, said Zane Willard, Mohair Council of America executive director at San Angelo.

But fleece quality and quantity are just part of the equation, Willard said. Once shorn, the top animals in each class are also shown as market animals.

The futurity has almost doubled in size in its short two-year history, he said.

"We're expecting more interest this year as more 4-H and FFA exhibitors find out about it, and the word spreads." Willard said.

"The futurity is a good way for new exhibitors to start showing, because Angoras are smaller and calmer than most other goats, and the animals are priced reasonably," he said. "Some of the top breeders of Angora goats in the nation are in this area. They're committed to supporting this show, so they are keeping prices for their animals low by exhibit animal standards to generate interest.

"The show also allows the seasoned market sheep or goat exhibitor another venue in which to participate," he said.

Now heading into its third season, the event was spearheaded by the Mohair Council of America and debuted at the San Angelo Stock Show in February 2006. This year's show is at 8 a.m. Feb. 25.

"The show offers breeders a new way to promote Angora goats as both a market animal and as a fiber producer," Willard said. "Angoras have been exhibited for years at San Angelo and other major shows, but those events concentrate on breeding stock."

While mohair quality is important, he said the Angora Goat Futurity is a market show. The animals are first shown in full fleece, then the top 10 from each class are shorn on site and judged for their meat marketability. Goats are separated into three weight classes determined at the show.

Seventy percent of the total score is calculated from the animal's meat-producing body conformation and 30 percent from the mohair fleece, Willard said.

"The fleeces from those top 10 animals in each class are weighed, micron tested for fineness, and analyzed objectively with scientific instruments to determine the characteristics and value of each fleece," he said.

"The fleeces are given a dollar value and placing based on real market mohair prices on show day. Winning animals are those that place high in both body conformation and fleece. The combined score determines the overall winner."

Dr. Chris Lupton, animal fiber researcher with the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station in San Angelo, oversees the fleece analysis.

"Though only the top 10 animals in each class are shorn, every animal has its fleece micron measured," Lupton said. "The results are later mailed to each exhibitor. This is a valuable tool to help exhibitors know the strength or weakness of the fiber produced by their individual animal.

"Physical fleece evaluation is relatively easy to do, but the ability to know the micron measurement of the hair is invaluable and very important for selection and herd improvement."

Willard said to enter the futurity, either an exhibitor's Texas Cooperative Extension agent or agricultural teacher must validate the goats were shorn on or after Aug. 1, and that the animal was owned by the exhibitor on or before Oct.1.

For more information on the futurity and breeders currently supporting the show, contact the Mohair Council of America at 325-655-3161.

For information on having a futurity added to your show, contact Willard at 325-655-3161,zane@mohairusa.com , or Dr. Frank Craddock at 325-653-4576,bfcraddock@tamu.edu .