Learn more about the new Goat MQP contest on March 23rd
Local market goat exhibitors now have a new opportunity where they can expand their knowledge of the meat goat industry by participating in a meat quality and performance project similar to what other large animal market projects have enjoyed in Fairfield County.
The Goat Muscle Quality and Performance (MQP) contest will evaluate entries based on a combination of goat growth, performance, and carcass characteristics in order to identify a contest winner. Very similar to the way the Lamb MQP contest is conducted, Goat MQP will begin with exhibitors weighing in their young goats at the Fairgrounds in early June. These goats will then return home with the exhibitor, be fed to an appropriate finish weight, and then return to the Fairgrounds for final weigh-in and transport to a local packing house for harvest in late August. Once harvested, the goats will be evaluated and ranked based on a combination of factors including carcass weight, fat thickness, ribeye area and performance. Performance will account for 30% of the total contest score with the goat carcass score accounting for the remaining 70% of the score.
To learn more about this new contest, interested exhibitors, their families and advisors are invited to a meeting in the Fairfield County Ag Center on March 23 beginning at 7 p.m. The meeting will be brief and will explore the philosophy of MQP contests, the rules for Goat MQP, and answer any questions regarding participation in the contest. Enrollment in Goat MQP will begin shortly after the meeting and will conclude along with the other local MQP enrollments on May 2, 2022.
Plan now to join us in the Ag Center beginning at 7 p.m. on March 23 and explore this new opportunity for local junior market goat exhibitors to participate in a real-world market goat production contest that rewards participants for excelling at producing top performing goats that possess optimum market value carcass traits.