ONOWAY, Alta. – For 12 years, Walter and Myrna Coombs have hooked up their stock trailer, loaded up the goats and driven to Edmonton for Farmfair International.
The three-day Goat Gala at Farmfair has become the place where the couple can show off their prize-winning Spanish Cashmere goats, promote the industry and visit with other goat enthusiasts.
“There’s a camaraderie in the goat community,” said Myrna, who looks forward to the fair.
“It’s an opportunity to meet new breeders and get to know more about the industry. It’s quite enjoyable.”
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Unlike cattle shows in which owners rise before dawn to wash, clip, blow dry and primp their animals, goat show exhibitors prefer a more natural look designed to show off the animal’s hardy nature.
They might brush off bits of straw or hay, or use a damp cloth to remove the worst stains, before leading the animals into the ring.
“We don’t bath animals prior to a show,” said Myrna. “With commercial animals, we (like) to show that the animal will thrive on its own.”
The method has worked. Over the years the Coombs have brought home several ribbons and championships from Farmfair for their goats and llamas.
“We’ve had some top wins with our does and bucks. It’s good advertising.”
Walter said travelling to Farmfair helps promote the goat industry.
“Goats are part of the agriculture scene,” he said.
While Farmfair has helped promote their Llone Pine Farm, which is an hour northwest of Edmonton, the secret to their success was buying top quality goats when they started 15 years ago.
“If you start with good foundation stock and maintained top quality stock and have good management, that is key,” she said.
No grain supplements are fed to the goats, only top quality hay and plenty of land to forage and graze.
Spanish Cashmere goats originated from feral goats in Spain and are known for their beautiful coats and good mothering. Cashmere is the undercoat of the goat’s fibre.
In the beginning, the Coombs faithfully brushed the animals and gathered the cashmere, but have since ended the labour intensive method of gathering the fibre.
Over the years, some Boer goats have been introduced to the flock to develop a more meat-type goat. Because of the animals’ high quality, most of the does are sold off the farm for breeding stock and the bucks are sold for meat.
“People drive into our yard looking for goat meat,” said Walter, as he put the last of the show equipment into the truck for the trip to Edmonton.
Owning goats is not without its difficulties, including trying to contain them.
“They will go over or under whatever. They seem to be able to find any hole. Several of the other does are very creative,” he said.
One of the best parts of owning goats is watching the young kids scamper around the yard bouncing off bales, logs or each other.
“They’re worth the price of admission. They’re really cute and really active,” he said.
