Calendar of Events


Oct. 31-Nov. 1 — 4th annual Carolina Kiko Classic, Western North Caro- lina Ag Center, Asheville, N.C. For more information e-mail: carolinakiko- classic@gmail.com. Website: www.carolinakikoclassic.com. Nov. 8 — Fall Harvest Boer Goat Sale, Rocky Fork Auctions, Hillsboro, Ohio. Goat Care discussion precedes the sale. For more information, con- tact John Hershberger at 937-365-1188.


2026


April 24-25 — Southeast Kiko Goat Association sale, Carrollton, Ga., at the Carroll County Ag center. Contact Randy Halliday 229-328-6364 or Todd Trotter 864-376-4493. May 1-2 — The NEW Green Country Invitational Meat Goat Conference & Sale. Location to be announced later. For more information, contact Bill Francis 918-752-7829 or e-mail thenewgci@gmail.com. May 15-16 — NKR’s Cumberland Meat Goat Conference & Spotlight Kiko Sale. Hyder-Burks Ag Pavilion, Cookeville,Tenn. Contact Dana Barnes, 859-749-1893, e-mail dgbarnes74@yahoo.com. May 23 — Mountain Premier Invitational Kiko Conference & Sale. WVU Jackson’s Mill, Weston, WV. Contact Mike Renick, 304-657-0456, or visit www.mountainpremierkiko.com. Aug. 15 — American Spanish Goat Association Premier Sale. Hyder- Burkes Ag Pavilion, Cookeville, Tenn. Contact Sherry Stivender at 843- 830-2562 or sherry@americanspanishgoat.com. Sept. 11-12 — Appalachian Kiko Invitational. Appalachian Fairgrounds, Gray, TN. For more information, visit akisale.com. Oct. 3 — Cream of the Crop Kiko Sale. Harrison County Fairgrounds, Co- rydon, Indiana. Contact Kendell Barnes, 859-749-7584, or barnes_4@bellsouth.net; or Christian McGill, 317-376-0951, or christian- mcgill4@gmail.com. Website: www.cocsale.com. Nov. 7 — 5th annual Carolina Kiko Classic, Western North Carolina Ag Center, Asheville, N.C. For more information e-mail: carolinakikoclassic@gmail.com. Website: www.carolinakikoclassic.com.


Calendar listings are FREE! Print and Online • E-mail information to goatranchermag@gmail.com


Goats busy clearing Vermont ski


slopes before snow begins falling Every fall, ski areas across Vermont have to bush hog and weed whack their slopes to clear them of shrubs and grass for ski season. Now, some mountains are experimenting with a different kind of mower: goats and sheep.


On a recent afternoon, about 150 animals were making short work of grazing Jay Peak’s Interstate trail.


“The goats are great at the trees and the goldenrod and the other types of brush, but the sheep really do well with the grasses,” says farmer Adam Ricci of Barnet. “So by mixing the two together we get everything covered pretty well.” Ricci’s goats and sheep are outfitted with special solar-powered collars that use GPS trackers.


Instead of using traditional electric fencing, he draws a bound- ary map on his phone that he calls a “virtual paddock.” This lets him move the animals multiple times a day, so they can cover more ground and don’t over-graze. It’s also less labor intensive than keep- ing them contained with traditional electric fencing. If the animals stray too far, they get an audible warning that starts as an unpleasant ringing sound. After a few warnings, wayward sheep and goats get what Adam says is a light shock, similar to that delivered by an electric fence collar for a dog. He says this doesn’t happen very often, partly because he spends time training the flock to the collars with the visual aid of tra- ditional fencing before putting them in the virtual paddock. He says it’s a pretty good deal — the goats and sheep get to munch on grasses, but also knotweed and small trees like willow and maple. And Adam gets a place to graze them and a bit of extra income for his small farm. n


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November 2025


30 Goat Rancher | November 2025


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