The American Dairy Goat Association (ADGA) was organized in 1904 to collect, record and preserve the pedigrees of
dairy goats and to provide genetic, management and related services to
dairy goat breeders.
The ADGA accepts the following breeds: Alpine, LaMancha, Nubian, Oberhasli, Saanen, Sable, Toggenburg and Nigerian Dwarf. The seven "standard" sized goats can be purebred, American or Grade.
The ADGA also offers an experimental "breed" category but not for Dwarf Nigerian at this time, this means "mini" breeds cannot be registered at this time. A mini breed would be a Dwarf Nigerian buck with a Standard size goat (i.e. Alpine, LaMancha, Nubian, Oberhasli, Saanen, Sable or Toggenburg) to create a mini-alpine, mini-mancha, mini-nubian, mini-oberhasli, mini-saanen, mini-sable or mini-toggenburg. There are several other registries where "mini" goats can be registered such as Minature Dairy Goat Association (MDGA) or The Miniature Goat Registry (TMRG)
ADGA has several helpful tools for planning and managing your herd.
The ADGA accepts the following breeds: Alpine, LaMancha, Nubian, Oberhasli, Saanen, Sable, Toggenburg and Nigerian Dwarf. The seven "standard" sized goats can be purebred, American or Grade.
The ADGA also offers an experimental "breed" category but not for Dwarf Nigerian at this time, this means "mini" breeds cannot be registered at this time. A mini breed would be a Dwarf Nigerian buck with a Standard size goat (i.e. Alpine, LaMancha, Nubian, Oberhasli, Saanen, Sable or Toggenburg) to create a mini-alpine, mini-mancha, mini-nubian, mini-oberhasli, mini-saanen, mini-sable or mini-toggenburg. There are several other registries where "mini" goats can be registered such as Minature Dairy Goat Association (MDGA) or The Miniature Goat Registry (TMRG)
ADGA has several helpful tools for planning and managing your herd.
- ADGA pedigrees search, progeny and genetics with DHIR and LA: http://www.adgagenetics.org
- Members can pull pedigrees and former owner information on personally owned goat
- Members can electronically register and transfer their goat online (and for a discounted rate)
- Members can purchase access to subscription reports for $10/year (or get free access by enrolling in the "ADGA Plus" program). This similar to ADGA Genetics but also provides some info on AGS heritage as well.
Below is a chart of common awards, titles and designation found on ADGA Pedigrees.
| Award or Title | Description |
|
DHIR
|
Dairy Herd Improvement for the Registry - A nationally recognized system for evaluating dairy records maintained by the USDA.
|
|
LA
|
Linear Appraisal - The ADGA linear appraisal System evaluates individual type traits that
affect structural and functional durability, in order to take full
advantage of the potential for genetic improvement through breeder selection.
The ADGA LA program evaluates the goats objectively against a known standard instead of subjectively (i.e. your goat against other goats in a show). The LA score an animal recieves on a given moments in time should be the same regardless of the evaluator. |
|
Grand Champion
|
Award earned during an ADGA sanctioned show, the winner of the class of all first place animals in that breed or sanctioned class depending on the show
|
|
CH
|
Permanent Grand Champion Award - Three Grand Champions from show wins according to the ADGA guidelines
|
|
GCH
|
Permanent Grand Champion Award and a AR Milk Star
earned from Advanced Registry or Star Volume minimums. Similar to the AGS ARMCH Award.
|
|
PTA
|
Potential Transmitting Ability - The genetic qualities that an animal is expected to transmit to his or her offspring. The PTA is based on DHI and LA data.
|
|
PTI
|
Production Type Index - An index based on Product (DHIR) and Type (LA). There are two types; PTI21 and PTI12. The former emphasizes Production over Type and the latter emphasizes Type over Production.
|
|
ETA
|
Estimated Transmitted Ability - A relative number that combines half the PTI's of the sire and the dam and subtracts a Qualifing Level (QL) set by each breed by the Sire Development Committee. This number is used to rank estimated abilities of an animal before they reproduce. Similar to PTI, there are two types of ETA; ETA21 and ETA12.
|
|
Elite
|
The "Elite" rating is a tool to identify the genetic "creme de la creme" for breeders to identify the best potential sires and dams for their breeding stock. For bucks to qualify as "Elite" they must be in the top 15% (86%ile and above) with evaluation data from recent daughters. For does to qualify as "Elite" they must be in the top 5% (96%ile and above) with their recent evaluation data and be living at the time the list is generated.
|
|
SG
|
Superior Genetics Award - to identify and recognize individual animals for their
genetic superiority through participation in ADGA's Production (DHIR)
and Typing (Linear Appraisal) programs. Using PTI numbers, an animal must be ranked in the top 86 percentile at least once during his or her life. To qualify as an "SG" doe using PTI21, she must have ranked in the 86 percentile in the DHIR program and have been through a Linear Appraisal type evaluation.
|
|
SGCH
|
A Combination of Superior Genetics Award and Permanent Grand Champion Award.
|
|
AR
|
Advanced Registry - A program to identify the does that produce a qualifying level of milk, butter fat or protein while participating in the DHIR program.
|
|
ST
|
Star Program - Owner Sampler Production Testing
|
|
*M
|
Star Doe (2 Types: AR Stars or ST Stars)
1) On the basis of three qualifying ST Does or Advanced Registry daughters 2) On the basis of two +B sons (ST) or AR sons or 3) On the basis of one AR son and one +B son (ST), or 4) On the basis of one AR son and two AR and/or *M daughters, or 5) On the basis of one +B son (ST) and two AR and/or *M daughters. |
|
X*M
|
X Star Milker - X = the successive generation number of a doe line that
has earned a star based on minimums set forth by ADGA (e.g. 2*M = the second successive generation to earned a milking star.
|
|
+B
|
Plus Volume Buck
1) He has three *M daughters from three different dams. At least two of the dams must be registered or recorded with the ADGA, or 2) He has two +B sons (ST), or 3) He has one AR son and one +B son (ST), or 4) He has one AR son and two AR and/or *M daughters, or 5) He has one +B son (ST) and two AR and/or *M daughters |
|
++B
|
Plus Plus Volume Buck
1) Two +B and/or AR sons and 2) Three *M and/or AR daughters |
|
*B
|
Star Volume Buck (2 Types: AR Stars or ST Stars)
1) His dam is either an Advanced Registry doe that has qualified on both milk and butterfat requiremts, or a Star Program (ST) Doe, and his sire is an Advanced Registry Sire, a Star Buck or a +B (ST), or 2) His dam is either an Advanced Registry do that has qualified on both milk and butterfat requirements, or a ST Doe, and his sire's dam is an Advanced Registry doe that has qualified on both milk and butterfat. |
|
+*B
|
Combination of *B (inherited Star Buck or AR) and +B (from progeny)
|
|
++*B
|
Combination of *B (inherited Star Buck or AR) and ++B (from progeny)
|