Editors Notes:
Wow! Where did the summer go? Taking our booth on the road to the Big Sky Fiber Arts Festival was great fun and we gained some great exposure for the Association. Meeting Diane Thompson was a wonderful treat; she did a great job judging. Diana Mullins recovered from her fall out of the back of Ann's pickup, The Money Maker wasn't too cranky while setting up the booth, Ann Keenan did a great job as the Show Chair, I enjoyed visiting with my brother and family, Moon trumped it all and had a heart attack on arriving home. Moon is recovering so he can enjoy many more years with Diana, we are so thankful; please remember him and Diana in your prayers.
At Black Sheep our booth was a great success again, setting it up was a chore but Diana and I got it done (did you know PVC grows). Denita Wallace, and two new members; Vicky Manns and Susann Artley helped out with the booth and Paul Johnson did a great job educating everyone that came to the goat pen where Goat Knoll displayed three beautiful wethers. We handed out lots of information and sold quite a bit of product. In fact we need more yarn for the booth at OFFF if anyone has any.
Sacramento County Fair is asking us to come down next year on Memorial weekend. They will give us booth space, and we will have a place to judge the fleece during the fair hours while people are milling about. It does sounds like a great way to get our members together down that way and to educate and give exposure to NWCA.
As you can see the market is out there for your cashmere product. We have the booth that is attracting a lot of attention, now the question is are you taking advantage of what the Association is doing for you?
Mickey Nielsen Editor
2007 NWCA Fleece Competition Results
Judge: Diane Thompson 76 entries
Junior Champion Doe: BT #Y39
Owned By: Becky Bemus, Roving Winds Farm
Reserve Junior Champion Doe: SDC Selket # G11
Owned By: Jean-Louis Bleau,Snowdragon Acres
Grand Champion Doe: RSC Giselle # R26
Owned By: Becky Bemus, Roving Winds Farm
Reserve Grand Champion Doe: BBS Ruth # BBS50002
Owned By: Jeanne Austin, Blackberry Slump
Junior Champion Buck: RWF Asti # 0-15
Owned By: Becky Bemus, Roving Winds Farm
Reserve Junior Champion Buck: RWF Bogart # Y29
Owned By: Becky Bemus, Roving Winds Farm
Grand Champion Buck: RSC Figaro # P56
Owned By: Becky Bemus, Roving Winds Farm
Reserve Champion Buck: CNR Bro # CNR204
Owned By: Barbara & Ron Fiorica, Caprette Cashmere
Champion Wether: BBS Brick # BBS0015
Owned By: Jeanne Austin, Blackberry Slump
Reserve Champion Wether: PNF Winston # 25
Owned By: Ann Keenan, Pine Needle Farm
JUDGES NOTE:
First of all, I’d like to thank you for the honor of being asked to judge the 2007 NWCA Cashmere Fleece Competition. It is truly a privilege to be able to go through and assess all those exceptional fleeces from all the committed and accomplished Cashmere goat breeders. Never mind the sheer pleasure of spending a day with my hands buried in some of the finest examples of one of the most luxurious and scrumptious fibres on earth. Heaven!
When I say “finest examples” I’m quite serious. The fleeces submitted to this competition were all outstanding examples of cashmere fleeces. There was no fleece in this competition that was not “show quality”. This made judging this competition quite a challenge, as it often meant deciding which exceptional fleece was slightly more exceptional. A tough, tough call in many of the classes. My sincerest congratulations are due to each and every participant in this show.
When assessing fleeces we, each of us, will have our own slight preferences or bias in favour of qualities we value in a fleece: fineness, length, crimp, consistency and volume/yield all come together in slightly different ways in every fleece. I’m judging fleeces from a breeder’s perspective; that is to say I’m looking at the fleece with an eye to the animal that produced it.
As breeder’s of cashmere, we have the unique challenge in the fibre world of having to produce fibre that meets a strict fibre definition for diameter, length, and style. These parameters must dominate in our breeding program if we are to maintain herds producing fibre that meets the definition, and retains the quality cashmere stands for.
Nonetheless, stunning 50g fleeces don’t pay the bills. Volume and yield are critical for our industry to remain viable and profitable. Hence the temptation that many others have faced around the world. Do you compromise fineness and crimp for total yield and length?
From the fleeces I’ve seen here, I think the breeders here in North America are doing an excellent job of increasing the volume of cashmere while maintaining that critical fineness, style and consistency in their fibre. The increasing size of the bags required to hold a hand combed fleece is one obvious indicator! We are seeing some very large fleeces, showing lots of style and maintaining fineness. Our industry may be relatively small at this time, but, as evidenced by the fleeces in this show, the quality of our cashmere is world class.
When looking at these fleeces, the question of how much dirt or scurf is permissible in a show fleece was raised. Again, as a breeder, my tendency would be to focus slightly more on the quality of fibre the animal is producing than the cleanliness of the fleece and harvesting technique. However, there is no doubt it does make a difference when comparing fleeces of similar quality. A combed fleece with minimal guard hair and debris in it is going to assess better in terms of handle and estimated volume, and will very likely score higher. This is something producers might want to be aware of when harvesting their show fleeces. Fleece competitions mean different things to different people, but I think one of most important purposes they can serve is that of an educational tool for each of us to learn more about cashmere, and help us to develop and improve our breeding programs. We cashmere breeders are spread out over a large continent, and are often working in relative isolation. The opportunity competitions give us to “compare notes” is invaluable. They are also an excellent vehicle to help new breeders learn to assess their own fibre, by getting valuable feedback on each fleece. We are lucky with cashmere, in that it doesn’t weigh much and therefore doesn’t cost much to mail. This makes our (CCPA) “mail in” fleece competition not only possible, but relatively easy. Especially so when compared to live shows, where there are increasing regulatory and economic barriers to participation.
Again, it was an honor and a privilege to be asked to judge this show, and I enjoyed the experience thoroughly.
Thank you. Diane Thompson, Riversong Farm, BC Canada
CCPA Fleece Competition
Results 2007
Judge: Mickey Nielsen
60 entries
Grand Champion Doe: RSC Anika
Reserve Grand Champion Doe: RSC Fancy Feet
Grand Champion Buck: GSF Ali Ba Ba
Reserve Grand Champion Buck: GSF Magic Moon
Best of Show: RSC Anika
All owned by Diane Thompson, Riversong Farms
Congratulations Riversong Farms! Out Standing!
