American Dairy Goat Association Records

The American Dairy Goat Association (ADGA) was founded in 1904 under the name of American Milch Goat Record Association. The Association’s first herd book was published in 1914. In 1944, the organization was registered by the State of Missouri as the American Milk Goat Record Association (AMGRA), a non-profit corporation. It adopted its present name in 1965.

The organization’s headquarters were located in Elyria, Ohio in 1953 when Robert W. Soens was appointed Secretary-Treasurer. In 1959, the office was relocated to Mr. Soens’ residence in Bostic, North Carolina. It was at this location that the ADGA’s animal and herd registration records were maintained. As the registry grew, it required more space and the current building site in Spindale, North Carolina was purchased in 1963.

ADGA collects, records, and preserves the pedigrees of dairy goats and provides genetic, management and related services to dairy goat breeders. Since its inception the association has registered over one million animals. ADGA has funded efforts to improve the public perception of dairy goats and dairy goat products. The organization sponsored the first Dairy Goat Awareness Day in 1986. As part of that celebration, then-Secretary of Agriculture, Richard E. Lyng, accepted six baby goats as a gift from members of ADGA to the school children of America. Each year since then, one week in June has been designated Dairy Goat Awareness Week.

According to the American Dairy Goat Association (ADGA) Web site, the ADGA is the largest dairy goat registry in the United States, with over one million animals registered since its inception. The ADGA collection spans the years 1914-2000 and contains animal registration records, other animal records, and miscellaneous publications of the American Milk Goat Record Association, the Nubian Milk Goat Register, and the American Dairy Goat Association. Materials consist of animal record cards, registry applications, pedigree journals, annual meeting minutes, handbooks, directories, and a yearbook. These materials are organized into four series, and there are no restrictions on access or use of the collection.

Animal registration cards make up the bulk of the collection. There are two different size formats, which are organized as separate series. Series I contains 3-inch by 5-inch index cards dated between circa 1930 and 1962, the bulk of which represent information about individual animals. This series also contains herd name cards. Series II consists of individual animal registrations dated 1948 to 1978 on 5-inch by 8-inch visible record cards, which are similar to the Kardex forms widely used by libraries for serials recordkeeping before computers came into use. Both series of animal cards contain information such as registration number, owners and breeders, pedigree, records of transfer, and tattoos. Animal cards represent the sole source records for approximately 68,000 dairy goats and are of interest to researchers tracing animal pedigrees. Earlier registry records (circa 1900 until the 1930s) and those from the 1970s onward are kept by ADGA at their headquarters in Spindale, North Carolina.

Series III consists of Advanced Registry applications. Official registration certificates were issued to the animals’ owners and were retained by them. Some of the applications in Series III include separate owner statements on blue index cards. These statements were originally glued to the backs of the applications. A number of the statement cards have separated from their corresponding application forms, and the glue used to attach them has stained the documents. This separation caused some of the statement cards to fall out of their original binder and become lost prior to the records’ transfer to NAL.

The condition of the collection materials varies from good to fragile and deteriorated. The Series II animal cards are in good condition, but sections of Series I were badly damaged by moisture and mold in their previous storage environment. The information on severely damaged cards was preserved by trimming moldy edges and placing the trimmed cards in polyester sleeves. Archival photocopies were made of a few cards that could not be salvaged. Among the publications in Series IV, some issues of the Nubian Milk Goat Register and the early volumes of The American Milch Goat Record are in fragile condition, with loose covers and brittle pages.

Series I. Animal Records – Index Cards. Circa 1930-1962. 75 boxes.

The index cards in Series I contain records of individual animals and herd names registered with the ADGA. Cards include information on animal name, pedigree and ownership. Some animal records include progeny lists, awards won, or official milking test results. Herd name cards are inter-filed with the individual animal cards, and the series is arranged alphabetically. Names beginning with numerals are filed at the end of the series.

Series II. Animal Records – Visible Records Forms. 1948-1978. 269 boxes.

This series consists of dairy goat registration cards containing animal name, pedigree and ownership information recorded on 5-inch by 8-inch records forms. The records in this series are arranged alphabetically; names beginning with numerals are filed at the end of the series.

Series III. American Milk Goat Record Association Registration Applications. 1947-1956. 20 boxes.

Series III contains Advanced Register applications for individual animals. Several different types of application records are represented in the series, including Advanced Register herd sires and does, production certificates, and herd improvement division registration. The series is further divided into two groups corresponding to the two binders in which ADGA originally arranged the applications. Records within each document type grouping are arranged in alphabetical order by animal name. Some of the record forms are accompanied by blue statement cards signed by owners verifying that the named animal had not received supplements intended to increase milk production.

Series IV. Publications. 1914-2000. 6 boxes.

This series consists of publications of the ADGA, including some issued under the organization’s previous names, the American Milch Goat Record Association and the American Milk Goat Record Association (AMGRA). The series contains published pedigree record journals, annual meeting minutes, association guidebooks and handbooks, directories, and a yearbook. The items in this series are grouped by title. Multiple editions of a publication are arranged chronologically within each title group.

Sources Used for Finding Aid:

American Dairy Goat Association. American Dairy Goat Association. Accessed October 12, 2012 from http://www.adga.org/

Missouri Secretary of State. “Articles of Acceptance.” American Dairy Goat Association, July 22, 1965. Accessed February 5, 2013 from https://www.sos.mo.gov/BusinessEntity/soskb/Filings.asp?641949#

Related Materials at the National Agricultural Library:

American Dairy Goat Association. ADGA Handbook. [Spindale, NC]: American Dairy Goat Association. Call Number 40.19 Am322

American Dairy Goat Association. ADGA official shows and national sales.
[Spindale, NC]: American Dairy Goat Association. Call Number SF382.A54

American Dairy Goat Association. Dairy goats! Dairy Goat Awareness Week: sponsored by American Dairy Goat Association [and] Dairy Goat Journal. [Spindale, NC: American Dairy Goat Association, 1986?]. Call Number SF383.4.D34

American Dairy Goat Association. Guidebook: Constitution, bylaws, appendix. Spindale, NC: American Dairy Goat Association. Call Number SF380.A45

American Dairy Goat Association. Linear appraisal system for dairy goats. Spindale, NC: American Dairy Goat Association, [1996?]. Call Number SF383.L56

American Dairy Goat Association. Membership directory. Spindale, NC: American Dairy Goat Association. Call Number SF380.73.U6A54

American Dairy Goat Association. Official shows. Spindale, NC: American Dairy Goat Association. Call Number SF382.A54

American Dairy Goat Association. Performance summary. Spindale, NC: American Dairy Goat Association. Call Number SF383.4.P47

American Milk Goat Record Association. AMGRA handbook. Elyria, OH: American Milk Goat Record Association, 1956-1964. Call Number 40.19 Am322

American Milk Goat Record Association. The goat world. Baldwin Park, CA:[s.n.]. Call Number 40.18 G53

Colby, Byron E. Dairy goats: Breeding, feeding, management. [Spindale, NC: American Dairy Goat Association, 1972]. Call Number MLCM 84/423

Dairy goats: Why? What? And how? Revised ed. Spindale, NC: American Dairy Goat Association, 1969. Call Number MLCM 84/261