Notes from the NorthBranchTogether We Can Do So Much
When I was first introduced to the American Nigora, I was instantly enamored. I had just taken early retirement and shed the trappings of my old life to begin homesteading. Having been raised with little exposure to agriculture (other than the orphaned lamb my mother brought home to our suburban home in Connecticut one summer), I was blissfully ignorant of what it takes to become a farmer. Nevertheless, I devoted myself to a full-fledged agrarian immersion, and to say, "if I had known then what I know now..." could not be more appropriate. I quickly learned that cultivating a relationship with a mentor and working collaboratively within the farming community was needed in order to reach my goals. The same mindset is required within the ANGBA. I would like to remind every member of just how important their individual contributions are to our collaborative efforts.
Recently, I posted an announcement that the ANGBA had reached a milestone when one of NorthBranch Abbey's Nigora does kidded F4 triplets. This represents the highest generational level of recorded Nigoras attained thus far, and a true reason for ANGBA members to celebrate! Even so, many members are just beginning a breeding program or are still working with the lower levels and are struggling to get their herds recorded so they may advance. I remember those not-so-distant days in my own breeding regimen and realize that hearing about others being further along can easily become a killjoy to your own momentum - especially if you forget just how significant the lower levels are to the development of a registerable breed!
The importance of attaining F6 is to ensure the breed traits are standardized, so as to produce more consistent and predictable results in the progeny. In this way, can we prove the American Nigora is a true breed, rather than just a crossbreed. Crossbreeds, you see, do not have the science nor the generational work invested and tend to produce offspring whose characteristics vary - often greatly.
When building a breed, it is important, at each generational level, to retain the best animals we have available to us - those that most closely follow the breed standard. As we work our way up the F-gen ladder and are careful to introduce sires and dams with a low coefficient of inbreeding, we also build biological vigor. However, it is important not to assume that a higher F-gen goat is of more value in this process! In my opinion, a higher quality low F-gen goat would have a more profound effect on the success of any breeding program than would an inferior or mediocre goat with a high F-gen value.
The ANGBA journey is a collective effort of many - think of it as many individuals working independently towards a common goal. EVERY breeder and EVERY quality Nigora is crucial to the process of building unrelated lines. Genetics have to be as diverse as possible - it's not about one line producing an F6, but rather how many carefully fostered F6 lines we can incorporate into the grand scheme. Indeed, the lower generations are the most important, because they form the framework from which each line is developed.
By now, we are all aware of the difficulty to get from F0 to F6... especially when you factor in that it takes 64 foundation animals to produce a single F6 with no common ancestors in its pedigree! (Of course, I am not suggesting it is necessary to be this much of a purist - even I will allow a single common ancestor 4 generations back). It would, of course, be much easier to get to F6 if we didn't have concerns about inbreeding or unwanted traits. It also is not helpful for one breeder to race to the finish line, only to have no other unrelated Nigoras at the F6 level with which to build the registry. It will be the diversity of the genetic pool and our focus on outstanding attributes that will offer us the best chance of developing this exceptional breed to its fullest potential.
If I am to be honest, breaking the F4 barrier, although a thrilling occasion, is a small stride in our cumulative journey, but one which I had hoped would give other members enough "warm fuzzy" encouragement to keep up the good work in their own journeys. Every breeder's carefully bred Nigoras are of incredible value - each time a member reaches a higher F-gen in their particular line, it is worthy of celebration for the ANGBA!
Truly, we ALL deserve a round of applause for our accomplishments!