Goat Registry Q&A with the ADGA
The why behind registration.
Reading Time: 4 minutes
Registering goats is important for multiple reasons. I spoke with Heidi Vanderloop, the communications and marketing specialist for the American Dairy Goat Association—a dairy goat registry since 1904—to learn more.
Why is it Important to Register Goats?
Vanderloop –There are many reasons registration is important.
First, it provides official identification and records. Many purebred animals, for example, can trace their lineage back over 100 years through pedigrees. The ADGA can trace many lineages back to their European ancestors.
Registration also proves ownership. Because every registration has the animal’s tattoo number on it, this provides information on the owner or breeder.
As a breeder, registration is important for breeding decisions. If your animal is registered through the American Dairy Goat Association, the ADGA Genetics website (Genetics.ADGA.org) provides a way for you to try out pairings before they even happen, using the “planning” function. A breeder can pull the sire’s information and the dam’s information and see the genetic potential of the offspring.
In addition to listing the animals in that pedigree, you’ll see whether there has been any line breeding or inbreeding in that pedigree and to what extent. If the goat is enrolled in any performance programs, the breeder can use the Estimated Transmitting Ability (ETA) and Production Type Index (PTI) to search for top animals based on those two calculated indices.
If the goats participate in our performance programs, such as linear appraisal (LA) or Dairy Herd Improvement Registry (DHIR), they’ll be included in a performance pedigree. These functions basically help the breeder understand the transmitting ability of the offspring they’re getting.
Blue numbers are good; red numbers are negative. So that’s really important in terms of what we’re doing with our animals.
Who Should Use the ADGA Genetics Website?
Vanderloop – It could be a potential buyer. For example, as a goat breeder myself, I can send the potential buyer the planned pedigree of that animal. They can see if the animals in our performance programs are expected to be quality animals, because we’re using scientifically backed predictors.
How Do You Register Your Goats?
Vanderloop – There’s an online application called Next Generation, which has been in place since 2021. Individuals, both members and nonmembers, can create an online account. If they’d like to be a member, there’s an option to purchase their membership.
If an owner wants to own registered animals but doesn’t want to be a member, that’s okay, too. Owners can own registered animals without being an ADGA member. However, there are advantages to being a member, such as discounted rates.
Photo credit: Audra Trosper
When an owner logs in, their list of animals is already in the online application. When they go to register their animals, they can select the sire and the dam, and then go through the web software to register that animal. The program automatically populates the breed. If they’re a member, their herd tattoo will automatically populate the application.
The process is fairly simple. The ADGA still accepts paper registrations, which can be found on the forms page of the American Dairy Goat Association website.
In order to transfer a goat, the owner must have the registration paper from the breeder who sold the animal to them. They fill out the bottom portion, and that gets mailed in. Currently, the ADGA can only do online transfers if it’s an initial registration.
So, for example, if a dairy goat is born and I’m selling it, when I register that animal, I can transfer it to the owner through the online software. If the goat is already registered in my name and I’m selling it at a later date, then it has to be a mail-in transfer.
Should Dairy Goats Used for Meat be Registered and Tattooed With the ADGA?
That’s up to the individual owner and breeder. Registering can serve as a permanent identification for disease tracking. A lot of the barn sales require a scrapie tag or EID, and the 840 tag. In the dairy world, most dairy wethers go to the meat industry.
What Goat Registry Should I Use?
You have a few choices and should contact any that interest you to see what programs they offer and what will fit your herd and goals best. Some of the options for goat registration are:
- The American Dairy Goat Association (ADGA)
- American Goat Society (AGS)
- International Goat, Sheep, Camelid Registry (IGSCR)
- The Miniature Goat Registry (TMGR)
- Nigerian Dwarf Goat Association (NDGA).
Some breeds, such as the Guernsey goat, whose lineage can go back to the British Goat Society, can be dual registered with the British Goat Society and the American Dairy Goat Association.
Stay tuned for part II of our goat registry Q&A, when I speak with The Livestock Conservancy’s Program Director, Alison Martin. Alison has a PhD in Genetics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, where she specialized in disease resistance in poultry. Alison’s skills in building collaborative partnerships have helped The Livestock Conservancy expand its strategic scientific and technical capacity in conservation programs.
Kenny Coogan lives on a permaculture landscape and runs a carnivorous plant nursery. His educational TV series, “Florida’s Flora and Fauna with Conservationist Kenny Coogan,” will come out in the summer of 2025. Listen to him co-host the “Mother Earth News and Friends” podcast at www.motherEarthNews.com/podcast.
Originally published in the May 15, 2025 digital issue of Goat Journal
