by Sarah Carr, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Kentucky State University Figure 1: Crossbred Boer x Kiko kid. Crossbreeding is not just randomly mixing breeds and hoping that the offspring do well. Rather, crossbreeding is a deliberate management technique that can have significant impacts on production outcomes. Generally, when implementing a crossbreeding program, the goal would be to maximize specific attributes such as carcass characteristics or material traits. Crossbreed

Raising animals for fiber is a year-long commitment, with your fiber animals growing their fleeces over many months—only for it all to come off in just a few minutes. A well-prepared shearing day not only makes the process smoother, but also helps you get the highest quality (and value) from your fleeces. Here are some helpful tips.