Hello Friends, Family, Fans and Followers!

I just wanted to post an update in response to several ADGA members’ concerns about not focusing on the DAIRY aspect of DAIRY goats. I now know that I did not emphasize this part of the documentary enough in my letter to ADGA members. I was hoping that interested members would go to my Kickstarter, Blog, Facebook or Twitter for more detailed information on my plans. Let me clarify all of your concerns!

If you know my mother, you know that my heart is true to the Saanen breed. Growing up, my mother always emphasized high milk production over winning in the show ring. I showed goats for 16 years and learned that breed characteristics exist for a reason: judges look for physical traits that yield high productivity NOT just pretty goats. I understand that “dairy character” is one of the most important categories in which goats are judged.

The reason I am dedicating a year and a half of my life to this project is that I wish to reach a larger audience than ADGA. If I produced a documentary championing the values of goats, I’m sure many ADGA members would be interested, but I know from experience that the average non-goat-owner couldn’t care less. I have pitched this project to countless people and every time I describe it as a documentary about goats their eyes glazed over, but when I say: “imagine hundreds of goat owners driving cross-country with their goats to meet in one place for one week,” their interest is suddenly piqued. This is one of the biggest reasons for the documentary’s main location. The National Show represents America’s pride and passion for dairy goats. When viewers see all the love, care and enthusiasm at the show, I hope they will ask, “wait– why goats?” at which point I will say “good question, this is why.” The National Show is a platform I can build on. Non-goat-owning audiences will be more responsive to learning about goats if they are having fun and being entertained at the same time.

This brings me to educating viewers about dairy goats– emphasis on dairy. In my Kickstarter video I listed my three biggest goals. This is what I said about goal number one:

“Number one: promote the goat. The goat is by far the most misunderstood animal in American pop culture. Books, movies, TV shows, cartoons all portray them as dirty, grumpy lazy animals, but those of us in the goat industry know otherwise. In fact, they are a thriving, healthy productive animal that is integral to the world’s food and fiber industries.”

I plan on extensively focusing on the dairy aspect of goats- at the National Show and beyond. In fact, my crew and I will be traveling North to visit Jennifer & Scott Bice of Redwood Hill and Jack & Pinky Hawes of Laurelwood. We will also be traveling around Colorado visiting commercial dairies and focusing on other milk products, such as soap.

One more clarification: I’m sure that the title “The Goat Show Documentary” is also deceiving. This is simply a “working title”– it is purely for identification and fundraising. Once in post-production, we plan on coming up with a real title for the film. You may be interested to know that when my crew and I were brainstorming titles in the early days, “Dairy Queens” and “Dairy Characters” were two of our favorites. However, we don’t want to decide on a title until the film is finished.

Please contact me directly if you have any questions about the film. As producer / director / camera operator / editor, I am by far the best source of information on the film and will be happy to tell you about it. Unfortunately I do not belong to many of the goat email lists and online groups, so I have to rely on friends and family members to forward me what other people are asking about the film. Again, please, please, please contact me if you have any questions, concerns or clarifications.

Or for any other reason. I enjoy getting emails and snail mail.  Comments are welcomed on this blog!

Thank you for listening!

Helena