When looking at a pedigree (or my webpage) you may be wondering what all the signs and symbols might mean. I would like to go over a general description of what you are looking at but more detailed information can be found on both the ADGA and the AGS website.
*M (ADGA) & *D (AGS)
These are both awards associted with a doe and milk testing. An animal will earn these awards if they have a specific amount of milk, butterfat, or protein. Both ADGA and AGS have their own regulations for the amount that must be produced to earn the award. When I first started breeding goats, I believed that a *M meant that they earned an award in all three areas - but it only needs to be one area. This is why it is so important to verify milk test results and not just assume the goat earned their stars in production. This year the ADGA increased the amount of butterfat that must be obtained to get the award and I am so thankful! It was pretty easy for even not-so-great first fresheners (first time mom's) to earn the award in butterfat and get their stars. This makes the butterfat and the production more inline with each other. This is a permanant award that will be shown on their pedigree.
#*M (ADGA) & #*D (AGS)
Before the *M or *D there will be a number. This is the generational number. If a goat is a 1*M or 1*D, then that means they are the first generation to receive their *M or *D. If their daughter then also receives their *M or *D, then the daughter would then be a 2*M or 2*D since she is now the second generation to receive her star. Now if the daughter also has a doe that earns her *M or *D then this doe would be a 3*M or 3*D as she is now the third generation that has received their milk stars - and so on and so forth.
*B (ADGA) & *S (AGS)
These are both awards associted with the lineage of a buck and milk testing. An animal will automatically have these awards if their lineage is awarded specific milk awards. The most common is that the dam of the buck is a *M/*D in all three areas (production, butterfat, protein) and the sire is a *B buck - but there are variations in this award and more detail can be found on the ADGA & AGS websites. This is a permanant award that will be shown on their pedigree.
+B (ADGA) & +S (AGS)
These are both awards associted with a buck, thier offspring, and milk testing. Their are several ways to earn a +B +S but the most common is three daughters with three different dams all earning their milk stars or two of his sons earning their plus. Basically, a + is an indicator that the buck throws provable milky lines. You may see a buck with a +*B and this means that the buck has the star for his lineage award and has also earned a plus based on his offspring. A buck does not have to have the lineage star to earn his plus and he can earn up to two pluses.This is a permanant award. Both ADGA and AGS have their own regulations on how each plus can be earned and you can find that in their guildbooks.
ELITE (ADGA)
Both Bucks and Does can earn this award. This is a more complicated of an equation but in essence it shows the animal is in the top 5% doe and top 15% buck for PTA$ (Preditcted Transmiting Ability Dollars - which is an economic index that combines relative values of milk and components. Estimates the extra income a dairyman would receive in each lactation based on values supplied by USDA for fat and protein differentials.) This is not a permanant award - which is why you will see a year frequently listed with the ELITE as that is when that goat was awarded ELITE. You can read more information and find out who is currently on the Elite list here.
SG - Superior Genetics (ADGA)
Both Bucks and Does can earn this award. It is an award that can only be given to an animal that has been on milk tests and also linear apprased. It means that the goat is in the top 15% for PTI. P(roduction) T(ype) I(ndexes) – genetic indexes that combine production and type genetic evaluations into one score. This is a permanant award. You can find more information on SG here.
CH/GCH - Champion/Grand Champion
These are associated with show winnings when an animal is shown. A CH is awarded to a doe or buck that has earned three official wins at shows sanctioned by ADGA or AGS. A GCH is awarded to a doe or buck that has earned three official wins at shows santioned by the ADGA/AGS AND has a production award seen above. They can also receive their SGCH (ADGA only) which means that they have the Superior Genetics award and the Champion award. These are permanant awards.
Top 10 Awards
Each year ADGA & AGS recognizes the top ten producing does in each breed from the prior year’s completed lactation records. This is not a permanant award. You can see past Top 10 ADGA goats here or you can go to the AGS website and receive a booklet with the Top 10 here.
LA - Linear Appraisal (ADGA) or Classification (AGS)
You will see letter(s) and a number listed after some goats names. This is their Linear Appraisal or Classification score depending on which organization they were rated under. They are scores that judge the animals diary build in all areas. ADGA's description on Linear Appraisal is excellent and comes with pictures to see what they are scoring on and how to breed the type of animal you are looking for (picking out new stock for instance). The webpage is here and I highly recommend all breeders taking a look even if you are not going to participate in LA. This will be part of their permanant record. You can find out more about the AGS Classification here. We are hoping to start LA/Classification in 2025 -most of our goats are going to be first fresheners this coming up year and first freshing LA's scores are always lower so we want to wait until we have a more established herd before investing in the time and cost of having the appraisal.