BREEDER'S SPOTLIGHT
ON A WHIM FAMILY FARM By Robyn Scherer, M.Agr. Photos courtesy of Amy Graber
On A Whim Family Farm, owned by Amy & Lyndon Graber, along with daughters Kaitlynn and Alaina Mincey, is located in Washington, Indiana. They raise 45 head of commercial, percentage and fullblood goats.
1. How did you get started in the Boer goat industry? It depends on which part of the industry you mean, but I think we were unknowingly drawn in over the course of 3 years. In 2011, we started out with 4 percentage does because I wanted something to consume the weeds that my cows wouldn’t. Boer goats seemed like a good option because we could sell them for meat. My daughter Kaitlynn later decided she wanted to show goats in 4H, so we bought a slightly nicer doe and wether for her to show. In June of 2013, I decided that I wouldn’t mind having 2 or 3 goats that were competitive in sanctioned shows. That decision led us to buy a red buck from Jim and Deanna Furman in Kansas. We showed that buck at the Indianapolis shows that
14 - The Boer Goat
August, he did very well, and we were at Tom and Jackie Redden’s within two weeks buying our first show does. A week or so later, we attended our first show away from home, which happened to be the one Mark and Debbie Anderson put on at the Wilson County Fair. We had so much fun at that show that we were hooked on showing.
2. What is your favorite part about raising Boer goats? We have yet to decide if our favorite part about raising Boer goats is the goats themselves or going to shows and socializing with the wonderful people we’ve met. All but a handful of our goats are pets, and the ones that aren’t pets are that way by their choice and not ours. We love how personable goats are, and there is something calming about tending to them, in the evening, after a long day at work. However, Lyndon and I also thoroughly enjoy going to shows, visiting with current friends, and making new ones.