The daily care for the goats falls mostly on the shoulders of Art, whose routines include a Boer goat’s equivalent of a pedicure: caring for the animals’ hooves.
for your information Mulberry Meadows Ranch’s annual open house and goat auction begins at noon March 26. Visitors also can contact the ranch to arrange for a tour. 1657 N. Wyman Road Brookville mulberrymeadows@yahoo.com (785) 577-7810
nurturing to Art, who is semi-retired and can call on his diverse background as an engineer, surveyor and cattleman. Boers, which originally came from South Africa, New Zealand and Australia, are raised as meat goats and require plenty of grazing space. “We believe that raising goats on pasture grass is both healthier and more profitable,” says Carol. “Buying hay and feed reduces profit margin.” Another benefit of grazing goats on open pastures is to help control tree and shrub growth. “They chew off the leaves as high as they can reach and keep small trees from taking over good pasture land,” explains Carol. Assisting Carol and Art with all the grazing and herding are two Anatolian livestock guardian dogs. At 90 pounds, Sissy is the second generation of Anatolians that Carol has owned. Sissy has mastered the ability to blend in with the herd of goats that follow her across the pasture. She is joined by two new arrivals from Texas: Lori, a 95-pound newcomer, and Biscuit, a 140-pound male. “Because of these dogs, we are able to keep our goat herd on the pasture with little concern for coyotes or bobcats. They also chase away opossums and raccoons,” explains Carol. “And they always keep the goats together. When the goats are grazing, the dogs will position themselves on a hill and watch over them. Anatolians are a very independent thinking dog.” Art and Carol are able to recognize each of the goats and their personalities, referring to them by name, marking or ear tag number. Art quickly points out the “good composition” of Selena, whose black spotted tail stands out among the dozens of stubby,
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flag-like tails, all wagging in unison. “Over there is our new buck DCW Outkast Warrior. Two of the June babies from that buck placed first and fourth at the Kansas State Fair in September,” Art says proudly. “DCW’s pedigree has won national shows for the past eight generations. His father was the youngest buck ever to win the ABGA National show when he was only 6 months old.” Carol points out that Boer goats are capable of “kidding” more than once a year. “But we only breed our does once a year. Healthier ewes can often give birth to twins or triplets.” Mulberry Meadows’ primary market for selling Boer goats is to agricultural youth groups such as 4-H and Future Farmers of America. The price for a goat can range from $100 to $600 for prospect meat goats and $250-$1,200 for pedigreed breeding stock. “There is a tremendous move for kids to show goats, in addition to cattle and hogs, because of size and variety,” says Carol. “4-H families like raising goats because they are more companion-like. They have distinct personalities and children enjoy working with them.” The goat ranchers also hope that goat meat, which they describe as “very lean” and “one of the healthier meats,” continues to gain popularity. Their primary market for meat is an open house event each March on their ranch. The couple’s long-term plans include “selecting the best out of our existing 75, plus the 25 new kids we get each year, and winnowing the herd down to 25 or 30 top-quality head,” explains Carol. Then, the couple hope to retire and set off traveling, leaving the goats for someone else and seeking new pastures for themselves.