OUR MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHY

Some breeders provide high quality feed and intensive management, and produce well-fed, impressive looking goats. By contrast, we intentionally stress our goats with terrain, weather, parasites and feed limitation, to the point of reproductive failure, or beyond.

We use environmental stress to increase selection pressure and reveal genetic differences that remain hidden under "better" management. Research has shown that for some traits, such as parasite tolerance, much faster genetic progress can be made under higher than normal levels of challenge.

Our does are expected to kid at 2 years of age and rear twins to weaning at each kidding, on native vegetation, with no management inputs beyond free-choice mineral and predator control.

We make a point not to "flush" does with better feed prior to breeding, because this reveals propensity for singling - one of the worst traits a doe can have. We also score for udder and for demonstrated maternal characteristics. We do no foot trimming, no worming and no vaccinations. No assistance is given at any birth. The only shelter provided is trees. Goats that cannot produce under our management are removed from the herd.

While some goats do fail on our farm, there are others that thrive despite the adversity and it is from these that we draw our replacement genetics. The harsh conditions reveal "winners" and "losers" in the classic bell-shaped curve. If we did not stress the goats, these differences would be masked, slowing our breeding program.

It should be understood that our methods are undertaken for the purpose of making faster genetic progrees. They are not conducive to the highest outputs possible; our goats do not look or perform their best, while on our farm. Our methods result in severe collateral production losses that would be unacceptable to commericial producers. We do not recommend that production farms attempt to raise goats for slaughter under these conditions.