Family: Son Evan (15) and daughter Madeline (8)
Hometown: Alma, Ark.
In Town: “I graduated with a bachelor’s from Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Okla., and began working at OK Foods. I switched to Simmons Foods in Van Buren and Fort Smith. I have been with them for 12 years, and I’m now a food safety and food assurance manager working with food service items. My 8-year-old daughter Madeline is active in basketball and softball while my 15-year-old son Evan transferred to Mountainburg High School so he could delve into agriculture classes not available at Alma.”
In the Country: “I have 5 acres in Alma on which I manage 35 Nigerian dwarf dairy goats and 15 Boer meat goats, in addition to a horse raised by my father that serves as entertainment for Madeline. Both children are in 4-H with Evan also active in FFA because he wants to be a vet specializing in assistive breeding techniques. Because of the time demands, my children have many responsibilities with the animals. Feeding regimens are determined by species, stage of life, purpose, and body composition with the Boer goats each having a different feeding program. While Madeline feeds the baby dairy goats with a lamb bar, the remaining individuals or groups each have a different color bucket so each animal gets exactly what it needs. Evan and Madeline also perform routine night chores in addition to working with show animals and fitting the goats for shows. I milk once a day in the mornings and do morning chores before I take the children to school. I typically market young dairy goats on Facebook and the Boer goats after fair season so other people can show them as well.
Future: “I was raised with cattle and horses, but my kids loved goats and this farm is all about them. Now I love goats too, so much so that when I retire, I may move back to Oklahoma to purchase a place with more acreage so I can raise goats fulltime.”
