Hometown: Searcy, Ark.
Family: Husband, Grant; three children: Eavee (6), Eliza (4), Levi (1)
In Town: Jaimi Zeringue can be found selling her homemade items at the Farmers Market and the Beats and Eats in downtown Searcy, Ark. Under her brand name, Deer Bunny Farm, she also places her items for sale at local shops around town, including The Artistry, the Unity Health Gift Shop in the Hospital and she hopes to soon have them on display at Bee’s Knees. She also displays at Rivers Bend in Heber Springs, Ark.
In the Country: Jaime owns Deer Bunny Farm where she raises ADGA registered Lamancha dairy goats and some laying hens. She also makes and sells an assortment of soaps and other body products from the milk she harvests from her goats. She breeds her Lamanchas to be healthy and productive by always striving to improve their genetics and monitor them for parasites under, always aiming to maintain the healthiest herd possible.
“Originally from Kalamazoo, Mich., I was not raised around agriculture but I always loved animals and wished that I lived on a farm. I ended up coming to school at Harding University and there I met my husband Grant (from Houma, LA.) and we decided to settle here in Searcy to raise our family. I began to realize I wasn’t spending enough time in nature. I felt like our family needed something to motivate us to get outside. I wanted my own children to grow up playing outside, using their imagination, so I got a few Jersey Giant hens to start out with. I enjoyed building their coop, even though it wasn’t anything to brag about. I immediately saw how much fun my oldest had watching and feeding them. I began researching what I could add to our new little farm, and goats were the natural next step. Our first goats were a pair of miniature Lamanchas that I got off a Craigslist ad from a guy in Jonesboro, Ark. They were supposed to be a boy/girl pair, it took me a few days to realize that they were, in fact, twin girls. And my have I learned since then.”
In the future, Jaimi hopes to continue improving the quality of her herd, and she is looking forward to her children becoming involved in the farm and getting them involved in 4-H.
“I really don’t care if my children grow up to be farmers, the main thing is I want them to pursue whatever they find joy in. Every day is a new adventure, and that is exactly what I look forward to! Continued adventures with my family. I’ll never be done learning. My ultimate dream is to purchase a farm with more land.”
