Why Cashmere?

My love of animals led me to cashmere goats. That, and Dr. Gene Dickens. I worked with Dr. Dickens in Tulsa at Hillcrest hospital from 2012-2014. He told me about the amazing gal he was married to, Heidi, who had acquired a heard of cashmere goats. My dream was to one day have my own farm. I would raise animals. I wanted them all whether it was goats or cows or sheep. I wanted a farm. I eventually moved to southwest Missouri in 2014 with four dogs and bought a small house in Joplin. I was going to work and keep saving until I had enough money to get some land. In the meantime, I made my house in town as much of a farm as possible. I started with backyard chickens, then decided maybe I could do a couple of goats. I couldn’t find anything online saying I COULDN’T have goats where I lived. They couldn’t be any noisier than the dogs in the neighborhood. So, I contacted Heidi and she set me up with my very first goats, Hansel and Gretel. They were the most beautiful goats. I never thought I would love keep goats so much. Well, I soon found out that you cannot keep goats in city limits and the animal warden will come to your home to tell you so. I had to put my goat dream on hold. Hansel and Gretel went back to Heidi to “babysit”. About one year later I got married and my husband and I bought the farm of my dreams. Hansel and Gretel moved back in with me with two other cashmeres. I’ve never looked back. My tiny herd has grown to anywhere from 30-50 cashmere goats.

Biggest Challenge?

My biggest challenge has been marketing my goats. There are so many platforms and social media sites it is hard to know which platform to target. Not many people in my are know what a cashmere goat is.

Biggest Successes?

My biggest success is seeing my heard growing and maintaining a healthy status. It makes me so proud to look at my goat field and see momma goats with their babies zooming around them in the field. There is nothing more heartwarming than a baby goat bouncing around its mom. ANY farming is difficult. It is hard work and can wear on you and cause heartache but, the happiness it brings me far outweighs the sadness.

Do you view farming as more of a business or a lifestyle?

I would love it if my farm was my full time business. Alas, right now, I still have my day job. However, I have not given up on finding ways to make it my full time job. That being said, my farm is my life. I think about it constantly. It is my passion. I read, discuss, and research on ways to improve. It’s a constant learning process for me. And, it has become part of my identity.

What have been the biggest changes you've implemented on your farm?

The biggest changes on our farm have come out of necessity. As we have grown we have been expanding our goat fence. It may seem strange to list this as a “biggest change”. But, each year my husband and I add another paddock of goat fencing. We put a lot of time, money, and work into fencing as that can be one of the biggest headaches when owning any animal. Adding good fencing has allowed me to really expand my heard and make headway on practicing true rotational grazing. Which has been one of my biggest goals. I want to raise healthy animals and healthy pasture.