Tag: goats

Expert instructors with practical experience will help you find real world solutions to the challenges facing you and your ranch. You will learn proven tools and techniques that will increase your profit, improve the health and productivity of your land and increase your personal effectiveness.

Thanks for being an On Pasture Subscriber! Enjoy this bonus content. As a novice goatherd, this handbook saved my bacon a number of times. It helped me diagnose the first case I’d ever seen of polioencephalomalacia, and I was able to save the goat kids that had it. It also showed me how to pay […]

This week, we’re talking a bit about diversification, providing some examples of what it might look for different operations and how folks make the decision to diversify. This example comes to us from Suzanne and George England. We also share a story about the Anderson’s of Whitman, Nebraska who describe how they decide which enterprises […]

Self-sufficiency is on the minds of many folks these days. Victory gardens and chicken tractors were/are in the toolboxes of many families looking to harvest sustenance off their land. Back in 1918, public service flyers touted raising your own food and helping others with this tagline: “In time of peace a profitable recreation–In time of […]

Join us for this free workshop on Pasture Renovation and Weed Management. Featuring speakers from the University of Vermont and Kings AgriSeeds. Location: Farm Credit East, Enfield CT. (240 S Rd)

The 2019 Agricultural Learning Symposium on Invasive Weed Management incorporates a number of speakers and presentations into one event. The symposium is intended to be an experiential learning event for folks in the agriculture community. Participants will hear from industry experts and learn about innovations, opportunities, and challenges that are emerging in this rapidly changing industry. The gathering will […]

Producers, would-be producers, and others meet once each year to attend the annual Missouri Sheep & Goat Conference.  This two-day event provides educational opportunities for those involved in the sheep and goat industry.  Topics vary from year to year but have included grazing management, soil health, rations, guardian animals, parasite management, genetics, value-added marketing, budgeting, […]

In 2002, I was raising 60 baby goats by hand. We started them in a barn, and by Spring had transferred them to pasture where they were learning to graze. One morning, during my usual check on them, I noticed one was acting oddly. He didn’t seem to be able to see, and was turning […]

Come and join us October 12-13 for the 3rd Annual Missouri Sheep & Goat Conference in Columbia, MO! The conference was created to provide educational and networking opportunities to those involved/interested in the sheep and goat industry.  Whether you are thinking about starting a sheep or goat operation, or have been involved in the industry […]

Columbia, MO The fun starts Friday the 27th with FAMACHA© training & parasite management in the morning & Farm Tours in the afternoon. Cost to attend the FAMACHA© training is $20/person (register by Oct. 1). Farm Tours are FREE for all to attend! Day 2 will be filled with presentations covering Forages, Multi-Species Grazing Management, […]

Can guardian dogs make a difference against coyotes and other predators, even when both the livestock owner and the dogs are inexperienced? Steve Bryns, Texas A&M AgriLife News editor shares what researchers found, along with resources you can use to get started with dogs.

Here’s another example from a member of our On Pasture community describing some of the fun and the challenges of life working with livestock.

This time of year, we all might be thinking of surf and warm beaches. Our livestock might be also. We’re guessing they are thinking of surfing, just like Pismo, the surfing goat, and Kama, the surfing pig! Let’s go catch some waves!! Pismo the Surfing Goat And the link for tablet readers. Kama the vegan […]

As part of my preparations for our move to Tucson, this past weekend I gave up my goats. A couple that raises beef cows nearby came to pick them up with their stock trailer. Together we took up all the electric fence netting around the pasture, emptied the water trough, and loaded all the equipment […]

Yes, they are tedious. Yes, they can make you feel like you got stuck on an elevator with the most boring person in the universe while on the way to really great party. But if you work through the pain, a business plan can focus you in on where you want to go, and what you need to do or have to get there, or help you realize that you don’t want to go there after all. Here’s a real-life example from my own life.