We Have Come Full-Circle.

Back to Goat Basics

Once upon a time I was a computer engineer.

It had no meaning.

I sat in front of a computer giving advice and solving big problems. Others people's big problems.

Going to scrum meetings I realized that 90% of the workers barely did anything. 10% kept the company moving. Some days when the macro-dosing was working I was part of the 10%. Those others days well you know . . .

Then my life changed. I quit it all and started anew.

When we launched our writing 4 years ago we had bold ambitions. We wanted to reclaim in our own small way the lost glory of goat farming. To discuss the issues of the moderns. To highlight how an Amish future was not only possible it was preferred.

We failed. We got side tracked. Our viewership has declined. We lost sight of our basic charter.

Recently a reader reached out to me and asked a simple question. Can we get back to writing about farming stuff? You know that stuff you used to write about. .

It's my fault. I've pulled myself in so many directions the last 5 years. Father. Farmer. Fiction Writer. Now a West Virginian & Part time Christian. It is all by choice. It's sorta like your life. About halfway through it is when you start to really think about it. Life is busy. Life is tough. No more excuses. Spring time is here and life is good. Let's get back to what we signed up for.

We have goats galore running around this place. The grass is tall. The goats are happy. All the spring-time kids are doing well.

We also started some new hobbies. We have been milling wood as a new past time. And to build all the things we need to grow the farm here...

We have been raising ducks and chickens and managing our farm stand too. It's 20 feet from our house so it's easy to manage. It's doing better than I ever would have imagined. It's 100% ours. The fruits of our labors.

We are spending even more time perfecting our Goat operation since we moved to the bigger and improved farm. Managing the grass and soil better. Moving the goats daily. A local sheep and cattle farmer and former goat dairyman gave us a lot of tips. Did you know herbivore saliva actually promotes new plant growth?

I am finally feeling like after 8 years of this goat business I am getting the hang of it all. I am not just making it up as I go anymore. It's becoming second hand. I rarely treat the goats but if I need to I have a better handle on parasite control. Mineral and feed management during the different life cycles of ruminants who kid twins annually. Spotting issues and correcting them before they get out of hand later on.

Goat-ing is tough. When people ask me, “Hey, I am interested in getting into goats, what's the deal with that, should I?” I ask them jokingly if they have thought about raising sheep? It's not that sheep are much easier, they have their own issues, it's just that goats have a learning curve of their own. It's not for the faint of heart or the inexperienced. It's an acquired taste. The big minds in regenerative farming such as Joel Salatin and Greg Judy hate goats for a reason.

Then again, it's all the more rewarding to feel like you have figured it out.

Beginners often have issues just keeping goats enclosed and inside their fence. I have no issues with that sort of thing. Not to be cocky but my goats never escape. It's rare. Most goat farmers I know have jailbreaks all the time. I cannot remember the last time I had a goat out.

I'm not trying to boast. I just have the confidence now to say at least in my situation, with my goats, with my flock, I understand them and they look up to me. I am their master. Not to say they wouldn't be fine with anyone else, they probably would. I just think I have a firm grasp of their way of thinking. It's mutual.

My goats. My new passion for these ducks. I never would have got the ducks if it wasn't for the goats.

See last year when we first moved here I had an issue with meningeal worms. They are a parasite which lives in white tail deer and snails and slugs. Well I can't control the deer. We have dozens walking by our farm daily. My dogs are starting to get used to them even. But the snails and the slugs the ducks can manage. They love those tasty little protein snacks. Have not had any meningeal worm issues since we introduced this feathered fuzz-balls to the farm.

We keep growing our goat herd. Hoping to hit 50 next season. Then it's a short hop skip and jump to 100 like we had at our Old Farm. I never got over 120 goats back there but I think I can sustain more here and with better management ethos and lower input costs. If the fuel prices keep heading south that will work out in our favor too, for every farmer thrives when there diesel cost is low.

The chickens and ducks have become so important to our Farm Stand. Everything we put out there sells. And fast. We sell goat milk soap, chicken and duck eggs, white bread and sourdough. Banana bread when it all works. The Farm Stand is paying our bills. The goats will get there in due time.

My two sons are growing fast. 3 and 5 years old currently. I see a lot of potential in them. They're both very different. The younger one is a bruiser, the strong type, and the older one is the intellectual, the artiste'. Both of them can really help out on this farm when they're ready. I'm homeschooling them, not daily, but when we're not doing real farm work or playing we hit the McGuffey's Readers.

Next year we should be getting School choice vouchers to help our homeschooling efforts even more. The states that offer this are letting parents do the Lord's work instead of the government. It's great!

My wife, bless her heart. She is the best woman I know. She is patient. A hard worker. A great person and mother. She rarely fusses and has a calm soul. I tell my sons that's the kind of girl you want. Crazy neurotic woman are the worst. They get it.

Where do we go from here?

We smell the sweet grass coming up in the fields. We smell the dampness of a recently fallen rain on the dandelions. We take the time each day, especially now that it is Spring, a magical and spiritual time, to count our many blessings. I may complain a bit too much sometimes as a glass half empty sort of guy, but even I have to to revel in the glory that our life has become . . . Not rich in modern pleasures, but the glory that only Nature and a better command of its abundance can bring.

I honestly feel bad for those that failed too early or never decided to become farmers. Many work some job they hate to pay the bills and keep the Amazon packages coming. When they retire, what do they do? What can they do? Expire. All they ever knew what to do when not working is Netflix and chill. They never knew how to build a life which can provide them with meaningful toil for generations to come. A life around producing, not consumption. A life built around the glory of God and Nature and all that it can provide.

Fulfillment... We say this word a lot but what does it mean?

If you found out you were going to die tomorrow what would you do differently today? Me? Not much. For the goats are calling me my friend. I must go check on them soon. Beware of that honeysuckle my little ones. You could get caught in it's wiry natural snare. Be still while I free you from its vines.

Just another day in the life. A glorious day. A day filled with sunshine and rain, sweet grass and dandelions. The early spring daffodils and redbud asking you one simple question. Do you have the time to enjoy me today? Why yes of course I do. Forevermore.

I guess I could have kept working a "real job", staring at a computer screen, working for some nameless faceless machine making bling but then I wake up and head out into the fields and realize this suits me just fine...