Pickering Farm Boer Goats
Pickering Farms is located in Northwest Arkansas on 55 acres near the small town of Maysville.
The gentle rolling hills are mostly cleared land, but a few acres of woods have been left in their natural state.
John and Cheryl Pickering built their farm house in 2007, and the barn that houses their goat herd in 2008. They both have full-time “day jobs,” but enjoy the serenity and quality of life found by living in the country and raising animals.
Cheryl and John raise Boer show goats.
“The show goat market has just exploded around here. We provide show goats for Benton and Washington counties in Arkansas, Delaware and Adair counties in Oklahoma, and McDonald County in Missouri,” Cheryl says.
“We mostly provide show goats for the 4H and FFA kids. Last year at the Benton County Fair there were 189 show goats. It is the most popular event now at county fair.”
Cheryl attributes the popularity of showing goats partly to their ease in handling and economics. “Goats don’t take up much room, cost less to buy and require less feed. Even city kids can have a goat. I think it is getting more kids involved in livestock by showing goats.”
“We just have a ball with the kids. We get to meet the nicest people. We just enjoy watching the students grow and develop as they work with their animals. We truly believe that kids that work with animals learn a lot of responsibility, self confidence and tend to grow up as caring, responsible adults. We really enjoy that part of raising our goats and selling them to the kids,” she adds.
“We love working with the goats, but the satisfaction of raising the animals comes through watching the children grow and develop. To me, that is more important than raising the animals.”
John and Cheryl sell breeding stock and for the show market. “The first year we had a goat go to the fair, she got grand champion. The young customers keep us informed of when they will be showing their goats. We make all the shows. We follow them around to the jackpots and fairs to watch them.”
Cheryl suggests people who are interested in raising goats start out small. “It is best to start out small and learn about the animal and then build up your herd.”
Cheryl suggests checking out the American Boer Goat Association standards for breed characteristics. Cheryl uses their standards to teach kids how to pick out their baby show goat, in addition to several other tricks they have learned over the years. They also try to educate the kids on medications, type of feeds, feed amounts and even exercise.
“We are going to offer a showmanship clinic for the first time this year with an expert from San Antonio, Texas. He has been showing goats for 30 years and helping kids develop their showmanship skills. We hope to have it at the end of June so the kids have several months to practice before they show.”
The farm is also home to a few barn cats, a donkey, a few Dominique chickens, two Shetland sheepdogs, and one Australian cattle dog.
If you would like more information check out the website: www.pickeringfarms.com
