All about where our journey began!
As a teenager some of your first jobs really make an impact on you. For me this was true. A good friend of mine had let me know a farmer she milked for needed extra farmhands to milk on his commercial dairy goat farm. She brought me to work with her and showed me the ropes. Before I knew it I became the main farm hand for Sunshine Farms owned by Daniel Consedine. At the time, little did I know, my boss was not just any goat farmer. He was well known in the dairy goat community. Daniel is on the board of ADGA and has made a long term positive contribution to the association. He is an all time master in dairy goat showmanship and has been a judge for decades. Daniel holds a Helen Hunt award from ADGA. Now I knew my boss had an awesome herd. Not only because I spent many days and hours with his livestock, but because of the endless lines of ribbons on the wall in the parlor. He had national champion goats. If only I knew then what I know now I would have picked his brain a lot more and tried to not only be on the milking side of operations but the showing side as well. I worked for Daniel over the span of 9 years, caring for around 250 head of goats. Daniel had Alpines, Toggenburgs, Sannans, Lamanchas, and Nubians. My favorite goat at Sunshine Farms was an all black Lamancha Doe. And the occasional Boers in the export barn. After relocating I had to leave my beloved position at Sunshine Farms. It was about 3-4 years with no goats. Finally my husband and I purchased our forever farm. Fern Hill Farm. The name comes from the abundant amount of ferns on our property and the landscape. I knew right away that I had to scratch the itch and purchase my first goats. Now our farm is around 5.5 acres so I had to pursue a breed that our property was sufficient for. I started looking into the Nigerian Dwarf breed, even though all of my dairy goat experience was with the larger breeds. I quickly have grown a love for this breed for many reasons. The itch had been scratched! I now have made many goals with my herd that include some showing, milk testing, making goat milk products, and overall improving my herd. I am thankful for the knowledge I have retained from my milking job and have applied it to my own farm. I am remaining open minded and have a strong willingness to keep learning more and more. Aside from being a wife and a mom of 4 I have a large focus and passion for my growing herd. I am looking forward to all of the endless possibilites. I also look forward to meeting and connecting with others that share the same love and passion for dairy goats. Below are some photos from my Sunshine Farm days. Thank you for getting to know me!