We are a small herd located in North Central IL. Our family consists of myself (Tim), my wife Dede, and our three daughters. Admittedly… while our entire family loves the goats… the passion for managing the herd resides mostly with me!

Our herd started out as an idea to support our Choose and Cut Christmas Tree Farm. We envisioned having a petting zoo with small animals to provide some additional fun for our customers. As we considered what animals we would have in our petting zoo, goats came immediately to mind. As we reviewed the different goat breeds, the combination of small size and the added bonus of having our own milk steered us to the Nigerian Dwarf breed.

After the purchase of our first two doelings in 2019 our goals began to form. Beyond the desire to simply be a breeder that helped improve the breed, the idea of producing animals for competitive exhibition in the show ring came about. While I would not have called myself a farmer, I have had animals most of my life. A few sheep when I was a kid, a few rabbits for 4-H, and then… the horses. Yep, the horses that occupied so much of my time (and money) from my first horse right out of college to the last ones that called our place home 34 years later in 2023. Although the horses were mostly for pleasure/trail riding, I always had a keen eye for ones with nice conformation. There were a few halter classes I entered in the early years but overall it was just an appreciation for the beauty of a horse with great conformation. That appreciation carries over to my desire to be able to improve on the conformation of the Nigerian Dwarf goats we raise.

So in late 2021, we decided to get serious about introducing some animals that would get us on the right path. A decision was made to place some kid reservations with one or more successful breeders. Not really being familiar with all the Nigerian Dwarf breeders that were producing stellar animals yet, I began poring over the ADGA National Show placings of recent years, looking for breeders that were successful in the 4YO+ age groups.

One breeder that stood out at the 2021 National Show with multiple does placing high that year in the 4YO+ classes was 3G Family Farm. Their herd heavily represented the Castle Rock line and was often crossed with TX Twin Creeks RM Watermark, who was the ADGA National Show Premier Sire that year. And, of special note, 3G was selected Reserve Premier Breeder at that show. So in the Spring of 2022 we brought home 5 doelings from 3G Family Farm and later added a buckling from them that represents one of their long-established maternal lines and is crossed twice on Watermark. We also have some animals with really nice Old Mountain Farm genetics in our herd thanks to Grasse Acres. And we recently introduced some wonderful young bucks from Meadowview Farm that represent the Agape’s Prize herd well.

With the help from our eldest daughter’s boyfriend Eric… when he can free himself from work… I attend ADGA sanctioned shows in IL and the surrounding states as much as possible and a couple of local fairs. 2024 was the first year attending the ADGA National Show. That truly impressed upon me how much this breed has been developed and improved…. and how many truly phenomenal breeders of Nigerian Dwarf goats there are!

We will continue to exhibit at ADGA shows in 2025 and are signed up as a transfer herd for our first LA in (hopefully) May 2025. Putting our herd on milk test is also being explored. Our herd is tested annually for CAE and has tested clean each year. We will be conducting testing again in January 2025 for both CAE and (for added precaution using collective herd fecal samples) for Johnes.

Please let us know if you have any questions about our herd. We would love to provide as much information as we can… just as so many wonderful breeders have done (and continue to do) for us.