2024 NKR Top Consignor, University of Florida Buck Test
2024 NKR Top Consignor, University of Florida Buck Test
At Wildflower Acres Farm, we are dedicated to sustainable, regenerative farming practices and environmental stewardship. Our farm is teeming with life both in vegetation and wildlife and one of our goals is to preserve as much of that as possible. We have wild deer, quail, rabbits, and many different species of birds.
We see ourselves both as goat farmers and grass farmers. The initial phase after acquiring our land involved clearing a large amount of overgrowth, eliminating invasive species of plants that choke out grass and other beneficial plant life. Our next phase will be setting up infrastructure to be able to cell graze which will contribute to the health of our herd as well as improving the soil and vegetation on our farm. Our long term goal is to preserve and improve the ecosystem on our farm while becoming self sufficient, requiring only minimal inputs from outside sources.
We chose the Kiko breed after a lot of research because of their parasite resistance and the fact that they are easy keepers. We believe in allowing our animals to follow their natural instincts, interfering only in extreme weather such as hurricanes. Our goats are given adequate shelter to avoid rain and wind, and we allow our dams to kid on pasture, just as they would in the wild.
While we take great care of our herd, we do not believe in babying them because we believe that only weakens future generations. We are continually improving our herd with each generation, selecting carefully for the traits that are most important to us: parasite resistance, strong mothering instincts/abilities, and rapid growth. We track our progress on farm as well as through performance testing. We are proud to have been awarded NKRs 2024 Top Consignor for the University of Florida Buck Test. Our farm was the only farm to have both bucks entered "finish" the test, not being disqualified due to parasite load.
We have a saying on our farm, "animal health comes first". Kikos are relatively "hands off" as a breed, but as any good shepherd would do, we put our eyes on every animal every single day. We believe prevention is key and have strict standards in place to protect animal health and welfare. We complete routine health checks and keep detailed records on each animal on our farm, enabling us to identify and correct any potential issues with our herd.
As with any rural farm, we have our fair share of predators. Coyotes are the primary threat, but there are also fox, bobcats, panthers, and occasionally bear. In the spring, hawks also become a threat to newborn kids. We have several large Livestock Guardian Dogs that protect our herd, and us. To date, we have not had a single loss on our farm due to predators thanks to the amazing work of our dedicated livestock guardian dogs.
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