Young Entrepreneurs
Recently I sent to Gena
Suarez some photos of
our children showing
animals at our local
County 4-H Fair and
Rodeo. With Gena’s
awareness of our animal
pursuits over the years,
she suggested that an article on the lost art of
raising goats might be in order. This article is
actually incredibly timely since two of our
children have decided to pursue their interests in goats more seriously. In fact, Joseph
( 14) and Emily ( 10) made a formal presenta-
t ion to their father, m apping out their current
goat herd, what was needed in terms of additional goats (bucks and does) and infrastructure (additional pens, better layout to
accommodate breeding, kidding, and general
housing), and how they would finance their
“business” using money earned from their
4-H animal auctions. They went into detail as
to what money they needed to spend in the
next month, doe breeding cycles and which
bucks does would be bred to, and expected
return on their investment.
This presentation was made to their father
a few nights ago. Joseph and Emily had
spoken to experts in our home state of New
M exico, a s well as those from other states.
By Dr. Heather W. Allen,
RaisinSenior Analyticgal Consultant