Oct 13, 2026 · 30 min · 11 segments
George van Vlaanderen and Kristan Doolan made a decision three decades ago that would completely change their lives: they started a farm. The couple settled on a piece of land in Bakersfield with no…
Are there conventional goat farmers out there that do things very differently than you do?
I would say, you know, the vast, vast majority of goat farms are more conventional.
So from the beginning, our idea was, some of my research in grad school involved grazing cows and, and kind of maximizing grazing efficiency through frequent rotation and rest periods.
Um, so yeah, that was an interest right off the bat, is we wanted our goats outside eating on pasture, getting the majority of, of their needs, nutritional needs fulfilled by eating their own forage.
So that was the vision and it was, you know, it's been a long-- Trying to make that system work, it has been super difficult.
So w- we've-- It was always the vision and, and our approach has, has changed considerably-
But most- Dairies that pasture their animals, they tend to have a, a lot, maybe a two or three acre lot, or they might have a couple of them that they put goats out for.
But from the very beginning, we were providing, like, a fresh area of grass-
So we are moving fence every 12 hours to provide the best forage quality possible for our animals, and also, like, go- people think goats will eat anything.
Are there conventional goat farmers out there that do things very differently than you do?
I would say, you know, the vast, vast majority of goat farms are more conventional.
So from the beginning, our idea was, some of my research in grad school involved grazing cows and, and kind of maximizing grazing efficiency through frequent rotation and rest periods.
Um, so yeah, that was an interest right off the bat, is we wanted our goats outside eating on pasture, getting the majority of, of their needs, nutritional needs fulfilled by eating their own forage.
So that was the vision and it was, you know, it's been a long-- Trying to make that system work, it has been super difficult.
So w- we've-- It was always the vision and, and our approach has, has changed considerably-
But most- Dairies that pasture their animals, they tend to have a, a lot, maybe a two or three acre lot, or they might have a couple of them that they put goats out for.
But from the very beginning, we were providing, like, a fresh area of grass-
So we are moving fence every 12 hours to provide the best forage quality possible for our animals, and also, like, go- people think goats will eat anything.
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