An Ozark Success Story

The Wohnoutkas are probably one of the hardest working and most dedicated goat farmer teams I have ever met. I think they have probably explored every avenue of the business and even created a few new ones. Their story is an intriguing one and a visit to Tri-Quest proved to be absolutely inspiring. You really can make a go of it with goats!

Tri-Quest is a lovely farm nestled comfortably in the foothills of Ozark Mountain country in Missouri. Dan and Paulette's 320 acres of rolling pasture and woods are home to the largest herd of fullblood Boers in the state and patrolled by Komondor guard dogs. In addition to their Boer herd, they raise a small herd of mixed breed cattle and grow their own oats, hay and alfalfa using the latest alternative management techniques: microbial soil builders and no herbicides or pesticides. Paulette manages marketing and sales and monitors matings and kidding while her husband Dan does the heavy work of hay baling, feeding and barn cleaning.

They feel strongly that good management and high quality feed products are vital to the well-being of their stock. In keeping with this philosophy, they are distributors for AgRestores, a company that formulates special nutritional products for goats. They feel that these products work well for them and encourage other goat breeders to try them. They are also distributors for Meadow Mate, Springbriar and Laube clippers. Springbriar is a specialized nutritional product for the livestock industry with emphasis on caprine formulas. They have recently begun to offer another advantage to the goat industry. A feed ration formulation service is available so that goat breeders and owners can go to their local feed store, learn the list of feeds available from their local mill and Tri-Quest will balance the ration using the specialized minerals, enzymes and microbials that are available through their products.

Post sale support is important to Tri-Quest. They are there to help the buyer learn to care for their new animals and to assist with emergency information. Dan and Paulette also offer discounts on stud fees to any animals that is purchased from their farm. Recently, organized workshops have been added on the farm with the aim of educating new breeders. These workshops have been taught by seasoned breeder Norman Kohl of Texas and cover selection, fitting and the latest management techniques of the Boer goat. Future plans are underway to include other notables speakers in the Boer business.

But lets go back to the beginning. Things weren't always so grandiose at the Wohnoutka homestead. The Wohnoutkas got started in goats in California in 1968 with two Nubian dairy goats named "Dusty" and "Kathy." They had been driving great distances to purchase the goat milk they needed for their infant son and, after two months of travel, decided to get their own goats. Dan also benefited from the goat milk and swears today that it cured him of his stomach problems.

In 1974, the Wohnoutkas moved from California to their present farm in Missouri. By 1990, they had purchased a dairy farm adjacent to their home, starting a commercial goat dairy of 150 LaMancha, Nubian, Kinder, Alpine, and assorted crosses. For three years they struggled to make ends meet, shipping milk out of state to processors in Florida and Arkansas, but the prices they received for their milk made profits just too slim to make all the labor worthwhile.

Dissatisfied with the profits from selling the raw product, they decided to explore other avenues. They put their milk into a soap-making operation called Elan Company, a joint venture between Dan and a friend, which produces goat milk products such as soap, lotion and hand cream. I have personally tried their Buck-A-Way soap and can personally attest to its efficacy. It really does eliminate that buck smell from your skin! Elan is still in business and can be accessed on the web at http://www.elancompany.com. They also considered and investigated starting their own cheese processing plant at one point but when the Boer first made its appearance in the United States, Paulette saw the opportunity to make the goats really pay their way.

They purchased their first Boer in 1994 starting with a Landcorp Premier buck, one of the original imports out of New Zealand.

"He cost more than any car we owned," Paulette exclaimed. This original buck was bred to their entire herd of dairy does and the resultant kids, both bucks and does, were sold out of state. This enabled them to purchase a South African buck and does from the Alan Balson farm in Canada. The next year they again bred all the dairy does to Boers, retaining all the doe kids and selling the dairy does as they came fresh, and all the percentage kids were raised on milk replacer, the same product that is in their line today. Thus they made the transition from dairy to meat, and the farm was back in the black. Tri-Quest has made steady improvement on their original herd, utilizing South African stock which Dan believes has given them better butts and better muscling overall. The current head count includes at least 60 fullblood does with more due all the time. This, added to the 250-plus head of percentage Boers and an ample number of studs, makes Tri-Quest the largest herd of South African Boers in the state of Missouri.

They are now into their third embryo transfer program and, although they won't be kidding out the third babies for about a week, counting pregnant does they continue to run above the national averages for live births. Most fullbloods go for breeding stock but those that do not meet their expectations enter the slaughter market along with many percentage wethers.

Most breeding stock is sold by private treaty off the farm. Their stock has been purchased by buyers from throughout the United States, Taiwan, Haiti and Canada. "Exports are complicated," Paulette explained, "requiring adequate lead time."

To facilitate successful export and minimize the stress of the journey and the transition to a new environment, Paulette likes to follow a program of conditioning all animals slated for shipment. To do this, she has implemented a pre-shipping program that includes treatment for parasites and coccidia, fortifying them with a stepped-up feeding program which includes the addition of direct fed microbials and water soluble B vitamins. (A detailed review of this program is available on the Export Page of Tri-Quest's web site at triquestboergoats.com.)

Not only are the Wohnoutkas progressive and aggressive in their breeding and management program, they strongly feel that equally important is the development and promotion of the product end of the Boer goat. They are currently working with a group toward developing a vehicle by which the consuming public can become aware of chevon.

While meat stock can be sold at local auction and some is sold through private treaty, better prices are being realized by selling directly to the packers via a local marketing effort. This marketing co-operative, which Paulette helped organize, schedules internet sales of goats with designated collection points at two centralized locations in Missouri.

Tri-Quest participated in an embryo transplant program in Texas in 1997 with good success, again in 1998 on their farm with even greater success, followed by their most recent flush in the fall of 1999. In 1998, they flushed five fullblood donors which were bred by five different fullblood bucks and got 89 embryos, 81 of which were transferable. Twenty adult and twenty yearling does received the flushed embryos and thirty-two of them carried to term. Eight of the original forty recipients lost their embryos, either never settling or absorbing the embryo within the first few weeks of pregnancy. These eight were evenly split between yearlings and adult does. In 1999, Tri-Quest flushed 10 donors. Mother nature was not nearly as kind. At the time of the actual breeding of the donors, the weather took a downward plunge and the temperature dropped 40 degrees overnight. This does not make for happy embryos. There was a lot of regression and it did affect their results; however, in spite of that, they still came out with a profitable experience. They got 73 embryos, 51 were transferable and put into 25 recipients with 23 recipients settling.

While Dan tended the goats, Paulette attended the first official judges training school for the ABGA and passed both Level I and Level II tests on the first try. She also participated in the judging seminar at the Stud Ram sale last year and won first place in judging. She proudly displays a plaque for this win on the wall in her home. Although she has no plans to become a judge, she explained, "I simply don't have the time to travel. I did, however, want to educate myself so that I could build a better herd here at the farm." She will, however, be available for doing inspections.

The Wohnoutkas show their goats locally and feel showing is an important part of the industry. They have shown in a number of Missouri shows. In fact, Dan and Paulette were instrumental in introducing the Kinder goat to the Missouri State Fair and later introduced the Boer goat to the Missouri State and the Ozark Empire fairs. They have received Reserve Grands, first and second place wins, and every animal they have ever shown has placed in the money.

They also realize the importance of commercial sales and promotion of their end product - MEAT - and this remains the number one goal at Tri-Quest. They breed for long bodies, good muscle, definition, big bone, dark pigment, strong, sound feet and legs, and loose skin. While they recognize the standard of a Roman nose, they feel that excessive arching is related to an uneven bite and prefer to moderate this trait. Paulette says that multiple teats are not a fault in Boers but they do select for two teats (one on each side).

They also select for twinning ability, ease of birthing, and good mothering abilities. Above all, their goats must be able to be maintained and perform on pasture or range conditions. When it is necessary to supplement, all feed is formulated and balanced for optimum performance and bio-availability. In partnership with the university extension program, they have done research on alternative parasite control, using lactic acid as a feed additive. The project was designed to see if lactic acid would reduce the number of eggs found in the fecals. Unfortunately, while the lactic acid did improve feed conversion and general overall health, they found it did nothing for the goat's over-all parasite load. Paulette monitors fecal parasite eggs in her own lab at the farm.

Tri-Quest's Y2K kids are now arriving and it looks like a bumper crop is in the offering. "The hold rate on our y2k recips is far about average! We are quite pleased with the quality we have been getting from the donor does in the past and we expect more of the same this year."

In spite of all the hard work, late hours and the relentlessly fluctuating weather, the Wohnoutkas continue to pursue their goals. The reward for their efforts? Another successful kidding season at Tri-Quest.

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