|
Breeders with a Sense of BalanceThe Boer Goat March/April 2002
With every new day on their combined 25,000-acre ranch, Claire and Sharon are reminded of the wisdom, support, and love of their parents. They have built a reputation for excellence through the hard work and trials of a lifetime spent working goats and taking chances. In an industry dominated by men, these women have what it takes to go the distance. Growing up on their parents’ Angora goat ranch, the girls learned, almost before they could walk, more about goats than most people learn in a lifetime. The isolation of the west Texas range may have seemed an unbearable penance to two spirited teenage girls, but the discipline and strength of their family kept them focused on a future in the goat business. Long before the Boer goat arrived on this continent, Sharon and Claire knew that goats could help them make a living. In 1994, during the demise of the United States mohair market, the sister team took the first of what was to be a history of first steps. Together, they purchased a bred Boer doe, named her “Helen Marie,” and the Powell~Holman legacy had begun. Both women credit this first doe as one of their very best teachers, for it seemed that if it could happen to a goat, it would happen to Helen Marie. No matter what mistakes the women made, or what predicament Helen Marie found herself in, the tough doe just wouldn’t die. Some breeders say that in order to gain worthy experience in the goat business, you have to learn how to keep your goats alive. Fortunately for Sharon and Claire, they had picked a goat with a will to live. What some ranchers learn after losing a dozen or more goats, the sisters learned from just one. After years of work as the lead teacher in “Powell~Holman’s School of Goat Ranching,” old Helen Marie is alive and well, resting comfortably in well-earned retirement.
Their first experience with embryo transfer was with Helen Marie. After researching the technology, both women felt that the doe would be an excellent candidate for this procedure. Amazingly, with just one flush, 12 of the doe’s eggs were successfully implanted in recipient does, and within a few months, ten Boer kids were born. Six bucks and four does created quite a stir on the ranch, as suddenly the women realized they had a problem. How do you sell six buck kids? At the time, goat ranch production sales were few and far between, with only the biggest names in the business having the resources and stock to draw a crowd of bidders. Helen Marie had done her best, and her amazing fertility encouraged the women to sit down and find a solution. So with what has become typical Powell~Holman style and flair, the sisters decided to have a sale of their own. Newspaper classified ads would simply not do. So, in August of 1994, the tiny town of Junction, Texas became the site for the very first Powell~Holman production sale. Flyers were posted, the day and time were set, and together with their ranch production bucks, the sisters waited for the crowd to show. At 12:30 pm, the prearranged sale start time, the first truck pulled into the gravel lot. Within moments, another truck pulled in, then another, until at last the anxious women had enough bidders to start their sale. Looking back, both women laughed as they recalled their “non-celebrity” production sale eight years ago. It was the first of its kind, and its success has helped make it an annual event. Humble little Helen Marie had set the two women on a course of success that they had prepared for all their lives. With their tough Texas resolve and determination, they accepted the challenge and began making plans. The meat goat business was exciting. Tremendous growth offered a world of opportunities to the women as they adjusted from their experience in the depressed mohair economy to a hectic schedule of learning the burgeoning meat goat industry from the bottom up. From the very first, the women searched for balance. They learned that balance in their daily lives was necessary for daily success. They learned that balance in their breeding program offered higher yields on sale day. A well-balanced animal, heavily muscled and meaty throughout, was what the meat goat buyer was searching for, and what goat show judges were awarding the highest honors to. But it wasn’t until 1999, when the two women traveled to South Africa that they found what they were looking for. Visiting many ranches in South Africa, Claire and Sharon were stunned to see their personal vision a reality. On ranch after ranch, the sheer size, power, and symmetry of the Boer goats in that country assured them that they were on the right track. Selecting a number of does, the animals were flushed, with 130 of the resulting embryos shipped to Canada. Once there, the embryos were implanted into recipient does, and the does then shipped to the Powell~Holman Ranch. From these embryos came the foundation stock of the Powell~Holman line, solid genetics chosen and carefully bred for the elusive balance which has become the cornerstone of the Powell~Holman image. It was a huge financial gamble, but the women, with the hearts and souls of true goat ranchers, believed in their vision. Over the next few years, their achievements on the show circuit and in the sale arena proved that they had chosen the right path, but also brought some controversy. How could it be that two women could achieve so much? Was it possible they were just lucky? How could women stand up to the rigorous demands of goat ranching? It seemed to the sisters that with every successful step forward, there were always those few around the next corner who quietly scoffed at their accomplishments, assigned credit to others, and belittled their efforts. Rather than bowing out meekly, they called upon their family values and childhood foundation, and accepted this new challenge with renewed energy and a commitment to be the best. Even though both have families, homes, and lives of their own, their goat business is conducted with what they call a “one ranch” philosophy. Claire and her family manage 15,000 acres, while Sharon and her family manage the remaining 10,000 acres. Some years, Sharon has responsibility for the buck kids, while Claire has responsibility for the doe kids. Other years, this portion of their ranch management program may be reversed. True teamwork such as this is what keeps the ranch’s breeding and production program balanced, allowing a fresh experienced eye to evaluate that year’s newly arrived kid crop. Flaws and faults in individual animals that may be overlooked by one sister are deftly caught by the other, the patterned success in this unique philosophy lending a fair amount of truth to the old adage, “Two heads are better than one.” Their market animals are either culled and sold to commercial meat producers or sold as show wethers. The percentage of bucks available for sale to the meat industry on the Powell~Holman Ranch has declined significantly over the last few years. Over 50 cull bucks were sold in 1998, compared to less than a half dozen in 2001. The sisters agree that this decline can be attributed to the strength and integrity of their program, with higher quality animals being sold to serious breeders who are seeking the same success these women have earned. Their achievements have not come easily, nor have they been hand-delivered on a silver platter. Both have a deep understanding of the goat industry, with the calloused hands to prove that the knowledge was earned the hard way. Claire and Sharon
possess the strong will of their father, and each inherited the
delicate beauty of their mother. It is not hard for the mind’s
eye to go back in time and envision two petite blond children, arms
flailing, galloping wildly across the wind-driven range of their
father’s west Texas goat ranch, driving an imaginary goat
herd before them as if being pursued by a pack of howling coyotes.
They learned from their father how to work like a man, with courage
and heart, and from their mother how to accept life graciously and
with dignity. It is through this innate sense of balance that each
was born and raised with, that the success of Powell~Holman Ranch
will continue with each passing year.
|
