Ben Reason makes sure the goats on his farm are well fed. Photo by Joe Siciliano.

By Joe Siciliano
InkFreeNews

ROCHESTER — Ben Reason has been raising goats for 23 years, and since he is only 34 years old, that means it has been most of his life. He is very passionate about the art and the science of goat raising.

“It started as a 4-H project for me,” he said.

When Reason was deciding which type of livestock to raise, his mother offered advice to her young son, by saying “pigs smelled and cows were too big.”

He took her advice and began his quest to raise goats.

“We didn’t have a livestock background and we didn’t live on a farm,” said Reason. “We bought our first goats and threw them in the back of our 1992 Ford Probe when I was about ten I had some breeders that kind of took me under their wing.”

And now, 23 years later, Reason won top honors for the grand market doe at this year’s Indiana State Fair.

“In 2019, we had the reserve lightweight at the Texas State Fair,” Reason said. “Texas and Oklahoma are the heart of the show-goat industry. It’s kind of booming right now. It’s a good industry to be in.”

R1 Boer Farm sells to about 15 states every spring, mostly through online sales. They participate in many online bidding platforms and do consignment sales as well.

“The on-line auctions are so prevalent right now, they are really a big deal,” he said.
People can just buy livestock online and not have to worry about traveling to pick them up. Now, they can just hire live-stock transporters to deliver the animals to their front door.
“Goats are the hardest of the four main species (including sheep, cattle, pigs and goats) to raise,” said Reason. “I would guarantee goats are the hardest to raise.”

He is not in it for the money, He just loves to tend to his herd of 80 to 90 goats on his farm in rural Rochester. The goats he raises are crossbred and are mainly Boer influenced.
Boer goats have their roots in South Africa and are distinctly identified by their red heads and white bodies.

“There are goats out there that are purebloods and papered, but that’s not really the game I play,” he said. “We kind of crossed them up with myotonic goats and there may be some Spanish in there and Persian Ibex, but these are crossed-up so they’re not purebreds.”