Specialized Farming
by Raising Boer Goats and miniature Donkeys has been a second income for this family.
Rocky and Jayne Jones own a little over five acres out in the country near Strawberry Point, Iowa. They rent an extra eight acres across from their farmette. Can someone make a living on thirteen acres – farming? Rocky says that it can be a second income to say the least. Rocky and Jayne have been raising Boer goats for four years now. They bought their first registered Boer goat at a sale in Kalona, Iowa, and have been raising, selling and processing Boer goats ever since. When asked how they became involved with the Boer goats, they say that they wanted something that their kids could show in 4H and FFA that would be easy for them to handle, cheaper to feed and that would be fun. Well, they got all of that and more with raising Boer Goats. Boer goats are a goat that is raised specifically for its meat. Rocky says that when they first started out, that it wasn’t easy. It was hard getting information about the Boer goats from other people, so Jayne started buying books. Rocky says that he doesn’t read that much, but that Jayne reads the books all of the time, and through the knowledge gathered from the books she purchased, they gathered most of their information about the health and upkeep of this particular breed. Rocky says that their goats do very well with a pellet ration from Kent foods which he purchases from Strawberry Grain. He uses an 18% goat developer pellet for the babies and feeds that until weaned. For the does that are drying off, he uses a 14% pellet formula and for all others, he uses a 16% pellet formula. Rocky says that the biggest thing to know in raising Boer goats is their nutrition program, vaccinations, especially CD&T, a good worming program and good veterinarian service.
Besides raising Boer Goats, Rocky and Jayne raise miniature donkeys, have rabbits, a pot bellied pig and a couple of chickens. They have a waiting list for people wanting to purchase their baby miniature donkeys, that foal in the spring.
Both Rocky and Jayne are members of the ABGA which stands for American Boer Goat Association. They are very excited about their extra job and eager to share their success with others. If you or someone you know is interested in the Boer Goat you can visit their website at
Rocky and Jayne also meet with a group called Goat Farmers of Northeast Iowa. Contact information for that group is Sue Larson at (563)380-0748 or email her at
. Sue is working on the Goat Conference which will be in June.
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