percent of your goats.” “If you don’t have a scale, get one.” Weight tells the truth before your eyes do. Record keeping is part of the system.


Hard decisions: the ones you save and the ones you don’t “Culling is never easy,” Jeff said. “But if you don’t make the


decision when it’s time, you’re going to have bigger problems.” He’s culled goats. Older does who stopped producing. Goats


who didn’t respond to treatment. Goats whose long-term outlook did- n’t justify prolonged suffering. Goats that didn’t meet the standard he’s building toward.


“At some point, their body tells you they’re done.” “Never sell a cull.” “Your reputation matters.”


It takes years to build credibility — and minutes to lose it. “If it’s a cull here, it stays a cull.” Then there was Thelma. She shattered her leg. A serious break.


“It was bad,” Jeff said. He evaluated her production record, genetic value and future potential. He took her to the University of Georgia. “I told them I had $2,500. If we can’t fix her within that, we have to put her down.” That number wasn’t emotional. It was business. She underwent


surgery. Metal placed in her leg. Recovery took time. But she healed. She was bred already during surgery and she kidded successfully. Her offspring were among the best to hit the ground. “She’s still boss lady out there.” Saving Thelma wasn’t sentimental. It was evaluated risk that


paid off. But her survival doesn’t erase the other decisions. “You have to use your brain over your heart sometimes.” Some you fight for. Some you let go. But every decision pro- tects the herd — and the name behind it.


Beyond the herd: why he wrote the book Jeff didn’t set out to become an author. He set out to solve prob- lems. In the early years, when something went wrong in his herd, he often found himself stuck in the same frustrating place: “I could see there was a problem,” he said. “But I didn’t know what to do next.” It took research and phone calls. Trial and error. And with goats,


time matters.


“If you address it immediately, it goes away immediately,” Jeff said. “If you wait, it lingers — or you lose them.” There wasn’t one central resource. So he wrote one. Raising


Kiko Goats: A Practical, Profitable Approach to Sustainable Goat Farming isn’t theory. Everything in it, he has done. Everything in it has been practiced. “There’s no reason someone starting out should have to go through all the losses I did.” He’s blunt about this too: “Expect three years before you turn a


profit.” The fewer mistakes in those first three years, the faster the dividends.


“The book might be the difference between someone staying in it


or bowing out.” That’s why he wrote it. Not for attention. For guidance. He also developed Goat Hoof Paste from needs on his own


farm. If there’s a problem, he studies it. If there’s a solution, he refines it. And if it can help someone avoid loss, he shares it.


Looking ahead Kikos are gaining traction in the American meat industry — and


Jeff has watched that shift carefully. Imports from New Zealand and Australia continue to pressure domestic pricing. Millions of pounds


May 2026 | Goat Rancher 23


of goat meat enter the U.S. market every year. American producers can’t shut that faucet off — but they can control what they produce. “We just need a level playing field,” Jeff said. “Enough margin to stay competitive.”


But market pressure isn’t what defines his program. Consumers


are changing. They want transparency. They want to know who raised their food. They want integrity behind the label. And goat meat — lean, high-protein, globally respected — fits that demand. Jeff sees more producers quietly crossing over to Kikos. Boer producers looking to strengthen survivability. Ranchers wanting lower overhead. Families wanting goats that perform without con- stant intervention. Kikos aren’t trendy. They’re efficient, durable and profitable — when managed correctly. Jeff’s system doesn’t shift with fads. It rests on standards. Buy the buck. Don’t rush the goat. Weigh everything. Protect your name. Never sell a cull.


And show up every morning with a pocket full of cookies — because if they won’t come to you, something’s wrong. That’s not hobby farming. That’s stewardship. And as a fellow


rancher, I’ll say this: Goats will test you. They will humble you. They will break your heart if you let them. They will also reward discipline. The ones who stay in this in-


dustry aren’t the loudest. They’re the ones who learn. The ones who adjust. The ones who make the hard calls and keep going anyway. Jeff built Nature’s Nook Farm the long way — through mis- takes, through evaluation, through investment, through intention. He built a herd. He built a system. And when he could have kept that knowledge to himself, he wrote it down so others wouldn’t have to learn every lesson the hard way. That matters. Congratulations to Jeffrey Peterson — not just for writing a book, not just for developing products, but for putting in the years of work behind them. Because in this business, results speak. And his herd does.


Purpose. Performance. Practicality. Not just words. Proof.


(Cheryl Zuckschwerdt and her family operate Not Forgotten Farmstead in Georgia, where they raise goats, cattle and poultry. Cheryl is also an active board member of the Southeast Kiko Goat As- sociation. She can be contacted at cherylzuckschwerdt@gmail.com).


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