About Us / Edwards Goat Farm History:

Raises Animal Welfare Approved goat breeding stock. Please see website for availability.\n\nGina Edwards dispersed the flock of sheep she has raised since childhood in Northwest Missouri after college, but began raising livestock again when she and her husband Paul were stationed in San Antonio with the Air Force in 2007. They decided to get a few goats to eat some of the weeds their horses didn't want. Rather than the "brush goats" Paul had envisioned, they ended up with pure blood Boer goats, a South African goat raised for meat production. They were soon hooked and began showing their goats, while every year growing their herd. In 2011, the Air Force moved them back to west central Missouri, where they established Edwards Goat Farm, an Animal Welfare Approved farm southeast of Kansas City, which sells goat breeding stock.\n\nAfter the move to Missouri, Paul and Gina decided to focus more on their commercial meat goat herd, and reduced their pure blood herd to only a few girls and two outstanding bucks. They decided to try adding Kikos and Savanna goats to their high-percentage Boer commercial does, and were delighted with the parasite resistance exhibited by the crosses. Their herd remains largely Boer, with more Savanna and Kiko genetics added every year. In the winter of 2011, they were awarded an AWA grant to purchase two Savanna bucks. These goats greatly increase the rate at which they add the breed, which is known for its hardiness and mothering ability, in addition to parasite resistance, to their herd.\n\nPaul and Gina applied for AWA certification after stumbling upon the program’s website and realizing that they agreed with, and were already meeting, almost all the AWA standards. When they first began producing goats and were exposed to the show circuit, they noticed that there were many unnatural practices used by other producers to get their animals to perform better. Knowing that there was a better way to raise goats, they refused to follow the industry standard in their practices.\n\nAt Edwards Goat Farm, every effort is made to reduce stress on the animals. Does are not bred until they are old enough and large enough for their bodies to handle the stress of pregnancy and kidding. Kids are weaned along a common fence line with their mothers to minimize anxiety. Goats are always allowed access to pasture to graze and perform other natural behaviors. When they discovered AWA, Paul and Gina were very excited to have found an organization that was dedicated to the same natural and high-welfare way of raising animals.