Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Collapsible feeder in action with Amelia taking a representative core sample to determine % of the protein in our available hay.
As Fall approaches (still August at this point when sitting down to write this … type this?), feed and forage are top of our mind. With Winter around the corner --- Yes already! --- and it definitely seems to be arriving earlier and earlier here in Northern Maine, or at least Fall has arrived much earlier than normal, we are left wrestling with prepping our small rural homestead and goat operation for Winter. This includes considering how we will feed hay out over the cold months and what sub-gr read more...
By Josh Crise
Featured in the October issue of Goat Rancher (pages 10 & 11).
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Sunday, September 1, 2019
Mad scientist helping with the goat pill evaluations.
With this month’s Goat Rancher focus on “Youth”, it’s left me reflecting on what our home would have been like if I had taken the Kiko meat goat leap when our kids were youngsters. We were always involved in school activities, including music, sports, and other after school outdoor activities but neither my wife nor I were raised on farms so goating was and is foreign to us. There’s nothing you can’t read and research to learn or reach out to locals (mind you local could be anywhere in the world read more...
By Josh Crise
Featured in the September issue of Goat Rancher (pages 45 & 46).
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Thursday, August 1, 2019
Farm visits bring out the freezer on wheels.
Have any of you considered what your fiscal year looks like? Do you use the standard calendar year? Is your fiscal year based around tax season? Or do you base your fiscal year and your planning around the start of breeding season or kidding season? There is so much to consider as we begin to plan but it also leaves me reflecting on the past year, not specifically about planning but what went well and what I want to repeat or continue doing in the next year. What activities am I specifically eng read more...
By Josh Crise
Featured in the August issue of Goat Rancher (pages 17 & 18).
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Monday, July 1, 2019
Taco night with the Crise Crew!
If you are new to goat meat, its mild flavor, and lean fat content, then you may be interested in how you might integrate it into your everyday meals. We get questions on a regular basis asking us how we cook our goat meat as well as what is the best meal to try it in for the first time.
There are tons of recipes on the internet you can search for and try but we like to keep it simple to start. For example, try replacing your hamburger with goat burger in traditional meals like stews, spaghet read more...
By Josh Crise
Featured in the July issue of Goat Rancher (pages 42)
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Saturday, June 1, 2019
Just chillin' - Qato made it through the winter in good condition and is looking forward to another breeding season.
Like many in the meat goat business, we do our research, read, investigate, ask questions, email and call whomever we can and yes leverage Facebook and YouTube to “Get Learned” about tips and tricks or anything under the sun related to the industry. I am no different but at some point, you have to take the plunge into the world of meat goats and so I did a few years back. I work full time from home and travel to meet the commitments of my remote-based role with a leading Education Technology com read more...
By Josh Crise
Featured in the June issue of Goat Rancher (pages 42, 44, & 46).
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Wednesday, August 1, 2018
KIKOS!
Marble Creek Acres is a small 6-acre ranch operated by Josh and Kathy and supported by their children, Amelia (20) and Kevin (18) and Josh’s parents, Paul and Karen Crise. Established in 2013 with the purchase of chickens and the planting of apple trees, raised beds and the building of a small greenhouse, we continue to grow our Kiko herd and find unique ways to advertise including our vanity Veteran Maine license plate.
Josh researched Kikos tirelessly, reflecting on a number of possible bre read more...
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Friday, March 16, 2018
The first set
It’s been 24 hours now since our second kidding season kicked off. And if we’ve learned anything, it’s this; if you have a gut feeling, follow it. Yesterday morning, March 14, 2018, around 10:00 AM, we saw Kona, one of our pregnant does acting a little like it might have been time to deliver. She was scratching at the ground, looking like she was trying to make a nest area. We went outside and got her all set up in her own pen, but then decided to let her out because she was read more...
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Thursday, March 15, 2018
A slow progression ... like an iceberg
Born and raised in California, my husband Paul and I retired, in 2015, to Northern Maine. We live with our oldest son Josh, his wife Kathy and two of our grandchildren Amelia and Kevin as well as Kathy’s dad Pete who joins us from Florida each May through August. When we moved to Maine, we knew it would be different from anything we’d ever experienced. We did not expect that our son would decide to become a goat rancher. Yet here we are living on a goat ranch, Marble Creek Acres.< read more...
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Tuesday, March 13, 2018
Kona, Asia and Ratu
Welcome Storm Skylar, we are expecting up to 20 inches of fresh March snow and today is the first due date for three of our does. Yes, I am still worrying about everything “goat” related and I am a big baby when it comes to the actual birth part.
We are technology junkies and have security cameras in several areas of the barns to keep an eye on the girls as the day arrives and as the days go by, with less than five hours to go and the does will be “overdue”.150 read more...
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Thursday, March 1, 2018
Published in the March edition, pg. 45-46
Just a quick update to Kathy's blog post, "The Worrier". Kathy was featured in the March edition of the Goat Rancher, titled "Maine winters can't help but create a worrier", on pages 45-46. The Goat Rancher is a magazine which has been in circulation for more than two decades, covering every aspect of the goat industry, from the producer with 1000 head to the small rancher. There are articles from producers and veterinarians as well as other columnist with anecdotal stories and advice about g read more...
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