Goats help mix forest, pasture

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‘(Our goats) are mostly Kiko, and the sheep are mostly Katahdin,’ Cherrie Nolden says. ‘Nearly all are mixes of various breeds though. We select for low-input traits and whatever breed combo produces the desirable traits stays and reproduces.’

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Goats make a big difference in three days of browsing on 1.5 acres on the Nolden 1dr Farm. The area is overgrown when they first enter it.

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Goats make a big difference in three days of browsing on 1.5 acres on the Nolden farm. After they’ve had their fill of weeds and brush, the area is ready for grasses to grow.

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Cherrie Nolden has a master’s degree in agroecology and a bachelor’s degree in wildlife ecology, both from the University of Wisconsin, with farm experience in Wisconsin and Kansas.

Jacob Swanson/For Agri-View

Cherrie Nolden addresses a crowd at Monona Terrace Community & Convention Center for a talk called 'Pushing the Boundaries of Forest and Pasture.'

Jacob Swanson/For Agri-View

‘(To prevent inbreeding) we keep records of which bucks or rams we put with each group of does or ewes, and we don’t return to the same genetics on the sire side for three generations.’ Cherrie Nolden says. ‘We often have some performance tested new genetics by that point too, and have had enough years to determine the performance of the offspring of our various sires at that point too.’

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Jacob Swanson For Agri-View

DODGEVILLE, Wis. – Pastures and forests may not always go hand-in-hand, but they’re a match made in heaven for Cherrie Nolden. The math is simple for Nolden, who has a master’s degree in agroecology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is now a full-time farmer in southern Wisconsin. Between a goat’s birth at 8 pounds in May and its sale at Christmas time, each of Nolden’s goats needs to gain 49 pounds. They do so in her woodlands – at a benefit to the farm’s landscape and their own health.

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Jacob Swanson is a writer and photographer based in Madison, Wisconsin. He majored in journalism and communication arts at the University of Wisconsin. Since graduating he has contributed to various newspapers, magazines and online outlets while living in Minnesota, Utah, Michigan and Wisconsin. He loves spending time outdoors; he enjoys hiking, birdwatching and nature photography outside of work.