Our Alpine Goats

Meet The Pumpkin Vine Alpine Goats

Living in a cold, hilly area, Alpines are a natural fit for our farm, and we love our big, beautiful goats! Although Alpines have earned a reputation for being aggressive, we have selected for mellow temperaments so, for the most part, we have a harmonious herd.

Our first does came from the renowned Chateau Briant herd, developed under the keen eyes of Bob and Phil Cassette, ADGA pioneers with more than 50 years of experience breeding top animals for both milk and the show ring. We had fun that first winter looking at all the animals and selecting two doe kids with the highest potential for productivity. Juniper, pictured above, would prove to be one of the best milkers we ever had and would pass on her productivity to subsequent generations.

In our first years, our immediate need was milk for cheesemaking, so we focused almost exclusively on production. We had heard about Mamm-Key’s legendary milkers, so  we were excited to buy some of their genetics from Sage Farm in Vermont. Although Jacko Lantern did not have the stature or physique of our does, he delivered the milk as promised: ALL of our highest producing does have him in their pedigree. 

Between Chateau Briant’s Juniper – line and Sage Farm’s Jacko, we had perhaps more milk than our goats could handle. Although their milk records earned many of them SGs (superior genetics), we realized we needed to increase stature and correct some udders. For Anil’s 40th birthday, we flew in our first herd sire from the west coast, picking him up in a dog crate at the airport, to the delight of the other passengers. Sunflash came from Lauren Acton’s Tempo Aquila herd, a herd we had long admired for its focus on healthy, productive, pasture-based animals. 

“Sunny” was selected for SIZE and correctness, traits which were apparent from the very first batch of kids he sired. His newborns weighed in around 10 pounds, not the 7 we were accustomed to, and were a delightful combination of physical vigor and mellow temperament. We were rewarded the following year as well, when his daughters brought their beautiful, well-supported udders into the milking parlor. There is no mistaking a Sunflash daughter, and he has earned a permanent place in our herd. 

The combination of our super milky Juniper-Jacko progeny with Sunflash produced not only powerful, productive daughters, but our first homegrown buck who was nominated for ADGA’s Young Sire program. We have bred Hailstorm to many of our does, and are eager to see how his daughters perform this spring! 

Needing some outcrossing, we turned back to Tempo and Chateau Briant in 2022, focusing mostly on milk in our buck selection, knowing we still have Sunny in our back pocket whenever we need to correct any structural weaknesses. 

We are excited to see our herd improve every year!