Our Story

Our Savanna Journey

The fertile, rolling, agricultural area of Northwest Iowa is home to Red Oak Savannas. We are located near Sioux Center, which is about an hour southeast of Sioux Falls, SD.

We established our goat operation in 2017 with super-hardy, 50% Savanna does. Starting our program with these does was one of the best decisions we have made!

Prior to our Savanna goat journey, Randy was privileged to raise and breed livestock of various kinds for as long as he can remember.

Always fond of animals, many photos of his early childhood years on a farm in MN reveal Randy’s attraction to animals. This attraction ranged from squirrels to cats to goats to ponies, horses, rabbits, chickens, ducks, dogs, and sheep. 

During Junior High, Randy also began raising sheep. This venture transitioned into very successfully breeding registered Suffolks–a legacy lasting 20 years. Our Suffolk program culminated with breeding numerous champion and reserve champions at the local, state, and national levels. However, more importantly was putting together a consistent breeding program that now continues in numerous breeding operations throughout the US. As one example, a US National Champion Ram was dammed by an ewe we bred and raised.

As a result of our breeding program’s success, we had the opportunity to market our entire sheep breeding operation to several interested parties. Although very difficult, we decided to seize the opportunity and close this chapter of our life allowing us to open a new, more exciting one.

After thoroughly researching which breed of goats we wanted to raise, we were drawn to the excellent mothering and milking ability, as well as the performance and hardiness of the Savanna breed. Having previously raised show sheep for many years, we wanted hardiness and low-maintenance stock for our next venture!

The original Savanna-cross goats were a homerun for our farm and our family. Although they previously called Texas their home, our new does adjusted well to our cold Midwestern winter and different forage. They never skipped a beat and successfully bred, kidded, and raised their kids unassisted in our operation.

All three of our children were immediately drawn to the goats and have been actively involved from day one. Although our oldest daughter is now in Sioux Falls, and our second daughter is now in college, they help out as much as they can. Our son, now in high school, helps daily in the barn.

Our goat operation is situated on 13 acres of pasture and is forage-based. We rotationally graze our goats for as long as the weather and grazing season permits. We choose to raise our goats as the ruminants they were created to be. As a result, we breed our goats to have good dimension and capacity-with both spring and depth of rib and the ability to perform well on a forage diet. To carry that body capacity, travel, and maintain their condition on forage, they need to have good bone with sound feet and legs.

The addition of fullblood Savannas to our breeding program was a natural next step due to the love for the breed and the love for the breeding aspect which began many years ago with the Suffolk sheep. To accomplish this, we acquired some of the best Savanna does we could find and have started building from there based on our stringent selection criteria. Most of our does have “Dollar” influence, including some direct daughters as well as granddaughters.

As an astute student of breeding, one of Randy’s greatest thrills is the arrival of the newborns- the culmination of putting the “pieces” of the breeding puzzle together. Building upon the individual strengths, while seeking to consistently improve the quality of the previous generation.

So whether you are looking for commercial Savanna-cross goats or DNA-tested, PI-registered fullblood Savanna breeding stock, we invite you to check with us for your needs.

We strive to treat you,  our customers, and others as we would like to be treated. Honesty and integrity are of paramount importance to us.  

Thank you for reading our story and we look forward to visiting with you soon!