REGINA – After three years in business, the Larocque and Commodore
families of Sifton, Man., have won a stack of ribbons for their
purebred dairy goats and hope to turn their first profit next month.
“Farms don’t make much profit so waiting three years seems about right
…. We tend to win when we compete. We like to win. I don’t think
there’s anything wrong with that,” said Colin Commodore of the
experience he and younger brother, Coulton, and their aunt, Crystal
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Larocque, have had showing their Lamancha goats.
The three say their success is due in part to their attention to detail.
“Some of it is really knowing your animals. Some of it is the time we
take with them … some of it is good genetic selections and record
keeping,” said Crystal, while standing with their goats in Barn 5 at
Canadian Western Agribition.
“And the other kids don’t really like it when we show up. One of us
usually wins,” said 12-year-old Colin.
Crystal, 14, and Coulton, 10, agree.
“We seem to win more than our share sometimes but not always,” said
Coulton.
Showing at nine events annually, the kids’ company, called Triple C
Farms, has two Permanent Grand Champions given when an animal wins
grand champion awards three times, along with an armload of banners and
ribbons.
Crystal’s mother and the boys’ grandmother, Sandy Larocque, has shown
her own Alpine goats for 25 years and thought it would be a good 4-H
project for the kids.
“But it had to be run as a business if they were going to learn
anything,” she said.
Crystal hand milks every day after school and the boys live in town so
they do chores on the weekends.
The Manitoba children aren’t put off by the realities of agriculture.
“We sell the bucks to other farmers who breed. If one isn’t good
enough, it’s meat,” said Coulton.
Crystal said Triple C Farms would like to buy “two small pastures”
near the farmyard and possibly begin to sell cheese.
Colin yawned while describing the work.
“There’s a lot of paperwork. Production. Registering the animals.
Bookkeeping. Everything costs money. Showing, feeding, deworming.
Farming costs money,” he said, looking a little tired after settling
the 12 goats into their pens at midnight and waking again before 8 a.m.
“Our kitchen is here too. We have a little stove and a big coffee pot
for Grandma,” said Colin.
“We’re really busy at shows like this. We clip them in a few places. We
comb them. We put baby oil on them to make them shiny under the lights
and have to get dressed up … white shirts, black pants, then we show
them,” said Colin.
Crystal said showing successfully and winning is important to the
business. “For our buck sales … we get $350 for a good buck.”
The kids say the best part of the business is showing at Agribition.
“We miss two days of school for this show. That’s the best part,” said
Colin.
