Family Breeding Digest Magazine 2021

“We breed for strong pasterns, but also for strong families. For milk that doesn’t sour, and for patience that does. This year, we lost two of our own: Harold Blevins (Boer goats, Ohio) and my husband of 44 years, Arthur. Arthur wasn’t a breeder. He was a carrier—of coffee to the barn at dawn, of jokes when a doe rejected a kid, of the quiet belief that the next generation will be better than the last. That is the real digest, isn’t it? What we pass down. Not just bloodlines, but gentleness.”

In "A Breeder's Journey: From Passion to Profession," readers can follow the story of a young breeder as she turns her passion into a successful breeding program. This inspiring article offers a behind-the-scenes look at the hard work, dedication, and rewards that come with building a breeding program. family breeding digest magazine 2021

By autumn, the magazine pivoted to breeding schedules. The central question: “How do you time kidding and lambing so you aren’t bottle-feeding babies in a blizzard?” “We breed for strong pasterns, but also for

This year, the conversation has shifted from simply avoiding known recessives to actively preserving genetic diversity. Whether you breed show rabbits, poultry, or pedigree dogs, the "2021 Approach" demands we look beyond the pedigree chart and into the genome. Arthur wasn’t a breeder

The magazine highlighted a study showing that 70% of new family breeders quit because of "fear handling"—an aggressive sire or a skittish dam that made chores miserable.