“I see people who have a lot of money go out and buy everything they need right away,
and all of a sudden, they have a big herd of goats and it’s overwhelming,” said Ms. Webster, who was exposed to farm life growing up in Tacoma, Wash., and as a longtime member of the 4-H club.
Goats, Alpacas and (of Course) a Hen: Life on a Hobby Farm -
Suzie Conn, a longtime advertising executive from Nashville, had never even
seen an alpaca until moving to the country and showing up at a county fair.
They sometimes earn a small profit — though they mostly just break even — by selling some of their herd, along with the soft alpaca fleece
and fleece products that Ms. Conn learned to knit and crochet.
Hobby farms vary widely in size and focus, with the majority of them incorporating both crops
and animals — and, more often than not, some chickens, said Roger Sipe, the group editor of Hobby Farms and Chickens magazines.
Wendy Webster, 57, a recently retired teacher’s aide, enjoys having a ready supply of goat cheese for her family
and neighbors from her two-acre farm near Gig Harbor, Wash. She and her husband, Keith, who is also 57 and continues working in the local school district, raise and sell Nigerian dwarf goats.
Still, she said, “I’ve never been happier.” Ms. Webster
and her husband have opened up their farm to kindergarten classes for free tours, and they also provide goats to a nearby zoo’s petting exhibition for children.
