~Our Farm~
Irish Valley Farm is located just outside of
the small town of Belding, Michigan, which is centrally located 20
minutes northeast of Grand Rapids, approximately 2 1/2 hours from
both Chicago and Detroit. We have had over 15 years of
experience in animal husbandry, breeding and showing horses along
with building regional and national award winning dairy goat and
alpaca herds. Leslie (Mom) has a degree in agricultural
production and management from Ridgetown College of Ag. Technology
in Canada, along with an innate, keen sense for animal husbandry,
herd health and breeding. Bob (Dad) was raised on a farm that
produced cash crops and 200 head of beef cattle annually. He
received undergraduate education in Human Biology and Nutrition and a
Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Life University in Georgia.
Along with his livestock involvement, he maintains a private
chiropractic practice.
The three girls, Alicia, Kate and Hannah have
had many years of experience already! They have achieved
endless awards for showmanship as exhibitors of horses, dairy goats
and alpacas! They take what they do seriously, while keeping a
fun, relaxed attitude. The numerous years of livestock showing
has taught many things, including how to compete in a healthy,
Christian manner. They also have found great joy being a part
of numerous music and theatre groups around the Grand Rapids area.
Alicia lived in Chicago and pursued a career in Musical Theater, but
is now married and living in Nashville, TN. Kate is off to
Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio for a degree in Musical
Theater. Jordan, the eldest, has finished his college degree
and is working as a cardiac sonographer in Grand Rapids. Hannah is
home schooled and continues to do her share of the work on the farm.
We have been involved with showing and
breeding horses for quite a few years. Leslie & Bob bred
Paints and Quarter Horses for 5 or 6 years before they discovered
the P.O.A. (Pony of the Americas) breed. Alicia, Kate and
Hannah were once very involved in showing the P.O.A.'s at state and
international levels, but are now finding the goats and alpacas more
profitable. We now own only 1 P.O.A. for Hannah to enjoy, and
to show at the fair and other 4-H shows.
The dairy goats stole our hearts in the late
summer of 1999 when the youngest sister, Hannah, spent so much time
around the goat barn at our county 4-H Fair. We purchased our
first dairy goats in the fall of '99. Now, however, we have
become very well-known Michigan breeders and are actively involved
in showing and breeding these wonderful animals. We started
attending the ADGA National Show in 2002 and have been to several
since then. These have been our chances to prove that our
animals are nationally competitive, and our girls have not
disappointed us! MANY of our animals are related to some of
the top bloodlines at Nationals...and have done very well there
themselves. Visit the Dairy Goats
link to find out more about our herd, take a look at our Sales List
and maybe even our For Sale page!
Alpacas have been the most recent addition to
our farm having entered our lives in the fall of '01. We heard
of these exotic animals the late summer of that year, while showing
goats at he Michigan State Fair, and soon after came across an
"Alpaca Show" in East Lansing. We were instantly attracted to
these fascinating creatures and began looking into the investment
prospects. We purchased our foundation herd in the late Fall
of 2001 from Likada Farm Alpacas. Since then, we have been to many shows and
acquired many new bloodlines. In the spring of 2006 we were
blessed to have a 1st and 2nd place at the AOBA National Show!
Visit Our Alpacas link to learn
more about these beautiful animals and the wonderful investment
lifestyle they bring!
As you can tell, Irish Valley Farm is truly a
family run business. Please
Contact Us with any questions, and let us know what you think of
our website!
Thank You!
Sincerely,
The Gosnell Family
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