"Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart." ~ Psalm 37:4

~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 living and working in New York City - so exciting!  Jordan, the eldest, is married and is working as a cardiac sonographer in Grand Rapids.  Hannah has graduated and is planning on attending Aquinas College in Grand Rapids for a degree in Business and Marketing.

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.  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.  In 2011, we made the difficult decision to disperse the LaMancha herd, and we are now focusing solely on our Saanens.  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!

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,