The SnA Farms Dahnkes

We've been raising fullblood and percentage Boer goats since 1999, when we switched from Hampshire Sheep to goats. We've also raised hogs and Gelbveigh cattle, along with some llamas. When we started with goats we had some Spanish goats, but mainly used them to cross with the Boers. In 2020 we decided to add Spanish goats and are now Certified Gold Goat Breeders. The Spanish goats are great mothers and today, the purebred Spanish goat is an endangered species.

Steve always wears bib overalls, whether he is grooming or in the show ring. Most people have heard of him even if they don't recognize him. Steve grew up on a dairy farm, milking 100 head of Holstein cattle, and farming. As a youth he showed dairy cattle and was supreme showman. After high school, he raised hogs, in addition to managing the cattle and crops. Steve is knowledgeable about livestock. He also has a natural "eye" and can pick out good stock regardless of or species breed. He is also very good at identifying livestock that is not feeling well, which really helped with the sheep that can die before you can treat them, and also with the goats. He has graded cattle for livestock markets and also worked in them part time when the farm was slow. He did a video on dehorning goats with USDA several years ago.

Steve has only touched a computer once and that was with his elbow while reading the newspaper. He wiped out the entire desktop in the process. When you send an email to Steve, it gets printed and he reads the hard copy. Then, most likely, he'll pick up the phone and call you. He doesn't do voice mail either and is often in dead zones for cell service. If you really need to talk to him and he doesn't answer - call or text Anita. She'll know where he is.

Anita grew up on a hog and crop production farm. She has degrees in biology and chemistry with several minors including creative writing, philosophy, history, French, physics, sociology and post grad work in clinical psychology. She also did research in nutrition, has extensive experience in database management and artificial intelligence which is used to manage recordkeeping for the farm operation. She recently retired from the Executive Director position for the American Goat Federation. She and Steve are founding members and she joined the board in 2012 where she served as secretary/treasurer and then President before stepping down from the board to become Executive Director. She recently retired from that position after serving for 8 years. She owns and operates ATD Stuff, a management consulting, IT interface and website design company.

In 1998 Steve purchased their first 5 head of Boer Goats from an Indiana breeder. In the early years, foundation does not raised at S&A Farms have come straight off specific ranches in Texas, beginning with the Sudderths of Bodacious Boers who were helpful in getting a good start. Because the focus has been on percentage does, it has been very easy to build a high quality breeding flock. Currently, productivity and repeatability are emphasized, with the majority of goats born and raised at the farm. The full blood does at S&A Farms are mostly descendants of the early Boers crossed between those imported from South Africa and New Zealand.
During the 80's and 90's Steve and Anita raised Hampshire sheep and sold range rams, show sheep and breeding stock throughout the US. In 1989 they entered their first ram in the Indiana Stud Ram Test. This ram had an average daily rate of gain of 1.63 lbs, setting a record that has not been beaten. They also were very active in the showring throughout the U.S. Their last year showing sheep they slick sheared all their Hamps, but even then their Yearling Ewe was reserve champion overall. Steve was well known for the pranks he would pull on other breeders.