Co-op Member Spotlight: Culver Family Farms
Ashley Culver, Culver Family Farms
Along with summer comes county fair show season, but for Wilco member Ashley Culver and her family, of Culver Family Farms, showing Boer goats is a yearlong affair. Known for breeding Boer goats that will compete at national shows and sales, Ashley has gained a reputation as a livestock judge and breeder of reproductive stock and Boer goats that will place around the country.
She and her husband Tim, along with their three daughters, Emilee White (20), Lucy Roles (7), Ella White (18 months), and Ashley’s parents, Scott and Teresa Culver recently moved their farm from Corvallis to Dallas, OR to expand their operation. “We have loved working with Wilco on our feed management plan. The manager in Corvallis and the Purina reps have been completely influential in developing our feed program and growing our farm,” Ashley said. “We wouldn’t be what we are without them and they truly are what has helped us build our farm,” she added. “I don’t think you’d get that kind of attention going to any other feed store.”
Ashley emphasized that they are very much a family run farm. While she is a fulltime Critical Care nurse in Corvallis, she and her husband manage the goat farm since her dad retired in 2021. Ashley handles the marketing and does all of the fitting and showing. Tim and her parents do the day-to-day maintenance and feeding operations and are working on formulating show feed to market in the Pacific Northwest. “A lot of feed companies haven’t marketed show feed for goats on the West Coast and it’s too costly to ship from the East Coast, so we are working to develop our own,” Ashley said. “Our goal is to need less supplements and have one feed that takes our goats from maintenance to national show bloom ready, which is healthier for the animals to get them where they need to be,” Ashley explained.
Her love of animals comes naturally as a third-generation livestock breeder. Her grandfather, Morris Culver actually brought the Romney breed to the United States in 1972, importing them from Australia, England, and New Zealand to his farm in Curtain, OR. He was known for natural-colored Romneys and was one of the founding fathers of the Oregon and American Romney Breeders Association (ARBA). The specie shift took place after Ashley got her first Boer goat in 2008 by purchasing a raffle ticket on a trip with a friend. “That was a fun conversation with my dad,” Ashley laughs. “Now, 16 years later we have 200 goats and no sheep.” When her dad retired in 2021 is when the sheep were sold and they started expanding their goat herd.
“It was a difficult decision, but it was a family decision,” Ashley said. “Boer goats were taking off and we saw marketing opportunities with them, and collectively decided to let the sheep go and focus on goats for a better return,” she added. On the reproductive side, the Culver’s do a lot of embryo transfer, which has allowed them to develop exciting genetics. They travel to 12-15 shows a year throughout the U.S. and have sold show and reproductive stock all over the US and internationally including Thailand, The Philippines, and Jamaica. With the market for Boer goats primarily in OH, TN and OK, transporting them was costly, so Tim and Teresa started Culver Family Farm Transportation Services, LLC in 2020, which has helped expand their marketing efforts. They have three trucks and trailers to transport livestock and specialize in moving entire farms.
“Our biggest mission that we pride ourselves on is working with Wilco and Purina to teach showing clinics to kids” Ashley said. “We want to promote the breed and industry in the Pacific Northwest and focus on youth, taking kids with us to shows and building a scholarship program to help them buy a goat they might not be able to afford,” she added. “We’ve been blown away by Wilco’s award sponsorship and how they are always willing to step-up to support youth,” Ashley said. Ashley serves as the Oregon 4H Meat Goat Superintendent at State Fair and runs all livestock shows as the Benton County Fair and Rodeo Competitive Exhibit Coordinator. “My parents always supported me and having their help chasing my dreams is what made it all possible. I hope I do the same for my kids as they did for me,” Ashley said.
