James Oller lives on a farm in rural North
East Tennessee in the town of Harrogate near
Cumberland Gap National Park.
His wife
Erica is a practicing mixed animal
veterinarian, owning a busy 3 doctor
practice in town.
Together they have
seven beautiful children Elizabeth, Tristen,
Tyler, Clara, Lilly, Luke, and Landrum.
James is a registered veterinary technician
and a graduate
of Morehead State
University. The farm was established in
2002 with an equine boarding, training, and
breeding facility. When looking to find a
more economic venture
while Erica was in
veterinary school in Alabama, goats were
added to the family farm in 2006. Since
that time there have been several breeds,
both dairy and meat goats,
on the farm
at any time. There has always been an
alpine in the mix since the beginning and
the herd dwindled from 160 breeding does
down to 30 alpine does by 2012.
In 2014
a small herd of Nigerian Dwarves were added
for the enjoyment and training of the Oller
children, as they began to take an active
role in the farm.
First freshening
alpines were bred the past 2 falls to a
Nigerian buck and the mini program was born.
The spring of 2016 was very busy with 76
kids raised by hand
and 32 fresh does
milked twice daily. The farm also has a
flock of registered texel sheep, a few
commercial beef cows, a jersey cow named
Cora Beth,
several breeds of poultry and
a pack of English Shepherd dogs that help
keep order. James has judged 4-h meat and
dairy goat shows since 2008 and enjoys
working with the young showmen.
James
has been a MDGA licensed judge since 2014.