Owner: KSK Ranch
Ontario, Oregon
I grew up in Nampa, Idaho right in the heart of the city. Never in my life did I think I’d be part of agriculture until I moved to Ontario, Oregon during high school. Joined FFA and started a club lamb project then after I graduated thought I’d be a medical doctor and went far away to Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ in 2008. Decided there I couldn’t hide my passion in Ag and came back to Oregon to raise club lambs and pursue Veterinary medicine. I met Kahla when I came home and we started KSK Ranch (Koben Shigeta Kahla) in club lambs. Kahla had done dairy goats in FFA and couldn’t keep her heart away from the goats so I agreed we could raise a ‘meat’ goat – dairy goats just were not my thing. She left to see a lady about buying ONE goat and came back with THREE registered does. After a while we agreed that we could not raise a flock of sheep and herd of goats efficiently and did a contest to see who could make the most profit that year. I sold 10 lambs to her three kids and she beat me to death in profit. That is how our meat goat herd started and I got out of lambs.
We joined the Snake River Meat Goat Association back in 2012 with just a handful of does and no knowledge. Today we run over 50 registered ABGA does with from genetics across the United States. I spent my first years in the SRMGA just watching, listening and learning the industry until 2015 when I was elected for the 2016 board when I felt knowledgeable enough to make a difference. I’m honored today to serve as the SRMGA Board President as this entire association has only given me a wealth of knowledge and an outstanding goat family.