Terry raises dwarf goats on Tharptown farm

RUSSELLVILLE — Before Dana Terry built a life around Nigerian dwarf goats, she worked in law enforcement and later supported her husband through military deployments.

She served as the first female police officer at the University of North Alabama; worked as a school resource officer in Lawrence County; and moved often as a military spouse during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Now she farms on family land in the Tharptown community, living in the house where her mother was born. Her mother lives next door. The farm has been in the family for more than 100 years.

Her operation is called LT Farms.

Terry keeps about 50 Nigerian dwarf goats and usually kids out around 25 does a year. She shows goats in Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia and Texas. She milks twice a day at 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.

She also has horses and keeps cats on the farm.

Terry said her years in law enforcement shaped the way she approaches work and community life.

“I think a lot of people don’t realize how much the families serve too,” she said. “My husband missed half of my daughter’s life on deployments. Every time she walked into a new school, she didn’t know anybody. Kids serve with you.”

Terry started with unregistered goats and later bought a single registered doe. From there, the herd grew. At one point she kept about 75 goats, but she now prefers staying close to 50.

Kidding season in February and March is her busiest time. The goats are handled daily, and she said that consistency makes them social. Her 16-month-old granddaughter spends time with the animals and calls every goat “baby.”

Terry shows across five states and also hosts three dairy goat shows in Alabama. She wants to increase opportunities for young people to show dairy goats.

“We have a lot of meat goat shows, but not a lot of dairy goat shows in Alabama,” she said.

Former police officer Dana Terry now enjoys life on her farm in Tharptown.

She donates one goat a year to a child who wants to show.

A standout memory came during a show where her doe, Calamity Jane, became a finished permanent champion at a year old. Terry said yearlings rarely finish that early.

“She beat probably over 75 goats that day,” she said. “She was the first one I ever bred that finished.”

Calamity Jane’s personality matches her name.

“She can get her head stuck in anything — fences, feeders, gates, buckets,” Terry said.

Another goat with special meaning is Peach Cobbler, a buck whose line carries peachthemed names. Terry organizes her herd by naming lines. Calamity Jane’s descendants have cowgirl or Western names. Other lines follow Mickey Mouse, mystical or moon themes.

“It helps you keep up with who’s who,” she said. “Anything with a moon name goes back to that moon doe.”

One of her bucks, Wonton, was her First Finish Champion and his son, Jack, was the first finished champion buck in her hard, making him the sixth consecutive finished champion in a row in his line.

A doe called Little Bits is a farm favorite, especially with her granddaughter.

“All the kids loved her and she loved all the kids,” Terry said.

She keeps a close watch on herd health. Goats can decline without showing obvious signs, so she looks for small changes in behavior, eating and movement.

Predators are another concern. Stray dogs, coyotes, and bobcats pose risks, so she uses cameras in every pasture. Until recently the herd was protected by a Great Pyrenees named Lincoln, who had been raised with her bucks since puppyhood. He died after getting onto a busy road.

“You can’t just go buy a guardian dog,” she said. “They have to be raised with your herd.”

She plans to raise two puppies with the goats.

She said goats browse rather than graze. “They like to eat high stuff,” she said. “If they’re eating grass, they’re probably starving.”

Despite the workload, she enjoys the rhythm of farm life. Shows remain her favorite part of the year, but spring kidding season ranks close behind.

“Just sitting out there in good weather with the babies running around,” she said. “They all like animal crackers. They know if they get on the milk stand, they’re supposed to get that animal cracker.”

She sometimes brings goats to community events.

During a local Farm Day event for third graders, students asked questions about horns, beards and milk. Many were surprised that both goats she brought were female.

“Most of the kids didn’t know that males and females can both have horns and beards,” she said.

She showed the difference between horned and polled goats and talked about dairy uses. Students petted the goats and asked questions about care, milk and behavior.

Terry said the educational side of her work connects back to what she valued about law enforcement.

“I think school resource officers have an opportunity to be a positive for kids,” she said. “A lot of them [students] have only had negative experiences with law enforcement. I tried to be someone they could talk to.”

She grew up in Lawrence County at Fisherman’s Resort, a business her parents operated for nearly 30 years. Her father, Dan Long, died recently at age 92. Her mother, Glenda Aycock-Long, still lives independently next door.

Terry and her husband, retired Army Lt. Col. Charles Keith Terry, returned to Franklin County after his military career. Their daughter, Lauren Feuillard, works in agriculture equipment sales.

Terry said she is grateful to live where generations of her family have lived.

“This farm has been in our family for over 100 years,” she said. “I’m fortunate to be able to live

here.”