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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (March 17, 2018)
Page 8A BUSINESS East Oregonian Saturday, March 17, 2018 Goats taught to tote golf clubs Goats to haul clubs, balls and six-pack on challenge course at Silvies Valley Ranch By SEAN HART EO Media Group A nimals have been employed in agriculture for many years — but rarely on a golf course. At Silvies Valley Ranch, a small drove of goats has traded the cattle drive for the drive at the first tee on McVeigh’s Gauntlet. Several talented Boer goats have volunteered to serve as caddies for golfers on the seven-hole challenge course set to open in July at the new Retreat & Links resort south of Seneca. With custom-designed backpacks, the goats will carry several clubs, balls and tees and a six-pack as golfers test their accuracy hitting from the tee box on one ridge to the green on another. And the goats aren’t just doing it for the peanuts. “We would like to take credit for the idea, but frankly, it was the goats’ idea,” Vice President Colby Marshall joked. “The goats were looking for new career opportunities, a little more longevity in their career paths, and we, being responsible equal opportunity employers, thought we’d give them a shot. You know, being a meat goat doesn’t have quite the same long-term career path as being a goat caddie.” Silvies is a working ranch with certified organic cattle and goats raised for meat. While most of the goats are destined for the table as chevon, those selected as caddies will work until they are 8 years old and will then be adopted out to golfers, or others, interested in taking them in as pets. The goats have many rounds ahead of them before retirement, however. Bruce Contributed photo Contributed photo Bruce LeGoat, left, and Mike LeChevon are the first known goat caddies in the world at The Retreat & Links at Silvies Valley Ranch. Selected from the ranch’s meat goats, they will pack golfers’ clubs and items on a seven-hole ridgetop challenge course at the resort. LeGoat is the oldest caddie at 4 and has been training for three years. “Bruce is in the prime of his career right now,” Marshall said. “When he does retire, he does want to spend that time telling jokes and sitting around the caddie shack with other old golfers.” The caddies are all affectionately named: Mike LeChevon, Bruce’s nephew Peanut LeGoat and the first female goat caddie, Roundabout LaDoe. Peanut was the reserve grand champion market goat at the 2017 Harney County Fair — “Already a star in his own right, but he will tell you he’s very excited about this new career,” Marshall said. The caddies start training when they are kids. The more than 2,000 goats on the ranch are tended by a Peruvian goat- herder, who uses the young caddies-to-be to carry extra water and food. “Goats, for thousands of years, were pack animals, so this is not something new in terms of them packing things or packing carts,” Marshall said. “It’s just a new spin on that.” To make the transition from the range to the golf course, Silvies contracted with Seamus Golf Company to design a special backpack. “This is a first-in-the-world design,” Marshall said. “It’s specially made so Mike LeChevon shows excited 2018 goat caddie applicants a prototype backpack, similar to what he will wear while carrying items for golfers on McVeigh’s Gauntlet at the Silvies Valley Ranch Retreat & Links. . they can pack three or four clubs on each side.” The goats are selected for the caddie program based on their personality and whether they enjoy wearing the back- pack. Marshall said they behave much like a dog. “They will lead on leash. They will stay with you off leash,” he said. “They’re very social. They want to be right there with you. You have their favorite snack, which is a peanut. They’re kind of in heaven up on that course. They’re just not going to want to run off somewhere.” If they do decide to walk off the job, golfers are provided two-way radios to contact their supervisor. BRIEFLY EO publisher to take on The Other Oregon Kathryn Brown will hand off her duties as publisher of the East Oregonian to take on the role of publisher of The Other Oregon, a rural affairs magazine being developed by the EO Media Group. The Other Oregon will be a quarterly magazine targeting the wider concerns of non-urban Oregonians. Stories will be reported from a rural perspective. The magazine will offer deep dives into rural issues, profiles of interesting rural figures and lifestyle features on rural Oregon culture. It will premier in the fall of 2018. “There is a tremendous need for rural Oregonians to communicate more effectively with those in positions of power in the urban centers of the Willamette Valley,” Brown said. “The Other Oregon can help the state’s decision makers understand rural Oregon’s vast natural and human resources and how they can support efforts to improve economic opportunities in communities throughout the state. I’m excited to lead this effort, and feel that our company is uniquely positioned to take on this challenge, with our long-standing presence in many rural communities on the coast and in eastern Oregon.” Joe Beach, editor and publisher of the Capital Press, will serve as the magazine’s editor. Though Brown will maintain an office in Pendleton to work full-time on The Other Oregon, she will step down as publisher once her successor is selected. At the East Oregonian she will be replaced by a regional publisher and revenue director who will also be responsible for the operations of the Hermiston Herald, the Blue Mountain Eagle and the Wallowa County Chieftain. Marissa Williams, the regional advertising director for the company for nearly two years, stepped down this week to take an executive position at the Silvies Valley Ranch in Seneca. Brown will also assume the title of vice president of EO Media Group, and will remain secretary of the EO Media Group board of directors. EO Media Group is a company owned by Brown and members of the Forrester family. It also owns the Capital Press and a chain of five newspapers on the northern Oregon and southern Washington coast. AgSource Labs hires new manager UMATILLA — A Umatilla-based agricultural laboratory has hired a new manager with experience in the Columbia Basin region. AgSource Laboratories welcomes Jason Place to the position of laboratory manager. Place previously lived in West Richland, Washington, and worked as a product development specialist for Foseco. According to a press release from AgSource, he has more than 20 years of laboratory experience. Place will be responsible for all business processes at the laboratory, including operations, client relations, total process improvement and quality control. He will also oversee standardization of sample testing procedures and training of laboratory technicians. Place studied mechanical engineering at Kent State University. AgSource Laboratories conducts soil, plant tissue, manure and water testing services to clients in agricultural and environmental industries. It has facilities in Iowa, Nebraska, Oregon and Wisconsin. 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