Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Nicole Zaagman. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Nicole , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with education – we’d love to hear your thoughts about how we can better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career
One thing I would change about the educational system to prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career would be to incorporate agriculture and farm education. Though many schools in rural areas encompass agricultural based education, many urban school districts may not have the opportunity to be introduced to farming concepts and practices. Growing up I had the privilege and opportunity to be involved with local 4-H programs. On my parent’s hobby farm, I had hands-on experience, learning how to grow vegetable gardens, take care of livestock, train animals and start my own breeding programs. Agriculture and farm education is life changing in the ways that it teaches youth many valuable life lessons. Agriculture and farm education instills values such as: critical thinking, responsibility, hard work, disappointment and losses at an early age.
Understanding where your food comes from and learning how to grow and tend to crops and take care of animals is invaluable. The latter qualities and programs such as 4-H help youth see beyond themselves and practice important skills like public speaking, retaining knowledge and various social dynamics, which all influence an adolescent through adulthood. I know my life has been more fulfilling as a result of agriculture and farm education. My current career is directly impacted from the knowledge, skills and experience I gained as a young adult and student in grade school through high school. Some of the hardest and most joyful life lessons I’ve been through have come as a result of my years exposed to agriculture. These life lessons have served me well and prepared me for adulthood and my current career.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
As I mentioned in the previous question, my roots are tied to a rural and country lifestyle. I spent many years of my life before graduating high school invested in 4-H, showing and raising different animals. I had a herd of pygmy goats through my adolescent years and into my early twenties and also learned to take care of chickens, rabbits and horses along with our family dogs and cats. After college, my parents sold our family home and moved across the country to California and I was not in the position to take my pygmy goat herd so they were left with the new homeowners. It was heartbreaking for me to leave my pygmy goats behind. So many years spent with them, some I raised from bottles and trained for show and goat carting purposes. I am so grateful they were left in such loving hands and that they were well looked after by the new homeowners as they got older and passed away from old age.
It was a long 11 years before I was able to own another pygmy goat and it was a dream of mine to do so. During the pandemic, I was determined to make this dream a reality and set out to do it even though finding any to purchase proved to be harder than I anticipated. I had to have animals transported from out of state because they were so hard to find. After I restarted my pygmy goat herd in 2021, I decided to expand the farm. With my background in coaching, agriculture, animal and art therapy, I wanted to create a unique farm education program utilizing my pygmy goats. People online would tell me how much joy photos and videos of my pygmy goats brought them and their families so I decided my mission through the farm would be to spread joy, specifically with pygmy goats. After testing out a goat therapy pilot project, I created and launched the Jump for JOY Program™ and started booking JOY Visits and JOY Parties with senior centers and special events around the state of Michigan. Word spread quickly about the program and it has become a popular program. I am happy to share my Jump for JOY Program™ calendar for 2024 already has bookings scheduled.
Some of the other offerings at Parkside Farm include maple syrup that is created from sap I collect in the early spring and have processed. I tap about 50 trees on the farm and plan to tap more this year. Maple syrup is currently my staple farm product. In 2024, Parkside Farm will have a small roadside stand and farm market for customers to stop and purchase farm products. If everything goes well, the farm market will also feature cut flowers and pumpkins grown on the farm along with agriculturally related products such as my children’s storybook, Samson the Baby Pygmy Goat. I’ve poured countless hours of time, research, energy and financial resources into my business plan and development for the farm’s future. I would encourage any other farm owner or entrepreneur to take the time to lay a proper foundation and calculate risk and a realistic budget ahead of any new business endeavor.
Something I believe sets me apart from others is my ability to persevere through difficult seasons and circumstances. I’ve faced a lot of adversity in my life from overcoming chronic health conditions, loss of loved ones, facing business setbacks and most recently some tragedies on the farm. In less than a year, I experienced 3 emergency c-sections in three of my pygmy goat kiddings. The odds of that happening in a row with three different goats are insane. I am so thankful to the amazing veterinary professionals I work with. We were able to save all three mommas and two of the three babies. Having c-sections means I won’t breed the females again due to the risk of complications, which was not in my plan. During that time frame, I also had to humanely euthanize one of my young female pygmy goats I started the Jump for JOY Program™ with, with whom I had also formed a special bond.
I had planned to breed that young doe in 2023 and a little over a month later lost a female baby pygmy goat from labor complications. Farming and agriculture is not for the faint of heart. I’ve faced more adversity in 2023, a lot more that I can go into in this interview than I have in the few years leading up to restarting my pygmy goat herd. Despite these challenges, I’ve persevered and strove to spread joy when at times I was consumed with grief. The hardship and surprises have been a shock to my system and made me want to give up at times. Despite discouragement, I keep going and putting one foot in front of the other. My strength comes from my relationship with Jesus Christ. He is my ultimate source of joy despite what circumstances I find myself in. I believe the Lord uses suffering and trials as a testimony to encourage others.
I am very proud of all the work I’ve put in behind the scenes over the last year to expand Parkside Farm. I recently received conformance from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for the Care of Farm Animals and Farm Markets GAAMPs practices. With our Farm Market GAAMPs (Generally Accepted Agricultural and Management Practices) conformance, I will be able to offer agriculturally related farm marketing activities such as farm tours and classes. I am an advocate for agriculture, farm education and agritourism and I believe agritourism is the future of vibrant communities, sustainable farm profits and a bridge for future generations to be engaged with agriculture. While the expansion plan has been a challenging work in progress, when I stop and reflect how far I’ve come, I am very proud of what I have accomplished and thankful to the Lord for helping me get to where I am.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
One thing that helped build my reputation in my market was creating a unique service called the Jump for JOY Program™, combined with publishing my own children’s book, Samson the Baby Pygmy Goat. I chose a livestock animal that is rare in the state of Michigan, and a breed of goat I had many years of experience raising, which has helped my credibility. The pygmy goat is a breed I am very passionate about and have been since I was young. In order to be successful, you have to be passionate about what you are doing. People can tell if you’re not passionate about what you do. My passion is reflected in my clients testimonies. Many clients have shared how much they’ve learned and how knowledgeable I am when I present to different groups and how evident it is that I deeply care for the pygmy goats that call Parkside Farm home. I believe anyone can be successful in their market. If I can, anyone can.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
One example that illustrates resilience in my business journey and a setback I faced when I started the Jump for JOY Program™ was finding a liability insurance carrier that would cover my work with the pygmy goats. I spent three months contacting insurance companies all over the world to get a policy underwritten. I kept getting rejection after rejection and finally found one agent that was able to get a policy that met all my needs for a reasonable price. Such an answer to prayer. Don’t let multiple no’s stand in the way of the one yes you need. One key thing to take to heart is taking action on your idea and not just sitting on it. If you let the what-if’s stand in the way, setbacks and surprises stop you from moving forward, you’ll never get started. My closing advice is, if you feel the Lord calling you to do something, be obedient and do it! If it’s His will, He will make what seems impossible, possible.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.parkside.farm
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/parksidefarmmi
- Facebook: facebook.com/parksidefarmmi
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@parksidefarmmi/videos
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@parksidefarmmi