For much of her career, Pat Larr helped other landowners care for and conserve their land. Today, on her own farm in Scott County, she has had the opportunity to put those same principles into practice—while building a diverse operation that includes Kiko goats, cropland, forests, wildlife habitat and wetlands. 

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For Pat, farming and conservation have always been closely connected. Growing up, she spent time on her grandparents' small farms and developed an early appreciation for being outdoors and working with the land. Her professional path eventually led her into conservation. As a college student, she began working with the US Department of Agriculture’s Soil Conservation Service—now the Natural Resources Conservation Service—and went on to spend more than 30 years in the field, retiring in 2010. 

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At the time, women were rarely seen in roles like hers. “Back then there weren’t female soil conservationists,” Pat recalled. She was among the first women in her area to work in the profession. Looking back, she recognizes challenges that came with being a woman in a male-dominated field. Pat learned to navigate difficult  situations by staying professional and doing her job well,  without being unnecessarily confrontational. Those experiences helped shape a career built on communication, attention to detail and a willingness to get things done. 

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In 1988, Pat purchased the first 80 acres of the farm that would eventually become her own hands-on conservation laboratory. She added additional adjoining tracts as they came available, taking her father’s advice to leverage equity in the first tract to purchase the additional land over the next several years.  

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She had spent years helping other landowners implement conservation practices. Now she had the opportunity to experience the process herself. “It helped me relate more to my clients,” she said of becoming a landowner herself. The farm needed work. One of its challenges was an abundance of multiflora rose—an invasive shrub that had taken hold across the property. The solution came in an unexpected form: goats. 

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A board supervisor who owned pygmy goats gave Pat some to help tackle the multiflora rose. 

The goats eagerly went to work, eating the invasive plants—thorns and all. Over time, the goats helped bring the multiflora rose under control. Pat also discovered that she enjoyed having goats on the farm, especially the arrival of baby goats each spring. What began as a practical approach to invasive species management grew into Hoosier Hills Kiko Goats. 

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Today, Pat, along with longtime partner Betty Joubert, raises Kiko goats, a meat breed known for being hardy and relatively low-maintenance. Her work includes raising breedstock for sale across the country, performance testing and participation in breeding and reproductive programs, including assisting with an export program that is sending kiko genetics to improve goat herds internationally. The goats are just one part of a much larger and intentionally diverse landscape. 

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Pat leases some of her cropland to another farmer while managing forests for timber production and wildlife habitat. Over the years, she has planted trees, built wetlands and a pond, improved timber stands and incorporated practices such as rotational grazing, heavy-use area protection, fencing and automatic waterers. Soil health and biodiversity are central to the way she thinks about the farm. “It’s not all nice and neat,” Pat said. For her, that is part of the point. A healthy landscape doesn't have to look manicured. Diversity can create resilience and balance. 

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Pat has seen that balance play out in many ways. Her pond remains clear even after heavy rains, which she attributes  to conservation work throughout the surrounding watershed. Tree planting and other critical-area treatments have helped protect the water quality. She has also watched wildlife become part of the farm's natural system. At one point, pigeons became a nuisance in the barn—until a hawk began regularly hunting them. Diversity, Pat observed, can bring balance.  And this spring, it even brought a Bald Eagle to the farm for the first time.

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Pat's commitment to conservation extends well beyond the boundaries of her farm. She is a founding member and president of the board of the George Rogers Clark Land Trust, an Indiana land trust focused specifically on protecting working farmland. The idea grew from conversations and strategic planning involving the Clark County Soil and Water Conservation District, where concern about the future of farmland emerged as a priority for the community. 

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More than 20 years later, the organization continues to work with landowners to permanently protect farmland through agricultural conservation easements. Pat's professional background has been especially valuable in that work. Navigating easements can be complicated and bureaucratic, but the land trust's board includes people familiar with conservation programs and agricultural systems, as well as a passion for farmland protection. 

The work is also deeply personal for Pat. She is currently pursuing a conservation easement for her own farm through the American Farmland Trust. For her, protecting farmland is another extension of the same philosophy that has guided her career and her farm: land stewardship is about thinking beyond today. 

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Pat also serves on the board of the Indiana Land Protection Alliance, which supports land trusts across the state and advocates for land conservation. Those connections have helped expand her network and connect the George Rogers Clark Land Trust with resources and organizations that can help strengthen its work. But growth also brings challenges. Land trusts must balance the desire to protect additional properties with the responsibility of stewarding the land they have already helped conserve. Each easement represents a long-term commitment.That long view is exactly what motivates Pat. 

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After decades in conservation and more than 35 years of farming, Pat's advice to other women interested in farming or land stewardship is straightforward: do your homework, understand your long-term goals and don't be afraid to dive in. She encourages women to seek out landowners, organizations and other resources that can help. “You can't do it alone,” she said. And perhaps most importantly: don't be afraid to get your hands dirty or to ask for help. 

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Pat knows firsthand that farming and conservation are hard work. She also recognizes the physical challenges that can come with aging while continuing to care for land and livestock. But she believes strongly in making agricultural opportunities accessible to more people. 

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Earlier in her retirement, Pat and Betty ran Chicks on the Farm, a nonprofit that offered workshops and hands-on learning opportunities for women interested in agriculture. The program eventually became too much to maintain, but its purpose reflected something Pat continues to believe: women need opportunities, connections and access to learn. “A farm life is a good life,” she said, “and everyone deserves an opportunity.”  

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For Pat, the journey has come full circle. She began her career helping landowners care for their farms, forests and other natural resources. Then she became a landowner herself and discovered firsthand the challenges, and rewards, of putting conservation principles into practice. 

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Today, whether she is managing goats, improving wildlife habitat, protecting water quality or working to permanently conserve working farmland, Pat continues to build on the same belief that has guided her for decades: The land we care for today is part of the legacy we leave behind.