Farmer Q and A

What kind of forages do you raise?

Because of where we are located row crops cannot be viably raised so hay and baleage is the predominant product produced. Small grains are raised on a lesser scale as well. My forages are mostly a clover, trefoil, and timothy mix.

Can you talk about the life cycle of an animal on your farm?

Lambs are born in a 4 week period in May, pastured with their mothers through mid August, then weaned. The lambs and ewes are then pastured separately throughout the rest of the pasture season. Breeding season ensues on December 10 through about January 12-15. The sheep continue to be fed our baleage through the winter and on into lambing season again in May.

What production protocols do you follow?

I feed lambs on pasture and through the winter a small portion of barley which is non gmo. I use only OMRI certified fertilizer beyond the manure that is produced and spread on certain fields each year.

What do you enjoy most about raising livestock?

The joy of watching all those newborn lambs in May and the absolute pleasure in seeing sheep on beautiful green pasture throughout the summer.

How do your practices improve the health of your land?

By not using commercial fertilizers or herbicides, etc. I allow the natural microbes to thrive and keep the soil alive. Rotational grazing helps to keep the plant density higher so that the need to till and replant becomes less frequent.