Spring is a time of never ending chores, but also a season of re-awakening as daylight hours lengthen and temperatures climb. The darkness of winter is washed away in the spring rains and as new life emerges, so does the fresh hope of the season. Hope, faith, and trust in the earth are what encourage farmers to continue a risky business in which a bout of inclement weather can bust a season and wash profits down the drain.
Farming is also an incredibly sensory experience. The rich aroma of soil ready to be planted, the sun kissed, fertile earth opening to accept seed, the cool breezes carrying calls of returning flocks of birds, all of these beckon in spring. I am enveloped by “the peace of wild things” and “for a time, I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.” (Wendell Berry)
On our farm, the chicks have been ordered from Murray McMurray and 33 will arrive around Memorial Day (fresh eggs by fall!!!), and we have decided to begin a sheep herd this year. We have selected Katahdin hair sheep and have found several quality breeders in Minnesota. The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy lists the Katahdin as a recovering sheep population. (Other classifications include: critical, threatened and watch.) This breed is native to North America, and was developed in the 1950s on the Piel Farm in Maine and is known for producing good meat. The Katahdin is a wool-less, easy care, sheep, that is naturally tolerant of climatic extremes and capable of high performance in a wide variety of environments. Our sheep will arrive in June, and we will hopefully have a few feeder lambs slaughtered in the fall.
HermanThis is not our first foray into raising sheep. Several years ago we had the good fortune to acquire “Herman”, an abandoned newborn lamb who needed to be bottle fed in order to survive. Herman was a tiny, hungry wool sheep that immediately made himself at home in our mudroom. With sheep milk replacer warmed in an animal bottle, and a diaper tightly wrapped around his hind end (his quick tail sticking out of an improvised hole) Herman quickly settled into a routine of bottle feeding, sleeping and following me around the farm as I completed my chores. (Sudden insight: Mary’s lamb was a bottle lamb! That’s why “...everywhere that Mary went, the lamb was sure to go.”) Herman swiftly grew, and he was soon ready to be weaned and integrated into the goat herd. His first day in the field was traumatic. He cried to be by my side, and wondered what happened to the food. Doug and I figured that he would quickly catch on watching the goats graze and eat supplemental hay and feed. Appalled by the cuisine, he instead cried incessantly for the first several days, but finally gave up and got down to the business of grazing.
After a summer of sunshine, fresh grass, and the companionship of the fainting goats, Herman had grown to a healthy 120 pound wether. Mother Nature has a wonderful plan with respect to the farm animals we eat. When born they are cute and fuzzy, playful and compelling. One can’t help but fall in love with them and provide tender care to facilitate their growth to healthy adult animals. When they reach slaughter size, they are no longer cute, and the emotional attachment wanes. I revel in the capers of the young animals on our farm. I spend time with them and tame them so that when they reach adult size, they are easy to handle. I do not shed tears when we deliver them to our local meat locker. Herman made his trip to the locker in October, and we had a freezer stocked with lamb chops, shoulder roasts, ribs, legs and ground lamb for the winter months.
I have previously mentioned the criticism I have received for eating my “pets”. The argument goes “If you love animals/nature, how can you eat meat?” The idea of eating animals with which you have a connection is definitely foreign to some, yet I am perplexed by the question. To thoughtfully answer this conundrum I need only turn to Wendell Berry, the agrarian author who is a champion of the family farmer. On our farm, we are dedicated to renewing the dying art of “husbandry”. In his 2005 Orion Magazine (Sept/Oct) article, “Renewing Husbandry”, Berry states that “Husbandry is the name of all the practices that sustain life by connecting us conservingly to our places and our world; it is the art of keeping tied all the strands in the living network that sustain us.”
On our farm, we intentionally select sustainable farming practices that care for and conserve our land, the soil, and the domestic plants and animals that reside in our care. We understand that the way we farm affects the health and integrity of our local ecosystem (on which our farm is dependent), and choose to “farm well”. In doing so we have compassion and courtesy toward all the creatures that live within our acreage, and we are grateful for all that nature provides. I would much rather eat the meat of an animal that had this loving care, and lived the way nature intended, than eat the meat of an animal raised on an industrial “meat farm”.
Whenever we start a new endeavor; whether it be animal, vegetable or mineral, we conduct extensive research and make a “to do” list. (And a “to don’t” list) For sheep we have consulted:
- Storey's Guide to Raising Sheep by Carol Ekarius and Paula Simmons
- Small-Scale Livestock Farming: A Grass-Based Approach for Health, Sustainability, and Profit by Carol Ekarius
- Living with Sheep: Everything You Need to Know to Raise Your Own Flock by Geoff Hansen and Chuck Wooster
- Backyard Livestock: Raising Good, Natural Food for Your Family by George B. Looby and Steven Thomas
- In addition, I would recommend consulting the Maryland Sheep/Goat website: http://www.sheepandgoat.com/
For a change of pace, instead of grilling that grass-fed beef burger, try a tasty lamb-burger on the grill tonight.
Lamb burger topped with Feta cheese, olives, spinach and sundried Tomatoes
½ chopped onion
1 lb. ground lamb: preferably from the shoulder
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. finely chopped dill
1 tsp. dried Greek oregano
½ tsp. ground cumin
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1⁄3 cup crumbled feta cheese
10 leaves baby spinach
½ c coarsely chopped black olives
½ c coarsely chopped sun-dried tomatoes
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
hamburger buns, toasted
Sauté onion, cool and mix with ground lamb, mustard, dill, oregano, cumin, garlic, salt and pepper.
Form burger patties and grill to desired doneness. In a small bowl, combine feta, spinach, olives, tomatoes and lemon juice. Place cooked lamb burgers on toasted buns and top with feta mix.
Bon Appetite!
Robin Trott grew up in the suburbs of Baltimore, MD and dreamed of the country life. These dreams came true on the eve of her 40th birthday. Along with her three daughters and husband, she packed up her things and moved to rural west central Minnesota. The years following this major life move have been full of new experiences: raising pigs, poultry, cattle and horses; cut flower production, market gardening, harvesting and preserving food, and living a simple life (read: really, really hard work!). The rewards of the fresh air, good neighbors, clear night skies, and home grown produce and meat are well worth all the sweat and tears put into the farm. She is a devoted “sustainable” farmer, educator, and local food advocate. Her last article for SGT was: Ace and other magnificent (fainting) goats.
