How we maintain our land

Our 207 acre farm has about 80 open acres. Much of it is steeply sloped so sheep are an ideal match to utilizing this rugged land. They are moved almost daily from place to place. Moving them quickly across the land facilitates soil and grass health as well as helps us manage parasites that can affect the health of the sheep. They are contained in electric netting and graze all over the farm night and day. The netting keeps the sheep in and the predators out. And they are accompanied by our Maremma Guardian Dogs who ward off predators.

Rotational grazing moves animals across the landscape quickly, leaving residual grasses that make it possible for the grass to regrow quickly. The natural spread of manure as they graze fertilizes the land and improves the soil’s health by encouraging a healthy soil biome.

We hay a portion of our land to provide winter feed for our animals. At the moment we are providing about 2/3rds of our feed.

At the same time, we must tackle invasive species such as multi-flora rose, bittersweet, bedstraw, buckthorn and horse nettle. While the sheep and cattle will eat many of these plants, we also have to mow, dig out by hand and occasionally use focused herbicides to control these and provide the right environment for the grasses and nutrient rich plants to thrive. 

We attempt to use regenerative and sustainable practices in all our farming.