By Marie Hoff, Fibershed
Despite numerous farming and crafting projects, from fiber to culinary, Rhoby’s Ranch is not hectic. There is a serene quality in the air. Everyone is working together: the sheep, the geese, the dog, the shade tree, the hugelkultur, the hedgerow, the grasses and microbes, the soil — and everyone helps each other work.
By May Reid Marr, Fibershed
Alison is equally dedicated to breeding preservation, quality wool production, pasture management, community building, agricultural education, and being a business owner. She manages to attend to each priority with grace and aplomb.
By Sarah Lillegard, Fibershed
There is never a quiet season here. Even with the hoop houses cleared of their summer harvest and the small flock of Icelandic sheep fresh from a fall shearing, the farm is still rich with growth.
By Julie Baber, Sustainable Food Trust
Wool, with its unique natural properties, is one of the most versatile and historically important materials, which can be used for everything from clothing to insulation.
By Kalie llana Cassel-Feiss, Fibershed
Melissa and Spencer lease from the ARC now with the agreement that the land is to be maintained as a working farm. Melissa is excited about soil testing, so they can show the Conservancy how soil health, viewed through carbon content and soil organic matter, can improve over time with proper livestock management.
By Marie Hoff, Fibershed
The co-benefits to diversified farming are numerous, from economic stability to increased water retention in the soil, integrated farming makes a lot of sense. Also known as Integrated Crop and Livestock Systems, ICLS works by relying upon the mutually beneficial relationships that plants, animals, and insects have with one another, as developed in nature.
By Ariel Greenwood, Fibershed
In California, there could not be a more relevant time to draw attention to the health of the open expanses of land surrounding our towns and cities.
By Sarah Lillegard, Fibershed
Arriving at Flying Mule Farm on the cusp of lambing season and on the heels of a snowstorm in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, the fields are damp with recent rain. Ewes and lambs call to each other and in the morning light. It’s easy to get sentimental about spaces like this where the animals match the rhythms of the land.
By Courtney Collins, Fibershed
The main difference between natural tanning and conventional tanning is that instead of relying on industrial chemicals that often contain carcinogens or heavy metals, organic processing uses imported tree bark that is estate grown (meaning cultivated for this purpose, as opposed to cutting down wild habitat).
By Erin Rae, Fibershed
Building off one another’s enthusiasm, the Irwins describe their model of ranching that pulls from agrarian traditions of the past and present to create diverse, resilient agricultural systems that are the engines for ecosystem restoration for our future.