By Amanda Fisk, Fibershed
The small goats and sheep are very easy on the land. Stone Steps Farm is participating in Fibershed’s soil sampling protocol, and the family hopes to implement grazing practices that sequester carbon and increase soil organic matter. They also aim to decrease wildfire risk by using their goats to clear brush that provides a fuel ladder, and by using their sheep to keep grasses down during fire season.
By Marie Hoff, Fibershed
Many people do not grow up around sheep, unlike say dogs or cats. There are expectations and etiquette surrounding the way people treat sheep, just the same as there are for dogs and cats, but for sheep, the practices can be slightly different.
By Marie Hoff, Fibershed
Power dynamics between people, and between people and animals, can be a daunting challenge. But from that challenge emerges a goal: to shear a sheep so that it will be healthy, and so people can make use of the wool that the sheep no longer needs during the summer.
By Marie Hoff, Fibershed
Shearing is that unique seasonal dance between human and fiber animal. It’s the act that offers us wool and fine fibers to wear, knit, and sleep upon. But for people outside the agricultural sphere, shearing can appear as a cause for confusion or even concern.
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.