This evening I took an inspiring tour of Hearty Roots farm (www.heartyroots.com) with other local farm apprentices, the theme of the tour being "Becoming a Farmer."
A sister farm renting "marginal land" adjacent to the farm (www.awesomefarmny.com) is host to Icelandic sheep, a guard donkey (protection against coyotes), and several flocks of chickens.
They are working towards a completely grass-based meat operation. Sheep only need to eat grass, with hay (dried grass) in the winter. But chickens require grain, which is becoming more and more expensive, especially organic grain. They are experimenting with feeding some chickens no grain-- only vegetable scraps & compost, like the Vermont Compost Company does apparently (www.vermontcompost.com)... very interesting idea. I know from watching our hens here at the farm, chickens do love compost-- they spend most of their days scratching & pecking through it.
The breed of sheep they chose is Icelandic-- a very sturdy breed that provides excellent wool, meat, and milk if they want to have a dairy component to the business in the future. The fact that they're adapted to very cold climates means they don't need a barn for the winter-- just a portable hoophouse that provides a windblock and dry cover. They move the sheep every day or two through pastures with solar-powered electronet fencing, and try to not graze them on the same piece of land within a 2-3 month cycle, to avoid parasites.
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