Weekend Roundup- Wool and Beautiful Belonging (with sheep)
The Mossygoat blog has been purposely quiet since January, and the quiet was needed as we moved the farm in a different, and very exciting, direction. We have undergone not only a website overhaul but also, in many ways, a farm overhaul. We are still the same mossy people doing Mossygoat things, but we have added a mill to produce wool pellets for plants. Wool is America is often a waste product and is incinerated or thrown into a landfill.
Fast forward to the last 36 hours (or so), it’s been a whirlwind of a sheep breeding rabbit holes with little side trails into belonging and what makes a beautiful farm. It all started with attending the 50th anniversary of the Black Sheep Gathering in Albany. A whole show dedicated to fiber and the natural colored sheep.
My sheep breeding rabbit hole began first with wanting to evaluate the breeding direction of our herd. Are we happy with the sheep we have and/or what traits do we want breed into the sheep we have at present? Secondly, I fell in love with a ram for sale at the Black Sheep Gathering. He was big and beefy and reminded me of our current ram FinnBerry, but bigger. To sustain an operation, you need more than one ram, and it is indeed time to add another ram. This is a big decision for a farm. The ram I feel in love with was an East Friesian / Texel cross. In the end, I decided he was actually too big and that I don’t want to add the extremely copper sensitive Texel into my herd. I am quite happy with my ragamuffin bunch of Icelandic/Shetland/East Friesian crosses thank you very much. The ram shopping continues.
What were my conclusions about sheep breeding and what do they have to do with beautiful belonging and Mossygoat Farm? We raise fiber sheep and breed for the qualities of fine fleece, and we will continue to do so, but we use those fleeces for pellets (and rugs). We will also be utilizing the fleece from sheep around the region. Although using fine wool for pellets has raised a few eyebrows in the fiber sheep crowd, we believe this attitude is akin to not wanting a thoroughbred as a backyard horse because they are bred for sport. I will tell you straight up, thoroughbreds don’t care what they were bred for, they just want to be a horse (with room to run). Our sheep just want to be sheep and largely do not care what their wool is used for, they personally are just happy to be sheared twice a year.
On the flip side, we don’t quite fit in with the meat sheep crowd either. We are not meat sheep producers and maximizing the growth rate of lambs for market is not important to the production at Mossygoat Farm. In fact, we generally don’t eat lamb; we eat mutton. Meat sheep are also not necessarily bred for parasite and disease resistance because they will just be sent to slaughter. Plus, the ability to be pasture reared has been bred out of some breeds. Are my lambs happy, healthy, and growing? That’s what I need to know.
So where does Mossygoat Farm belong? We are where nature provides. We are friends with both the fiber sheep crowd and the meat sheep crowd because sheep are sheep and wool is an amazing resource. We love our sheep because they bring us happiness and they keep the grass at bay. They are low maintenance, very hearty critters, and control the invasive weeds. We are extremely excited about using their wool to make happy plants with Wild Wisdom Wool pellets for plants. (coming soon in August)
Sheepish Link to Enjoy
In 2016 the University of Vermont underwent a study to find out the feasibility of using wool pellets as a green alternative for soil amendments. The study concluded in 2019 and a new study was begun to evaluate how wool pellets effect the soil and growth. You can read about that project here. The findings show that wool pellets for plants are an Earth friendly and local alternative to non-sustainable peat moss.
Modern Farmer also wrote an excellent article about wool pellets: “Waste Wool is a Burden for Farmers. What if it Could be a Solution as Well?”
Lamb meat is the 6th most popular meat in America. However, Americans tend not to eat mutton, a popular food around the world. Mutton is defined as the meat from any sheep over 2 years old. Why is that? Modern Farmer magazine answers that question in their article “Digging In: Why Don’t Americans Eat Mutton?”
Here at Mossygoat Farm we eat mutton. The sheep have the purpose of mowing, controlling invasive weeds, and producing wool and we find it beneficial to let the sheep do their job until a natural end is near (old age) when they are humanely slaughtered with much thankfulness. Because Americans do not typically consume mutton, here are some recipes to enjoy:
Easy Mutton Curry by My Food Story
Mutton Chops with Souvlaki Salt Rub & Lemon Board Dressing by Field and Flower
Roast Leg of Mutton with Mint Pesto by Pipers Farm
Now onto belonging; I mentioned above that we don’t quite fit in with the fiber crowd although our farm isn’t a meat sheep farm either, although we are friends with both. We belong in the wild.
Beautiful Belonging Links to Enjoy for your Farm Ponderings
Wisdom of Wild, or Wild Wisdom if you will, is a theme across this website. But what does this mean? I have never quite settled well with the term rewilding, for I truly believe that we were always wild and maybe we just forgot how. We aren’t rewilding, we are just remembering. Wild Belonging is a great concept and alternative to rewilding as explored by Barefoot Wellbeing in the article “Wild Belonging: The Call to Return Home.”
Mossygoat Farm is fairly wild looking, as many farms that don’t use chemicals or large agribusiness methods are. It’s the wildness that I find so beautiful here. An article on Front Porch Republic by McKenna Shaw explores exactly the question of what makes a farm beautiful. “A Beautiful Farm?”