The Livestock Conservancy: Recent Episodes
The Livestock Conservancy
The Livestock Conservancy is a nonprofit dedicated to protecting endangered livestock and poultry breeds from extinction.
In this podcast, rare breed livestock and poultry experts share their best advice, challenges, and celebrations in chats about agriculture history, scientific breakthroughs, marketing, husbandry, genetics, farm life, and everything in between. Each month features a new species listed on the Conservation Priority List and new guests who share their stories about raising and marketing rare breeds.
To participate in these conversations, follow The Livestock Conservancy on Facebook (@livestockconservancy). Heritage Breed Chats broadcasts live at 2 pm EST the first and third Tuesday of each month. Wooly Wednesdays broadcasts live at 2 pm EST on the second Wednesday of each month. Marketing Mondays broadcasts live at 2 pm on the last Monday of each month. We can't wait to chat with you!
Special Guest Mark Knauer, Swine Extension Specialist at North Carolina State University (https://www.youtube.com/@ncstateswineextension7030/videos), joins Charlene Couch and Brittany Sweeney to chat about inbreeding and selecting your best breeding stock.
Mark Knauer was born and raised on a pure-line pig and cattle operation in southern Wisconsin. He received his B.S. in agriculture education and M.S. in animal breeding at Iowa State University. Following his time at ISU, Mark completed his Ph.D. in animal breeding and genetics at North Carolina State University. After graduating Mark completed a short Postdoc at the Institute for Pig Genetics in the Netherlands before accepting a position with the National Pork Board as the Director of Animal Science.
Big thank you to Manna Pro for sponsoring today's Pig Chat. Learn more about how you can nurture life at https://www.mannapro.com/promotions/n...
Brittany Sweeney and Samantha Gasson from FACT (foodanimalconcernstrust.org) answer your questions and chat about tips for reviewing your year and planning ahead for the next year.
Big thank you to Manna Pro for sponsoring Marketing Mondays this year! Learn more about how Manna Pro is Nurturing Life at https://www.mannapro.com/promotions/n...
Special Guest Audrey Morris joins Brittany Sweeney to chat about her microgrant project with Cotton Patch geese.
Learn more about Cotton Patch Geese and Microgrants at https://livestockconservancy.org/.
Follow the Cotton Patch Goose Society on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/CottonPatchGooseBreeders/
Big thank you to Manna Pro for sponsoring Marketing Mondays this year! Learn more about how Manna Pro is Nurturing Life at https://www.mannapro.com/promotions/n...
Special guest Linwood Watson joins Brittany Sweeney to chat about how native trees and plants can boost your bottom line with heritage breeds. He hopes regardless of your plant skills- be it none or advanced, you will leave today's chat with some tips and tricks to strengthen your heritage breed efforts with 2 crux native trees- the American persimmon and American mulberry. Linwood Watson is an amateur orchardist with his family at the AspenSkye orchard in Fuquay-Varina, NC. His family is entering their 10th year in the homestead, specializing in hyperlocal, hard to ship items like mulberries, figs, and persimmons (American and Asian). Linwood is an enrolled member of the Haliwa-Saponi tribe and is old enough to have grown up on a small farm when farms were actually still small. From his work with the North Carolina Native Ethnobotany Project (www.ncnativeethnobotany.org), he has enjoyed intersecting traditional uses with Native plant advocacy. While Linwood and his family keep no animals, his tribal travels and ethnobotany work has shown that the most sustainable solution will at leastpartially involve Native plants/trees nourishing Heritage breeds. The importance of eventually reuniting these two realms is why Linwood has been a member of The Livestock Conservancy for several years and avidly enjoys hearing people’s voyages with animal husbandry. He appreciates the real world practical side of The Livestock Conservancy, especially how “to save an animal it needs a purpose." Big thank you to Manna Pro for sponsoring Marketing Mondays this year! Learn more about how Manna Pro is Nurturing Life at https://www.mannapro.com/promotions/nurturing-life-2022
Brittany Sweeney and Samantha Gasson from FACT (foodanimalconcernstrust.org) chat about marketing your Thanksgiving turkey and how on-farm classes and events can create a community around your farm.
Big thank you to Manna Pro for sponsoring Marketing Mondays this year! Learn more about how Manna Pro is Nurturing Life at https://www.mannapro.com/promotions/nurturing-life-2022
Special Guest Richard Schock joins Jeannette Beranger and Brittany Sweeney to talk turkey.
Richard grew up in Boonville, N.C. with his grandparents and received his first turkeys at age 10, including a Bronze turkey tom as a Christmas present. He has shown turkeys at several shows in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Florida, and North Carolina, and holds the titles of Grand Master Exhibitor and American Poultry Association (APA) Judge. Richard now breeds primarily Black Sumatra and Black Minorca chickens and Bronze and Narragansett turkeys. He also maintains a small herd of Ankole Watusi cattle on his farm, where he also grows Crepe Myrtles and other woody plants.
Big thank you to Manna Pro for sponsoring Turkey Chats this month! Learn more about how Manna Pro is Nurturing Life at https://www.mannapro.com/promotions/nurturing-life-2022
Special Guest author Christine Heinrichs joins Jeannette Beranger and Brittany Sweeney to chat about updates to The Livestock Conservancy's heritage breed turkey manual, "How to Raise Heritage Breed Turkeys on Pasture," during this pre-recorded session. You can find the first edition of the manual on The Livestock Conservancy's website at https://app.etapestry.com/.../livesto.../default/item.php.... The second edition will be available in early 2023.
Christine Heinrichs writes from her home on California’s Central Coast. She keeps a backyard flock of a dozen hens, seven large fowl of various breeds, and five bantams.
Her book, "How to Raise Chickens," was first published in 2007, just as the local food movement was starting to focus attention on the industrial food system. "How to Raise Poultry" and "The Backyard Field Guide to Chickens" followed. Both books are now out of print, but available on the APA website, https://amerpoultryassn.com/store/, as well as Amazon and other websites. "How To Raise Chickens" is available at Tractor Supply stores as well as independent bookstores and online.
Christine holds a B.S. in Journalism from the University of Oregon and belongs to several professional journalism and poultry organizations.
Big thank you to Manna Pro for sponsoring Turkey Chats this month! Learn more about how Manna Pro is Nurturing Life at https://www.mannapro.com/promotions/nurturing-life-2022
Special Guest Renard Turner of Vanguard Ranch Natural Gourmet joins Cindra Kerscher and Brittany Sweeney to chat about the process of moving Myotonic meat goats from pasture to consumer.
Renard Turner was born into a career Air Force family. When his father was stationed in California at Travis Air Force base, he attended Armijo High School in Fairfield, California, where he was introduced to vocational agriculture. He later went on to study agricultural science and engineering, including in-depth histories of all commercially raised domestic livestock breeds, cattle, sheep, horses, swine, and poultry. He loved it, so much so that during this time, Renard also participated in livestock judging contests as a member of The Future Farmers of America.
Renard’s passion for agriculture remains to this day. He and his wife Chinette own Vanguard Ranch (https://vanguard-ranch-natural-gourmet.com/) in central Virginia, where they have raised registered Horned Dorset sheep, Karakul sheep, Kiko goats, Spanish goats and horses. Currently they raise Myotonic goats, white utility king squabs, and organic herbs and vegetables. He is passionate about conservation and responsible breeding of functional animals. To Renard, the old genetics are special and must be preserved.
Big thank you to Manna Pro for sponsoring Goat Chats this month! Learn more about how Manna Pro is Nurturing Life at https://www.mannapro.com/promotions/nurturing-life-2022.
Special Guest Dr. Phil Sponenberg joins Cindra Kerscher and Brittany Sweeney to talk about the past, present, and future of Spanish goats.
D. Phillip Sponenberg, DVM, Ph.D., is Professor of Pathology and Genetics at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech University. His breed conservation endeavors include technical advisor for The Livestock Conservancy as well as extensive work in Latin America. This work has been pivotal in saving several endangered livestock breeds.
Big thank you to Manna Pro for sponsoring Goat Chats this month! Learn more about how Manna Pro is Nurturing Life at https://www.mannapro.com/promotions/nurturing-life-2022
Special guest Rachel Ann Karneffel of Hee-haw Halfway House Donkey Rescue chats with Charlene Couch and Brittany Sweeney about training donkeys.
In addition to running the rescue, Rachel is the author of "Starting the Saddle Donkey." She is also a donkey trainer and may give us all a sneak peek at her two mini-donkey foals! Find out more about Hee-Haw Halfway House Donkey Rescue on their website, https://www.heehawhalfwayhouse.com/
Big thank you to Manna Pro for sponsoring Donkey Chats this month! Learn more about how Manna Pro is Nurturing Life at https://www.mannapro.com/promotions/nurturing-life-2022
Special Guest Natasha Sprengers-Levine from Blue Wood Farm and Vineyards (https://bluewoodfarm.com), chats with Charlene Couch and Brittany Sweeney about critically-endangered Poitou donkeys nutrition and reproduction.
Natasha Sprengers-Levine is the COO of STRIDER, the largest equestrian bookings platform and software services provider for the horse industry. She is a United States Pony Club graduate and USDF Silver and Bronze Medalist who holds a BA in Political Science and Philosophy from the University of Vermont, where she was captain of the Dressage Team. Natasha currently operates a dressage training business at Blue Wood Farm & Vineyard in Verbank, NY where she also oversees the care and management of her family’s four Poitou donkeys. Blue Wood Farm has been home to Poitou donkeys since 2011 and successfully foaled out a jenny in 2018.
Big thank you to Manna Pro for sponsoring Donkey Chats this month! Learn more about how they are nurturing life at https://www.mannapro.com/promotions/nurturing-life-2022.
Special Guest Dayna Burtness of Nettle Valley Farm (https://www.nettlevalleyfarm.com/) joins Brittany Sweeney and Samantha Gasson from FACT (foodanimalconcernstrust.org) to chat about niche marketing and creating a community around your farm.
Dayna Burtness farms full time at Nettle Valley Farm and does most of the day to day farm management and livestock care. She grew up near the Twin Cities but is actually part of the the 6th generation in her family to farm in Houston County, MN. Nettle Valley Farm is a 70 acre farm in Spring Grove, MN, where Dayna and her partner Nick Nguyen raise pastured pork and try to increase the resilience and biodiversity of the land they steward, be good neighbors, and pay it forward whenever they can.
Big thank you to Manna Pro for sponsoring Marketing Mondays this year! Learn more about how Manna Pro is Nurturing Life at https://www.mannapro.com/promotions/nurturing-life-2022
Welcome to Duck Chats! Special Guest Jon Alden, Breeding Flock Manager at Hoover's Hatchery (https://hoovershatchery.com/), joins Jeannette Beranger and Brittany Sweeney to chat about Cayuga ducks, listed as Watch on the Conservation Priority List.
Growing up on a small farm in central Illinois, Jon first got into chicks when he bought his first 12 from the local farm store, which quickly turned into 20 chickens, and a few ducks. His passion for poultry quickly expanded to more birds, leading him to attend the University of Arkansas, pursuing a degree in Poultry Science. From there Jon worked at a couple other poultry outfits before joining Hoover’s Hatchery in 2018, where he oversees all the breeders at Hoover’s while working to expand our selection to include more variety that we believe will appeal to our customers.
Big thank you to Manna Pro for sponsoring Duck Chats this month! Learn more about how they are nurturing life at https://www.mannapro.com/promotions/nurturing-life-2022
Special Guest Meg Puckett, Herd Manager for the Corolla Wild Horse Fund (https://www.corollawildhorses.com/) joins Charlene Couch and Emily Rose Johnson to chat about this critically-endangered breed located on the Outer Banks in North Carolina.
Meg Puckett accepted the role of Herd Manager for the Corolla Wild Horse Fund (CWHF) in July 2016. She came to the CWHF from The Virginia Zoo in Norfolk, where she worked in education, volunteer management, and media/public relations. Before that she was an educator at the Museum of the Albemarle in Elizabeth City, and she also worked on the USS Monitor project at the Mariners’ Museum in Newport News. Meg graduated from Virginia Wesleyan College with degrees in History and English.
Meg’s background in nonprofits, public history, education and interpretation, and animal science has helped prepare her for the multi-faceted role of Herd Manager. In addition to that, Meg has more than 20 years experience working with and caring for horses, and a deep rooted love and connection to the Albemarle region. Preserving the ecology and the history of the Outer Banks is something that she’s always been passionate about, and the wild horses of Corolla have held a special place in her heart since she was a little girl.
Big thank you to Manna Pro for sponsoring Cattle Chats this month! Learn more about how Manna Pro is Nurturing Life at https://www.mannapro.com/promotions/nurturing-life-2022
Special Guest Rick Blaney of Galiceños of Suwannee Horse Ranch (http://Galiceno.org) joins Charlene Couch and Emily Rose Johnson to chat about this critically-endangered breed.
Their farm's Facebook page can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/Galicenos-of-Suwannee-139480129479917
Their YouTube channel is here: https://www.youtube.com/user/GalicenosOfSuwannee/videos
Rick Blaney is a retired college Professor of Biological Sciences with a Bachelor’s degree from Florida State University (1965) in Biological Sciences and a Doctorate from Louisiana State University (1970) in Zoology. He taught courses in Biology, Zoology, and Anatomy and Physiology before retiring in 2006. Now a rancher, Rick and his wife Pat are dedicated to preserving Galiceño horses on their 80 acre horse ranch located in Suwannee County near Live Oak, Florida.
Big thank you to Manna Pro for sponsoring Cattle Chats this month! Learn more about how Manna Pro is Nurturing Life at https://www.mannapro.com/promotions/nurturing-life-2022
Special Guest Esther Buonanno from the United States Lipizzan Federation (https://www.uslipizzan.org/) joins Charlene Couch and Brittany Sweeney to chat about this threatened breed.
Esther Buonanno is the Program Director of the Tempel Lipizzans (https://www.tempelfarms.com) as well as granddaughter of Founders Esther and Tempel Smith. Tempel Lipizzans is located in northern Illinois and is home to 70 Lipizzan horses. The mission is to promote and preserve Lipizzan horses and classical riding in the United States through a careful breeding program and public performances and tours.
Esther is on the Board of Directors of the United States Lipizzan Federation and on the Honorary Committee of the Spanish Riding School in Vienna.
Big thank you to Manna Pro for sponsoring Horse Chats this month! Learn more about how Manna Pro is Nurturing Life at https://www.mannapro.com/promotions/nurturing-life-2022
In 2022, Marketing Monday is focusing on how to turn your audience into a community. Today, Special Guests Matt LeRoux Extension Associate at Cornell University & Marketing Specialist at NC Choices (https://ncchoices.org/), and Sarah Blacklin, NC Choices Program Director, chat about their new Marketing Channel Assessment Tool for produce growers and the Cornell Meat Price Calculator (https://www.meatsuite.com/calculator/).
Matt has over 20 years’ experience serving farms through Cornell Cooperative Extension, non-profits, and consulting. Specializing in market strategy, Matt works with a diverse mix of produce and livestock farmers and food businesses. Career highlights include developing the Marketing Channel Assessment Tool for produce growers and the Cornell Meat Price Calculator.
Sarah Blacklin is a NC Cooperative Extension educator and Program Director at NC Choices, a program of the Center for Environmental Farming Systems. Sarah helps small farmers in NC maximize direct and wholesale marketing efforts to enhance profitability. She deals directly with livestock farms and local meat businesses along the entire local meat supply chain including commercial meat processors, restaurants and butcher shops, regulatory agents and various allied businesses.
Sarah’s work of extending educational programming, networking opportunities and technical training to sustainable food businesses has gained attention on the local and national scale and in 2016 Sarah was honored among the “top 100 national agricultural leaders shaping rural America” by National Farm Credit. Among other activities, Sarah serves on the board of the National Niche Meat Processor Assistance Network. Before working with meat, Sarah served as Market Manager for the Carrboro Farmers’ Market for 5 years, originally getting her start as a farmhand for local farmers.
Big thank you to Manna Pro for sponsoring Marketing Mondays this year! Learn more about how Manna Pro is Nurturing Life at https://www.mannapro.com/promotions/nurturing-life-2022
Special Guests historian Doyle Conner Jr. and Cowboy Poet Stephen Monroe join guest host Martha Hoffman Kerestes and Brittany Sweeney to chat about Florida Cracker cattle, listed as threatened on the Conservation Priority List.
Doyle Conner Jr., a sixth-generation Cracker and cowman, has studied, researched and shared Florida's cow history for more than 20 years. During his service as a curator of the Florida Agriculture Museum he conserved the material of the state's heritage and developed a healthy respect for the tough minded individuals who made "la Florida" what it is today. Doyle is also the Florida Cracker Cattle Association’s Historian.
Stephen Monroe has owned and managed cattle since he was 11 years old. Along the way, he competed in rodeos, became a rodeo clown and bullfighter, and learned cowboy poetry to entertain himself during long days in the saddle. In 1985, Florida's Commissioner of Agriculture recruited him to help with reservation efforts of cattle descended from the first cattle to set hoof in the US. The Florida Cracker Cattle Association was formed in 1988 and the registry formed the next year. Stephen has served as the association's volunteer Executive Director and Manager of the Annual Sale since their inception and has been blessed to help guide the efforts of so many great families who are the strength of the association.
Martha Hoffman Kerestes grew up helping her parents raise Dutch Belted and Milking Shorthorn cattle, and today she works alongside her mother with the dual-purpose dairy herd and family genetics business, Best yet A.I. Sires. She hopes to honor her late father's legacy by continuing where he left off in conservation work. She is Vice President of the Dutch Belted Cattle Association of America. In addition to her work with heritage cattle, Martha does freelance ag writing for publications like Graze magazine and farms with her husband, Brian, in northern Illinois.
Big thank you to Manna Pro for sponsoring Cattle Chats this month! Learn more about how Manna Pro is Nurturing Life at https://www.mannapro.com/promotions/nurturing-life-2022
Special Guest Kimberly Radcliffe joins Cindra Kerscher to chat about working with raw fleece, combed preparation and lace spinning. Learn more about this "Unapologetic Raw Fleece Enabler" on her website at https://thenaturalspinner.com.
As a young child, Kimberly learned from her grandmother, how to knit and crochet. In 2009, she gifted herself spinning lessons as a birthday present. Once introduced to raw fleece, she never looked back and fell deep into the fiber prep rabbit hole! She loves worsted prep and specializes in combing and spinning lace yarn.
Kimberly's passion for sharing her love of fiber led her to teach classes at many major fiber festivals on the east coast. She has also demonstrated her craft at fiber festivals, fairs and other venues for over 10 years. You’ll usually find her in the fleece barn at the fiber festivals!
Contact Kimberly at thenaturalspinner@yahoo.com, watch her on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/user/thenaturalspinner, or find her on Ravelry @TheNaturalSpinner and Etsy https://www.etsy.com/shop/KimberlysHandcrafts
On today's Cattle Chat, Special Guest Dr. Richard Browning, Professor of Animal Science at Tennessee State University in Nashville, joins guest host Martha Hoffman Kerestes and Brittany Sweeney to chat about small farm economics and Dexter cattle, listed as recovering.
Richard Browning grew up in Raywood, Texas where he was active in the Hull-Daisetta FFA and Liberty County 4-H through the raising and showing of Red Brahman cattle. He earned a B.Sc. (1989) from Prairie View A&M University and M.Sc. (1992) and Ph.D. (1994) from Texas A&M University.
Dr. Browning’s graduate research, under the senior guidance of Dr. Ron Randel, focused on the reproductive performance of Brahman cattle and comparative calf performance of tropically-adapted Tuli cattle along with Angus and Brahman. In 1994, Dr. Browning arrived at Tennessee State University in Nashville. At TSU he studied physiological mechanisms and heat-tolerant cattle genetics in relation to fescue toxicosis using Angus, Brahman, Hereford, Holstein, and Senepol breeds. He started meat goat research in 2002. He began by studying performance traits among Boer, Kiko, and Spanish breeds, and later added Myotonic and Savanna goats to the research program.
Dr. Browning established a Dexter cattle herd at TSU in 2015. The Dexter cattle will be used to advance student teaching and ruminant research. He is married to Dr. Maria Leite-Browning who is a veterinarian and Extension specialist. The two of them are thoroughly engaged in outreach activities to assist meat goat producers. An overview of his work can be found at http://www.tnstate.edu/faculty/rbrowning/
Martha Hoffman Kerestes grew up helping her parents raise Dutch Belted and Milking Shorthorn cattle, and today she works alongside her mother with the dual-purpose dairy herd and family genetics business, Bestyet A.I. Sires. She hopes to honor her late father's legacy by continuing where he left off in conservation work. She is Vice President of the Dutch Belted Cattle Association of America.
Big thank you to Manna Pro for sponsoring International Species Chats this month! Learn more about how Manna Pro is Nurturing Life at https://www.mannapro.com/promotions/nurturing-life-2022
In 2022, Marketing Monday is focusing on how to turn your audience into a community. This week, Special Guest Laura Jensen of Jensen Reserve (www.jensenreserve.com), the American Meishan Breeders Association (www.meishanbreeders.com), and Meishan Preservation (www.meishanpreservation.com) joins Brittany Sweeney and Samantha Gasson to chat about marketing tips and resources for small farms and heritage breeders.
Laura Jensen—President of the American Meishan Breeders Association, Meishan Preservation lead activist, and is the principal operator at Jensen Reserve— a farm-based artisan foods producer and provider. Living and working just 43 miles outside of Atlanta, Georgia with her husband, two daughters, 4dogs, small flock of chickens, and dozens of Meishan pigs, Laura works completely hands on in these demanding fields, all of which require focused decision-making skills at every turn. As if that all were not enough, Laura represents a beneficial movement in the agricultural industry as she is one of the female principal operators who comprise just 14% of a predominantly male industry.
Laura’s rare position is informed by the active training she received growing up in northern North Carolina on her grandfather’s 60-acre cattle farm. There, fresh gardens produced enough food to feed Laura’s extended family as well as giving her community access to healthfully grown fruits and vegetables. Of this experience, Laura recalls “riding with my grandfather on a route with the bed of his truck fully loaded with vegetables we grew every summer." The memory profoundly affects her life and goals. Wisely choosing to provide her children with the same practical foundational experience, Laura and her husband Bill invested in their own working farm in 2013.
Co-host Samantha Gasson joined the FACT team in 2019 as coordinator of the Mentorship Program and as part of the Humane Farming program in 2021. She also owns and operates Bull City Farm with her husband and kids in the piedmont of North Carolina, where they raise pork, dairy cows, turkeys, layers, lamb and a geriatric emu named George. The farm is part of A Greener World’s Animal Welfare Approved program, which is the cornerstone of their farming business. In addition to raising food for her community, Samantha is committed to education, especially when it comes to farming. The farm holds summer camps for kids yearly and adult classes on cheese and sausage making. Samantha also holds a BS in Biology from Virginia Tech University.
Big thank you to Manna Pro for sponsoring Marketing Mondays this year! Learn more about how Manna Pro is Nurturing Life at https://www.mannapro.com/promotions/nurturing-life-2022
Special Guest Judy Barnet, Director of Rare Breeds Trust of Australia (https://rarebreedstrust.com.au/), joins Charlene Couch and Brittany Sweeney to chat about the work to save rare breeds in Australia.
Judy has been with the Rare Breeds Trust of Australia since 2015 as a director and treasurer. She also looks after the memberships and organizes the RBTA annual fundraising auction for the Future Farms Fund (Gene bank). When she has time, Judy also takes her own rare breed animals to shows to promote RBTA and rare breeds.
Judy and her partner have a small 150 acre farm in South East Queensland, 4 hours from Brisbane, where she mainly breeds sheep, in addition to a few Shorthorn cattle, goats pigs and poultry. She also has a lovely cottage Airbnb for farm stays called Glenlyon Dam Holiday Cottage. The cottage and our farm are situated on the banks of Glenlyon Dam so are great for water sports and fishing.
Big thank you to Manna Pro for sponsoring International Species Chats this month! Learn more about how Manna Pro is Nurturing Life at https://www.mannapro.com/promotions/nurturing-life-2022
Special Guest Mary Egbert joins Cindra Kerscher to demonstrate tips and tricks for scouring a raw fleece at home. Mary is the owner of Camaj Fiber Arts (https://camajfiberarts.com/) and author of the bestselling book on scouring fibers, "The Art of Scouring Wool, Mohair and Alpaca."
Mary is also the head instructor at the Camaj School of Fiber Arts and the creator of the Eszee Twist Tool and monthly fiber "Spinning Box." She has traveled the country teaching spinning, fiber prep and scouring to many fiber loving folks. Her articles on fiber prep, spinning, small business secrets and scouring can be seen in magazines such as "Spin Off," "Ply" and "Alpaca Magazine." Mary's two daughters, Jessica and Carissa, happily work along side her to provide all customers with the best possible fiber and buying experience.
Special Guests Claus Kropp and Peter Herold join Jeannette Beranger and Brittany Sweeney to chat about draft animals, including oxen and horses, in Germany. Learn more about the group at https://www.zugrinder.de/en/home.html
Claus Kropp is manager of the Lauresham Laboratory for Experimental Archaeology and currently also President for the International Association of Agricultural Museums (AIMA). Both during his full-time museum position as well as on his private farming operation, Claus is working with draft cattle. He joined the German Oxdriver Working Group in 2012 and organized the first World Congress on Draft Animals (Draft Animals in the Past, Present and Future) in 2021.
Dr. Peter Herold, Ph.D., together with his family drives a small organic farm with milking goats, a cheese dairy, some laying hens and two (sometimes draught-) horses near Heilbronn, Germany. He studied Nature Conservation Biology and some Organic Farming at Marburg and Gießen Universities in the 1990s and continued with a PhD-thesis on the potential of modern draught horse use in organic farming at Kassel University. From 2005 - 2012 he was the secretary of the German Draught Horse Association (www.ig-zugpferde.de).
Big thank you to Manna Pro for sponsoring International Species Chats this month! Learn more about how Manna Pro is Nurturing Life at https://www.mannapro.com/promotions/nurturing-life-2022
A few resource links from the recording, courtesy of Dr. Peter Herold - German Draft Horse Association: www.ig-zugpferde.de - European umbrella organization FECTU: www.fectu.org - European Horse Progress Days “PferdeStark”: www.pferdestark.net; get an impression from 2017s event here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xcx8BJxzifA; next event will be held the last weekend of August, 2023 - German Draft Horse Magazine “Starke Pferde”: www.starke-pferde.com - Database modern horse-drawn machinery: http://modern-horse-power.org/Horse%20drawn%20equipment.html - Paul Schmit, Luxemburg, maybe one of the most innovative entrepreneurs who also does scientific research on modern equipment all over Europe: www.schaffmatpaerd.com - Christoph Schmitz, German inventor of modern equipment: https://pferdezugtechnik.jimdo.com/leistungen/maschinenbau/
Special Guest Paige Jackson of Grass Grazed Farm joins Brittany Sweeney and Samantha Gasson to chat about how to set up your social media channels and the basics of running social media business campaigns.
Paige Jackson is the farm manager and co owner of Grass Grazed Farm (https://www.grassgrazed.com/). She and her husband Derrick along with 5 kids own and operate the business full time.
Grass Grazed is a pasture-based regenerative farm, focusing on soil health and sustainable farming practices. The farm raises pork, chicken and cattle. They strive to offer transparency, from farm to table, for all of their customers.
Big thank you to Manna Pro for sponsoring Marketing Mondays this year! Learn more about how Manna Pro is Nurturing Life at https://www.mannapro.com/promotions/nurturing-life-2022
Special Guest Vernon Brown joins Charlene Couch and Brittany Sweeney to chat about Silver Fox Rabbits, listed as Recovering on the Conservation Priority List.
Vernon Brown is a longtime member of The Livestock Conservancy and is focused on the stewardship of conserving Silver Fox rabbits. He raises the breed on his farm, Brownie's Bunnies, in Kingsville, Maryland. As part of his work to conserve rare breed rabbits, Vernon is building a community of Silver Fox enthusiasts and mentoring new breeders. National Silver Fox Rabbit Club: http://www.nsfrc.com/
Big thank you to Manna Pro for sponsoring Rabbit Chats this month! Learn more about how Manna Pro is Nurturing Life at https://www.mannapro.com/promotions/nurturing-life-2022
Special Guest Eric Stewart, Executive Director of the American Rabbit Breeders Association (https://arba.net/), joins Charlene Couch and Brittany Sweeney to chat about rabbit shows, heritage breeds, breed census, and more.
The American Rabbit Breeders Association is the world’s largest registry of rabbits and cavies boasting over 20,000 members worldwide. ARBA also maintains the Standard of Perfection, a guide to the ideals for all 50 recognized breeds of rabbit and 13 breeds of cavy. ARBA provides data from their shows and registry to aid The Livestock Conservancy with their census determinations. ARBA also has a specialty show type that specifically promotes rare breeds being exhibited.
Eric Stewart is the current ARBA Executive Director and has been raising rabbits since 1986. Eric is an all-breed rabbit and cavy judge, having first earning his license in 1995. In addition to his day job, Eric also owns Higher Ground Farm specializing in French Angora rabbits and Colored Angora Goats. In 2021 Eric not only won Best in Show at the Colored Angora Goat National Show, but also Best in Show at the ARBA National Convention; the first time a French Angora has ever won that distinction in the history of the association. He sells fiber from his farm along with woolen products for the discerning fiber artist.
Big thank you to Manna Pro for sponsoring Rabbit Chats this month! Learn more about how Manna Pro is Nurturing Life at https://www.mannapro.com/promotions/nurturing-life-2022
Special Guests Nicolle Ferrier of Sugar Feather Farm and Carolyn Rose-Seed of Mamma Springs Farm join Brittany Sweeney and Samantha Gasson to chat about email newsletters for your small business.
Nicolle, aka The Fowl Guru, has been raising animals for over 20 years as a self-trained fowl expert. She has education, trainings and background working with Poultry Scientists, Fowl Nutritionists and Fowl Breeder Mentors and Experts. She is the founder and owner of Sugar Feather Farm LLC in Vermont (https://www.sugar-feather.com/), mother of 5 children and a consultant for Civil Engineering firms. Nicolle is also a Certified Vermont Master Composter (intern) and volunteer for several charity organizations. She is a contributor, donator and member of The Livestock Conservancy and Pavlovskaya Conservation Association East Cost Director. She also volunteers in her community regularly and provides mentorships and internships for special needs individuals and students.
Carolyn Rose-Seed (she/her) runs MamaSprings (https://www.mamaspringsfarm.com/), a small urban farm, in Durham, NC. The farm specializes in cut flowers, microgreens, and seasonal vegetables, marketing its products via farmers’ market and subscription programs. Carolyn stumbled into farming right as her third pregnancy collided with a recession and a lay-off In an effort to not starve, a giant garden was planted, and a business was born. Carolyn has nurtured her small urban farm right along with her above-average-sized family for the past twelve years.
Big thank you to Manna Pro for sponsoring Marketing Mondays this year! Learn more about how Manna Pro is Nurturing Life at https://www.mannapro.com/promotions/nurturing-life-2022
Special Guest Michael Rulman, an award-winning author, chef, and journalist, joins Jeannette Beranger and Brittany Sweeney about halfway through to chat about cooking with chicken fat, also called schmaltz.
Michael Rulman is the author of nine non-fiction books, one collection of novellas, and eight cookbooks; he is the co-author with various chefs of ten other cookbooks. Best known for writing about food, chefs and the work of professional cooking, Michael has also written for The New York Times, The New York Times Sunday Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Gourmet magazine, and other publications.
Anthony Bourdain, in a review for The New York Times Book Review of Soul of a Chef, wrote, “Ruhlman sets out to perform a task even restaurant insiders would find difficult: to delve so deeply into the hearts and minds of a few select chefs that he may discover the essence of haute cuisine. Amazingly enough, he succeeds—by turning his investigation into an adventure story, a hold-your-breath-while-you-turn-the-page thriller that's also an anthropological study of the culture of cooking.”
Alex Witchel, writing more recently in The Times, described Michael as “a chef whisperer to the stars.”
Michael lives with his wife, the writer Ann Hood, in New York City and Providence, RI.
Big thank you to Manna Pro for sponsoring Marketing Mondays this year! Learn more about how Manna Pro is Nurturing Life at https://www.mannapro.com/promotions/nurturing-life-2022
Special Guest Roy Clemes of Clemes and Clemes, Inc. joins Cindra Kerscher to chat about flicking, hand carding and drum carding.
Roy grew up working in his family’s woodshop and is the younger half of the Clemes & Clemes duo, making innovative, generational fiber art equipment in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Clemes & Clemes is known throughout the world for the high quality of their designs, especially their fiber preparation tools. In pre-COVID times, Roy and his father travelled coast to coast to vend and teach at fiber festivals around the country. They regularly consult and instruct spinners, felters, fiber growers, and professional fiber artists in the art of fiber preparation. You can find their company on Instagram @clemesandclemes and visit their website, https://clemes.com.
Roy also frequently contributes to PLY Magazine and is the president of Lambtown Festival, the largest sheep and wool show in California. He and his wife live in the San Francisco Bay Area with their terribly cute toddler and two very spoiled sheep.
Interested in becoming a Fiber Artist or Fiber Provider for the Shave 'Em to Save 'Em Initiative? Learn more at RareWool.org
Want to watch the demo? Visit our YouTube page: https://youtu.be/Hcuwm-DXzys
Special Guest Cynthia Capers of Heniscity Farm (https://www.heniscityfarm.org/) near Nashville joins Jeannette Beranger and Brittany Sweeney to chat about running a small poultry business.
Cynthia is a retired trauma nurse and pharmaceutical biotech clinical researcher and sorority member of Sigma Gamma Rho, Inc. She is also the founder/owner of Heniscity Farms in Pegram, TN. Bonding to kindred spirits lost over time, Heniscity Farm was created to extend across that ancestral journey to Mother Earth unifying cultural gaps to the land, reducing hunger along the way.
National Poultry Improvement Program (NPIP) certified, Heniscity Farm, specializes in heritage breeds and domestic free-range poultry locally grown. From the big city of Chicago to now a small-town feathered fowl aficionado, Cynthia has over 20 years’ experience with poultry, creating custom blended feed for her diverse flock. In addition, she is an avid gardener raising vegetables and herbs using a straw bale system.
A graduate of TSU’s New Farmers Academy, Cynthia is also a member of American Pastured Poultry Producers Association (APPPA), Livestock Conservancy, a licensed egg grader and industrial hemp grower. Though new to farming, she is considered the local poultry expert in the Nashville TN area and believes heritage poultry must be on the agricultural radar as entry level livestock.
Big thank you to Manna Pro for sponsoring Marketing Mondays this year! Learn more about how Manna Pro is Nurturing Life at https://www.mannapro.com/promotions/nurturing-life-2022
Special Guest Jennifer Kendall joins Brittany Sweeney and Samantha Gasson to chat about branding for your farm or small business.
Jennifer Kendall has been a professional marketer for over 15 years. She prides herself in her ability to both THINK and DO - combining both strategy and action to propel organizations forward.
She began her career in tourism marketing and eventually transferred her marketing skills into the agricultural and nonprofit arena in her role as Marketing Director for The Livestock Conservancy. Jennifer has spent the past 10 years in the educational sector, supporting the growth of educational brands. She has a passion for sharing her knowledge and learnings with others.
In addition to her day job in branding and marketing, she's a mom of two rambunctious boys and 2 needs basset hounds, and wife to Thomas.
Big thank you to Manna Pro for sponsoring Marketing Mondays this year! Learn more about how Manna Pro is Nurturing Life at https://www.mannapro.com/promotions/nurturing-life
Special Guest Melinda Ellison, assistant professor of range livestock and sheep extension specialist at the University of Idaho, chats with Brittany about lambing and sheep winter management strategies.
Melinda grew up on a beef cattle ranch in Colorado and has been raising sheep for about a decade. She currently raises a small flock of 30 ewes, where she finishes lambs and sells direct-to-consumer near Salmon, Idaho. Over the years, Melinda has been crossbreeding using a Suffolk baseline, but is moving into a composite meat breed developed at the U.S. Sheep Experiment Station, which is made up of Suffolk, Columbia, and Texel breeds.
Big thank you to Manna Pro for sponsoring Marketing Mondays this year! Learn more about how Manna Pro is Nurturing Life at https://www.mannapro.com/promotions/nurturing-life-2022
Special Guest Mary Jeanne Packer, president and founder of Battenkill Fibers Carding & Spinning Mill (https://battenkillfibers.com/) in Greenwich, N.Y., joins Cindra to chat about working with your fiber mill, including selling fleeces vs. processing, how to select a mill, questions to ask, options for processing, proper fleece preparation, pricing and timing.
Want to become a Fiber Artist or Fiber Provider for the Save 'Em to Shave 'Em Initiative? Sign up at RareWool.org.
Special Guest Susan Schoenian, a Sheep and Goat Specialist at the University of Maryland's Western Maryland Research & Education Center, will chat with Cindra and Brittany about sheep husbandry and health, with a focus on meat production.
Susan has been with University of Maryland Extension since 1988. Previously, she served as a Regional Farm Management Specialist (Eastern Shore region) and county agricultural agent in Wicomico County. Susan holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Animal Science from Virginia Tech and Montana State University, respectively.
Susan lives on a small sheep farmn Clear Spring, Maryland (called The Baalands (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inb5qFuGsEc)), where she raises a flock of Katahdins. Learn more about the Maryland Small Ruminant Program at https://www.sheepandgoat.com/ or @MDSmallRuminant on Facebook.
Big thank you to Manna Pro for sponsoring Marketing Mondays this year! Learn more about how Manna Pro is Nurturing Life at https://www.mannapro.com/promotions/nurturing-life-2022
In 2022, Marketing Monday is focusing on how to turn your audience into a community. This week Samantha Gasson at the Food Animal Concerns Trust (FACT) and Brittany Sweeney at The Livestock Conservancy are chatting with Andrew Perkins of Bluestem Creative (https://bluestemcreativeco.com/) about what makes a successful website.
Andrew's expertise includes content creation, digital marketing, e-commerce development, web development, and event production. Since 2010, he has served as Director of the Mother Earth News Fairs, a national event series that takes place around the country (and, in 2020, virtually online) for folks interested in farming, organic gardening, food independence, and off-grid living. This multi-million dollar event series has attracted more than 100,000 attendees and more than 10,000 participating businesses. During his professional career, Andrew has also worked as an editor, advertising sales executive, merchandise manager, e-commerce developer, project manager, and event director, and holds a Strategic Communications degree from the University of Kansas.
Co-host Samantha Gasson joined the FACT team in 2019 as coordinator of the Mentorship Program and as part of the Humane Farming program in 2021. She also owns and operates Bull City Farm with her husband and kids in the piedmont of North Carolina, where they raise pork, dairy cows, turkeys, layers, lamb and a geriatric emu named George. The farm is part of A Greener World’s Animal Welfare Approved program, which is the cornerstone of their farming business. In addition to raising food for her community, Samantha is committed to education, especially when it comes to farming. The farm holds summer camps for kids yearly and adult classes on cheese and sausage making. Samantha also holds a BS in Biology from Virginia Tech University.
Big thank you to Manna Pro for sponsoring Marketing Mondays this year! Learn more about how Manna Pro is Nurturing Life at https://www.mannapro.com/promotions/nurturing-life-2022
Special Guest Emily Chamelin-Hickman is chatting with Cindra Kerscher about how to prepare for shearing day and what fiber artists are looking for in their fiber.
Emily is the captain of the US Shearing Team. She is not only a skilled professional shearer, but a shepherdess and dairywoman raising a menagerie of livestock for meat, dairy and wool production. Aerie Farm East (http://www.aeriefarmeast.com/) in Maryland embraces sustainable agriculture, regenerative farming practices and humane animal care and welfare.
Want to become a Fiber Artist or Fiber Provider for the Save 'Em to Shave 'Em Initiative? Sign up at RareWool.org.
Special Guest Larry Masters will chat with Charlene Couch and Brittany Sweeney about processing and working with your processor. Larry Masters is the owner of Underground Farmers and Underground Processing, a USDA inspected meat processing company located in Walling, TN. He is also the President of the tech company, Cake Development Corporation, and a Marine Corps veteran.
Larry grew up in Shorewood, Illinois, but would frequently visit Sparta, Tennessee since he also had family in the area. His frequent visits to Sparta allowed him to learn the ins and outs of sustainable farming from his grandfather. This resulted in a passion for farming and the humane treatment of animals. He is looking forward to continuous growth in the agriculture sector, to bring more jobs in the community, and help new farmers and processors along the way.
Find Larry online at ...
https://www.undergroundprocessing.com/ https://www.undergroundfarmers.com/
https://www.cakedc.com/
Big thank you to Manna Pro for sponsoring Pig Chats this month! Learn more about how Manna Pro is Nurturing Life at https://www.mannapro.com/promotions/n...
Special Guest Gracie Cardwell will chat with Charlene Couch and Brittany Sweeney about this critically-endangered breed. Gracie knew she wanted to be a farmer or involved with animals in kindergarten. Unfortunately, her family, teachers and Sunday School teachers did not approve because she was neither rich nor a boy.
"Well, I'm still a girl and still not rich but I own and run Gateway Farm," she said. "We have gone from 5 acres to almost 25 and I am eyeing some more space now. We started with veggies, then added critters. When I was about ten, I told my Uncle Lee Cassell that I didn't like piggies because the mud squished up between their toes. He said there was a breed that had a horse hoof, but he thought they were extinct. Fast forward to the mid 2010s, I was setting up for pigs and had American Guinea Hogs, Kune-Kune and American Mulefoot Hogs on my shortlist."
Gracie is a Charter Member on the Board of Directors of American Mulefoot Breeders Association since it's inception in 2012. She served from Secretary to Chairman. Learn more about the association at https://americanmulefoot.com/.
Big thank you to Manna Pro for sponsoring Pig Chats this month! Learn more about how Manna Pro is Nurturing Life at https://www.mannapro.com/promotions/nurturing-life
Even though it's Swine Month, we just can't get enough turkeys! Brittany wanted to share a pre-recorded video with Tom Mozena, president and founder of the new American Turkey Association filmed at the Ohio National Poultry Show.
To learn more or join the association, email Tom at AmericanTurkeyAssociation@gmail.com
We'll be back next week with a live Swine Chat. We hope you'll join us!
Thank you to Heritage Foods USA for sponsoring Turkey Chats https://heritagefoods.com/
This week Brittany airs a previously recorded session with Jeannette Beranger and Amy Gabbard talking about American Buff geese, listed as Watch on the Conservation Priority List.
Amy Gabbard has been breeding and exhibiting American Buff geese, along with several other breeds of standard-bred poultry, with her husband, Lucas, for almost 12 years. The American Buffs quickly became one of Amy's two primary breeds to focus on improving toward the breed standard and she has done quite well with them in the show halls around the country over the course of those years. Amy is very involved with breeding poultry to their standards and is the National Director for the Youth Exhibition Poultry Association (http://www.youthexhibitionpoultry.org/), a District Director for the American Bantam Association (https://www.bantamclub.com/), Michigan State Rep for the American Poultry Association (https://amerpoultryassn.com/), a passionate member of the International Waterfowl Breeder's Association (https://officialiwba.weebly.com/), as well as in her judges licensing apprenticeship with the APA alongside her husband.
Amy is a special education teacher by day and she and Lucas have a 4 year old son, Kevin, who also enjoys these geese and other breeds, and loves helping in the barns and showing his own birds. If you'd like to contact Amy about her geese, please email her at a.gabbard5314@gmail.com
Big thank you to Manna Pro (https://www.mannapro.com/) for sponsoring Goose Chats and Goose Month.
SHOW LESS
This week Brittany airs a previously recorded chat with award-winning waterfowl breeder Nate Rynish about the critically-endangered Tufted Roman goose. Nate is an APA and ABA Licensed Judge and an APA Grand Master Exhibitor of Tufted Romans. He chatted with Brittany and Jeannette about the breed standard, what makes Romans a great bird for holiday dinners, and more.
Big thank you to Manna Pro (https://www.mannapro.com/) for sponsoring Goose Chats and Goose Month.
This week Brittany airs a previously recorded chat with Laura Huey, the president of the National Sebastopol Geese Association (https://www.nationalsebastopol.com/). Brittany Sweeney and Jeannette Beranger chatted with Laura at the Ohio National Poultry Show in November. Laura has been showing Sebastopols for more than 5 years from her own farm (@EastWindsSebastopols) and loves talking to new people about this Threatened breed.
Big thank you to Manna Pro (https://www.mannapro.com/) for sponsoring Goose Chats and Goose Month.
We're excited to be chatting with Lisa Pregent, Livestock Manager at George Washington’s Mount Vernon (https://www.mountvernon.org/) about their new breeding flock of heritage turkeys.
Lisa runs a nationally recognized breeding program for rare, heritage breeds and was featured in Washingtonian Magazine for her efforts in the preservation of these breeds. Lisa and her team educate Mount Vernon’s visitors about the important role livestock played in the day to day operations of our first president’s estate.
Mount Vernon is home to one of the largest, registered flocks of Hog Island sheep. In addition to the sheep, Lisa and the livestock staff raise Milking Devon cattle, Ossabaw Island hogs, and now Narragansett turkeys.
Thank you to Heritage Foods USA for sponsoring Turkey Chats https://heritagefoods.com/
Special Guest Mac Stone of Elmwood Stock Farm in Kentucky (https://elmwoodstockfarm.com/turkeys/) will join Jeannette Beranger and Brittany Sweeney to talk Narragansett turkeys. Mac and his wife Anne raise USDA Certified Organic heritage breed turkeys on their sixth-generation small farm.
Thank you to Heritage Foods USA for sponsoring Turkey Chats https://heritagefoods.com/
Cindra Kerscher and Brittany Sweeney are back with another Goat Chat. This week, special guest Callene Rapp is chatting about the critically endangered Arapawa goat.
Callene is a Senior Zookeeper at Sedgwick County Zoo (https://www.scz.org/), where they keep Arapawa goats. Callene also serves as the Registrar of the Arapawa Goat Breeders Association (https://www.arapawagoatsusa.org/).
In her spare time, Callene and her husband Eric are the owner-operators of The Rare Hare Barn, LLC, the largest heritage-breed meat-rabbit enterprise in the U.S. (www.rareharebarn.com). They also have more than 50 years of combined experience handling nearly every species of domestic livestock, and currently raise Pineywoods cattle and Arapawa goats. Both Eric and Callene have served on the Board of Directors for the Livestock Conservancy, and Callene served as Board Chair.
Callene has written numerous articles about livestock husbandry for Grit magazine, and in 2018 the couple wrote “Raising Rabbits for Meat” and “Homestead Cattle, the Guide to Raising Happy, Healthy Cows” published in 2021.
Thank you to Manna Pro for sponsoring Goat Chats this month! https://www.mannapro.com/
Always wanted to know more about Miniature Donkeys? Cindra Kerscher and Brittany Sweeney chat with longtime breeder Julie Jones about this watch-listed breed in this special donkey episode.
Check out Julie's mini donkeys online at http://jfranch.net/
Get to know the critically-endangered San Clemente Island Goat breed with Sarah Butcher Howell, Charlene Couch, and Brittany Sweeney. On this goat chat, Sarah talks about the incredible versatility of this breed and the importance of building community among breeders.
Sarah and her husband Stephen own Skara Brae Homestead (@SkaraBraeHomesteadVa) in Opal, Virginia. Skara Brae is a regenerative farm specializing in full diet farmshares utilizing heirloom produce and meat, dairy, eggs from a variety of breeds on The Livestock Conservancy's Conservation Priority List.
Sarah currently serves as the president of the San Clemente Island Goat Breeders Association (https://scigba.org/). She and Stephen have been raising San Clemente Island Goats since 2008. They utilize their herd for meat, dairy, and draft. Their pet project is rebuilding of the Ahrensberg bloodline along with fellow breeders Allan and Kim Sparks of Sparrowhawk Farm in Maine.
Welcome to our Spanish Goat Chat! This week Justin B. Pitts joins Cindra Kerscher and Brittany Sweeney for a chat about this Watch-listed breed.
Justin B. Pitts is a seventh generation Jones Countian that is dedicated to the preservation and use of traditional Southern breeds and species of livestock, seed, and plants in his farming operation. He has founded several breed associations and serves on the board of them or in other capacities. Through his efforts several species of rare and endangered species of livestock have been added to the Ark of Taste as he believes that you have to “eat them to save them.”
Learn more about Spanish Goats from the National Spanish Goat Association at https://spanishgoat.com/
Thank you to Manna Pro for sponsoring Goat Chats this month! https://www.mannapro.com/
Welcome to the American Mammoth Jackstock Donkey Chat! This week Brittany Sweeney and Cindra Kerscher are chatting with Audrey Cadle of Donkey Meadows Farm (https://www.donkeymeadows.org/ and @DonkeyMeadows).
In December 2006, Audrey, husband Mike, and their three children moved to Purcellville, Virginia, motivated by her interest in owning American Mammoth Jackstock donkeys. They found a lovely home with some land and a nice barn ready to be occupied. They brought Gus and Hoss home in February 2007. A short year and a half later they were on their way back to Tennessee to pick up 3 pregnant jennies and a foal.
Audrey read and researched anything and everything she could about the breed. She wanted to spread the history and versatility of them as far as possible. She worked with the donkeys, made plenty of mistakes, learned from those mistakes, then researched and retrained those lessons correctly. Audrey has done a little breeding, a little selling, and training with her donkeys and a few others. She also trained new human donkey-owners on the care, handling, discipline, feed, and exercise for their animals. She's helped prepare barns and pastures for new donkey-owners as well as searched for and found the right donkeys for clients.
Audrey also started a 4-H donkey club in Loudoun County. After two years, she decided the kids would be better served by with the donkey club at her farm. The children learned how to care for, groom, handle the donkeys as well as teach them to navigate obstacle courses and to learn to have patience with the donkeys.
Now, 15 years after getting her first Mammoths, Audrey is focusing on saving the American Mammoth Jackstock. She is working to achieve 501(c)(3) status at her farm, Donkey Meadows, so she can do more to preserve the breed. She is constantly educating people and providing a true experience of what it is like to love a mammoth donkey. She calls it “Preservation by Education.”
Are you ready for the next Shave 'Em to Save 'Em Fiber Challenge? Register for the Felted Friends Challenge today with expert needle felter and shepherdess Teresa Perleberg of Bear Creek Felting and The Nome Schoolhouse at https://bit.ly/SE2FeltedFriends
Get to know Teresa and her passion for wool and felting during this chat with Cindra Kerscher about the next challenge, which begins September 22. Teresa Perleberg has been raising a flock of sheep and teaching others the art of needle felting since 2006 and began designing and selling needle felting kits containing her own wool in 2008. She lives on a farm in North Dakota with 270 sheep including Romney, Cormo, BFL, Corriedale and CVM.
Teresa loves to make realistic needle felted animal sculptures that each have a unique personality all their own. The facial features and expressions are a very important part of what makes her sculptures special. Teresa opened an online Needle Felting Academy in 2017 where members have direct contact with her and access to a variety of video courses. Another unique aspect of Teresa's needle felting kits and supplies is that all the fiber is grown and processed in North Dakota at the Nome Schoolhouse, A Fiber Arts Center, where you can stay, meet the sheep, and learn all about fiber arts. Teresa and her business partner Chris also host a weekly EweTube show sharing their fiber art knowledge.
Welcome to our first Donkey Chat! This week we're chatting about the critically-endangered Poitou Donkey with Patrick Archer of Texas Poitou Donkeys (@TexasPoitouDonkeys).
Learn more about Patrick and Poitous (pronounced pwah-too) at https://texaspoitoudonkeys.com/ Think you have a Poitou Donkey? Participate in the Poitou Donkey Census: https://bit.ly/PoitouCensus
Welcome to another Duck Chat! This week Jeannette Beranger and Brittany Sweeney are chatting about how to cook and prepare duck with renowned chef and author Hank Shaw. Brittany's Welsh Harlequin duck Triscuit also makes a surprise appearance.
Learn more about Hank Shaw at https://honest-food.net/about/ and more about cooking duck from his book "Duck, Duck, Goose: Recipes and Techniques for Ducks and Geese, both Wild and Domesticated" at https://honest-food.net/hank-shaw-books/
Thank you to Manna Pro for sponsoring today's Duck Chat! https://www.mannapro.com/
Welcome to another edition of Duck Chats, sponsored by Manna Pro (https://www.mannapro.com/). This week Jeannette Beranger and Brittany Sweeney chat with Amy McKamey about Ancona ducks and her journey to get them recognized by the American Poultry Association. Learn more about Ancona Ducks from Amy's Facebook Group @AnconaDucks.
Amy grew up on a small farm in Butler, Indiana. Farming runs deep in her family, dating back as early as 1340. Amy was a 10 year 4-H member, went to Purdue University and graduated in Veterinary Technology, worked in the Veterinary Field for over 20 years and now farms full time. She and her husband own and operate Heritage Meadows Farm (http://heritagemeadowsfarm.net/) in Clayton, Indiana, where they raise heritage hogs, sheep, and poultry.
Amy showed her first ducks in 1986, and they are still her favorite animal on the farm. Anconas have always held a special place in her heart, and she hopes to someday get them recognized by the APA.
This month we are chatting with members of the Shave ‘Em to Save ‘Em (SE2SE) 15+ Club to discuss working with rare breed fibers. Joining Cindra Kerscher for this chat will be SE2SE Fiber Artists Diane Barrows, Susan Vanderford, Kathy O’Reilly, and Lori Holder-Webb. Join in to learn tips and ask questions on sourcing, processing and creating with interesting wools.
Lori Holder-Webb created fiber art in the form of handmade paper collages until the arrival of rambunctious kittens in the household, and their "assistance" brought that chapter to a close. While casting about for a kitten-resistant alternative, she stumbled across some online wet-felting videos on YouTube. These were the standard-issue nuno-felted scarves, but she instantly saw how it would be possible to shift her aesthetic into this new medium. By 2019, she really wanted to expand her horizons beyond Merino and was fortunate to encounter Ashford Heights Farm at her local sheep and wool festival. Ashford Heights supplied her with a bag of Leicester Longwool roving and an information packet for Shave 'Em to Save 'Em. The rest of it - the spinning, and whole raw fleeces, and weaving - had an air of inevitability.
Kathy O’Reilly started knitting very young, taught by her mother. In 2015, after mumbling for years about the quality and cost of yarn, she started spinning after her husband gave her a spinning wheel for Christmas. He created a monster. She had no idea there were so many types of wool and fiber, so she started trying as many as she could. She had already spun CVM, Shetland, Jacob, and Black Welsh Mountain when she stumbled upon the Shave 'Em to Save 'Em Initiative. She thinks it has been so much fun to interact with a group of like-minded people.
After watching the Guild spinners at countless county fairs, Diane Barrows ached to learn and set out doing so once her five children flew the nest. She joined the Shave 'Em to Save 'Em Initiative soon after its launch, and soon discovered herself adding to her repertoire, spinning the new fibers she was encountering. Diane has enjoyed knitting, crocheting, sewing, and quilting for decades. She is a beginner weaver and is working on her HGA Master Spinner’s certificate.
Susan Vanderford has been a fiber artist since she was a kid, but most recently got into spinning during the pandemic. She got involved with the Shave 'Em to Save 'Em Initiative during the WAFA sales in early 2020. She kept seeing the SE2SE acronym and got curious, which led her to the program. Susan's big love though is knitting and her favorite part is trying different techniques to see what you get!
Want to become a Fiber Artist for the Save 'Em to Shave 'Em Initiative? Sign up at RareWool.org.
Welcome to Duck Chats! Special Guest Jon Alden, Breeding Flock Manager at Hoover's Hatchery, is chatting with Jeannette Beranger and Brittany Sweeney about duck husbandry. (https://hoovershatchery.com/)
Growing up on a small farm in central Illinois, Jon first got into chicks when he bought his first 12 from the local farm store, which quickly turned into 20 chickens, and a few ducks. His passion for poultry quickly expanded to more birds, leading him to attend the University of Arkansas, pursuing a degree in Poultry Science. From there Jon worked at a couple other poultry outfits before joining Hoover’s Hatchery in 2018, where he oversees all the breeders at Hoover’s while working to expand our selection to include more variety that we believe will appeal to our customers.
Thank you to Manna Pro (https://www.mannapro.com/) for sponsoring Duck Chats this month!
Welcome to another Marketing Monday! This month Rhyne Cureton and Brittany Sweeney are celebrating Horse Month and will be chatting with special guest Gina Purdue about Rocky Mountain Horses.
Gina is the current Secretary of the Rocky Mountain Horse Association (RMHA) and an active committee member. She has had horses since she was a child and has been involved with the RMHA since the late 90's. Learn more about RMHA at https://www.rmhorse.com/
Welcome to another Horse Chat! This week Charlene Couch and Brittany Sweeney are chatting with Cesar Alejandro Romero about the Puerto Rican Paso Fino horse.
Alejandro received a BA,MA, Certificate in Equine Colour Genetics, and has been a Puerto Rican Paso Fino breeder since 1988 in the USA, Canada and Puerto Rico. He has also been in Horse Management since 1992 and created the Paso Fino Guayama Trainers Academy in Puerto Rico.
The former Executive Director of the Paso Fino Office, Alejandro is a Consultant in breeding, pedigrees and appraising, an International Judge, and a graduate from the Guaynabo City Paso Fino judges Academy. He's also a member of the Asociacion Insular as an International Representative, Feria Dulce Sueno, Inc. as an International Rep and Registrar, the Pure Puerto Rican Paso Fino Federation of America; and a founding member of the Hacienda Paso Fino, Hacienda Puerta del Sol, Yeguada Fundación, Alianza de Paso Fino, and Paso Fino Cultural Heritage.
Alejandro is also a writer, speaker, and podcaster. You can find him online at www.iamalejandro.com
Download today's slide presentation by Alejandro Romero on the Puerto Rican Paso Fino at https://bit.ly/PRPasoFinoPresentation
Welcome to another Horse Chat! This week we’re talking about Suffolk Punch draft horses with Jason Rutledge of Healing Harvest Forest Foundation (http://www.healingharvestforestfounda...) and Ridgewind Suffolk Farm (http://www.ridgewindsuffolks.com/). Jason uses Suffolks for restorative forestry in Virginia.
Welcome to Horse Chats! This week Charlene Couch and Brittany Sweeney are chatting about Traditional Morgan horses with Helga Loncosky of Melas Farms (http://www.melasfarms.com/)
View the slides from this presentation at https://bit.ly/MorganHorsePresentation
Helga has lived the whole experience of breeding, training, showing and practical use of America's horse. Dedication to preserving the Morgan breed has brought her into a sustained project of rescue and rehabilitation of animals which is part of her family's ministry. In addition to horses, she works with miniature cattle, goats, poultry, dogs, cats, and exotic creatures, including peacocks at Melas Farms.
The animals have been a valuable tool in helping people with PTSD, both with civilian and military individuals. Her background in health administration and her work with a pharmaceutical company have enabled her to assess problems with horses and other animals to quickly get them on the road to recovery. She is a supporter of small farms and sustainable living with non-GMO and organic farming methods.
Helga has presented the Morgan horse story at numerous venues, including Equine Affaire and seminars, written for Countryside Magazine, and American Livestock Magazine, and given education seminars to local fire companies, clubs in first response to accidents and fires involving horses/animals. She lives in Pennsylvania where she continues to breed traditional Morgans and preserving traditional Morgan genetics.
Welcome to another Marketing Monday! Today we're chatting about how to market your rare breed cattle cattle with Jeff Chambers (president) and Kimberly Jepsen (vice-president) of the American Dexter Cattle Association (https://dextercattle.org/).
Welcome to another Cattle Chat! This week, we're excited to welcome special guest Cara Itle from Naturally Golden Family Farms Cooperative in Pennsylvania (https://www.naturallygoldenfamilyfarm...).
Cara grew up as the fourth generation on her family's dairy farm, Trotacre Farm in Enon Valley, PA , where she has been involved with the operation since she returned from college in 2017. Cara holds a BS in animal science from Penn State University, and is the most heavily involved with the cows on the farm, where she works to keep the registered herd of Guernseys healthy and productive.
Cara also serves as the Naturally Golden Family Farms Cooperative Board Secretary, managing the day-to-day marketing, sales, and finance of the co-op. In 2020 , the co-op received a microgrant from The Livestock Conservancy to develop, produce, and market cheese products from their heritage breed cattle.
Welcome to another Cattle Chat! This week we're excited to welcome special guests Debbie Adams and Debbie Davis of the Cattlemen's Texas Longhorn Registry (https://www.ctlr.org/). Both are experienced cattle ranchers working to conserve the critically rare Texas Longhorns from extinction.
🐄 Debbie Adam's first job out of nursing school was as a camp nurse for hearing impaired and deaf children in Kerrville, TX. The further away she got from the city, the more certain she became that her future was in the Texas Hill Country. After decades of work and multiple career changes, she made her dreams of owning a piece of this land a reality in 2016. She acquired her ranch, the Cielito Lindo, where she raises various types of animals. Including Texas Longhorn (CTLR) cattle.
"Initially, I did not understand the significance of these marvelous animals, but it did not take me long to appreciate what they mean. They are history, trail drives, cowboys (and cowgirls), State and Nation builders, and they live in my pastures. I am honored and privileged to be doing my part to preserve living Texas history."
🐄 Debbie Davis operates a ranch out of Forest Hill Country. She and her husband, Don, began dabbling in ranching in 1992 after Don gifted Debbie two longhorn heifers for her 30th birthday. What began as a hobby on family-owned land near Austin, evolved into a seed stock and grass-fed beef operation. She is passionate about preserving historically correct, genetically pure Texas Longhorn cattle. Learn more about Debbie on her website: https://www.dwdlonghorns.com/
Happy Wooly Wednesday! Today we're launching our Wrap It Up Shawl Challenge with Margaret Radcliffe, who will be leading this new fiber challenge. Learn more about the challenge, Margaret, and the best breeds to use for shawls in our video.
Register for the new fiber challenge on our website at https://bit.ly/SE2SEShawls
Be sure to join before online classes begin on June 16. Learn more about the Shave 'Em to Save 'Em Initiative at RareWool.org
Welcome to our first Cattle Chat this month! We're excited to talk with John Hall about his American Milking Devons.
John L. Hall III is a 10th generation farmer and owner of Maple Breeze Farm (http://www.maplebreezefarm.com/) in Westbrook, CT. John’s family has raised American Milking Devon Cattle on the farm in Westbrook continuously since 1635. John has been the President of the American Milking Devon Cattle Association (https://www.milkingdevons.org/) since 2005.
John and his wife Bonnie, maintain a herd of 70 American Milking Devons. They raise, train and sell young males for future teams of oxen; sell breeding stock and market their beef products at the farm and at Farmer’s Market.
Over the years, John and Bonnie have enjoyed meeting other Devon breeders and promoting the breed when they take vacations across the country.
We're winding down our celebrations of International Heritage Breeds Week with special guest Libby Henson, the co-director and co-founder of Grassroots Systems Ltd. (https://home.grassroots.co.uk/), a pedigree software.
Libby has been involved in pedigree livestock breeding and the conservation of rare breeds of farm livestock all her life. Her dad was the founder chairman of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust in the UK and her family are well known and well respected in the livestock world. She set up and ran an equivalent to the RBST in the USA, worked for the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN, ran a number of pedigree breed societies and was a member of the UK and Devolved Governments committee on Farm Animal Genetic Resources (FAnGR).
On Monday, May 17 at George Washington's Mount Vernon in Virginia (https://www.mountvernon.org/), the United States Postal Service and The Livestock Conservancy celebrated the first day of issue of heritage breed stamps. Speakers included Alison Martin, executive Director of The Livestock Conservancy, George Washington, and stamp photographer Eliza Eliazarov.
Purchase #HeritageBreedStamps at your local post office or online at https://store.usps.com/store/product/...
Learn more about each of the 10 breeds featured at LivestockConservancy.org
Welcome to another Wooly Wednesday! This month our special guest is Katya Ekimian, a recent graduate of The Parsons School of Design. Cindra will be chatting with her about about rare wool, processing, and her latest projects.
Katya holds a BFA in fashion design and is a knitwear designer hoping to reimagine our fashion system through greater cultural diversity and agricultural biodiversity. Follow Katya on Instagram @katya.ekimian
Welcome to our first International Species Chat! This week we're talking with Dr. Maria Guadalupe Rodriguez Galvan and D. Phillip Sponenberg, DVM, Ph.D.
Guadalupe teaches at the Autonomous University of Chiapas in Mexico. She holds a Zootechnical Veterinary Medicine from UNACH, a Master in Tropical Agroecology from UNACH, a Master in Agroecology Sociology and Rural Development from International University of Andalusia in Spain, and a Doctor in Natural Resource Management from University of Córdoba, Spain. Her work focuses on the sustainable development of agriculture in small family systems. Guadalupe is also the International Coordinator of the Network for the Strengthening of the Backyard in Latin America TRASIBER Network, the Vice President of the Ibero-American Network for the Conservation of Local Animal Genetic Resources (CONBIAND Iberoamérica), and the Sectorial Editor of Ethnozootechnics and traditional livestock knowledge, of the Journal of Actas Iberoamericanas de Conservación Animal AICA.
D. Phillip Sponenberg, DVM, Ph.D. has served as Technical Advisor to the Livestock Conservancy since 1978, providing counsel and mentoring to Livestock Conservancy staff, breeders, breed associations, scholars, and NGO partners. He was the moving force for establishing the Conservation Priority List and the standards for rare breed inclusion. Because of the quality and originality of his approach to conservation, Dr. Sponenberg’s expertise is internationally renowned. He is the author of several books on color genetics and conservation, and is a sought after speaker domestically and abroad. Phil is Professor of pathology and genetics at Virginia Tech. On his own farm, he is a conservation breeder of Tennessee Fainting goats, and enjoys playing with color genetics in his Brahma chickens. Find more from The Livestock Conservancy on their Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.
Welcome to the next edition of Marketing Monday! This week, Rhyne and Brittany are excited to welcome special guest Jon Jackson of Stag Vets, Inc. (https://www.stagvetsinc.org/), and Comfort Farms (@ComfortFarms on Facebook).
Army veteran and farmer Jon Jackson established Comfort Farms in 2014 as the first project of his nonprofit Stag Vets, Inc. On the farm, Jon and fellow veterans grow heirloom vegetables and raise heritage turkeys, hogs, hens, rabbits, and fish with the goal of helping veterans heal after their service. Veterans in immediate crisis—80 to 100 so far—work at the 20-acre operation while they wait for treatment with the Veterans Administration (VA). Find more from The Livestock Conservancy on their Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.
We're back with another Rabbit Chat with special guests Callene and Eric Rapp. They're the owner-operators of The Rare Hare Barn, LLC, the largest heritage-breed meat-rabbit enterprise in the U.S. (www.rareharebarn.com). Over the course of their operation, they have provided rabbit fryers to 50 different restaurants all over the country, and currently raise American Chinchilla and American Blue and White rabbits, selling breeding stock across the U.S. and Canada.
They have over 50 years of combined experience handling nearly every species of domestic livestock. They currently also raise Pineywoods cattle and Arapawa goats, and Callene serves as registrar for the Arapawa Goat Breeders Association. Both Eric and Callene have served on the Board of Directors for the Livestock Conservancy, and Callene served as Board Chair. Callene has written numerous articles about livestock husbandry for Grit magazine, and in 2018 the couple wrote “Raising Rabbits for Meat” and “Homestead Cattle, the Guide to Raising Happy, Healthy Cows” due out in June. Find more from The Livestock Conservancy on their Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.
Welcome to our Rabbit Chat with Eric Stewart!
Eric Stewart, from Knox, P.A., has been breeding rabbits for 35 years and is the Executive Director for the American Rabbit Breeders Association (https://arba.net/). In addition to having raised several breeds over the years, including some now categorized as Rare Breeds, he is also a licensed ARBA Judge for both rabbits and cavies (guinea pigs).
Eric has a passion for all aspects of the rabbit industry and cites educating others and mentorship as his favorite pursuit. As well as competing with his rabbits, Eric is the owner of Higher Ground Farm that focuses on production of high-quality fibers. He raises French Angora rabbits and Colored Angora goats that are not only exhibited, but also provide a valuable commodity when shorn.
Welcome to our first Rabbit Chat with Caleb Smith!
Caleb Smith is the 16-year-old visionary behind Peacebunny Island (https://www.peacebunnyisland.com/), an animal sanctuary where he trains rescued and rare heritage-breed rabbits to become comfort animals. His business includes a fostering program that has involved nearly 500 families; a Peacebunny Unit, which brings therapy rabbits to visit seniors at assisted-living homes and hospices; and a responder program that helps people who are dealing with loneliness, trauma, and grief, including those in crisis situations and juvenile justice facilities. Caleb also just released his first book, "Peacebunny Island" about his journey with rabbits as a kid-entrepreneur.
Caleb launched the Peacebunny Foundation, which hosts rabbit-themed STEM educational programs to excite youth about science, technology, engineering, and math and to mobilize them for community service. He is the recipient of the Gold Congressional Award and the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award. He lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with his mom and dad, and he cares for a colony of rabbits at Peacebunny Cottage.
Find more from The Livestock Conservancy on their Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.
Welcome to another Chicken Chat! This week we're excited to chat with veterinarian Julie Gauthier.
Julie grew up in Michigan, where she studied at Michigan State University to become a veterinarian. While working in mixed animal practice in Florida and in Connecticut, she studied anthropology at the University of West Florida, and earned a Master’s degree in public health at Yale University. Until 2017, Julie owned and managed Chickcharney Farm, a rare breed demonstration farm in the North Carolina piedmont. Over the years, Julie has raised, processed, and marketed heritage breed poultry, sheep, and goats. Julie is also the author of the flock keeper’s self-help book "Chicken Health for Dummies." Find more from The Livestock Conservancy on their Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.
Welcome to our fourth Swine Chat! This week we're excited to welcome Cathy R. Payne and Seth Wright to chat about American Guinea Hogs!
Cathy R. Payne first learned about The Livestock Conservancy in 2008. When she retired from teaching in 2010 and started a sustainable farm, she decided to focus on heritage breeds. She became a member and raised Khaki Campbell ducks, Silver Fox rabbits, American rabbits, Gulf Coast sheep, and American Guinea Hogs. She advocates for heritage breeds year-round and works part-time as Program Research Associate for The Livestock Conservancy. Cathy sold her farm in 2018 and is the award-winning author of "Saving the Guinea Hogs: The Recovery of an American Homestead Breed" with a foreword by D. Phillip Sponenberg, DVM, PhD. She is always ready to talk about heritage breeds, but most of all about American Guinea Hogs and the long history they have had in the South. Find Cathy online ... Website: www.guineahogbooks.com Instagram and Twitter: @guineahogbooks Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Book1GuineaHogBooks
Seth Wright has been raising and breeding registered American Guinea Hogs in the woodlands of North central Massachusetts for over four years. He has exhibited his livestock at the NOFA Summer conference as well as the Mother Earth News Fair in Pennsylvania. Seth has served on the Board of Directors for the American Guinea Hog Association for two years. At Timberhaven Farm, Seth also raises Delaware and Australorp chickens and has been marketing the meat and eggs from his animals through a heritage breed/ fed-organic meat CSA that serves the local community. Find Seth online ... https://timberhavenfarm.com/ https://www.openherd.com/farms/9697 https://www.facebook.com/acorneater timberhavenfarm@gmail.com https://www.instagram.com/timberhavenfarm/
Find more from The Livestock Conservancy on their Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.
Welcome to Swine Chats! We are excited to talk about Red Wattle pigs with special guests Kathy Bottorff of the Red Wattle Hog Association (https://www.redwattle.com/) and Andrea Van der Wel of Sades Acres a small family-owned market farm selling pork, chicken and eggs in Lexington, Kentucky.
"Saving and Raising Red Wattle hogs has become our priority. Their sweet nature and quirky personalities bring us joy every day!" ~ Andrea Van der Wel
Find more from The Livestock Conservancy on their Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.
Welcome to our first Swine Chat! This week we are excited to welcome Ian Thompson to chat about how the Choctaw Hog has influenced the Choctaw Nation.
Ian Thompson began learning how to chip stone arrowheads from his uncle at the age of seven. Through his youth, Ian learned a variety of Choctaw traditional arts including hidework and archery. Balancing this cultural education with a western education, he perused a course of study in anthropology and Native American studies, completing his undergraduate work at the University of Missouri and Ph.D. at the University of New Mexico. Dr. Thompson’s dissertation brought to light aspects of sleeping traditional knowledge for revitalization by the Choctaw community. Ian is both a Registered Professional Archaeologist and a Tribal Council-certified community language and culture instructor. Currently, he serves as Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and as President of the Oklahoma Bison Association.
For the past 12 years, Dr. Thompson’s research has focused on the revitalization of the Indigenous Choctaw foodway as an avenue for improving health and quality of life for community members. This work was the research basis for Choctaw Nation’s Growing Hope Program and the book “Indigenous Choctaw Food,” which holistically presents the pre-colonial Choctaw foodway.
In 2015 Ian and his wife Amy set up Nan Awaya Farmstead (www.nanawaya.com). This small family bison ranch combines Choctaw traditional land management with modern regenerative agriculture. Its mission is to produce healthy food while improving the land and supporting the Choctaw community and traditional culture.
Find more from The Livestock Conservancy on their Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.
Welcome to Chicken Chats! This week we're excited to welcome Tilly and her mom Gabrielle from their farm's egg stand. Tilly received a 2020 Youth Microgrant to help expand her flock of rare breed chickens for her growing egg business. Each package of eggs comes with a custom label to educate customers about her heritage breeds.
Find more from The Livestock Conservancy on their Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.
Welcome to this week's Chicken Chat with special guest Christine Heinrichs!
Christine Heinrichs writes from her home on California’s Central Coast. She keeps a backyard flock of a dozen hens, seven large fowl of various breeds and five bantams. Her book, "How to Raise Chickens," was first published in 2007, just as the local food movement was starting to focus attention on the industrial food system. Backyard chickens became the mascot of local food. The third edition of "How to Raise Chickens" was published in January 2019. "The Backyard Field Guide to Chickens" was published in 2016. Look for them in Tractor Supply stores and online.
Christine holds a B.S. in Journalism from the University of Oregon, making her a Fighting Duck. She is a regular contributor to "Backyard Poultry" magazine and writes for many other publications, including Mother Earth News’ Community Chickens website. She is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists, the Society of Environmental Journalists, Northern California Science Writers Association, American Society of Journalists and Authors and Ten Spurs, the honorary society of the Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference. She serves on the American Poultry Association’s Backyard Keepers Committee, and is a member of the American Bantam Association and the Livestock Conservancy. She also participates in the Association of Living History Farms and Agricultural Museums (ALHFAM), working with Living History sites that have historically accurate poultry flocks. Find more from The Livestock Conservancy on their Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.
Welcome to another edition of Chicken Chats! This week we're excited to chat with Aharon Sasson to talk about chickens and Archaeology work at the San Diego Presidio in California.
Aharon is the co-director of the San Diego Zooarchaeology Laboratory. He received his Ph.D. in Archaeology/Zooarchaeology from Tel Aviv University, and has studied faunal assemblages from the ancient Near East as well as from numerous prehistoric and historic sites from California. Aharon is the author of "Animal Husbandry in Ancient Israel, a Zooarchaeological Perspective on Livestock Exploitation, Herd Management, and Economic Strategies." He and Arter recently published their study on the chicken remains from the San Diego Presidio in the highly regarded journal, "American Antiquity." Find more from The Livestock Conservancy on their Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.
Welcome to our first Chicken Chat this month! We're excited to welcome Tom Watkins, President and co-owner of Murray McMurray Hatchery in Webster City, Iowa.
Tom and his father-in-law and hatchery co-owner, Bud Wood, are building on the company’s 104 year-old legacy of hatching the highest quality baby poultry in the U.S. Tom manages day-to-day operations of the hatchery which offers over 120 varieties of chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys and many other types of poultry and fowl. Tom, his wife Ashley, and their four children have a one-acre homestead in Central Iowa where they have raised and kept their own flocks of chickens, ducks and turkeys.
Murray McMurray Hatchery is also the sponsor of our upcoming Poultry Census. More details about the census are coming soon.
We're excited to kickoff our first Wooly Wednesday with Sarah Anderson, author of "The Spinner's Book of Yarn Designs," available from Storey Publishing (https://www.storey.com/.../the-spinners-book-of-yarn.../)
Sarah Anderson learned to knit at a very young age and has been hooked on the fiber crafts ever since. She taught herself to spin at 13, but it was not until 1992 that she became serious about her spinning. She developed a new technique she calls “wrap and roll,” which won her a cover on Spin Off magazine in 2008. She has taught at the Spin-Off Autumn Retreat (SOAR), contributed knit designs to All New Homespun and Handknit, and teaches at many venues. She lives near Snohomish, Washington. Find more from The Livestock Conservancy on their Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.
Our host Brittany Sweeney is excited to kick off our first Sheep Chat, The Livestock Conservancy's Program Coordinator.
Cindra was born with a farming spirit and a passion for livestock, as Program Coordinator for The Livestock Conservancy, I get to feed my interests while working daily to secure rare breeds of livestock and poultry through farmer support and education.
Dr. Marie Minnich is an anesthesiologist, a shepherdess, a Shave 'Em to Save 'Em fiber provider, the Secretary and Treasurer of the National Romeldale/CVM Conservancy, and a board member and longtime friend of The Livestock Conservancy.
Along with her husband Steven Minnich, Marie raises the largest registered flock of Romeldale/CVM sheep in the US on their farm in central Pennsylvania. Find more from The Livestock Conservancy on their Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.
Welcome to our fourth Sheep Chat! This week we're excited to chat with Lexie Hain, co-founder of the American Solar Grazing Association.
Lexie Hain is co-founder of the American Solar Grazing Association. A farm owner in New York State since 2005, Lexie started with a small homestead and transitioned to owner and operator of a specialty plant nursery for ten years. After selling the business in 2015, she transitioned to solar grazing with sheep. By 2020 the grazing business included 5 solar companies as clients and she co-founded the American Solar Grazing Association (ASGA) in 2018.
ASGA is a not for profit with the goal of promoting best practices in solar grazing. ASGA is the originator of the solar site mapping tool: connecting farmers with solar companies (map.solargrazing.org) launched May 2020. Learn more at www.solargrazing.org
Find more from The Livestock Conservancy on their Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.
Welcome to our third Sheep Chat! We're excited to be chatting with Lisa Pregent about Hog Island Sheep.
Lisa Pregent is the Livestock Manager at George Washington’s Mount Vernon (https://www.mountvernon.org/). She runs a nationally recognized breeding program for rare, heritage breeds and was featured in Washingtonian Magazine for her efforts in the preservation of these breeds. Lisa and her team educate Mount Vernon’s visitors about the important role livestock played in the day to day operations of our first president’s estate.
Mount Vernon is home to one of the largest, registered flocks of Hog Island sheep. In addition to the sheep, Lisa and the livestock staff raise Milking Devon cattle and Ossabaw Island hogs. Find more from The Livestock Conservancy on their Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.
On this weeks chat, we're excited to welcome a very special panel guests with Nikyle Begay, Zefren Anderson, Rose and Eugene Vigil, and Cyndi Dvergsten to talk about the Navajo-Churro sheep.
Zefren Anderson is a Dine/Navajo Weaver from the Four Corners Region of the Navajo Nation. Both of Zefren’s grandmothers hail from weaving traditions of the Dine ancestors, From Two Grey Hills Mary Hunt and from Rattlesnake Charlotte and her mother Elizabeth Tsosie Light. He has inherited their tools and family weavings of which formed the base of journey into Dine textiles. In 2014 He joined under Roy Kady’s weaving apprenticeship to learn the life of a Traditional weaver and how work with our weavings to support their people. Nikyle Begay has been weaving since childhood, with weaving being at the root of their family culture. Nikyle learned by observing their grandmother, from early memories of tagging along with her to tend to the sheep to watching her spin yarn and weave. Nikyle enjoys sharing their knowledge, passion, and traditional stories.
Cindy Dvergsten
Cindy grew up on small farm in Minnesota and holds a degree in Natural Resource Management from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. In 1986 she and husband Mike established Arriola Sunshine Farm near Cortez Colorado. Cindy fell in love with the concept of conserving endangered breeds while attending the 1998 Livestock Conservancy (ALBC) conference which was held in conjunction with Dine Be Iina’s “Sheep is Life Celebration” in NM. She started with heritage turkeys and chickens; and then Navajo-Churro Sheep in 2004. Today she has 30 registered sheep. Two-thirds of the lambs sell as breeding stock and the rest as grass-fed lamb. They also market wool and value-added products. Cindy is passionate about working with Navajo producers who want to be successful with their sheep, land stewardship, fiber art and carrying traditional lifeways forward. She is a past board member of Dine Be’ Iina’ and continues to serve as an advisor. Cindy’s professional experience includes 15 years of Federal Service, most of which was with the USDA-NRCS. In 1996 she established Whole New Concepts LLC. As a management consultant and trainer, Cindy works internationally with family-based agriculture, small businesses and organizations. She has been a Certified Educator with Holistic Management International since 1997 and is an Accredited Professional with the Savory Institute. She provides services to the SW Colorado Small Business Development Center, being recognized as statewide Consultant of the Year in 2013. Previously she has served as president of the Colorado Holistic Management, president of the local Rocky Mountain Farmers Union Chapter, and chair of the County Planning Commission. In 2019 Arriola Sunshine Farm was designated as an “outstanding demonstration site” by Holistic Management International. Cindy and Mike enjoy sharing what they know is possible with holistic management, regenerative agriculture and livestock breed conservation.
Since Eugene and Rose Vigil were born and raised in the Chimayo Valley, they have always had an interest in the traditions of the area. Their goal is to preserve and promote all aspects of Hispanic weavings, from the most traditional to the contemporary.
Rose and Eugene create the dye by extracting the natural pigmentation from the plants they have gathered. The color from the plants that surround them in Northern New Mexico comes from local vegetation. The designs are representative of their culture, with simple stripes, twills, serrated diamonds, blocks designs, hourglass, chispas and seamed textiles.
Find more from The Livestock Conservancy on their Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.
Welcome to our second Swine Chat! This week we're excited to welcome Rachel Breeden and Loretta Heath to chat about Gloucestershire Old Spot pigs!
Find more from The Livestock Conservancy on their Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.
On this edition of Marketing Monday, we're excited to welcome John Metzer of Metzer Farms (https://www.metzerfarms.com/) to chat about the business side of running a family-owned farm and hatchery. As part of the Marketing Monday Facebook Live series, we'll talk about marketing challenges for rare breeds and the best tools and resources to help.
Find more from The Livestock Conservancy on their Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.
Welcome to our second goose chat! This week we are welcoming celebrated chef and Livestock Conservancy Ambassador Ariane Daguin of D'Artagnan Foods (@DArtagnanFoods) to chat about cooking goose. Learn more about Ariane at dartagnan.com/
Welcome to our first Goose Chat! This month we're celebrating heritage breed geese. Our special guest today is Ellie Mocker of Holly Hill Ranch (@HollyHillRanch) in Maryland. Ellie raises both Roman and Cotton Patch geese from the Conservation Priority List.
Thanks to everyone for tuning in today! Here are some links from the chat: #MyGooseIsCookedChallenge with chef Ariane Daguin: https://bit.ly/GooseWorkshop YouTube archive of the show:https://youtu.be/zlq-upB62Uw Donate for #GivingTuesday: http://bit.ly/SupportTLC Goose breeds on the Conservation Priority List: http://bit.ly/ConservationPriorityList
Find more from The Livestock Conservancy on their Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.
Welcome to our third Turkey Chat!
Today we are chatting with several exceptional individuals who lead The Livestock Conservancy's charge to conserve heritage turkeys in America following a 1997 census revealing only 1,400 breeding birds of all combined varieties were left in the U.S. We'll discuss the turkey’s great comeback from a crisis that could easily have brought extinction to many of the varieties we know today. There was an immense effort to turn the tide and much of the story has been forgotten over the 20+ years since the project’s start.
More about our guests:
Marjie Bender holds an M.Ed. in Agricultural Science from the University of California-Davis, and has been involved in sustainable agriculture since 1991. She coordinated the first Livestock Conservancy Poultry Census and led their conservation efforts to recover heritage turkeys and Colonial Spanish horses in America.
Carolyn J. Christman served as Program Coordinator for the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (now The Livestock Conservancy) from 1987-1999. A historian, anthropologist, and former high school teacher, she holds degrees from the University of North Carolina and Wake Forest University. She authored several publications on rare breeds conservation, including "A Rare Breed Album" and "Birds of a Feather – Saving Rare Turkeys from Extinction."
When Bob Hawes was 10, his father, one of America’s first used car salesmen, traded ducks for a car, thus beginning his lifelong love of poultry. At age 15, Bob had established a mail-order business selling chicks, geese, and ducks. He has had a long and distinguished career, with positions at McGill University (1962 – 1971), Hy-Line International (1971 – 1978), and most recently as professor and poultry scientist at the University of Maine, retiring in 1997. Bob has also authored many scientific publications, book chapters, and popular articles on poultry production and aquaculture.
Bob served on the ALBC’s Board of Directors from 1994–1997. He co-authored “Birds of a Feather: Saving Rare Turkeys from Extinction” with former ALBC staffer Carolyn Christman. He helped to guide content and wrote many of the articles that appeared in "The Snood News," an ALBC publication focused on all things turkey. His knowledge, passion, and his commitment to poultry conservation, including turkeys, is truly inspiring. Find more from The Livestock Conservancy on their Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.
Welcome to our second Turkey Chat!
We're excited to talk turkey this month with you. Our special guest this week is Frank R. Reese, Jr. of Good Shepherd Farm. Frank is an important Master Breeder of rare turkeys and helped The Livestock Conservancy write both of our turkey manuals.
Leave us a message if you've got turkey questions you'd like answered!
Learn more about the turkey breeds on our Conservation Priority List at http://bit.ly/ConservationPriorityList Find more from The Livestock Conservancy on their Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.
Welcome to our first Turkey Chat!
We're excited to talk turkey this month with you. Our special guest this week is Zane Graham from Fall Fire Farm (@FallFireFarm), a conservation facility specializing in rare heritage turkeys that are disappearing into extinction. Their goal is to educate people about the value of heritage turkeys and get quality examples into the hands of qualified breeders.
Leave us a message if you've got turkey questions you'd like answered!
Learn more about the turkey breeds on our Conservation Priority List at http://bit.ly/ConservationPriorityList Find more from The Livestock Conservancy on their Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.
Welcome to our final Goat Chat this month! Our resident goat experts, Dr. Phil Sponenberg and Deborah Niemann-Boehle are ready to take your questions.
Dr. Phil Sponenberg has served as Technical Advisor to the Livestock Conservancy since 1978, providing counsel and mentorship to staff, breeders, breed associations, scholars, and NGO partners. He was the moving force for establishing the Conservation Priority List and the standards for rare breed inclusion on that list. Because of the quality and originality of his approach to conservation, Dr. Sponenberg’s expertise is internationally renowned. He is the author of several books on genetics and conservation and is a professor of pathology and genetics at Virginia Tech University. On his own farm, he is a conservation breeder of Tennessee Fainting goats.
Deborah is also known as The Thrifty Homesteader and serves as a contractor for the Shave 'Em to Save 'Em Initiative. In 2002, Deborah relocated her suburban Chicago family to 32 acres on a creek "in the middle of nowhere" where they began producing 100% of their meat, eggs and dairy products by raising heritage animals. Today they also sell meat, eggs, soap, and fiber products. She is the author of three books on sustainable living, including "Raising Goats Naturally: The Complete Guide to Milk, Meat, and More." Find more from The Livestock Conservancy on their Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.
Thank you for tuning in to our third Goat Chat! Our special guests today are John Carroll and Chad Wegener of the San Clemente Island Goat Foundation and their goat ambassador Taco.
For this edition, we'll chat about the history of this critically-endangered goat and how a breed association can help people interested in raising goats. Learn more about the SCI Goat Foundation at https://www.scigoatfoundation.org/ Find more from The Livestock Conservancy on their Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.
Thank you for tuning in to our second Goat Chat! Our special guest today is Renard Turner of Vanguard Ranch Natural Gourmet.
For this edition of Goat Chats Renard will cover how goats fit into sustainable food habits, the importance of raising animals naturally, and the best pasture for goats. Learn more about Renard and his free-range Myotonic meat goats at https://vanguard-ranch-natural-gourmet.ueniweb.com/ Find more from The Livestock Conservancy on their Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.
Welcome to our first Goat Chat!
We're excited to chat about all things goat this month. Our special guest this week is Patrick Martins from Heritage Foods USA (https://heritagefoods.com/). We'll talk about heritage breed food products, Goatober, no goat left behind, best goat cuts, and goat recipes.
Leave us a message if you've got horse questions you'd like answered! Learn more about the goat breeds on our Conservation Priority List at http://bit.ly/ConservationPriorityList Find more from The Livestock Conservancy on their Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.
Welcome to our final Horse chat!
We're excited to saddle up and continue chatting about all things equine with our special guest this week Angelia Silvera, and Senior Program Manager Charlene Couch!
As the Donkey Listener, Angelia works with all three of the donkey breeds on our Conservation Priority List: American Mammoth Jackstock, Poitou, and Miniature Donkeys. (https://donkeylistener.com/) She is excited to talk about the training differences between horses and donkeys this week.
Leave us a message if you've got horse questions you'd like answered!
Learn more about the horse and donkey breeds on our Conservation Priority List at http://bit.ly/ConservationPriorityList Find more from The Livestock Conservancy on their Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.
Welcome to our fourth Horse chat!
We're excited to saddle up and continue chatting about all things equine with our special guest this week Ken Murray, and Senior Program Manager Charlene Couch!
Ken works with American Cream Draft horses at Workhorse Ranch and Olde Tyme Carriage Co. in Texas (https://www.workhorseranch.com/).
Leave us a message if you've got horse questions you'd like answered!
Learn more about the horse breeds on our Conservation Priority List at http://bit.ly/ConservationPriorityList Find more from The Livestock Conservancy on their Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.
Welcome to our third Horse chat!
We're excited to saddle up and continue chatting about all things equine with our special guest this week Steve Edwards and Senior Program Manager Charlene Couch!
Steve works with Colonial Spanish horses at Gwaltney Frontier Farm in Virginia (https://www.millswampindianhorses.com/).
Leave us a message if you've got horse questions you'd like answered! Learn more about the horse breeds on our Conservation Priority List at http://bit.ly/ConservationPriorityList Find more from The Livestock Conservancy on their Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.
Welcome to our second Horse chat!
We're excited to saddle up and continue chatting about all things equine with our special guest this week Christy Reich and Senior Program Manager Charlene Couch!
Christy works with Colonial Spanish Santa Cruz horses at El Campeon Farms in California (https://www.santacruzislandhorse.com/).
Leave us a message if you've got horse questions you'd like answered!
Learn more about the horse breeds on our Conservation Priority List at http://bit.ly/ConservationPriorityList Find more from The Livestock Conservancy on their Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.
We're excited to saddle up and kick off our horse month by chatting about all things equine with our special guest this week Gabrielle Gordon and Senior Program Manager Charlene Couch! Gabrielle is the President of the Cleveland Bay Horse Society North America and will be discussing efforts to help this critically endangered horse breed (http://www.clevelandbay.org/).
Leave us a message if you've got horse questions you'd like answered!
Learn more about the horse breeds on our Conservation Priority List at http://bit.ly/ConservationPriorityList Find more from The Livestock Conservancy on their Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.