Our story
After a farm accident in 2018 crushed her spinal cord, Teresa moved West to start training with a therapist with the hopes of walking again. Within a couple months she and Jesse met and formed a fast friendship. They both discovered their compatability in their faith and their common love for people and the land. Teresa and Jesse have combined their respective backgrounds in organic vegetable gardening and ranching to produce their own clean food. With concerns over not knowing where so much of our grocery store food is grown or how it is raised, we choose to raise our food the way we want it, as simply and naturally as wild berries growing in a forest, or elk grazing on a mountainside. We produce more than we can consume and this provides a way for our community to also enjoy the foods that we are blessed with.
Our Sheep
Our hair sheep are exclusively bred for meat. The ewes graze pasture year-round, rain or shine just as animals in the wild do. They have their babies in May when it is warm and sunny and the grass is green. This syncs the natural cycle of plant growth with the needs of the animals. By moving them to fresh pasture regularly we ensure that they have access to quality abundant food at all times. Grazed pastures are rested and fully recovered before being grazed again. This mimics the natural migratory patterns of wild grazing animals. Unlike the majority of sheep in the USA which receive pharmaceutical worm treatments, our sheep do not need any dewormers or routine medical treatments. By moving to fresh pasture every few days, we are able to avoid exposure to parasites. Our ewe’s seasonal cycles are synchronized with the natural cycles of our local climate.
Our Pastures
The pastures that our animals graze is the centerpiece of our enterprise. Grazing (under a watchful eye) stimulates the plant’s root growth which feeds the microorganisms in the soil. The plants that grow up have leaves that collect solar energy from the sun. Working in conjunction with water and nutrients, those solar collectors cause plants to grow, the plants feed the sheep, the sheep feed people. The healthier and more well fed the micro-life in the soil is, the more prosperous the whole system is.
At the heart of this beautiful cycle is a stewardship perspective: people caring for the whole system rather than just parts of it. That means nurturing soil, plants and animals as a whole, inseparable entity. It means that when this perspective is put into action, there is an abundant harvest of clean, nutrient rich foods on our tables. Healthy food, healthy families, healthy community.
Many of our neighbors, family and friends have enjoyed the benefits of their land being grazed by our sheep herd. The sheep love eating weeds and save the grass for last. With careful monitoring, the pastures improve over time with sheep grazing. Some of our pastures are in scenic spots. Other pastures are in urbanized areas surrounded by houses. We believe that land stewardship is for any plot of land, whether it is a tray of microgreens or a sprawling ranch.
