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News

Make Plans for Earth Day

Earth Day preparations
As hobby farmers, we’re used to forming new habits and making changes in our lives.

Tell us!
Have you done something new in your life to help protect the Earth today?
What can you add to these lists?
Tell us about it today!

  • We cope with interruptions due to an animal birth or illness
  • We manage through the impact of weather and/or pests on our crops
  • We’ve addressed our desire to connect with our agricultural roots
  • We’ve committed to healthier living

As Earth Day arrives this month, maybe it’s time to connect the dots from the changes we’ve already made to changes we can make to better care for the earth.

More than ever, Earth Day—and its goal to “spark a revolution against environmental abuse”—must not pass us by with just a simple nod of acknowledgment.

We’ve come to understand that environmental damage like global warming is real and that we can become part of the solution.

The list of ways we can help is endless. Here are our suggestions for things we can do in our lives and around our farms, homes and communities—every day—to help make a difference:

Around the Farm

  • Start a compost pile.
  • Put up birdfeeders, birdhouses, and birdbaths.
  • Pull weeds manually instead of using herbicides.
  • Use only organic fertilizers. 
  • Compost your leaves and yard debris, or take them to a yard debris recycler.
  • Return extra plastic and rubber pots back to the nursery.
  • Plant short, dense shrubs close to your home’s foundation to help insulate your home against cold.
  • Use mulch to conserve water in your garden.

Around the House

  • Replace frequently used light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs.
  • Recycle everything: plastic sandwich bags, newspapers, bottles and cans, aluminum foil, etc.
  • Use cold water in the washer whenever possible. 
  • Reuse brown paper bags to line your trash can instead of plastic bags. Reuse bread bags and produce bags.
  • Store food in re-usable containers. 
  • Donate used items to a charitable organization or thrift shop. 
  • Don’t leave water running needlessly. If you have a leaky faucet, fix the drips!
  • Turn your heat down, and wear a sweater.
  • Open windows instead of using air conditioning.
  • Turn off lights and electrical appliances when you are out of a room.
  • Turn down the heat and turn off the water heater before you leave for vacation.
  • Weatherize and insulate your home, and consider installing double pane windows.
  • Buy energy efficient appliances.
  • Buy products with less packaging.
  • Use both sides of paper.
  • Run your dishwasher only when it’s full.
  • Take shorter showers and use a low-flow showerhead.

In Our Lives and Our Communities

  • Buy recycled products.
  • “Recycle” your clothes.
  • Carpool, use public transportation or drive a fuel efficient car.
  • Keep your tires properly inflated and get better gas mileage.
  • Make sure your printer paper is 100% post consumer recycled.
  • Buy locally; it reduces the amount of energy required to transport your products to your store.
  • Donate money or time to an ecological organization.
  • Use rechargable batteries.
  • Plant a tree.
  • Buy organically grown foods.
  • Spread the word about conservation!
Categories
Animals Large Animals

Alpacas: Dollars And Sense

Alpaca on farm
iStock/Thinkstock

Just a few decades ago there were but a handful of farmers and ranchers importing and breeding alpacas in the United States.

Now, thanks to a number of factors, alpacas are considered a lucrative and relatively easy livestock investment, with their numbers climbing to about 50,000 in this country.

Still, this is a drop in the bucket when compared to about 3.5 million alpacas in South America, their continent of origin.

What does this mean for the alpaca in North America and its breeders and owners? How long can the growth of the alpaca market in this country be sustained? And dollars and cents aside, just what makes the alpaca so lovable?

Alpaca History

Alpacas are modified ruminants, part of the camelid family, which also includes llamas and camels. They are smaller than their cousins, standing at about 36 inches at the withers and weighing in at about 150 to 200 pounds.

While their smaller size and quizzical faces do in fact give them a high cuteness factor, whether or not they are huggable is debatable.

Many ads and websites for alpacas feature the ubiquitous picture of an adorable child hugging an adorable alpaca, but at the end of the day these are livestock creatures.

You may find the occasional alpaca that enjoys his hugs, but for the most part, they’re happy enough to mingle amongst their own and come to humans for treats and a good scratch.

Regardless of its predisposition toward being hugged, the alpaca is significantly easier to handle than most other livestock. They are smaller and therefore less intimidating than horses or cattle, don’t challenge fences the way goats do, and are hardy and easy keepers. Alpacas are certainly “user-friendly” livestock, which helps explain both their attractiveness as a livestock investment and their reputation for huggability.

Alpaca history accounts for their resilient nature … Alpacas are originally from South America where the Incas bred them for thousands of years the Incas’ lives were intertwined with those of alpacas, using the animals for fleece, food and transportation. During the Spanish colonization of South America, alpaca and llama numbers dwindled and the Inca and their livestock fled mostly to the higher, harsher climates of the Andes Mountains. As a result, the alpacas became extremely efficient grazers.

In 1984, several alpacas were imported to the United States from Bolivia, Chile and Peru. But in 1998 the U.S.-based Alpaca Registry Inc. was closed to any newly imported animals in an effort to improve the breed in this country. As word spread about the ease of care and keep of alpacas, the number of breeders and enthusiasts has grown.

Care and Feeding

Just how easy are alpacas to keep? Here are some basics:

Alpacas are extremely efficient grazers so they require little pasture and, with their padded feet, they are very easy on the land. Many breeders supplement alpaca diets with orchard grass hay and add a small ration of pelleted grain.

Those who keep alpacas for breeding and for fleece production (as opposed to just pasture pets) may want to adopt a more specialized feeding program. For instance, pregnant females may require more nutrition than what is readily available in pasture and hay, so an owner may consider additional nutritional supplements. Free-choice mineral blocks can also be provided. And for the very particular breeder, agricultural extension agents can be brought in to test the nutritional value of available pasture and hay.

The cost of feed is a small factor to consider. Alpacas only eat 1 to 1.5 percent of their body weight per day. In terms of cost, this works out to about 50 cents per alpaca per day.

Providing fresh water is critical for all animals. For alpaca owners in northern climes this means making sure water containers haven’t frozen. Automatic heated waterers help keep water chores to a minimum.

As with all livestock, alpacas warrant careful attention to their health. Annual vaccinations and regular deworming are necessary. Routine procedures, such as deworming, can be handled by an owner, which goes a long way toward saving on veterinary bills. In fact, finding a vet knowledgeable in alpaca care becomes one of the first chores of an alpaca owner. While more vets are becoming acquainted with the breed, their numbers are still few and far between.

The largest concern for alpaca breeders is healthcare for pregnant females and, of course, their babies, known as crias. Some owners prefer to send their pregnant females out to farms that have more experience at birthing, but in reality alpaca births tend to be fairly easy. Most likely due to the fact that they hail from a cold climate, alpaca births occur during the day and are typically uncomplicated. Regardless, a responsible alpaca owner will want to be present at the birth should any trouble occur. Amongst the many skills new owners should study up on before venturing into breeding is how to deal with troubled births.

Teeth and toenails must be routinely trimmed. Again, most owners will choose to do this on their own once receiving instruction from a competent teacher. Many new alpaca owners will find that the breeder they buy their stock from can be a tremendous source of knowledge when it comes to care and maintenance information.

Fencing and Housing

Since alpacas rarely challenge fencing, the strength and type of fence should be more about keeping predators out than keeping alpacas in. After a recent hurricane, breeder Chris Lewis of Alpaca Advantage in Delaplane, Va., discovered that a few trees had come down in his paddocks, crushing fence lines and leaving wide-open gaps toward the roads. His alpacas, however, thought better of leaving their safe enclosure and none had made any attempt at escape.

Predators are a big concern to alpaca owners, so in order to keep coyotes, feral dogs and others out, many breeders use no-climb fencing in combination with standard oak-board fencing.

A three-sided shelter is generally sufficient for alpacas. Since they hail from cold, windy mountainous areas and are well equipped for such weather. Heat and humidity are of more concern for alpaca owners. Protection from the sun is critical; when heat and humidity combine, additional measures must be taken. Some farms incorporate fans and misting systems, others just spray down their herds with water.

Shelters need to be large enough or number enough to accommodate all members of the herd. Since females need to be kept separate from the males (both studs and geldings), separate sheds need to be provided, or, if barns are used, they must be sectioned off.

Alpaca Herds

There are two types of alpacas—Huacaya and Suri. Ninety percent of alpacas in this country (and worldwide) are Huacaya. They are distinguishable from each other mainly by their fleece: The Huacaya fleece is wooly and the Suri fleece falls like pencil-thin dreadlocks.

The majority of alpaca owners and breeders have less than 10 animals, so in this case herd management is straightforward. Females are kept separate from the males, and females with young cria at their sides should be further isolated (though, as herd animals they should never be kept entirely separate from the rest of the herd as this will cause more stress than necessary).

The herd typically shares a communal manure pile making alpaca easy to clean up after. Their manure is rich and small, similar to sheep manure, and is welcome to gardeners even before composting.

Alpaca Economics

The first question potential alpaca owners usually ask is whether or not money can be made from alpacas. If a buyer forms a plan, sets goals, properly prepares his or her farm (or an agistment arrangement with another farm), cares for the herd and carefully plans breeding, then the answer is almost a definite “yes.” Presently there is still strong demand for well-bred breeding stock, and this is keeping prices high.

When Amy Makrosky, current president of the Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association (AOBA) bought her first four alpacas eight years ago, she asked herself the question “What if prices fall?” Since she had already fallen in love with the creatures, her bottom line was, “if the market drops out, I’ll still have them and I’ll still love them.” Fortunately for Makrosky, the market has not fallen and for now, shows no sign of abating. Her original herd of four has since grown to about 100, which she keeps on her farm in Texas.

Still, at a minimum of about $12,000 for a female alpaca, many buyers will want more from their investment than a lovely, but expensive pet. The question of whether a return can be made on an investment in alpacas lies not only in the apparent strength of the current market, or on one’s ability to care for livestock, but also how adept and inclined one is at marketing. Presently, approximately 85 percent of alpaca breeders are making their income through the sale of breeding livestock alone, with no concern for the sale of fleece. This means ranchers must become proficient at the art of selling and marketing their livestock.

According to Chris Lewis, while nothing is guaranteed, an investor in alpacas will meet with financial success if he or she makes an educated effort. “The biggest mistake new owners of alpacas make is spending all their investment dollars on breeding stock alone,” says Lewis. It might be wiser, he suggests, if an investor, for example, has $60,000 to spend, devote $40,000 to breeding stock, $10,000 on marketing and sales, and set aside the final $10,000 for breeding fees, unexpected vet bills and other miscellany.

The question of profitability also concerns what is considered “well-bred stock.” Since there are no set guidelines for conformation, what presently wins in the show-ring is what’s the nicest looking animal on any given day in the ring. In other words, breeders have been breeding for “pretty,” with a focus on color and some popular conformation points.

Many in the alpaca industry, however, are starting to breed with an eye toward what they see as the only true future for alpacas: fleece production. Some breeders are now more carefully considering the very technical aspects of fleece quality and incorporating breeding practices to improve it.

Alpaca fleece, a highly coveted luxurious product, is five times warmer than sheep’s wool and seven times stronger. In South America, alpacas are bred specifically for their fleece. Here in the United States, however, there are so few alpacas that, up until now, no economic incentive existed to market fleece beyond the niche markets of hand-spinners and weavers. The entire national clip (all the fleece collected in a year in this country) is now about 50 tons, compared to Peru’s 4,000 tons. A commercial mill could process that amount in three days. As a result, there is little motivation for American large mills geared for sheep’s wool to modify in any way to accommodate this new product.

Two things need to happen to change the minds of American large mill owners. The number of alpacas in the United States has to increase dramatically (which it is on track for) and breeders must start to breed their stock with an eye toward fleece quality.

The Alpaca Fiber Cooperative of North America (AFCNA) was established in 1998 to assist its members in collecting, processing and distributing their alpaca fiber. While it’s not yet running at a profit, the Cooperative hopes that increased awareness of its goals, along with increased numbers of alpaca breeders interested in working the fiber angle of their industry, will mean profits for all involved soon enough.

Fiber aside, money can certainly be made in the market for breeding livestock since that market is far from saturated and enjoys a strong demand. As of this writing, a well-bred female can easily fetch $20,000 and a superb herd-sire was recently auctioned for a record-breaking $250,000!

A number of factors assure future market growth. As of 1998, imported alpacas can no longer be registered with the Alpaca Registry Inc. While ostensibly one can still import alpacas, concerns over foot-and-mouth disease have, for the most part, closed off the United States from new imports. Also, investors in the alpaca market are strongly encouraged to work strictly with registered animals only. All of this, combined with the fact that alpacas have just one cria per year, means that the growth rate is set.

Entering the Market

A typical entry into the business of alpaca breeding goes something like this: A breeder new to the industry prepares his farm (fencing, shelters, feed, et cetera) and purchases his herd of alpacas—usually concentrating his initial investment on bred females. Let’s say he invests $90,000 on five females. Each bred female produces a cria within a year. About half of the offspring will be female, half males. Some of the female offspring will be sold, the rest kept to augment the breeding herd. In five years, the starter herd of five bred females can grow to 30 animals, now leaving the breeder with $500,000 (potential) worth in alpacas. Even before an actual return is realized, alpaca owners enjoy several tax advantages, from depreciation to real-estate tax reductions.

Those unable to pony up the initial cash needed to make such an investment can take advantage of financing options provided by many alpaca breeding farms. Another option for those unable to make a large initial outlay of cash is to join an alpaca investing syndicate where members each invest a certain percentage toward the purchase and care of alpacas.

Whichever entry route is taken, the potential significant return on investment within four or five years is part of what is driving this market. But many individuals seem to be attracted to alpacas for lifestyle advantages as well. With such small land requirements (depending on geography and pasture management, between five and 10 alpacas can be kept per acre), and ease of care and breeding, many novice and hobby farmers see alpacas as an easy gateway into livestock ranching.

Lewis believes that many individuals, including a significantnumber of retirees, in the post-September 11 world have been drawn to a more simplified rural lifestyle. And alpacas are an easy and welcome fit with that “back to the country” inclination. “After September 11th, there was a big surge of interest [in alpacas],” notes Lewis. “People were leaning toward a different set of values, a more old-fashioned way of doing things, where security and quality of life are more important.”

As Lewis points out, alpacas blend in nicely with those new inclinations. “They’re just a pleasure to be around.”

Where to Find Alpacas

Alpaca breeders and owners are very plugged in to 21st century technologies and communication methods.

Finding out more about alpacas on the Internet is fun and easy. Additionally, many sites have search functions that make it simple to find alpaca breeders near you. Alpaca industry insiders often encourage farm visits for those even just considering investing in alpacas.

Most likely because they know any time spent with alpacas is ultimately an addicting experience.

  • Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association (AOBA): www.alpacainfo.com. On AOBA’s official website you can locate breeders, check out the extensive calendar of events, order print and video information on alpacas (and their breeding and care), or just peruse their pages for loads of information on getting started with alpacas.
  • Alpaca Registry Inc. (ARI): www.alpacaregistry.net. This database housing the genealogy, blood typing and ownership records of alpacas in North America contains information regarding membership requirements and benefits. Since its inception in late 1988, the Registry has mandated blood typing as a requisite for registration and accepts only offspring of registered alpacas that qualify by blood typing.
  • Alpaca Nation (www.alpacanation.com) is an independent website where individual alpaca farms can advertise their services and livestock sales. The site is well organized, easy to navigate and a great place to start “virtual” alpaca shopping.
  • ILoveAlpacas.com: www.ilovealpacas.com. You’ve seen the commercials, now enjoy the site. This ad campaign was financed and created by a group of about 100 alpaca breeders. Many of these breeders had valuable marketing and communications experience from their previous professional careers and this combined knowledge is now being applied to their alpaca marketing efforts. The site, while containing some basic introductory information on the alpaca industry, is fundamentally designed to direct potential investors to alpaca farms near them.

This article first appeared in the July/August 2004 issue of Hobby Farms magazine. 

Categories
Animals Homesteading

Bread-based Therapy: Homemade Bread Making

By Cherie Langlois / photos by Jean M. Fogle

This step shows final rising, glazing and slashing of loaf before baking
In the final rising, glazing and slashing stage (shown here), your bread is ready for the oven.
 
In this article
Basic Bread Ingredients
How to Make Bread
Beginner’s Bread Recipe
 
More Recipes
Get a and more bread and baked good recipes. Click to continue>>

In my quest to de-stress from life’s inevitable anxieties, I’ve dabbled in various relaxation techniques, from meditation to yoga. I sniff lavender, try to avoid overdosing on caffeine and stroke my purring cats each day.

I unwind by taking long country walks with my dogs and work out my aggressions by attacking weeds in the garden.

But on sullen winter days, when the garden slumbers under mulch and the rain dampens my motivation to exercise outdoors and only multiple cups of coffee stand between me and hibernation, it’s cozy, creative, repetitive activities that soothe me like nothing else.

Maybe I’ll rug hook as the wood stove casts its flickering glow or knit a scarf while listening to the sweet strains of holiday music.

Or perhaps I’ll warm up the day with one of my favorite wintertime activities: making bread the old-fashioned way, by hand.

For me, nearly every part of this sensuous process serves as a cheap form of relaxation therapy:

  • Mixing the simple ingredients together;
  • Kneading and pummeling the dough until it becomes smooth and pliable;
  • Watching the yeast work magic on a lump of flour and water;
  • Inhaling the heady perfume of baking loaves;
  • and then, at long last, biting into a crusty, light, warm slice of bread—the ultimate, and probably the original, comfort food.

I’m suddenly transported to Paris, savoring fresh bread in a boulangerie without a care in the world.

dry yeast in warm water begins to bubble and froth.
After you sprinkle dry yeast over warm water, leave it for 5 to 10 minutes; you’ll know the yeast cells are alive when the mixture begins to bubble and froth.

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I know. You’re a busy person encumbered with too many responsibilities: a job, a farm, kids, pets, a ringing cell phone and e-mails to answer. You don’t have time to waste baking bread, especially when you can snatch a factory loaf at the store.

Sounds to me like you could use some bread-based therapy, too.

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Basic Bread Ingredients
Our world is full of a staggering and mouth-watering variety of breads, thanks to the Earth’s wonderful diversity of cultures.

  • Mexico flaunts its tortillas and
  • Britain bakes up English muffins;
  • Turkey brought us air-filled pitas and
  • Greece, egg-topped tsoureki.
  • Olive oil-drizzled focaccias from Italy,
  • flaky croissants out of France,
  • tender Indian naan

The list stretches longer than a baguette.

keep stirring untl the mix becomes doughy
After you stir in the flour a half cup at a time, keep stirring untl the mix becomes doughy and pulls aways from the side of the bowl.

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To produce their distinct flavors and textures, the myriad breads of the world incorporate many different ingredients, including butter, honey, raisins and nuts.

However, all breads that use yeast as a leavening or rising agent share a foundation of four, down-to-earth ingredients (check the lengthier list on store-bought, bagged bread and see if you can even identify every component).

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Flour

Flour, created by milling cereal grains (usually wheat) through a succession of grinders, forms the bulk of a bread recipe. In the realm of bread-baking, though, not all grains and flours are created equal.

Wheat, first cultivated some 10,000 years ago in Asia, contains higher concentrations of a protein known as gluten than grains like rye, corn and barley.

Gluten gives dough its elasticity, allowing it to trap gasses released by the yeast and create a light, springy loaf.

To knead, press the heels of your hands into the dough, fold the dough over itself, turn slightly and repeat.
To knead, press the heels of your hands firmly into the dough, push down and away from you, fold the dough over itself, turn slightly and repeat.

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Bread made solely from low-gluten grains won’t rise well, if at all. Gluten content also varies according to wheat type and the area where the wheat grew.

Different wheat flours will affect the nature of your bread, too. Regular, all-purpose, white flour has had most of the nutritious bran and wheat germ removed. It’s been bleached with chlorine gas to give it a bright-white color, while more eco-friendly, unbleached all-purpose flour has a creamier cast and—I think—a better taste.

According to Maggie Glezer’s in-depth bread book, Artisan Baking (Artisan, 2003), all-purpose flours contain about 10.5 percent protein. Bread flours, on the other hand, have around 12.5 percent protein, which translates to a higher gluten content and more elastic bread dough.

Unlike white flour, whole-wheat flour retains all parts of the wheat kernel, including the healthy bran and wheat germ; however, its protein/gluten content can vary.

This light-brown flour imparts a hearty taste and rustic look to bread, but using it as the only flour will make for a stickier dough and denser loaf, so many recipes call for combining it with unbleached white flour.

The dough prepares to rise in an oiled bown, covered with a damp cloth.
Set dough ball into an oiled bowl and cover with a damp towel.

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Finally, if you prefer that your bread come from sustainable sources, look for organic flours milled from wheat grown without conventional synthetic fertilizers, pesticides or genetically modified seeds.

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Salt

While it’s possible to concoct bread without salt, adding a little salt to the flour has several important functions: It enhances flavor, controls the yeast’s action so the dough rises evenly, and helps postpone that inevitable time when the bread turns hard and stale.

Yeast

Yeasts are miniscule, one-celled fungi that live all around and within us: on plant surfaces, on our skin, inside our intestines and in salt water.

Wild yeasts, of which many species and strains exist, also float in the air; in fact, a warm mixture of flour and water left to sit for several hours will begin fermenting, thanks to the floating yeast it snares (this is one way to create
sourdough-type breads).

After the first rising, punch the down down with your first and give a quick kneading.
After the first rising, punch the down down with your first and give a quick kneading.

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Thousands of years ago, humankind may have accidentally discovered yeast’s leavening super-powers in this way.

Introduce yeast into warm water and then to flour, and this living organism immediately starts fermenting the sugars present in the dough (some recipes call for added sugar to “feed” the yeast).

Fermentation produces ethanol along with carbon dioxide gas, and the gases create tiny bubbles that become trapped in the dough’s stretchy gluten, making it expand in size, or rise. Without yeast—or another leavening agent, like baking soda—the resulting bread would turn out as flat as a tortilla.

The fermentation begun by the yeast imparts the loaf with a spongy texture, delicious aroma and real-bread taste. Most home bread bakers use commercially made, regular, dry yeast available from grocery stores in small packets or more economical bulk amounts at health-food markets and warehouse stores, like Costco.

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Water

The addition of water to flour causes the gluten to form, creating a protein network to capture carbon dioxide produced by the yeast.

Voila, a dry mix of flour and salt becomes dough. Any safe drinking water will do.

How to Make Bread
Many people seem to think making bread from scratch is a difficult, complicated affair that requires either hours of hard work or an expensive bread machine to get the job done.

Beginner’s Bread

This easy recipe makes two small, tasty loaves while introducing you to the joys of baking bread. Try it once, and then feel free to experiment with different flours (such as substituting whole wheat for half of the bread flour), herb toppings, and texture- or flavor-improving additives like honey and milk.
Yield: 2 loaves

Ingredients

  • 1 1⁄2 cups warm water
  • 3 tsp. dry yeast
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • About 3 to 4 cups unbleached bread flour
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp. water

Preparation
Pour the warm water into a large mixing bowl and sprinkle with yeast. Set aside to proof for 5 to 10 minutes.

Whisk the yeast/water mixture and add salt. Stir in the first two cups of bread flour 1/2 cup at a time.

Continue adding flour until a dough forms and it becomes too difficult to stir.

Place dough on a lightly floured cutting board and knead in more flour until it loses its stickiness. Knead for about 10 minutes until smooth and elastic.

Place dough in an oiled bowl and turn to coat, cover with a damp towel, and let rise in a warm, draft-free area for about one hour or until doubled in size.

Punch down the dough, knead for several minutes, divide and shape into logs to fit two oiled or buttered rectangular bread pans (9” x 5” x 3”).

Cover with a damp towel and let rise for another 30 minutes or until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and water. Brush just the top of the loaf with glaze.

Place pans on the center rack of heated oven and bake for approximately 30 minutes, until the crust looks golden and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Remove loaves from pan and set on wire rack to cool. Bon appetit!

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Not so. If the pioneers with their bare-bones kitchen utensils, wood stoves and dawn-to-dusk work schedules could make bread, so can you. Just follow these basic steps.

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Mix the Ingredients

Many recipes, including our Beginner’s Bread recipe, call for sprinkling dry yeast over warm water (about 110 to 115 degrees F) and leaving it for five or 10 minutes to ensure it’s still active, a process known as “proofing.”

You’ll know the yeast cells are still alive and kicking when the mixture begins to bubble and froth.

If it doesn’t, the yeast may be past its expiration date—in a word, dead.

You’ll also find recipes that instruct cooks to add yeast directly to the dry ingredients, then mix in water of a slightly warmer temperature (around 120 to 130 degrees F).

Still others use the “sponge” method which involves mixing up a batter of water, yeast and flour first. Whatever technique you use, be careful not to kill your yeast by overheating it. 

After the yeast proofs, whisk the mixture and add the salt. Then stir in the flour about 1/2 cup at a time until the mixture becomes doughy and pulls away from the side of the bowl, becoming too difficult to stir.

Knead the Dough

Next to devouring bread fresh from the oven, kneading dough is the part of bread-baking I enjoy the most.

For some years, I used a standing mixer for kneading, and for people with arthritis, carpal tunnel or other issues making it difficult to knead dough, this makes a great tool.

Then along came my daughter, and the search for entertaining activities we could share together began. Not only did I have as much fun playing with dough as she did, but I loved the soothing motions, the quiet and the workout it gave my hands and arms. I never went back to my mixer.

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Bread dough needs plenty of kneading to stretch and warm the gluten.

Again, stretchy gluten strands help capture carbon dioxide produced by fermentation, making the dough rise and yielding an airy loaf with a moist, sponge-like crumb. Too little kneading can result in a flat, dense, chewy bread loaf.

To begin:

  • Deposit the dough onto a lightly floured bread board or another clean surface
  • Knead in more flour until the dough loses its sticky feel
  • Press the heels of your hands firmly into the dough (don’t be wimpy!)
  • Push it down and away from you
  • Fold the dough over on itself, turn it slightly and repeat

I like to give the dough a punch once and awhile for good measure. Keep kneading until the dough feels smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes (or as specified in the recipe).

Let It Rise

Set your fragrant dough ball into an oiled bowl and cover with a damp towel to keep a dry crust from forming on top.

Find a draft-free spot to place the bowl so the yeast can make the dough rise. A temperature of 75 to 85 degrees F works well for most breads; cooler temperatures won’t hurt the yeast, but will slow the rising process.

During winter, I turn the oven onto its lowest setting for about 15 minutes, switch it off and put the dough inside to rise with the door ajar (remember not to prematurely cook your yeast!).

Depending on room temperature, the rising time will run one to two hours, leaving you free to do other chores.

Allow the rising dough to double in size, but no more—letting it balloon out of control can cause the poor yeast to suffocate.

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Punch and Shape

After the first rising, punch the dough down with your fist and give it a quick kneading to redistribute gasses formed during fermentation.

Now the dough is ready to shape.

Visit a European bakery or pour over a beautifully photographed book like Bread: The Breads of the World and How to Bake Them at Home by Christine Ingram and Jennie Shapter (Hermes House, 2003), and you’ll encounter a delightful variety of bread shapes, from simple round boules to braided challahs.

For starters, try fashioning an easy rectangular loaf by molding or rolling your dough into a log-like shape to fit the size of your pan. Place the dough in the greased pan with any seams on the bottom.

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Rise Again, Glaze and Slash

Cover your loaves with a moist towel and allow the dough to rise again for 30 minutes to an hour until no more than doubled in bulk. Before you bake, bread recipes often suggest brushing on a glaze of some kind, such as egg white, yolk or milk, to give the loaf a shiny, golden crust and seal in moisture.

Slashing or cutting the loaf with a sharp knife lends a rustic touch and also helps the bread retain its shape during baking.

Bake, Cool and Eat!

Preheat your oven to the recommended temperature and when it’s hot and ready, carefully slip your pans onto a center rack.

Start out cooking your loaves for the amount of time suggested by the recipe, but keep in mind these times may vary.

Spritzing some water inside the oven once or twice while the bread cooks can help mimic the steamier conditions found in professional bakers’ ovens.

To test for doneness in the time-honored manner, remove the loaf from its pan with oven mitts and tap the bottom with your finger. If the loaf sounds hollow, it’s done. Remove your bread to a rack to cool, but don’t forget to sample a slice while it’s still warm (not a problem for my family!).

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Bread-making is a skill that anyone can learn, but it does take practice and patience.

Resist feeling too disappointed if, after following a specific recipe to the letter, your bread looks different from the perfect loaf pictured in the cookbook.

Baking bread is an imprecise science, with many variables affecting the outcome and plenty of room for error. For example, while baking today, my daughter and I accidentally dripped egg glaze between the dough and pan; as it cooked, the glaze glued the bread to the pan.

While we managed to pry one loaf out intact, the other stuck fast and came out minus the bottom crust. But you know what? It still tasted divine.

So put on your favorite music, relax into the moment and savor every part of the bread-making experience—even your mistakes. They’ll teach you to be a better baker and, best of all, they’re edible.

About the Author Cherie Langlois is a hobby farmer and freelance writer whose bread-baking habit helps her
survive winter in western Washington. She wishes to thank daughter Kelsey and French exchange student Clemence for their expert assistance in testing—and eating—the bread recipes.

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Categories
Beginning Farmers

Country Matters, Classic Zucchini and Making Wild Wines …

Country Matters
Of all the country-living yarns I’ve read, Michael Korda’s memoir, Country Matters, was certainly the easiest to read and the most enjoyable. Korda, editor-in-chief of Simon and Schuster and bestselling author, along with his wife, Margaret, take leave from their New York City apartment when they purchase a farmhouse in Dutchess County, N.Y.

Country Matters details the couple’s transformation from city slickers to full-time hobby farmers, as each chapter unfolds a different aspect of this progression. From “Murphy’s Law”-type home fiascos to property-use disputes to Great Gatsby-esque visitors from the City to their acquisition of pigs (the key to country acceptance in his opinion), Korda goes about the business of telling it like it was. I found myself smiling at passages that uncovered some kind of country fluke like when repairmen would show up to do a job, but never return. “You always knew that whenever a workman stood up, stretched his back, and said he’d have to go down to the hardware store for a left-handed clevis, that was it for the day.”

However, despite all of the headaches, the Kordas’ love for their new life ultimately shines through in the pages. Margaret is able to cultivate her equestrian eventing career by moving her horse to their 20-acre property (and occasionally hosting events there), and Michael is able to work his literary career from the relative serenity of the country. Since this is a memoir, not a novel, I felt more connected to its words and they filled me with a great sense of satisfaction… There they were, the big-city couple, living the “charmed” rural life happily. Yes!

For an honest-to-God true assessment of a city-to-country transformation, don’t miss Country Matters. It will entertain as well as inform, and I promise, be very hard to put down!
—KKA 

The Classic Zucchini Cookbook
Zucchini is bountiful this time of year—whether it’s the local fresh market or the generous offerings from friendly neighbors. From green varieties so dark as to be near black, to lighter shades and those of yellow, with and without stripes or speckled, during the warm months, farmers and gardeners are knee-deep in zucchini, as well as other summer squashes.

But what to do with this “dull” vegetable that doesn’t pack much of a taste punch? Well there’s much ado about squash, including zucchini, if you’re willing to get a little creative in the kitchen using The Classic Zucchini Cookbook by Andrea Chesman as your guide.

Squash never tasted so good. The Classic Zucchini Cookbook provides 225 recipes for “all kinds of squash.” The book, first published in 1977 as Garden Way’s Zucchini Cookbookby Nancy C. Ralston and Marynor Jordan, proves that you can never have too much of a good thing. Whether it’s a recipe for Creamy Yellow Summer Squash Soup or Zucchini Chocolate Crinkle cookies, squash doesn’t disappoint. The Classic Zucchini Cookbook has got you covered from chayote to zucchini in the summer and acorn to turban in the winter, and every variety in between.
In addition to recipes, The Classic Zucchini Cookbook offers lots of squash tips and facts. For instance, it turns out that zucchini is often incorrectly prepared which has lead to the misnomer that it is a tasteless, albeit nutritious, vegetable. The authors suggest combining sliced zucchini with coarse salt for approximately 30 minutes (one tablespoon of salt per two medium-sized zucchini). Then prior to cooking, drain the zucchini, wrap in a clean dishtowel and wring as tightly as you can. According to Molly Stevens, food writer and culinary instructor, “It’s amazing what this does for zucchini.” Other fun and useful information from the book includes a primer to squash varieties, different cooking methods, freezing, pickling and preserving, as well as growing and harvesting.

Like squash, The Classic Zucchini Cookbook is best when shared with others. It’s the type of book that friends and family will enjoy pouring through together. The recipes are surprisingly tasty and fun, too good to keep to one’s self. Chesman succinctly makes the point, “It is my hope that armed with this cookbook, you will have as much fun in the kitchen as I have had, and that your friendships are always enriched and never strained by an abundance of zucchini…”
—TM

Making Wild Wines & Meads
About 10 years ago a friend gave me a bottle of homemade coffee liqueur as a Christmas present. The bottle was pretty with its unusual ornamentation, adorning holiday ribbon and dark, syrupy contents. To this day, that bottle sits on a shelf next to some of my favorite books. Whenever I see it, I am reminded of Andrea and her thoughtfulness.

That bottle of coffee liqueur also makes me think about the process of making and enjoying homemade spirits. For me it conjures up a candle-lit Old World ambiance: handed-down secret recipes, dark cellars with heavy smells of oak and fermenting potions, celebratory toasts before big feasts, dancing and singing.

After reading Making Wild Wines & Meads, 125 Unusual Recipes Using Herbs, Fruits, Flowers & More, by mother-and-son-team Pattie Vargas and Rich Gulling, fortunately I’m still in that dark, pungent cellar, waiting for the celebration to begin. The book stirs my imagination and persuades me to try my hand at a craft that has endured for thousands of years.

What I especially liked about Making Wild Wines & Meads is that it’s not just another winemaking how-to. While there is excellent step-by-step instruction, the book emphasizes “unusual recipes using herbs, fruits, flowers & more.” Marigold, dandelion and blueberry wines, or clove metheglin and cherry melomel are just a few of the delights. No matter what you might be growing in your garden, Making Wild Wines & Meads has a recipe to suit your crops.

Think it takes a big investment to get started in winemaking? On the contrary, the basic equipment doesn’t go much beyond a soup kettle and an earthenware crock according to the authors. Simplicity is what readers of Making Wild Wines & Meads get. The book breaks down the mystery of winemaking with chapters dedicated to the type of wine or mead you are interested in: fruit, herb, flower, nut or vegetable (ever tried carrot wine?). A chapter on wine coolers and punches is also provided featuring recipes that can be adapted (using a little creativity and store-bought alcohol) by non-winemakers as well. Making Wild Wines & Meads also has a resources chapter and a glossary of winemaking terms for the uninitiated (a mead is a honey-based wine; a metheglin is a wine based on honey and herbs or spices; a melomel wine has a honey and fruit base).
  
Making Wild Wines & Meads is a fun introduction to home winemaking. Whether you’re thinking of bottling for your own use or for gifts, the resulting elixirs are sure to arouse spirits. This book is a keeper.
—TM

Making Wild Wines & Meads, 125 Unusual Recipes Using Herbs, Fruits, Flowers & More, by Pattie Vargas and Rich Gulling (Storey Books, 210 MASS MoCa Way, North Adams, Mass., 01247), 1999, 169 pages, softcover, $16.95.

Categories
Animals

Goat Cookies

Want to make some treats for your goats? Try this recipe. Remember to give all treats in moderation.

Ingredients
1 cup uncooked oatmeal
2 cups raisin bran (crunched up works best)
1 cup raw wheat germ
4 large shredded carrots
1 cup molasses
½ cup applesauce

Preparation
Combine molasses and applesauce in a bowl.
Combine all other dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
Gradually add the molasses and applesauce mixture to the dry ingredients to obtain a thick dough. (If more dry ingredients are needed, add a little more raisin bran and/or wheat germ to the mixture.)
Shape into desired-sized balls and place onto a greased baking sheet.
Bake at 300 degrees until dried out and done (about 30 minutes). Can burn easily.

Categories
Homesteading

Savor Summer Abundance in the Country

By Lisa Kivirist

Bright Summer Balloons

  © John Ivanko

Zucchini pile-up on the kitchen counter. Tomato tie-up. Barn chore back-up. Gapers block due to fireflies darting through the night sky.

Despite the fact that I moved to the country to escape the craziness of urban traffic congestion, I quickly realized I gained a rural form of rush hour: summer.

But summer on the farm involves no smog, stalled vehicles or road rage.

A season of beauty and abundance, summer magnifies all the fundamental joys of country living all at once: garden-fresh food; postcard-perfect scenery; a rainbow of flowers in bloom and an outdoor-living mindset that begs for spontaneous picnics.

On the other side of the Popsicle stick, summer ushers in the busiest farm season. Since we moved to our farm in Wisconsin, I start energetically lusting for summer early in the spring, holding back the temptation to transplant seedlings before our mid-May frost date.

Flash to the end of the summer and I’m craving the first frost and hibernating around the woodstove.

Summer Pie and Pink Flowers
© Bonnie Nance

Like a torrid love affair, my relationship with summer goes through predictable cycles: We crave each other, passionately adore each other, then mutually burn out in the end, part ways and retreat to solitude.

The key to fully savoring summer on the farm is keeping balanced—working hard while having a satisfying dose of fun.

By the time autumn rolls around, you want to feel a bit tired, yet fulfilled—gratified with both the produce and the memories harvested along the way.

Tap into summer’s potential by exploring themes of the season.

Prioritize & Focus
More than any other time of year, the average summer day offers a buffet of options and possibilities. Mow, weed, harvest, repair, process. Summer’s to-do list never ends.

The key to finding balance between summer sanity and lunacy is accepting exactly that: You’ll never be “done.”
 
Try to focus on identifying and prioritizing the most imperative tasks for that day. Postpone nonessential projects till the fall or next spring.

Weather plays an important role in summer prioritizing. Thanks to the Internet, we can assess a quick snapshot of the weather for the week to help prioritize our days.

Get the harvest in before the heat wave starts at the end of this week. Run into town for errands when the mercury peaks. Why burn up in the heat when we can wait a few days for a break in the weather to get farm chores done? Hang out laundry on Friday after the storms roll out and weed after the pounding rains soften the soil, making it less of a chore.

For many hobby farms, most income comes in during the summer, so our livelihood is automatically prioritized. The world won’t stop if the lawn grows a bit hairy, but if you don’t have fresh produce harvested for your roadside stand, no income will come in.

To-Dos for Summer
Take advantage of summer’s bounty:

Eat Fresh Our zealousness for processing often overshadows the fact that summer remains the time to eat fresh. Harvest salad greens every morning for daily salads (not in the afternoon when they’re wilted from the heat). Don’t start canning strawberry jam until you’ve completely gorged on fresh berries.

Take Everyday Photos We often forget to document the everyday beauties of this farm season. We started an album devoted to farm photos, capturing summer abundance with shots of the kitchen counter buried with fresh produce or a magical, misty summer sunrise.

Dress Up for Town With summer’s workload, grubby old clothes reign wardrobe supreme. Take a needed break from muddy grunge and make a habit of taking a shower and donning a bright sundress and straw hat for trips to town. Even if you’re just dropping off library books, you’ll feel like you’re going to a party.

Share Zucchini Bread Summer abundance begs to be shared, particularly with senior neighbors who may no longer be physically able to garden. Given that most seniors typically live alone and don’t cook big portions, our neighbors love small samples from our many mega-batches of zucchini bread, tomato sauce and stir-frys.

Rekindle Childhood We all have a favorite summer childhood memory, most likely linked to the outdoors. Tap into your memories this summer and hang a swing from your favorite tree, keep the freezer stocked with bomb pops and rekindle your inner Picasso with a fresh box of sidewalk chalk. 

Take Bodily Care Summer takes its toll on our bodies, so give tender care when possible. I’ve found light, long-sleeved, cotton shirts and long, loose pants—scavenged from our local Goodwill shop—make the best outdoor work attire. I don’t have to worry about sunscreen all over my body and it’s easier to shower at night without mud caked on my knees.

Fix a Signature Drink Celebrate summer with your “official” summer farm drink, something you savor in the shade after chores are done.

Rhubarb is abundant in the Midwest and is the inspiration for our “Rhubarb Fizz,” a church punch bowl recipe adaptation designed for one-glass servings without all the high-fructose corn syrup common in soda pop. The rhubarb-sugar-pineapple juice syrup will keep for several weeks in the refrigerator.

Ingredients

  • 12 c. chopped fresh or frozen rhubarb
  • 2 c. water
  • 3 c. sugar, unrefined like turbinado
  • 1 c. pineapple juice
  • 2 liters unflavored seltzer water

Directions
In a crockpot or large saucepan, cook rhubarb and water over low heat for approximately two hours or until rhubarb is a soft pulp.

Drain pulp and place warm liquid in large bowl. Stir in sugar until completely dissolved. Add pineapple juice. Chill.

For each individual serving, add ice to glass and fill serving glass half full with rhubarb syrup. Top with seltzer water and stir.

Experiment with how sweet you like your drink, adding syrup or seltzer water accordingly. Serves 4 to 5.

We run a B&B on our farm, with the majority of that income generated during summer. This means we keep the house tidy and ready for the next round of guests at the expense of weeding time in the garden.

Breaking down jobs into bite-sized, more manageable pieces helps tremendously. I learned this the hard way with canning salsa.

Our family harvested tomatoes in the morning and had them cooked up by the afternoon, but then ended up staying up past midnight to get everything canned as we still had our other farm chores.

The next morning I woke up to a dirty disaster of a kitchen, deflating my zest for food preservation.

Next round, we improved. The first day we harvested, cleaned and cut the tomatoes, chopped the onions, peeled the garlic, and gathered the canning jars and gear. The following day we sterilized the jars, and cooked and canned the salsa. A simple change, but it made all the difference in energy level and attitude.

In the middle of the necessary to-dos, try to prioritize a dash of newness. What was that one thing at the end of last summer you wished you would have done? Focus on that one thing.

My new thing this season is to harvest and preserve fresh grape leaves so I can learn to make dolmathes—traditional Greek stuffed grape leaves. For the last few years I’ve talked about it, but by the time I catch up with weeding and processing, the first autumn leaves have begun to fall and the grape leaves are too tough to process.

Weed
Weeding is like exercising on the treadmill: It’s not your favorite thing to do, but it’s the price you pay for a good-looking butt—or butternut squash. When it comes to weeding, the key is to minimize labor while maximizing results.

The first step for me was to cancel my magazine subscriptions with picture-perfect country gardens and embrace the “good enough” mantra: I will never pull the last weed in the garden and be “done.”

The strategy then shifts to efficient weed control and our resulting passion for mulch. We recycle a variety of biodegradable materials, such as cardboard flats, to put around established plants. We also purchase straw bales from a nearby farmer to use as mulch. Mulch not only keeps down weeds, it helps retain moisture in the soil, which means less time needed for watering.

Invest in the right tools for easy weeding. We’re loyal to our stirrup hoe, which gently cuts weeds (way before they go to seed) at the soil line, leaving the greens to break down to compost. I can stirrup hoe a vegetable bed in minutes, which took some getting used to because I felt guilty for not kneeling down and pulling weeds by hand. My return for the time invested was much greater.

Strip
Yes, strip refers to paring down clothes due to summer heat. But as you slip bare feet into flip-flops, think more broadly of ways summer impels us to concentrate on the bare necessities. When life overflows with a never-ending farm-chore list merged with a buzzing social calendar filled with picnics and community events, we need to strip down days to our essentials, shaking off gratuitous activities in favor of what we really want to do.

Summer garden bounty recipes exemplify stripping down to core essentials. When I gathered my recipes together for our B&B and farm cookbook, I needed to write a qualifier in the opening paragraph of the vegetable side dish chapter.

I realized most of the ingredient lists for the recipes were atypically short: asparagus, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt. I didn’t want readers to think ingredients were accidentally omitted, so I explained how summer garden dishes warranted no extra cheese sauce or anything other than a few flavor enhancers.

Consider a summer without, or with limited, air conditioning. While some of you may be gasping in horror, remember it was only a short generation ago that all farms were “naturally cooled.”

We open our windows at night to let in the cool air, then close them and draw the shades around mid-morning, when the mercury starts to rise.
 
If needed, we put a large fan at the bottom of the basement steps to blow cool air upstairs. We have a ceiling fan above our bed and a small window air conditioner unit in our home office where there’s limited air flow. This hybrid model works well since our house stays surprisingly cool. And not going from extreme outdoor to indoor temperatures—like walking from the parking lot into the mall—keeps our body temperatures more consistent and comfortable.

Stock up on cool drinks and remember that the more time you spend outside, the better your body can adjust to the heat.

Go Local
Summer provides a roster of ways to experience and celebrate your local scene. This summer, try going to an area event that isn’t typically on your radar, like the county fair tractor pull or the local pool, even if your kids have long since fled.

Prioritize going to your community’s key summer event. For us, it’s our town’s hot-air balloon rally in mid-June, an afternoon when we take a break from weeding and gaze at the vibrant display of color floating across the sky.
 
Given the busyness of summer schedules, I’ll double-up and tie errands with an event in town, bringing a picnic and staying for the town’s evening concert after shopping.

Local food opportunities abound this time of year. Despite the fact that we raise all our own garden produce, I’m always tempted by a farmers’ market.

A celebration of seasonal abundance, I surprise myself with what I find there that I can use, but that we don’t grow. From honey to black walnuts to fish from local farms, forage off the beaten path of the supermarket aisle and you’ll find ample occasions to both eat fresher and support your local economy.

Celebrate Farm Life
Parties and summer go hand-in-hand, be it a large bash or an intimate gathering under the stars.

Create simple social rituals to bring people together to relish the beauty of the farm during this season. Informal potlucks reign at our place, never with a planned menu of who is bringing what (and if you don’t have time to make something, come anyway as there is always enough food), yet we always feast fantastically with minimal effort and stress on our part.

Think beyond the classic Fourth of July for a reason to gather. Celebrate the Summer Solstice (June 21), French independence on Bastille Day (July 14) or let the garden stimulate a theme. Our fellow Wisconsin farming friends at Vermont Valley Community Farm host an annual “Pesto Fest” that is legendary among their CSA (community supported agriculture) subscribers, during which folks both harvest and whip up on-site (thanks to rows of borrowed food processors) their own pesto variations. Sharing and sampling, of course, is encouraged!

Identify a spot on your farm as your signature summer gathering spot. A campfire pit readily jumps to mind, but perhaps one of your outbuildings may inspire a social spot?

We have a covered shed that once housed tractors or farm equipment. The four walls are long gone, but the concrete floor, foundation beams and metal roof are functional. We cleaned it out, strung old holiday lights around the rafters and created our “Cantina,” a favorite seasonal nighttime gathering spot, particularly during a rainstorm.

Live it. Love it. Leave it. Before you know it, you’ll be harvesting pumpkins for autumn soup batches. Relish summer while it’s here and croon along with Sandy and Danny from “Grease” as you crunch those pea pods off the vine: “Summer lovin’, had me a blast. Summer lovin’, happened so fast.”

This article first appeared in the Summer 2007 issue of Hobby Farm Home magazine.

About the Author
Lisa Kivirist is the co-author of Edible Earth: Savoring the Good Life with Vegetarian Recipes from Inn Serendipity and Rural Renaissance. She runs the award-winning Inn Serendipity with her family in Browntown, Wis.

Categories
Animals

Tuna Cat Treat

To most cats, tuna is almost as attractive as catnip. Try making this delicious tuna cat treat recipe for your cat!

Ingredients

  • 1 3-ounce can albacore tuna in water or oil, undrained
  • 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 cup nonfat dry milk
  • 1 T. vegetable oil
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/4 cup water

Preparation
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, use a fork to shred the tuna into small pieces. Add the remaning ingredients, mixing well.  The dough will be sticky. Flour or oil your hands so you can handle the dough and form the dough into small, marble-sized balls. Place the balls on a greased cookie sheet, and use your fingers to gently flatten them. Bake for about 10 minutes or until the bottoms of the treats are golden brown. Flip the treats and bake for another five to 10 minutes or until both sides of the treats are golden brown. Remove from the oven, let cool thoroughly, and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Makes 55 to 65 marble-sized treats.

Categories
Animals

Angora Goats Are A Good Choice For Hobby Farmers

Angora goats are raised for their long soft fiber.
Bev Currie/Flickr

Soon after birth, however, these living stuffed toys become luxury fiber-producing machines, yielding 20 to 25 percent of their body weight each year in soft, durable mohair.

This high level of production makes Angora goats the most efficient fiber-producing animal in the world and an intriguing option for today’s hobby farmer.

“Angoras fit perfectly into our lives,” says Sue Ann Nissen, a 20-year veteran of raising Angora goats in Marshall, N.C. “They are fairly gentle and their size and temperament allow women and children to work easily with them.” Nissen cites personality, straightforward maintenance and diversified income sources as compelling reasons for hobby farmers to take a second look at these fuzzy, captivating creatures.

History of Angora Goats

“I was drawn to these creatures through a desire to utilize their wonderful fiber,” says Diane Coon, an Angora goat breeder in Hamilton, Mont. “Spinning goats’ hair is an ancient art even mentioned in the Bible.”

Angora Goats originated in Asia Minor and early references in Sumerian cuneiform tablets and the Bible date the origin of the breed to somewhere between the 12th and 15th centuries B.C. In time, the breed became well established near Ankara, Turkey, from which the name “Angora” is derived.

The word “Mohair” is derived from the Arabic “mukhaya” which means “to choose or prefer.” In the 15th and 16th centuries, mohair fabrics began to reach markets in Europe. Demand soon outstripped supply and the Sultan of Turkey placed an embargo on the export of raw mohair.

In 1838, the first successful importation of purebred Angora goats established the breed in South Africa. Eleven years later, in 1849, the first Angora goats were imported into the United States, having been received by Dr. James B. Davis of South Carolina as a thank-you gift from the Sultan of Turkey for his assistance in experimental cotton production in that country.

Today, South Africa and the United States remain the two largest mohair producers, with smaller populations of goats being found in Turkey, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and Great Britain.

Dying Angora Goat Fiber

The main product of Angora goats is their mohair fiber (not to be confused with Angora fiber, which is produced from rabbits).

An Angora goat’s fleece grows at a rate of one inch per month and they are shorn twice per year, typically in the spring and fall. Each goat yields an average of five to 10 pounds of mohair at each shearing.

The fiber from the youngest goats is the finest and most valuable because an Angora’s fleece continually coarsens with age.

“Mohair has strength and durability unmatched by wool, and as a dyer and fiber artist, the beauty of the dyed yarn is second only to silk,” says yarn designer Sherry Brooks.

Brooks, and her husband Randall, manage a flock of 100 colored Angoras on their farm in Lancaster, Texas. Fiber from their goats, along with purchased white kid mohair, makes the basis of their upscale hand-dyed yarn line, which is marketed at fiber festivals across the country. “Mohair’s affinity for dye produces colors with clarity and luster that makes it unique when used alone or blended with other fiber,” she says. This luster and brilliance gives mohair its common moniker as “The Diamond Fiber.”

In addition to its ability to be dyed a vibrant array of colors, mohair is strong and durable with a tensile strength for its fiber diameter that rivals steel.

Yet mohair garments pack in less space than similar wool garments. Elasticity of the fibers helps garments made of mohair resist wrinkling. Essentially non-flammable, mohair is also a popular choice for upholstery fabrics.

For the hobby farmer, a little ingenuity with the fiber can yield sound profits to the farm’s bottom line.

“The more you put into the fiber, the more you will profit,” says Coon.

“Think of it this way … if you sell one pound of mohair to the commercial market, you may receive $3 for that pound; if you wash it and card it for spinners, you can bump that up to $40 a pound. If you spin that carded fiber into yarn, you can sell that pound for anywhere from $80 to $150 dollars; or, if you take that yarn and knit a sweater or shawl, you can bump that pound up to $300 to $500.”

Coon markets all of her fiber as spinning fiber or as finished garments.

Angora Goats Have Many Colors

Angora goats can be raised in a variety of colors.
Christine McIntosh/Flickr

To satisfy the requirements of the textile industry for a fiber that will take dye in a uniform manner, Angora goats in the United States have traditionally been selected for a pure white fleece.

Mohair buyers at the large Texas wool warehouses that handle this country’s commercial mohair clip will not accept colored hair, but this has not deterred the hobby-farm-driven development of colored varieties.

At different points in history Angoras have been crossed to domestic goats of various colors to increase the population of mohair-producing goats. Thanks to this mixed background from hundreds of years ago, occasionally a colored “throwback” will pop up in otherwise all white purebred flocks. Breeder interest in these colored animals has led to the cultivation of colored Angora goats in a wide variety of shades.

From black to brown to red, the fiber from these colorful goats satisfies a niche market demand for naturally colored fibers that do not require dyes. This niche demand helps breeders command premium prices for both breeding stock ($300 to $600 per head) and fiber ($10 to $24/lb.) and compete favorably with other niche livestock options, like alpacas.

While Coon has both white and colored Angoras, the colored animals hold special appeal for her. “They are tremendous animals that exhibit wonderful variety,” she explains.

Proper Feeding Helps Mohair Growth

Angoras have a high nutritional requirement due to their rapid mohair growth. Without proper nutrition Angoras are robbed of the fuel required to produce mohair. “A well-balanced diet suited to your area and fresh, clean water is essential to their well being,” says Coon.

Roughage is important for proper health and rumen function, so good quality pasture or hay is the foundation of any solid Angora feeding program. Goats are good foragers and eat a wide variety of weeds, woody plants, shrubs, briars and grasses. Because of their penchant for eating brush and weeds, they are excellent at reclaiming land that may be too weedy or brushy for other livestock species to utilize.

During growth, breeding and kidding, grain is supplemented to meet the energy and protein requirements that the goats are unable to meet with available forages. An Angora goat’s protein requirements vary between 12 to 16 percent dry matter of the complete ration, depending on the goat’s stage of production. A free-choice mineral mixture formulated for goats (which may include selenium if your area is deficient, and salt), and fresh, clean water should be provided at all times.

Shearing Angora Goats

Spring and fall shearings are the most important times of year for Angora goat breeders, as a large percentage of farm income comes from the sale of properly prepared and shorn mohair.

Hay or bits of chaff in the mohair can downgrade the value of a fleece or make it unsaleable, especially to discriminating fiber artists. “Feeders built with a plywood manger, only open at the bottom for the last six inches, with a nice tray below works well for the goats. Having the manger made of mostly plywood keeps hay from falling onto the backs and necks of the animals during feeding which keeps the fleece clean,” advises Coon.

The shearing process is straightforward, although it does take a strong back. Breeders with just a few animals can use scissors or non-electric hand shears if a shearer is not willing to come to the farm for just a few animals. For larger flocks, a good shearer frees up the flock owner to concentrate on preparing the shorn fleeces and doing the legwork to stay organized on shearing day. Ambitious breeders who want to shear their own animals can invest in electric sheep shears and modify them for mohair shearing with a 20-tooth goat comb.

Preventing fleece damage from external parasites is also an important part of management between shearings. “It is essential to keep the goats dewormed and free from external parasites. Lice can be a real enemy to these animals,” advises Coon.

Goats are usually deloused with a pour-on product (such as Permethrin or Pyrethrin) a few weeks after shearing to prevent lice and ticks. Shearing is also a good time to give the flock their annual shots for overeating (enterotoxemia) and tetanus, and to take the opportunity to trim feet. Most breeders trim feet three to four times a year and deworm on a similar schedule, depending on climate and pasture-rotation practices.

Adequate shelter after shearing is key. In the four to six weeks following shearing, Angoras are susceptible to becoming chilled if subjected to a cold rain. With shelter, however, shearing even in the most frigid weather is a matter of routine and presents few problems.

How to Prepare for Shearing

  • Keep goats dry for 24 hours prior to shearing.
  • Shear youngest goats first and oldest goats last to prevent coarser fiber from becoming mixed with finer, higher-value hair.
  • Keep the shearing area clean. A plywood platform works well, especially if swept between age or color groups.
  • Communicate with your shearer. Let him know that you don’t mind a slower pace as long as the animals are treated gently and there is a minimum of second cuts (short cuts that downgrade the value of the fleece).
  • Remove stained or soiled hair from the clip before
    storing the fleece.

Breeding Angora Goats

Angoras breed seasonally, usually from August through January. Does are induced into estrus by the presence of a buck and cycle every 19 to 21 days until pregnant. Artificial insemination in Angoras is not common, so most breeding is done by a live buck that runs with the doe herd for the two or three months of breeding season.

Recommended pre-breeding management of the doe flock includes shearing, delousing and increasing the plane of nutrition several weeks in advance of breeding. Supplementing the diet with additional feed in the weeks preceding breeding, a process called flushing, encourages multiple births. In some herds, twin births are very common, in other flocks, single births will predominate. The two largest factors influencing multiple births in Angora goats are pre-breeding nutrition and body size. Larger, stouter nannies that have been flushed prior to breeding are more likely to have twin births than those that are smaller bodied or that have not been flushed prior to breeding.

“Your does can live to be 16 and still be productive at 12, 13 and even 14 years old,” says Coon. “That is why good conformation is such an essential trait along with beautiful fiber.” Generally, nannies need to weigh 60 pounds to breed, which means most females are bred as yearlings and kid for the first time as 2-year-old goats.

Kidding Issues with Angoras

“Angoras have few breeding or kidding problems,” says registered white Angora goat breeder Sue Ann Nissen.

Newborn kids are delicate, however, especially in cold weather and can chill easily in temperatures below 40 degrees F if they do not nurse quickly after birth. Breeders who show early in the year and those in milder climates generally kid in the early winter months (January through March). Many hobby breeders prefer to forgo harsh winter weather for a later kidding. “April kidding has worked well, giving us healthy robust kids,” says Nissen, who compensates for her late spring kidding by showing her goats later in the year.

Angoras are raised by their dams and weaned at three to four months of age. Providing a creep area where the kids can eat without competition from adults helps to increase the kids’ rate of growth and most breeders include a coccidiostat in the kid ration to prevent coccidiosis (a parasite common to goats).

After weaning and shearing breeders begin evaluating the kid crop, a process that usually continues through until the spring of the goat’s yearling year. If kids do not show breeding or show-stock potential, breeders can market these animals for meat or keep them for fiber production.

Showing Angoras

Angoras are show-ring naturals, being friendly, reasonable in size and requiring very little show preparation. Unlike sheep, you do not wash or trim an Angora’s hair before entering the show-ring (a process called fitting). In fact, trimming hair, washing the goat or adding products to the mohair can get you quickly disqualified at most shows.

This easy show preparation makes the breed a popular choice at specialty fiber festivals around the country and at county and state fairs in Angora-populous regions. These same traits also make them a popular 4-H project. “They’re more like pets when they are handled,” says Roy Sanders, a breeder and president of the Texas Angora Goat Raiser’s Association, from Harper, Texas. “Children like playing with them because they are so soft and cute,” he says. That, coupled with several significant scholarship programs in his area, make them a popular youth option.

The breed’s natural affinity for the show-ring also provides an excellent marketing avenue for breeders. The demand for show goats is strong says Sanders.  “Show quality goats are where the profit is for selling breeding stock.”

Starting Your Own Angora Flock

Nissen advises beginners interested in Angoras to find the right breeder and ask lots of questions. “From that person you will get all the help you need. Share your ideas and information with that person. The amount of land you have will be important, your personal schedules, fencing requirements, housing for the goats, et cetera. Your own situation and goals will establish how you start with Angoras,” she says.

Sanders concurs, and emphasizes the importance of quality over quantity when starting a flock. “Get some high-quality goats to start with, maybe two or three does and a really good buck. It may not be the quantity you wanted, but spend the same money on better quality so that when you get your numbers up you can use what you have and avoid heavy culling to improve.”

Ease of day-to-day management, strong demand and creative marketing options make Angoras a popular and potentially lucrative hobby-farming option. However, most small farmers like Nissen are simply drawn to them out of a deep appreciation of the striking elegance of the breed as a whole. “There are few other sights as beautiful as seeing a small flock of Angoras out in the meadow,” she says.

This article first appeared in the August/September 2003 issue of Hobby Farms magazine.

Categories
Animals

Boarding Horses on Your Hobby Farm

Horse in stable
iStock/Thinkstock

Got extra stalls? Consider boarding horses as a small business and help earn some extra income.While big-biz horse boarding establishments are usually located on the fringe of metro areas where a strong customer base is assured, horse-savvy entrepreneurs can operate a profitable boarding businesses anywhere in the country when they think small, think quality, and, maybe, think specialize.

According to the 2002 USDA Census of Agriculture, on Jan. 1, 2003, there were 5.2 million equines in the United States. A 1996 study commissioned by the American Horse Council sets the figure at 6.9 million.

The race industry accounts for 725,000 horses. Another nearly 2 million are show horses and close to 3 million are used for recreational pursuits. A surprising number of these animals reside at boarding establishments.

Consider Pennsylvania and its 220,000 horses. According to the 2002 Pennsylvania Equine Impact Study data, 31,000 of those animals were housed at boarding stables at a cost of $42.1 million to their owners. Or Colorado, where in 1998, sales of equine-related services totaled $130 million, 30 percent of which was generated by boarding establishments. Of the 87,100 horses, ponies, mules and donkeys in Maryland, 31 percent were kept at boarding and training facilities, says the 2002 Maryland Equine Census.

It’s a fact: Americans love horses. For many of us, keeping horses is a necessary luxury and for the landless, that means boarding their horses out.

What it Takes to Be a Boarding Stable Owner

It takes a special sort of person to manage a horse-boarding business.He (or she) must be an experienced horseperson or be willing to become one. Horses are complex creatures and their owners are notoriously fussy. A client expects the person to whom she entrusts her treasured steed to handle him correctly, to accurately recognize illness and distress, to feed him a balanced diet, and to generally care for the horse the way she’d do herself.

A boarding stable owner must relate positively with the public. He must market his services and keep his clients satisfied. This entails patience and tact, especially when inter-stable squabbles arise. Playing peacekeeper can be the hardest part of the job (said by one who’s been there and knows).

New boarding stable entrepreneurs must possess the financial wherewithal to build or renovate existing facilities; money to meet start-up costs like increased liability insurance, legal and accounting services, and advertising; and the financial acumen to operate his stable in a professional manner.

He also needs considerable time to devote to the business, even if it’s a part-time venture. Barring that, employees or family members should be available to pick up the slack.

More Than One Way to Board a Horse

So you want to board horses … which sort of service will you sell? Unless you’re situated within 20 miles of a fairly affluent metro area, you probably can’t attract enough clients to make a large-scale venture really pay. The trick is to stay small and offer added value such as an indoor arena, on-site riding trails, or close proximity to public bridle paths or horse camping facilities. By doing so, you’ll keep your stalls full.

An advantage to one-fee-covers-everything, full-service board is that you control feeding, stall cleaning, and if you choose, routine chores such as parasite control and hoof care. You needn’t provide separate storage areas for each client’s feed and bedding, nor wonder if a given horse has been dewormed.

Partial-board means different things to different people. In some cases the client furnishes everything except stall space or pasture—feed, bedding and labor are her domain. At other stables, partial-board clients furnish feed and bedding and the stable owner or an employee handles daily chores such as feeding, stall cleaning and turnout.

Pasture-board entails supplying the client’s horse with pasture and a place to get out of the weather. You might supply additional feed or the client will provide it; that’s the sort of thing you’ll spell out in your contract.

However, small-scale establishments do best when they serve a specialized clientele.

Boarding horses
Chesapeake Bay Program/Flickr

Consider providing board and services for:

Boarding Lay-ups

If you’re a patient and caring experienced horseperson with lots of time to devote to your business, consider boarding lay-ups. While most lay-up operations cater to racehorses, anyone with an injured or chronically ill equine and not enough time to devote to its needs may be willing to pay for your time and expertise.

In addition to regular full-board tasks, your job description might include hosing or icing a bowed tendon, hand walking a lame pony, treating an ulcerated eye, or changing dressings and administering medications. Because of your boarders’ special needs, your establishment must be located within easy driving distance of an excellent equine vet and a top-notch farrier.

Caring for Older Horses

What do compassionate horse folks do when a favorite old steed becomes too infirm to breed or ride?

They turn Dobbin out to pasture—your pasture if you keep can him in style at a lower cost than boarding at his present digs. And since expensive-to-build-and-maintain features like indoor arenas and on-site groomed trails aren’t necessary at elder care facilities, you can likely do just that.

Aged boarders require comfortable stalls or field shelters, high quality pasture, concentrates designed for elder horses, and soft, high quality hay. All oldsters require ongoing dental work and many need specialized hoof and veterinary care.

Elder care establishments are traditionally country operations, so if your farm is off the beaten path but you have empty stalls, spacious pastures, and a special affection for golden-age equines, this might be the boarding op for you.

Boarding Broodmares and Young Stock

Boarding broodmares is another service you can run from the boonies, as long as you have a great vet. You could full-board broodmares year-round or operate a seasonal foaling service, where mares arrive a few months prior to giving birth and leave shortly after their foals hit the ground.

You’ll provide improved pasture and stalls or field shelter access throughout each boarder’s stay, and you’ll monitor her pregnancy and foaling. You might also imprint her newborn foal, sometimes for an additional fee.

In addition to standard boarding amenities, you’ll need large, safe foaling stalls (more than one in case several mares foal around the same time) with monitoring systems or in- stable sleeping facilities where you can observe all occupied foaling stalls.

Most boarders will be expensive Thoroughbred or Standardbred mares producing valuable future racehorse foals, so you’ll need high-ticket liability insurance and ultra-safe stalls, turnout enclosures and pastures.

Clients who board broodmares often seek accommodations for growing young stock too. Most will be weanling and pre-training yearling racehorses worth a great deal of money, so the same requisites apply.

Boarding Stallions

Few standard facilities board adult stallions. If you’re a veteran horse handler living in a horse-rich locale and you enjoy working with stallions, consider operating a stallion station out of your barn.

You’ll need ultra-stout facilities, safe accommodations for mares (many with new foals at their sides), and access to an equine practitioner skilled in equine artificial insemination. In some localities, these facilities are in extremely high demand.

Boarding Specialty Horses

Natural Boarding is a system of horse care pioneered by German veterinarian Dr. Hiltrud Strasser, who believes the lives of domestic horses should mimic those of their wild ancestors.

In A Lifetime of Soundness, Dr. Strasser outlines the evils of what she terms Conventional Boarding vs. Natural Boarding. Dr. Strasser has a huge American following and Natural Boarding is a growing movement. If specialty boarding is your style, this could be your game.

Natural Boarded equines must be given paddock or pasture access 24/7. They’re kept in herds; if that’s impractical, they require constant physical contact with other horses, perhaps a pasture buddy or access to other horses across adjoining fences. They are never shod and never blanketed. They must be provided with free-choice pasture, hay, and minerals, and feeding is done at ground level.

Horse Motels

Horse motels (overnight accommodations for horses) are rarely stand-alone ventures, but at $5 to $30 per night, per horse, they can neatly augment your regular boarding income.However, to protect your regular boarders from incoming disease, horse motel facilities must be separate from regular boarding amenities. Another option: open a B&B for traveling horse folk and their steeds.

Plan a Successful Boarding Business

Still think you want to board horses? Good! Boarding is a necessary service and a grand way for horsey folk to earn a part-time living. However, to boost your profit potential, be sure you do your groundwork going in.

  • Scope out legalities. Consider zoning, business permits and your state’s lien laws. Counties often restrict the number of horses you may keep per acre, especially on smaller, hobby farm-type properties, so don’t omit this step!
  • Evaluate your facilities. If you must build from scratch or make major improvements, boarding might not be economically feasible. To quash escapes or injuries, safe fences are a must: stout plank, pipe, anti-climb woven wire horse fence or its equivalent.Field shelters and stalls must be roomy and sturdily built, and all metal structures must be fitted with kick-resistant lumber or plywood linings. For incoming or sick horses, an isolation stall in a separate building is a definite boon. You’ll need adequate feed and bedding storage (a lot of it if you offer “furnish your own” partial-board).

    Clients expect access to securable tack lockers; a gathering place or lounge with a bathroom; room to park vehicles and trailers; and riding facilities, be they an indoor arena, an outdoor riding ring, or access to trails. And because the average horse generates 45 pounds of manure and 6 to 10 gallons of urine per day, there will be manure and soiled bedding (and lots of it) to deal with on an ongoing basis.

  • Investigate the cost of liability insurance. Most homeowner’s insurance does not protect policyholders from claims arising from business activities, including boarding ventures large or small. You’ll need two types of horse business-specific liability insurance: Commercial Equine Liability (CGL) and Care, Custody and Control (CCC). Both are pricey but absolutely essential, so make certain to factor them in when establishing boarding fees.
  • Research your market. Is there an immediate need for the type of boarding you wish to provide? Are others in your neighborhood offering similar services? Visit your future competition and poke around. Ask questions, request price lists and contracts. What sort of facilities and services do they provide? At what cost? Are their barns full? What can you do to make your stable and services more attractive than theirs?
  • Crunch the numbers. While boarding horses is satisfying work, you won’t want to do it for free. Expect to charge between $200 and $800 or more per month for full-board depending on your geographic locale, facilities and the type and quality of services you offer.Make certain it’s enough! For help drawing up a workable budget, review Western Maryland Research & Education Center’s bulletin, “Horse Boarding Enterprise”; Penn State’s “Agricultural Alternatives: Boarding Horses”; University of Florida’s “The Economic Aspects of a Small Equine Boarding Operation in North Florida”; and Ohio State’s “Horse Boarding Budget.”
  • Draw up a legal boarding contract. Have an attorney double check it. Make certain you’ve covered all the angles. Customize readymade boarding contracts or start from scratch, but make certain the contract:
    • Provides positive equine identification and detailed client contact information. List the client’s name, address and contact data. Include a detailed description of her horse, noting preexisting injuries and physical condition; consider attaching photos or a digital image printout. Request the names of at least two other contacts authorized to make decisions in the client’s absence, along with permission to procure veterinary services if neither can be reached. If the horse is insured, indicate the insurer’s name, contact information and all applicable policy numbers.
    • Explains precisely what your fees include. A perpetually skinny-Minnie animal that needs twice as much feed to stay half as fat as the rest of your charges can quickly gobble up profits. So can the client who cleans her own stalls using four wheelbarrow loads of fresh shavings every day. If clients demand additional feed, supplements or bedding above and beyond the basics, the cost should come from their pockets, not yours. The same goes for services. Stipulate what basic board entails and provide a list of extras clients can choose to add—for a fee.
    • Details barn owner and client responsibilities. Who deworms the horse, when and with what? Who calls the farrier? When the client is responsible for deworming, feeding, turnout or cleaning stalls, what happens if she fails to fulfill her obligation? When is board due? What if it’s late? Very late? What actions will the barn owner take to recoup his investment? What recourse does the horse owner have if he does take action? If the client’s horse inflicts excessive damage to your facilities or another horse, who pays? What are acceptable barn hours? May the client bring visitors to the barn? Her friends’ horses? Her dog? What are your smoking, drinking alcohol on the premises, and helmet policies? Thwart future unpleasantness by having everything in writing before the new client’s horse moves in.
    • Incorporates a Release of Liability. Forty-four states uphold laws that help shield equine professionals from frivolous lawsuits. To peruse your state’s statute and access sample liability release forms, long on to www.horse-insurance.com/law.html

Takin’ Care of Business, Every Day

To earn a profit, you must continually market your product. Depending on the services you offer, advertise your establishment online; at gatherings such as race meets, shows and horse expos; in breed-specific or general interest horse magazines; or in newspaper classifieds and Yellow Pages. Have quality business cards and flyers printed; post them in veterinarians’ offices, tack shops and feed stores. Wear caps and T-shirts emblazoned with your business logo. Give talks and demonstrations to 4-H clubs, Pony Clubs and civic groups. Let your services be known.

A successful boarding stable entrepreneur projects a positive public image and makes favorable first impressions, so keep your facilities clean and in good repair, answer the phone in a businesslike manner, and return calls now rather than later.

Keep your clientele happy. Address clients’ concerns promptly and in person. Be tactful. Mediate inter-barn problems as they arise. Periodically request your clients’ feedback; whenever possible, adjust policies to meet reasonable demands.

And most of all, be ready, willing and able to put in the time. Boarding isn’t a do-it-when-you-feel-like-it proposition. Even if you hire work done, show up at the barn every day. Make yourself accessible and make certain your equine charges are healthy and happy.

Sound good? Then go for it—running a hobby farm horse boarding establishment could prove to be the perfect country biz for you!

Categories
Animals

Raising Rare Livestock Breeds

70 chicken breeds are known to be maintained in the U.S.

© Paulette Johnson
The 2004 ALBC census showed that there are 70 chicken breeds maintained in the United States; of these, half are endanged, like the recovering Plymouth Rock, and 20 are practically extinct.

Ten thousand years or so ago, humans partnered up with denizens of the animal kingdom to create the world’s first domesticated livestock.

Since then, thousands upon thousands of types and breeds of poultry and farm animals have evolved through natural and human selection, all tailor-made to suit the needs of the people who kept them and the climate and conditions in which they lived.

Now they’re disappearing from the earth at an alarming rate and it’s up to dedicated conservators to save them.

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), at least 1,500 of the world’s estimated 6,000 livestock breeds are in imminent danger of extinction. The organization further asserts that the world is currently losing an average of two domestic animal breeds each week and that half of the breeds that existed in Europe in 1900 are already extinct.

Poultry breeds are likewise threatened. In 2004, the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy conducted a census of chicken breeds.

Of 70 breeds maintained by American poultry breeders, half are endangered and 20 are practically extinct.

Industrialized farming fans the flames of this alarming, worldwide trend.

Large corporations maintain factory farmed livestock in controlled environments (eliminating a need for breeds adapted to various regions or climates); they control their animals’ “health” through liberal doses of antibiotic cocktails (quashing the need for disease-resistant heritage strains); and they feed their unfortunate victims exacting rations of high-protein, growth-hormone enhanced feed so they reach market size in record time.

The UNFAO lists around 6,000 livestock breeds in danger of extinction
© Tanya Charter
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organizations estimates that there are 6,000 livestock breeds in imminent danger of extinction, like the CPL-threatened Navajo-Churro sheep.

The result: a bountiful supply of cheap, essentially tasteless, hormone- and antibiotic-laced milk or meat produced at the cost of the animals’ health and well being.

Fortunately, growing legions of farmers are stepping forth to reclaim our forbearers’ heritage livestock and poultry breeds. This rare-breed renaissance is occurring throughout the world and for numerous reasons.

Some conservators long for the mouthwatering fried chicken Grandma used to serve for Sunday dinner or melt-in-your-mouth, home-smoked hams like the ones Great-grandpa fashioned from his homegrown hogs. Some yearn to preserve living remnants of our distant past such as Spanish goats or Florida Cracker cattle, Colonial Spanish horses and Dominique chickens.

Others do it in the name of biodiversity—they feel that if disease or genetic malady should strike down, for example, the world’s Holstein cows (which represent 91 percent of America’s dairy herd), there must be hardy, heritage breeds ready to take up the slack. Some simply prefer livestock and poultry breeds created for specific environments and needs: Canadienne and Randall Lineback cattle for New England’s snowy winters; parasite-resistant and heat-tolerant Gulf Coast sheep and Pineywoods cattle for the deep South; Guinea Hogs for small-farm family tables; Buckeye and Holland chickens for free-range eggs.

The ALBC Speaks Out
However, as admirable and exciting as the concept may be, raising heritage livestock or poultry is not quite a stroll in the park.

The Key to Breed Stewardship is Education

Before you accept the responsibility of heritage breed conservation, learn as much about breed stewardship as you can.

  • Join the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC).

The ALBC is a nonprofit membership organization devoted to the promotion and protection of over 150 breeds of livestock and poultry. Now in its 30th year of service, it’s the only organization in the United States working to conserve rare breeds and genetic diversity in heritage livestock. As a member, you’ll receive the bimonthly ALBC News and an annual directory chock-full of ALBC-breeder contact information. These ALBC breeders make up an active network of people who participate in hands-on conservation, marketing and public education; they are definitely people you want to know.

The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy
Pittsboro, NC 27312
(919) 542-5704
https://www.albc-usa.org/

  • Visit historic estates and farms where heritage breeds are kept.

Meet the breeds that interest you and talk with the conservators in charge of their care. To locate such facilities, contact your state and county historical societies or visit one of the organizations on this list.

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Williamsburg, VA
(757) 229-1000
https://www.history.org/

Breeds: Milking Devon cattle; Leicester Longwool sheep; American Cream Draft and Canadian horses; Dominique, Hamburg, Dorking and Nankin Bantam chickens

Hamilton Rare Breeds Foundation
Hartland, VT
(802) 436-1376
www.hamiltonrarebreeds.org

Breeds: Poitou ass; Choctaw Spanish Colonial horses; Dales pony; American Cream Draft horse; Randall Lineback cattle

Old Sturbridge Village
Sturbridge, MA
(508) 347-3362
www.osv.org

Breeds: Gloucester Old Spots and Large Black pigs; Devon and Milking Shorthorn cattle; Dorking chickens; Narragansett turkeys; Cotswold and Wiltshire Horn sheep

Plimoth Plantation
Plymouth, MA
(508) 746-1622
www.plimoth.org/

Breeds: Milking Devon and Kerry cattle; San Clemente goats; Tamworth hogs; Wiltshire Horn sheep

SVF Foundation
Newport, RI (does not accept visitors)
(401) 848-7229
www.svffoundation.org/

Breeds: Santa Cruz, Gulf Coast, Cotwold and Jacob sheep; Pineywoods, Milking Devon, Randall Lineback, Dutch Belted, Ancient White Park, Belted Galloway and Kerry cattle; San Clemente and Tennessee Myotonic goats; Narragansett turkeys; Dominique chickens

Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill
Harrodsburg, KY
(800) 734-5611
www.shakervillageky.org/

Breeds: Milking Shorthorn cattle, Leicester Longwool sheep, Light Brahma chickens; Bourbon Red turkeys; Percheron horses

Rare Chickens
https://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/
Rare_Chickens

Rare Breed Rabbits
https://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/
rarebreedrabbits

Additional conservators are needed (sometimes desperately so), but it’s important to understand what’s really involved in a meaningful conservation effort before you begin. We discussed the challenges of raising rare breeds with Don Schrider, communication director for the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy. Based on our conversation, here are some things to consider:

Understand the Nature of America’s Rare Breeds
“Despite FAO figures,” Schrider says, “since 1985, no American breed has gone extinct. This is largely because the breeds on our Conservation Priority List (CPL) remain the breeds of choice for small, diversified farms; grass-fed operations; organic production and sustainable farming. They were developed to meet small-farm needs that in many cases still exist today.

“Consider CPL hog breeds like Guinea Hogs and Mulefoot pigs. These are heritage breeds ideally suited to the South where their dark skin pigmentation protects them from the sun’s harmful UV rays.”

In the old days, he tells us, pigs not only furnished pork for the dinner table, in the winter they were fenced on the family’s garden spot where they tilled the earth with their snouts—an important service when garden produce meant life. They were hardy pigs, easy keepers that foraged for meals in the woods. Shelter needs were negligible; they virtually raised themselves.

Now fast forward to 2007 and imagine these hogs in an organic pastured pork situation. It works!

Or picture the Buckeye hen, he says. She lays fewer eggs than production Leghorns, but the flighty, little production Leghorn in her cramped battery cage requires a controlled climate and a good amount of feed to crank out her sorry egg each day. When she’s spent, her value as meat is nil.

The Buckeye, on the other hand, is a free-range hen. She’s a friendly, mellow bird, but very active: In season, she chases down much of what she eats. This big, red hen lays tasty, brown eggs year-round; since she tips the scale at a meaty six-and-a-half pounds, she makes fine stewed chicken when her laying life is over. Which would be most productive on your farm?

However, all of these breeds are critically endangered—there are a finite number of animals to go around. Dabbling in rare breeds won’t do. Their survival hinges on knowledgeable and fully dedicated conservation efforts.

Don’t Be a Fly-By-Night Breeder “If you choose to raise heritage breeds, don’t jump in and jump back out,” cautions Schrider. “

This causes far more harm than good. New breeders, particularly those who have never worked with that species before, must thoroughly educate themselves and have a plan in place before purchasing endangered breeds. The more critically endangered the breed, the more important this is.

Imagine if someone buys the last of a line or an entire generation of a critically endangered population,” he says, “then changes his mind and sells them at a sale barn. The loss of potential genetic diversity could be staggering.”

Conservators must fully appreciate the responsibility they’re assuming when they commit to raising an endangered breed.

“Do what’s best for the breed, not just what’s best for you,” Schrider cautions. “Find out how the breed needs to be maintained before you buy animals. Make sure registration papers are in order. If you choose a Critical or Threatened breed, be willing to maintain both sexes. Populations are severely limited and frequently spaced far apart. Semen for artificial insemination may not be available, so you need to be willing to keep a boar, bull or stallion; if not, choose a breed with a larger population, perhaps one from the Recovering list.

“A great deal of genetic potential is sacrificed when rare breed females are bred to males outside of their breeds. The Cleveland Bay [horse] is a perfect example. This is a British breed that traces back to the 17th century. It’s critically endangered worldwide, yet registered mares are still being crossed with Thoroughbred stallions to produce sport horses. The cross could as easily be made the other way around: a Cleveland Bay stallion on Thoroughbred mares. The end result is the same, but those precious mares could be saved for conservation efforts within the breed.

“Critically rare breeds are not always readily available … a byproduct of being ‘rare.’ These animals are maintained in small herds, so breeder-quality stock isn’t always available for immediate purchase. Have patience. Network with other breeders and expect to follow some blind leads. And know what will happen to your animals when you stop breeding. Make sure your heirs know how precious they are and keep in touch with other responsible conservators who can take them in an emergency.”

Choose an Existing ALBC-listed Breed “Many breeds on our Conservation Priority List are critically endangered,” Schrider tells us. “All of these breeds have a long history of use in America and these are the breeds we promote. We believe that breeds developed elsewhere are best conserved elsewhere.

“We discourage the importation of new breeds because there is a limited niche for the qualities and products each has to offer. For example, if additional longwool sheep breeds were imported, fewer conservators might be interested in working with our CPL Cotswolds or Leicester Longwools. As new breeds are imported and gain a foothold, existing breeds suffer. The ones we already have need our support.”

Conservators Share Their Wisdom
To round out the picture, we spoke with a number of breeders already involved in heritage-breed conservation. When asked about the pitfalls of rare-breed conservation, these points were mentioned:

Gain experience first with a mainline breed. If you’ve never raised a species before, learn the ropes with a similar common breed. For instance, before committing to rare Oberhasli goats, hone your goat-keeping abilities with Nubian or Saanen dairy does (they’ll reward you with tasty milk while you learn).

Scarcity is a given. Be prepared to be placed on waiting lists. Expect to spend time and money in travel or on shipping to obtain the foundation or replacement animals you desire. The more critically endangered the breed, the more this tends to be.

Understand the principles of genetics. Individuals in some critically rare breed populations may be related. A certain amount of line- and in-breeding must sometimes be done to preserve a breed. This can be a blessing (when common ancestors are free of glaring genetic faults, line- and in-breeding can be used to successfully set type) or a curse (indiscriminate breeding to faulty individuals can result in birth deformities and lack of breeding vigor). In any case, it’s never OK to indiscriminately breed your rare-breed animals; you must understand the principles of maintaining a breeding population first. Established breeders and the ALBC are often willing to help plan matings if you’re willing to accept their assistance.

Hook up with support groups, but choose them wisely. It’s impossible to raise rare breeds in a vacuum. Investigate associations and registries before you choose a breed; some organizations are infinitely easier to work with than others. By nature, conservators are strong-minded individuals who are firmly dedicated to preserving their breed; when groups come together, viewpoints may differ and personalities may clash. The answer is not to form a new organization; multiple registries tend to weaken conservation efforts as a whole. Find a group you can work with or consider choosing a different breed.

Find a mentor (or two or three or four). The best way to learn about these unique breeds is to network with breeders in the know. Local, hands-on assistance is obviously best, but when unavailable, long-distance (phone or Internet) mentors can be a godsend.

Locate veterinarians for your animals before you buy them. When critically endangered breeds are placed in your hands, you have a moral obligation to keep them well. Talk to area vets before choosing a species. In areas where sheep are practically an exotic species, where will you find a vet who understands the parasite-resistance of Gulf Coast sheep?

The shortage of farm vets in the United States is felt deepest by hobby farmers. Try to find a vet who is knowlegable about the species you want to raise and who shows an open and supportive attitude about what you are doing.

If your vet already knows your chosen species, he or she may grow to appreciate the good qualities of the rare breed in comparison to the more popular breeds.

Expense can be prohibitive. While some rare breeds are surprisingly inexpensive to obtain and maintain, others are pricey indeed. When pricing breeds, don’t forget to factor in travel expenses to view potential purchases, shipping and even veterinary costs if artificial insemination or embryo transfer will be part of your breeding protocol. Obtain a breeders directory and price quotes from many breeders—some will sell for reasonable prices.

Choose a breed adapted to your locale. Most heritage breeds were established in or developed for specific climates and might not flourish in the one where you live. When Cynthia Creech brought endangered Randall Cattle (“New England’s Own Heritage Cattle,” January/February 2007) to her Tennessee farm, the cattle failed to thrive; when transplanted to her new home in Connecticut, they do. Highland cattle in Florida, Miniature Zebus in Minnesota, Leicester Longwool sheep in the arid Southwest—it’s doable, but probably not in these breeds’ best interest.

Productivity is sometimes an issue. Heritage and rare breed food-producing animals and poultry invariably take longer to finish to marketable size. They sometimes produce smaller litters, fewer eggs or less meat than breeds developed for maximum production. If super-productivity is your goal, heritage breeds might not deliver. Investigate the breeds that interest you before you decide.

Toot your own horn. The public may not be aware of your heritage breed’s fine-eating qualities, so it’s up to you as a producer to establish niche markets and promote products derived from your animals. Marketing non-food-producing, rare livestock, such as equines, can be problematic as well, since buyers tend to choose the breeds they know.

Consider forming rare breed co-ops to raise public awareness or exhibiting at livestock shows to build your reputation and to network with other knowledgable breeders. Education and promotion are the keys to showing a profit with rare breed animals and poultry.

There is no doubt about it, raising heritage livestock and poultry can be a rewarding and valuable experience. But consider the ramifications. As a conservator, you accept stewardship of your chosen breed. It’s an enormous responsibility. Think before you act.

This article first appeared in the May/June 2007 issue of Hobby Farms magazine. Pick up a copy at your local bookstore or tack and feed store or subscribe online>>