Specialties
Sheep, hazelnuts, and fruit complete the team that makes it all work here on my small farm in southeastern MN. Barn cleanings and grazing droppings feed the soil and the sheep have a good life grazing the pastures and orchard. They LOVE apples!
My flock is part purebred Babydoll Southdown and part Finn x Babydoll crosses. I sell the lambs to others for mowing, showing, wool and pets. I love to mentor new shepherds. I sell wool as skirted fleeces, rovings, and yarn. I am using genetics to develop sheep with the perfect wool - soft, cushy, and machine washable. I put protective coats on my sheep year-round so their wool is almost free of vegetative/manure contamination.
Crops include: hazelnuts (sold as in-shell food, and seed and seedlings of selected genetics), elderberries, apples, pears, plums and other stone fruits (sold fresh and in jams and syrups). They are grown without sprays, so many are best suited for cider, sauces, liqueurs, etc. (and fresh fruit is priced accordingly).
Available by appointment due to my part-time off-farm employment. Arrange a visit to see the farm and get started on your adventure in shepherding or food preservation. Due to insurance concerns serious inquiries only.
History
Established in 2010.
In 2011, I bought my first Babydoll Southdown sheep and a former Amish farm in far southeastern Minnesota. It had a bearing orchard of apples, pears, peaches, and plums. I put the sheep to work mowing the orchard and pastures. When shearing time came, their lovely wool inspired me to learn about wool processing so I could use and share this annual gift from the flock. As I learned more about sheep and wool I developed the idea of modifying the wool to make the strands longer. I introduced some Finnsheep rams to a few of my Babydoll ewes. Their lambs and subsequent generations make the most luxurious, soft, and lustrous wool!
Meanwhile, I expressed my horticultural interests by the addition of more fruit types. I've also used my training in genetics to grow, select, and propagate hazelnuts to further the work of my mentor, Philip Rutter, of Badgersett Research Corporation. Recently, I've obtained a nursery grower's license and a seed selling permit to share with other nut farmers.
Meet the Business Owner: Sue W.
Sue is a former tree breeder and university professor of Horticulture. She spent her youth in 4-H and learned early how to knit and how to grow and preserve food. Her first jobs were picking, grading, and selling apples in the fall and transplanting bedding plants for a local garden center in the spring. Owning land has been her dream from the beginning. Finally, when genetic work at the "nut farm" brought her to Amish country, there was an opportunity to purchase a small plot of land at an affordable price. Enjoyment of the orchard was a foregone conclusion, but the delightful personalities of the sheep has been a pleasant surprise. In addition to learning the production techniques, developing entrepreneurial skills of product development and marketing has kept things interesting, to say the least.
