Learning More About My Host
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Throughout this week, some more fence maintenance took place, as well as the general animal care. One new thing for the week was tagging and hoof trimming. BJ planned on tagging all of the new ewe lambs and then trimming the feet of the ones who needed it. The tags used for sheep are called scrapies tags. This is used to track a fatal disease that is degenerative to the central nervous system. It can affect sheep and goats so these numbers are required to trace the infection back to the correct flock.
All the tag numbers were documented in case of lost tags, in which case we would know who it belongs to. Then it was on to trimming hooves, this keeps them comfortable and from becoming lame. When the hooves start to overgrow, this can cause the animal to walk funny and then it can cause structural issues. Lastly, there were still a few ewes to pull fleeces from, which allows for more comfort in the hot parts of the summer. After finishing up all of the maintenance care, the herd was moved back out onto grazing.
I finally had the time to sit down with BJ and hear her story. She was a college kid, much like us, wanting to stay involved in agriculture and not coming from a background heavy with agriculture. BJ graduated with a degree in Rangeland Ecology and Watershed Management, double majoring with Environmental and Natural Resources as well. She started out working with the NRCS out of college and worked on several operations. After running into issues with insufficient bosses or unstable work environments, her and her husband decided they wanted to start something of their own. They were in a partnership with a business at first but in the end they figured out they were not being compensated fairly.
Not having any land of their own, they had been running their small herds on leases or property of where they were currently working. They started their business in 2019. Before deciding to do their own thing, BJ was often moving sheep among different leases, as well as having movable chicken coops that allowed them to transport them as needed. The summer of 2022 was the purchase of their first home establishment. They now run on their own property, as well as a few leases that are nearby which makes it easier to herd sheep instead of trailering them.
BJ had a goal of providing higher quality food that you can not find in the store most times, while being ethical. She wanted to stay involved in agriculture without having the stress of bad work environments and not getting equal representation in partnerships. Now she is producing lamb, pork, chicken, and marketing for local beef producers. All of these animals are pasture raised and local to Laramie, WY. One of the things offered is called a CSA box, it is community supported agriculture. It is a subscription box which is paid for ahead of time so that instead of struggling to have money to support in order to produce the product they receive the profit, produce the product, and then get profit again. It also allows benefit to multiple producers because it pulls many different products for a box.
After learning about the start up of the business I asked about the breeds she chose among her livestock. A big thing for this elevation is survival, you want a breed that can survive in the weather conditions and altitude. Many chicken breeds can not survive at our altitude and develop edema from a brisket disease. This disease can also affect other animals. Edema is a buildup of fluid which in turn causes other stress on the body. She chose Icelandic sheep because they are a heritage breed that can handle the weather, lamb out well, and hold a mild lamb flavor. The mild lamb flavor allows her to target a niche market of those who do not like the necessarily strong taste. BJ raises a Hungary hog breed which produces a darker red meat which allows for more flavor in the pork and makes it more enjoyable. Overall, it was very interesting to learn about the upcoming of her small business and showed me a path that someday I may be able to follow.
See Savannah’s video here, May_7_31_23_2
Submitted by: Savannah May
Edits by: GrowinG Internship Team
