Wooly Wednesday with Mary Jeanne Packer

Special Guest Mary Jeanne Packer, president and founder of Battenkill Fibers Carding & Spinning Mill (https://battenkillfibers.com/) in Greenwich, N.Y., joins Cindra to chat about working with your fiber mill, including selling fleeces vs. processing, how to select a mill, questions to ask, options for processing, proper fleece preparation, pricing and timing.

Want to become a Fiber Artist or Fiber Provider for the Save 'Em to Shave 'Em Initiative? Sign up at RareWool.org.

Sheep Husbandry Chat with Susan Schoenian

Special Guest Susan Schoenian, a Sheep and Goat Specialist at the University of Maryland's Western Maryland Research & Education Center, will chat with Cindra and Brittany about sheep husbandry and health, with a focus on meat production.

 

 

Susan has been with University of Maryland Extension since 1988. Previously, she served as a Regional Farm Management Specialist (Eastern Shore region) and county agricultural agent in Wicomico County. Susan holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Animal Science from Virginia Tech and Montana State University, respectively.

 

Susan lives on a small sheep farmn Clear Spring, Maryland (called The Baalands (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inb5qFuGsEc)), where she raises a flock of Katahdins.

 

Learn more about the Maryland Small Ruminant Program at https://www.sheepandgoat.com/ or @MDSmallRuminant on Facebook.

 

Big thank you to Manna Pro for sponsoring Marketing Mondays this year! Learn more about how Manna Pro is Nurturing Life at https://www.mannapro.com/promotions/nurturing-life-2022

Marketing Monday - Websites with Andrew Perkins

In 2022, Marketing Monday is focusing on how to turn your audience into a community. This week Samantha Gasson at the Food Animal Concerns Trust (FACT) and Brittany Sweeney at The Livestock Conservancy are chatting with Andrew Perkins of Bluestem Creative (https://bluestemcreativeco.com/) about what makes a successful website.

Andrew's expertise includes content creation, digital marketing, e-commerce development, web development, and event production. Since 2010, he has served as Director of the Mother Earth News Fairs, a national event series that takes place around the country (and, in 2020, virtually online) for folks interested in farming, organic gardening, food independence, and off-grid living. This multi-million dollar event series has attracted more than 100,000 attendees and more than 10,000 participating businesses. During his professional career, Andrew has also worked as an editor, advertising sales executive, merchandise manager, e-commerce developer, project manager, and event director, and holds a Strategic Communications degree from the University of Kansas.

Co-host Samantha Gasson joined the FACT team in 2019 as coordinator of the Mentorship Program and as part of the Humane Farming program in 2021. She also owns and operates Bull City Farm with her husband and kids in the piedmont of North Carolina, where they raise pork, dairy cows, turkeys, layers, lamb and a geriatric emu named George. The farm is part of A Greener World’s Animal Welfare Approved program, which is the cornerstone of their farming business. In addition to raising food for her community, Samantha is committed to education, especially when it comes to farming. The farm holds summer camps for kids yearly and adult classes on cheese and sausage making. Samantha also holds a BS in Biology from Virginia Tech University.

Big thank you to Manna Pro for sponsoring Marketing Mondays this year! Learn more about how Manna Pro is Nurturing Life at https://www.mannapro.com/promotions/nurturing-life-2022

Wooly Wednesday with Shearer Emily Chamelin-HIckman

Special Guest Emily Chamelin-Hickman is chatting with Cindra Kerscher about how to prepare for shearing day and what fiber artists are looking for in their fiber.

 

Emily is the captain of the US Shearing Team. She is not only a skilled professional shearer, but a shepherdess and dairywoman raising a menagerie of livestock for meat, dairy and wool production. Aerie Farm East (http://www.aeriefarmeast.com/) in Maryland embraces sustainable agriculture, regenerative farming practices and humane animal care and welfare.

Pig Processing Chat with Larry Masters of Underground Processing

Special Guest Larry Masters will chat with Charlene Couch and Brittany Sweeney about processing and working with your processor. Larry Masters is the owner of Underground Farmers and Underground Processing, a USDA inspected meat processing company located in Walling, TN. He is also the President of the tech company, Cake Development Corporation, and a Marine Corps veteran.

Larry grew up in Shorewood, Illinois, but would frequently visit Sparta, Tennessee since he also had family in the area. His frequent visits to Sparta allowed him to learn the ins and outs of sustainable farming from his grandfather. This resulted in a passion for farming and the humane treatment of animals. He is looking forward to continuous growth in the agriculture sector, to bring more jobs in the community, and help new farmers and processors along the way.

Find Larry online at ...

https://www.undergroundprocessing.com/ https://www.undergroundfarmers.com/

https://www.cakedc.com/

Big thank you to Manna Pro for sponsoring Pig Chats this month! Learn more about how Manna Pro is Nurturing Life at https://www.mannapro.com/promotions/n...

Mulefoot Pig Chat with Gracie Cardwell

Special Guest Gracie Cardwell will chat with Charlene Couch and Brittany Sweeney about this critically-endangered breed. Gracie knew she wanted to be a farmer or involved with animals in kindergarten. Unfortunately, her family, teachers and Sunday School teachers did not approve because she was neither rich nor a boy.

"Well, I'm still a girl and still not rich but I own and run Gateway Farm," she said. "We have gone from 5 acres to almost 25 and I am eyeing some more space now. We started with veggies, then added critters. When I was about ten, I told my Uncle Lee Cassell that I didn't like piggies because the mud squished up between their toes. He said there was a breed that had a horse hoof, but he thought they were extinct. Fast forward to the mid 2010s, I was setting up for pigs and had American Guinea Hogs, Kune-Kune and American Mulefoot Hogs on my shortlist."

Gracie is a Charter Member on the Board of Directors of American Mulefoot Breeders Association since it's inception in 2012. She served from Secretary to Chairman. Learn more about the association at https://americanmulefoot.com/.

Big thank you to Manna Pro for sponsoring Pig Chats this month! Learn more about how Manna Pro is Nurturing Life at https://www.mannapro.com/promotions/nurturing-life

Bourbon Red Turkey Chat with Tom Mozena

Even though it's Swine Month, we just can't get enough turkeys! Brittany wanted to share a pre-recorded video with Tom Mozena, president and founder of the new American Turkey Association filmed at the Ohio National Poultry Show.

To learn more or join the association, email Tom at AmericanTurkeyAssociation@gmail.com

We'll be back next week with a live Swine Chat. We hope you'll join us!

Thank you to Heritage Foods USA for sponsoring Turkey Chats https://heritagefoods.com/

American Buff Goose Chat with Amy Gabbard

This week Brittany airs a previously recorded session with Jeannette Beranger and Amy Gabbard talking about American Buff geese, listed as Watch on the Conservation Priority List.

 

Amy Gabbard has been breeding and exhibiting American Buff geese, along with several other breeds of standard-bred poultry, with her husband, Lucas, for almost 12 years. The American Buffs quickly became one of Amy's two primary breeds to focus on improving toward the breed standard and she has done quite well with them in the show halls around the country over the course of those years. Amy is very involved with breeding poultry to their standards and is the National Director for the Youth Exhibition Poultry Association (http://www.youthexhibitionpoultry.org/), a District Director for the American Bantam Association (https://www.bantamclub.com/), Michigan State Rep for the American Poultry Association (https://amerpoultryassn.com/), a passionate member of the International Waterfowl Breeder's Association (https://officialiwba.weebly.com/), as well as in her judges licensing apprenticeship with the APA alongside her husband.

 

Amy is a special education teacher by day and she and Lucas have a 4 year old son, Kevin, who also enjoys these geese and other breeds, and loves helping in the barns and showing his own birds. If you'd like to contact Amy about her geese, please email her at a.gabbard5314@gmail.com

 

Big thank you to Manna Pro (https://www.mannapro.com/) for sponsoring Goose Chats and Goose Month.

 

 

SHOW LESS

Tufted Roman Goose Chat with Nate Rynish

This week Brittany airs a previously recorded chat with award-winning waterfowl breeder Nate Rynish about the critically-endangered Tufted Roman goose. Nate is an APA and ABA Licensed Judge and an APA Grand Master Exhibitor of Tufted Romans. He chatted with Brittany and Jeannette about the breed standard, what makes Romans a great bird for holiday dinners, and more.

Big thank you to Manna Pro (https://www.mannapro.com/) for sponsoring Goose Chats and Goose Month.

Sebastopol Goose Chat with Laura Huey

This week Brittany airs a previously recorded chat with Laura Huey, the president of the National Sebastopol Geese Association (https://www.nationalsebastopol.com/). Brittany Sweeney and Jeannette Beranger chatted with Laura at the Ohio National Poultry Show in November. Laura has been showing Sebastopols for more than 5 years from her own farm (@EastWindsSebastopols) and loves talking to new people about this Threatened breed.