Seriously. As cliched as if may be, it's true. We could love our heritage breeds all day long, but without people buying, selling, learning and helping us out, none of it would matter.
The difficulty with heritage breeds is that people don't know they exist. And even if they do, they don't know why these breeds can do for their homestead that more modern, specialized breeds can't. They don't know that San Clemente Island goats provide a milk with unusually high butter fat content. Or that Tamworth pigs are red to prevent sunburn - making them easier to care for - and bred to be a source of pork that thrives on forage almost exclusively. Or that Soay sheep provide a fiber unlike any other.
Our Soay sheep have recently been added to The Livestock Conservancy's "Shave 'Em to Save 'Em" program this year. The idea behind the program is to encourage fiber lovers to buy, spin and use the fibers from endangered livestock. For each fiber used, they get a sticker. The more stickers they get, the more items they can earn.
The response has been overwhelming for us. While we did well finding homes for our lambs this year, the rising costs of everything was causing us to think about streamlining more than we wanted. We were afraid we weren't going to be able to afford the hay needed to keep the whole flock going.
YOUR interest in this wool and the SE2SE program allowed us to make enough extra money that we can afford the hay we need, even with the increased costs. Our flock will be able to stay intact and our yearlings won't be shuffled off to another home after barely settling in here!
We greatly appreciate the financial support this, and other purchases, gives us, Even more, we appreciate the fact that you are helping a movement - to encourage the recognition of heritage breeds, homesteading and traditional skills.
And for us it's all done one box of wool at a time.
Comentários