Ep 034 NYS Sheep & Wool Festival, Part 2: More Things upon which to Ruminant

  The New York State Sheep & Wool Festival, held annually in Rhinebeck, New York.  One episode is not quite enough.  Twelve episodes wouldn’t cover it either, but two is all we’re giving you.

    We continue the adventure with Amy Corey, who has managed to develop the most gorgeous charcoal colored sheep ever.  Okay, so maybe the Gotland sheep breed has been around in Sweden for a bit longer than Amy has been alive, but we’ll give her credit for owning some beautiful sheep.

    Next we meet with Angelo Ponce.  His company, Lanart, supplies fair-trade products from Peru using mostly alpaca fibers.  His felted animals were just about as cute as any we’ve seen.  And where are you ever again going to see different breeds of livestock guardian dogs in 4 inch pocket versions?

    Pam Haendle of Hermit Pond Farm showed us a few of her cashmere goats, then taught us a bit about the difference between cashmere and pashmina.  We learned something new about fiber (and the effectiveness of good industry marketing) on this one.

    Paula Garner lives in Connecticut, and raises one of the most endangered animals we have seen yet.  The tiny Santa Cruz sheep hail from the Channel Islands off California, and The Livestock Conservancy says that there are only about 150 left in existence.  Paula has risen to the challenge of military life, and represents a growing segment of farming today – veterans and their families.

    We hope you enjoy Part 2 of Rhinebeck.  We’re still tired.  And happy.