The summer and fall of 2016 have brought the worst drought we have seen since we began sheep farming in 2009. It is fortunate that we were able to sell a number of sheep this year as both breeding stock and live lambs for our pastures have been badly hit by the lack of rain … Continue reading
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Fall 2016
As this beautiful summer draws toward its end, and some of trees lining our pastures are beginning to show signs of fall color our thoughts (and our rams’ thoughts) are turning to breeding once again. This year we have been able to sell breeding stock to several other farmers – several brood ewes and our … Continue reading
Grass at Last – Spring 2016
News from Hidden Valley Farm: After the winter months of subsisting on our store of rich hay and grain our adult sheep are at last on pasture, joined by their lambs some of which are now big enough – and have sufficiently developed digestive systems – to move beyond mother’s milk to the delicious green … Continue reading
Conservation Concerns in the Management of Hidden Valley Farm
We at Hidden Valley Farm are regularly involved with state and federal agencies to manage natural resources on our 182 acres and to practice restorative and conservative farming methods. In collaboration with these agencies we manage a rotational grazing plan which is aimed at maximum pasture health and soil conservation, have a long term forest … Continue reading
Eating red meat
So far we have 20 lambs born and more on the way. We are bottle feeding one lamb whose name is #59 (ie. the 59th lamb born on our farm to date since our first lambing season began in 2010), but I am trying to think of another name that will suit her. (? any … Continue reading
2014 lambing at last – but where is spring?
Our first lamb of 2014, a lovely sturdy white ewe lamb, was the 45th to be born on our farm, since we began our first lambing season in 2010. She was born on March 8th to our three year old white ewe, HVF#26, and now, at one week old, is exploring the larger barn area … Continue reading
Not for Human Consumption – yet
A walk through our early fall woods with an amateur mycologist friend revealed a treasure trove of inedible and some down-right deadly but very beautiful fungi. But the farmers of Hidden Valley Farm are eager to learn of the edible kind and particularly to join the jealous and secretive ranks of morel hunters in the … Continue reading
Susie (the barn cat) saves the day
Lambing season is upon us, though we are in the midst of another winter storm. Of course, tomorrow it will have to be called an early spring storm if it insists on continuing with this miserable cold weather. Our ewes are in the final stages of pregnancy and some will undoubtedly deliver their lambs within … Continue reading
March Snow Storm
Yes, I know a foot of snow has fallen and the branches are bent low but the apple trees need pruning and the gravid ewes seem to know that their udders are a’filling their voices a’softened so and the lonely phoebe’s singing means their lambs will soon know snow. Continue reading
Musical Sheep
Well, it could have been worse. A blizzard. Or ice-storm. As it was, it was pretty cold for it had been snowing earlier and our hands were frozen. The problem to be solved was that the gate that separates our six young ram lambs from the larger flock of twenty ewes and our large breeding … Continue reading
Hidden Valley Farm 