Katahdin sheep

Yes.

Uh, my dad's h- uh, home farm, we actually have a, my boys, uh, got interested in the Katahdin Sheep a few years ago, and they have a very small flock of about 40 sheep in his barn and pasture, and then we have some dry cows over there.

Um, and then we have the farthest east, um, over by Troy, w- is our actual milking s- facility, and we actually rent that facility, uh, from a retired farmer and we have now done that for, well, it was r- it was actually the impetus for us to move home, so probably about 13 years.

And it's been a great working, um, relationship.

I want you to talk a little bit about the composting operation, uh, the, the vermicompost, the extracts that you're making, how you're utilizing cover crops, and, uh, now you have, uh, integrated livestock.

You got Katahdin Sheep there that you've integrated into the whole operation as well, w- all of which are biological processes.

So-

Yeah

We own and operate Liberty Farms Livestock out of northeast Georgia.

We're a Katahdin U-base breeding with white Dorper rams.

We do use a few Katahdin rams at times to create our own replacement stock.

But I graduated from the University of Georgia with a bachelor's in ag business and had the opportunity to come back to the farm.

At the time, it was my future father-in-law.

We bought 10 ewes in 2019, I think it was.

And now it has just evolved and turned into what it is today.

We run somewhere between 450 and 500 Katahdin ewes on a once a year breeding cycle.

They'll have that first lamb, and then they'll lay down and have their second and maybe even third one.

Well, we raise Katahdins, so they are up on their feet within minutes looking for their mom, uh, looking for that udder.

So while mom's laying down having another lamb, that first lamb's getting up and, you know, looking for mom.

So he goes to one ewe, you know, the first one he sees, uh, and can just go from ewe to ewe and, and gets completely away from the ewe that just lambed.

Across the full range of breeds, the coat can be anything from a dense woolly fleece to a short, sleek coat much like a goat's or a deer's.

Hare sheep, such as the Katadin, the Barbados Blackbelly, and the Dorper, shed their coats naturally each year, much as many other mammals do.

They do not need to be shorn at all.

Hare sheep are becoming more popular in hot climates and in places where the price of wool does not cover the cost of shearing.

[laughs] They are amazing, 'cause I suppose it's such a mixture of all sorts.

If you ask Tim White what's in them, he reels off 10, 15 different breeds, including Katahdin, which is what I originally, I think, tried to contact Kyle about, 'cause that's what...

Does Gabe have Katahdin sheep? I think.

Which are meant to have got really good feet, which is one of the re- yeah.

So I, I never have to trim a foot, and if you do get one that is a bit lame, within a day or two it's then not lame again.