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Resources for Beginner Sheep Farmers, Dorper Sheep for Sale in Texas!

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A Look at 2 Regenerative Sheep Farms in Australia | Dorper and Australian White Sheep

Touring Regenerative Sheep Farms in Australia:

I packed up and left my farm in Northeast Texas and here is why:

I am often asked: does regenerative agriculture and rotational grazing work in desert conditions, or are the benefits confined to areas of high rainfall?

To find the answer I visited Southern California, one of the driest areas in the USA, then flew across the ocean to Australia, the driest inhabited continent on the face of the earth, to bring you a first-hand look at raising sheep on Pasture in desert conditions.

Each sheep farm I visited raises meat sheep on 100% forage, with no grain input, and all with as little rainfall as 8-21 inches per year.  What’s more is that each sheep farm has developed unique and profitable direct to consumer sales streams. Sales streams necessary to avoid middle-men and commodity sale barns which often squeeze producers out of profits.

This travel and video series was made possible by your support of my new book: the Basics of Raising Sheep on Pasture. My book is for beginners launching their own flock on 30 acres or less. Through it I teach the basics of raising, rotational grazing, and lambing a small flock of sheep.

This series of VIDEOS, which will be releasing between now and December 10th is for you. Because I wanted to use your support of my book to continue to provide a high level of education that will propel you forward as you raise your own flocks: whether large or small.

Also, I cam back with a bundle of souvenirs from Australia for one of you. Just hit the thumbs up on this video and leave a comment telling me which of the upcoming episodes you are most excited about!  This is for US residents only and I’ll pick a winner on December 10th, A few days after I plan to post the final video of this tour.

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I was able to travel with 3 of my siblings who helped me film at each location. 

The trip started at the DFW airport where we flew from Dallas to Los Angeles.  

Despite the temptation to stay and stalk celebrities, we exited Los Angeles pretty quickly.

Boek House/Shepherdess Land and Livestock:

We drove to our first film location which was in the Ojai Valley about 1.5 hours north of Los Angeles. I have an entire episode coming on the tour of Shepherdess Land and Livestock, led by Dylan Boeken.

A few of the highlights of this tour include:

-How Shepherdess Land and Livestock uses small ruminants and targeted grazing to mitigate wildfires in southern California.

-How they get paid to GRAZE thousands of sheep via these contract grazing agreements.

-How Dylan runs a thriving direct to consumer forage-fed lamb business in Ojai Valley just 3 years after launching into agriculture and without owning any land.

The full episode from Ojai Valley is scheduled to Release December 7th here on the channel, so be watching for it because there is SO MUCH amazing information on both grazing in a brittle environment and marketing lamb.  At each stop I did a reverse book signing and asked each ranch managers sign my book, I am so excited to see how many signatures this copy will accumulate over the next few years.

We had one extra day to enjoy Southern California. We had the most incredible accommodations, thanks to the generous sponsorship of the Ojai Retreat. The retreat is just a quick 1.5 hour drive east of Los Angeles and is incredible getaway.

Flight time from LA to Brisbane was 17 hours 55 minutes, with one layover in FIJI, which was pretty exotic.  Lots of guys in skirts.

SHEEP FARMING IN AUSTRALIA

They served us three meals onboard, which really helped with our food budget, but not enough to justify the acid indigestion they produced, so we opted out of the airplane meals on the flight home. 🙂

Then, after 17 hours and 25 minutes, we landed in the land down under and took our first steps onto international soil and broke into our food budget to enjoy an Australian trademark.

Bellevue Dorper and White Dorper Stud:

We headed inland to our farm tours after a few days on the Gold Coast. The first stop was Millmerran at the incredible Bellevue Dorper Stud. Stud is the Australian term for a registered breeding stock operation. Sophie’s family transitioned from a Merino wether operation, to a Dorper Stud about 20 years ago.  The transition was a smashing success in light of the failing value of wool as a commodity and the rise in popularity of the Dorper as a shedding hair breed.

SHEEP FARMING IN AUSTRALIA

A few of the highlights of this tour include:

-Seeing the Bellevue Dorper Genetics that produces award-winning carcasses on FORAGE ONLY.

-Watching Bellevue masterfully coordinate their annual Stud sale.

-Learning about how Sophie transitioned the farm from conventional to organic agriculture 15 years ago.

-Getting a look at what forages are keeping the flock in amazing condition despite an extreme drought, wherein they have seen less than 8” of rain in the entire year.

The full episode from Bellevue Dorper is scheduled to Release December 1st here on the channel, so be watching for it because there is SO MUCH amazing information shared.

SHEEP FARMING IN AUSTRALIA

Our final farm tour of the trip was Macintyre Brooke Lamb. The name of this farm manager was also Sophie. Sophie and her husband are first Generation farmers, raising Australian White Sheep and marketing the meat direct to consumer. They market and sell through their website and newsletter using a boxed lamb format. Amazingly, Macintyre Brooke sells out of it’s fresh boxed lamb every month.  This is an incredible bright spot for Sohpie and her family, BECAUSE

Between drought and inventory surplus, the Australian Sheep industry is taking a huge hit in 2023. Many Australian ranchers are citing that it is close to becoming more profitable to slaughter and bury their sheep, than to pay the transport fees to market.  It’s a very sad time to consider, but Sophie’s direct to consumer lamb sales program has allowed her to continue to garner premium pricing on her lamb, even in the most difficult market conditions.

The full episode from Macyntire Brooke Lamb is scheduled to Release on November 24th here on the channel, so be watching for it because there is SO MUCH amazing information shared.

Before Leaving Australia we enjoyed a 10 mile hike through Lamington National Park. 

Our final experience was And the third and final was an incredible hot air balloon tour of the scenic rim, sponsored by Hot Air Australia. A gourmet breakfast followed at O’Reilly Vineyard, which made it truly the perfect ending to the trip of a lifetime!

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” James 1:17

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MARKETING LAMBS FOR $225-$480 EACH | Dorper Sheep Farming in the USA

DOWNLOAD MY (free) PDF: 3 TIPS to LAUNCH A PROFITABLE EMAIL LIST!

Marketing Lambs for $225-$480 each:

A question I often receive is: “Where do you sell your sheep for the premium pricing you talk about?”

 So today I am going to (1) tell you exactly where and how I sell my sheep for between $400-500 per head, regardless of what the sale barn prices are, (2) how long it has taken me to build this sales stream, and (3) The TOTALLY UNIQUE and different from me way my Instagram friend Darlene used to sell her first grass fed lambs for a whopping $510 each, profiting $400 per head!

About Harmony Farms:


For those new here, I run a small-scale sheep operation on 30 acres in Northeast Texas.

I started three years ago with no experience in agriculture, but I did have a pretty extensive background in marketing and using the internet to build various types of income streams.

From the beginning there was one concept I was dead-set on: I was not going to rely on sale barns (or really any middle man or 3rd party sales platform) for profitability. I was going to market my product, my sheep, direct to consumer.

I knew I needed to do this in order to garner a consistent level of profitability from my farm.

BECAUSE, If you are familiar with sale barns and conventional cattle cycles, you will know that you have maybe 2-3 really good years where you are making bank at the sale barns, 2-3 years where you are covering costs and doing ok, and 2-3 years where you are bleeding to death because the prices at the sale barn won’t even pay for inputs necessary to overwinter your breeding stock. The length of these cycles varies based on various factors, but generally that’s what you can expect when using sale barns.

So from the start I knew I could not build a business that was at the mercy of this crazy cycle.

3 years after starting out, by God’s grace, my efforts in this direct to consumer sales stream has paid off way better than I ever expected. Not only do I have a low-maintenance sales platform that I can sell my sheep through at a premium, I have a relationship with a customer base that has allowed me to diversify my income and quit my regular job in 3 years instead of 7.

Now a quick sidenote about quitting my regular job: I haven’t really quit. I have just moved it to the back burner and turned the heat down to a slow simmer. And I can do this because ALL of the income streams I am working (and have ever worked in my 18 years of earning an income) are 100% home based. Diversity is important and no smart business person will ever completely ditch a viable income stream when they have the option to simply dial it down for a season. This is what I’ve done.

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Where do I sell my sheep for $400-$500 per head?:

So let’s get to the first point: Where do I sell my sheep for $400-500 per head?

Where do I sell my sheep for between $400-500 each? I sell them through my email newsletter. I began building my email newsletter list 3 years ago and for 3 consecutive years I have marketed all of my sheep through that newsletter list.

I use that newsletter list to point to my website where all of my sheep are listed once per year at a set price. People can use their credit card to check out on that website and pay for their sheep, just as they are accustomed to doing multiple times per week for other products. I pre-announce the date and time that my sheep will become available and they are offered on a first-come-first-served basis.

In my first year, I only had enough newsletter subscribers to sell 1/2 of my sheep through my website, so I advertised and sold the other half through Craigslist. It took about a month total to sell all of my sheep in my first year.

In my second year, I had built my newsletter list enough to where I sold out of all of my sheep within 15 minutes of opening the sale, and in my 3rd year I sold out of all my sheep within 4 minutes of opening the sale.

Each year I was also offering significantly more sheep than the previous year, which was encouraging to see the demand keep up with flock growth.

Whether people are buying for meat or for breeding stock, I direct them all to the same newsletter “waitlist’ throughout the year. The price for meat and breeding stock works out to be about the same: $400-500 per head.

Second point: How long has it taken me to build out my newsletter?

The short answer is about 3 years in total. On a daily basis I’d say I’m spending between 1-2 hours per day actively building up my newsletter, using the strategies I outline in that free PDF guide that is linked below.

This time quote of only 1-2 hours is a result of having streamlined a lot of processes to gain subscribers: kicking out the strategies that don’t work and zeroing in on the ones that do.

To keep those subscribers warm from one year to the next (because as it stands I have only one lamb crop and only one time per year that I sell my lambs), I send out a monthly farm update full of behind the scenes photos of the flock and the work I am doing at the farm.

The reason this is important is because if you just send out one email per year saying “hey! The sheep are ready to buy!” People are going to be like “who is this stranger in my inbox??” Because they probably will not remember the fact that 8 months prior they joined your email list to buy lamb.

But if once per month you stay in touch with truly beautiful photos, stories, and sometimes struggles from the farm, you have kept the minds and hearts of your subscribers warm throughout the year.

For me, it also provides an easy way to value-add. If the buyer can see beautiful photos of how my sheep are raised and loved, it becomes an easy, non-salesy way to elevate the value of my sheep above other people’s sheep.

EVEN BETTER: In those monthly farm updates, I regularly offer my subscriber something else to buy, items that cost $50 or less. And that diversification is what has allowed me to quit my regular job and focus on my farm business 4 years ahead of my business plan.

If you guys have any further questions they re probably answered on that FREE Newsletter strategy PDF down below, so grab that before you leave!

Finally, I am just going to read how my friend Dianne at Good Shepherd Homestead sold her first grass fed lambs for $510 each, profiting $400! (@goodshepherdhomestead1 on instagram if you want to follow her)

“I wanted to share my success in
raising my first lamb harvest. We
raised grass fed lamb, butchered 4
and sold 2 lambs in profits already.
Each lamb will bring in $510 with a
profit of $400. It could be more but
I’m selling at a price l’d pay. I hosted
a “Lamb Feast” and invited 35
people. They ate lamb for free and
brought side dishes. At the end
several purchased lamb meat and
now they are sharing with their
friends where to get lamb. I accepted
payment via cash and cash app.
God is so good.

The event went so well. we are
considering hosting it once a
quarter due to many request.
@thegoodshepherdhomestead1”

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October 2023 Farm Update

Hello Friends!
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I am excited to share an October farm update with you! This one is fun because I had the opportunity to travel to Virginia to meet some of you! Enjoy a look at October at Harmony Farms.

I traveled to Virginia for Homesteaders of America 2023! I was super-excited to find an orange TENT for the event ;). It was a great opportunity to promote my book!

If you missed the conference, all of my tees are available (with FREE SHIPPING) at Shepherdess.com!

The best part of the whole event was meeting so many of your face to face!!

October is such a month of refreshing on the farm! The lambs are all off to processing, the weather is cool, and the ewes are ready for breeding.

This year I shortened my fall breeding window. I talk about it in this video, but I noticed that ewes that lamb after April 1st struggle with parasites more than the ewes that lamb in March. This year I plan to have spring lambing finished by March 15th, then rejoin any open ewes for a fall lambing. I’ll be excited to share how it goes!

Thank you for reading and supporting the work I’m doing!

-the Shepherdess

Are you looking for sheep to purchase? Check out the Shepherdess Breeder Directory!

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Homestead Burnout?

Download my ➡️$100K Worksheet HERE: https://bit.ly/3part100K

Joel Salatin produced an article that I read a few months ago. To summarize the article, he said that each new homestead craze sees a 6 year cycle: 2 years of honeymoon phase, 2 years for reality to set in, and 2 years for you to burnout, sell out and get out.

I was kind of saddened but could really resonate with that article.

WHY? Because this year was an incredibly tough one for me as far as feelings of burnout.

I am going to tell you why I hit such a severe season, how I chose to adjust rather than quit, and 2 hard rules I set for myself to make sure my farming effort really stands the test of time.

Too much too fast:

Ok, so here is why I hit such an intense season: I over-diversified my farm in too short a period of time.

While I never told you guys about it formally, I expanded the farm with a micro cow-calf operation, a dairy goat herd, and feeder piglets… all within the space of a few months. (To be fair the pigs were my brother’s undertaking, so besides logistics and herding them after a breakout, I was not involved)

Within a year of this expansion, the pigs were digging up the pasture, the goats were really frustrating in terms of contentment and rotational grazing, and we hit a couple of major and minor droughts that caused that micro cow-calf herd to put way more pressure on my pasture than was healthy.

The sheep continued to do great. My revenue with them actually tripled from 2022-2023. This was primarily because I was actively cultivating a market stream for them, where I was not as much with the other animals.

I hit last summer I had something like 150 animals on farm counting and some of them just weren’t earning their keep. The cows cash flowed too slowly to keep up with the supplemental hay that I needed to keep them through the winter, and I don’t really have ideal brushy landscape satisfy the goats, nor the audience to consume goats milk. So I really felt like I was spinning my wheels with no real product to show for it.

I made it through the summer and took a real step back once autumn hit. I chose to adjust rather than quit.

I looked at the cows and said my objectives here are to raise Grassfed Beef. I am going to eliminate the costly, risky cow calf operation and switch back to buying feeder steers.

I looked at the goats and said I will not keep 15 dairy goats, I will keep 3.

I looked at the pigs, which were actually in my frying pan.

And I looked at my sheep and said I am going to keep my 40 ewes with the highest reproductive rates.

WOW. I feel so good with these adjustments. I am back to my original energy and focus, while maintaining a reasonable and manageable level of diversity.

2 hard rules I set for myself to bake sustainability into my farming endeavor:

1: I have to have clarity on what I want out of that animal before I commit to it. I did this with the sheep, but really failed to do it for the cows and goats. IT’S NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO SAY: I AM GOING TO RAISE MEAT RABBITS FOR FOOD FREEDOM. YOU NEED TO SAY: I WANT 25 LBS OF MEAT OFF OF MY GROUP OF BACKYARD MEAT RABBITS EVERY YEAR. Knowing what your expectations are gives you a measuring stick for each effort and when you feel burnt out you can step back and say, “OK, am I burnt out because we are just doing a great job of making strides toward this goal, or is this animal dead weight and could I be spending my time better?”. Downsizing if your objectives are not met is good stewardship of your time and energy. Which are both resources with as much value as topsoil.

2: Is something that I actually established way back: I am not allowed to make any significant DE-stocking decisions from June to mid-august. June and July are typically the most intense months for the farm and I find myself saying at least once in June or July that I want to quit. So I make all of my decisions after August 15th when the dust settles and my rational brain returns. I say: “what do I want to do again, and what do I want to do never again?”

So this is it! I want to encourage you guys in the fact that adjusting is not the same as quitting.

We are all in this race for a reason, but sometimes we put weights on ourselves that we weren’t meant to carry. And when we get tired, that doesn’t mean we are disqualified or that we should quit the race, it means we need to evaluate, drop some weight and keep running.

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September 2023 Farm Update

Hello Friends,

This farm update is a little different… most of it is coming from Australia! I am often asked if the regenerative principles I promote work in areas of compromised rainfall. To get the answer, I visited Australia to film a 3-part series on Raising Sheep on 100% Pasture (in arid climates).

I’m not going to lie: your generous support of my book launch was part of the reason I was able to take this trip… THANK YOU. It is my goal to use the profit in a way that would provide you with more education and resources.

​Australia is the 2nd largest sheep producing country in the world (2nd to China) and also the driest inhabited continent on the face of the earth. The video series is going to be full of management strategies from some of the best farms! (launching November)

We took advantage of a layover in Southern California to film Dylan at Boek House. Dylan raises hundreds of lambs on forage only. Dylan sells his lambs direct to consumer in the Ojai Valley. The thing that amazed me is that Dylan owns no land. He has built relationships with landowners in the valley to grow his lamb operation.

The Basics of Raising Sheep on Pasture is a book that will guide beginners through everything from raising lambs on pasture, to installing a rotational grazing system, and MORE!

Bellevue Grazing Company was at the top of my list to visit once I landed in Australia. Bellevue is an AWARD WINNING Dorper Stud (“Stud” is a term used to describe a registered breeding stock operation) in Queensland. They raise Dorpers on 100% pasture with no grain and little or no chemical inputs.

Bellevue hosted their annual on-farm Ram sale while I was there and it was incredible to be a part of the event!

Huge thanks to Sophie and Bellevue for hosting me and sharing about the operation!

Macyntire Brooke Lamb was another one of my stops in Australia. Sophie M. raises Australian White Sheep on 100% pasture. Sophie sells all of her lamb direct to consumer as “Fresh Boxed Lamb”. This model is incredibly resilient, allowing her to sell at a premium even as the Australian sheep market takes a hit this year.

And it wouldn’t be an update from Australia without Koalas and Kangaroos, so here you are :).

I love the little joey popping out of the pouch!!

As much as I enjoyed the travel, it was great to return to my farm in the USA. A special thanks to my family for watching the animals while I was gone!

Thank you all! I look forward to seeing you next month,

the Shepherdess

“And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.” Deuteronomy 31:8

Looking to buy sheep to start your own sheep farming journey? Check out the Shepherdess Breeder Directory!:

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August 2023 Farm Update

Hello Friends,

August ushered in a slower pace on pasture and allowed me to launch and ship the Basics of Raising Sheep on Pasture. The heat was extreme and we had little or no rain, but (remembering last year’s drought) I reserved some pasture in prep for another dry spell. Here is a look at August!

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​I also want to issue a quick apology! Over the past couple of weeks those who ordered sheep supplies have experienced delays in shipping. I typically ship my sheep supplies within 1-2 business days, but with the Book Pre-order, a few of those orders were lost in the influx. My shipping helpers and I have caught up and plan to be back on track with supplies shipments this week.

The Sheep are doing amazingly well in the dry heat. The Dorper is built for drought conditions, so they are having no trouble sailing through the dry spell!

We have had little rain and triple digits for 6 weeks straight. The good rains this spring allowed me to put some pasture in reserve for the dry spell!

My book: The Basics of Raising Sheep on Pasture has launched and is shipping now!!! I am so grateful for your response to this book.

My incredible family jumped in to help fill your orders!

I really hope this book helps to soften your learning curve and hasten you to a pleasurable, profitable experience with sheep!

I have a NEW SHIRT AVAILABLE! Probably one of my favorites yet :).

I am so grateful for your continued support! I look forward to seeing you again next month :).

-the Shepherdess

“Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.” Psalm 100:3

Are you looking for pasture raised sheep to buy? Check out my pasture based breeder directory!

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CALL about the PRIME ACT!


✅THE PRIME ACT IS UP FOR DISCUSSION!! This will alleviate restrictions on custom exempt meat processors and allow small farmers to sell meat processed through them.
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Call your U.S Representative as well as BOTH of your U.S. Senators (Cornyn and Cruz here in TX) by September 5th and urge them to sign on to H.R. 2814/S.907 which will remove restrictions on resale of meat from CUSTOM EXEMPT meat processors


Here is a quick 101 on MEAT PROCESSING RESTRICTIONS!!


Small farmers have 2 options when it comes to meat processing: USDA and Custom Exempt meat processors

To sell their meat to the public, small farmers have to process through a USDA meat processor. These are facilities with USDA agents on the premise at all times.
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If processed at a CUSTOM facility the meat is stamped “NOT FOR RESALE” and prohibited from distribution to the public.
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While it is often argued that USDA oversight is required in order to assure food safety, there are no records of any foodborne illness traced to any custom slaughterhouse since 2012.
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See this link to find your legislators contacts. Please share this video to spread the word!!
#smallfarm #smallfarming #localfood #foodfreedom

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if you don’t have much grass…

The Basics of Raising Sheep on Pasture has 2 chapters for shepherds who are starting on low quality pasture. Here is a look at those two chapters!

PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY!

Chapter 8 covers Supplement Options for sheep on low quality pasture:​

Chapter 9 covers Easy Ways to Improve Pasture Quality:

The advance copies came in from the printing press today!!! I am so excited about how the final book looks… We plan to start shipping them to you on September 6th!

About the book The Basics of Raising Sheep on Pasture:

Raising sheep on pasture requires a basic understanding of pasture management, breeding & lambing, and mitigation methods for common disease. I walk the beginner shepherd through each aspect; sharing vivid pictures, easy to follow instruction, and personal stories from my own journey with sheep.

This is a book best suited for beginner sheep farmers raising sheep on 30 acres or less!

“And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.” Psalm 90:17

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I’m giving this to you…

A lot of you asked for marketing information to be included in my book. Unfortunately, (with just sheep info) The Basics of Raising Sheep on Pasture is already 238 pages! I could not include much about marketing… so I have another pre-order BONUS to fix that!!

I’m giving this class (and planner) to you when you PRE-ORDER the Basics of Raising Sheep on Pasture!!

The $30k Side Hustle class walks you through:

-Finding customers.

-Deciding what product to sell.

-How to price your product.

-Setting sales quotas.

​
I teach this class using a real-life example of how I went from 0-$30k with my first side hustle (which I started in 9th grade). 12 years later I used the same planning process to start my sheep farming business.

pre-order now!!

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Overwhelmed.

Order your copy here!

If I can be honest I was really really nervous (even shaking a little) when I launched pre-order yesterday morning.

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I am self-publishing this book.

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All production and distribution costs have to be paid in full and those costs crept into 5-figures for this project.

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It was a real risk… but I felt really strongly that this was a book that beginner sheep farmers needed.

​

It was my goal with a 9 day pre-order to be able to cover costs.

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Within 9 hours you purchased enough books to cover the of the production.

​

THANK YOU for supporting this effort. I am overwhelmed with gratitude.

​

-the Shepherdess

About the Basics of Raising Sheep on Pasture (Hardcover Book)

​Raising sheep on pasture requires a basic understanding of pasture management, breeding & lambing, and mitigation methods for common disease. I walk the beginner shepherd through each aspect; sharing vivid pictures, easy to follow instruction, and personal stories from my own journey with sheep.

If you want to know what kind of info I provide through this book, here is a look at the table of content!

Order your copy here!

“And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.” Psalm 90:17

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FAQ’s About The Basics of Raising Sheep on Pasture Book Launch

Pre-order launches on Tuesday August 15th at Shepherdess.com for: The Basics of Raising Sheep on Pasture!

What is the price of this book? The Basics of Raising Sheep on Pasture is priced at $46.95, but PRE-ORDER price is $41 and FREE USA SHIPPING.

Where can I buy the book? Shepherdess.com. Tomorrow at 8am (CST) is when the book launches. Shepherdess.com is the ONLY place to buy the Basics of Raising Sheep on Pasture. I am not selling through Amazon.

What are the pre-order bonuses?

  • First 25 orders receive a Shepherdess tee (your choice of design)
  • First 100 orders receive a laptop sticker bundle (one of each design I have available)
  • First 300 order will receive a signed copy of the book! (thank you to everyone who is asking me to sign their copy! I am going to sign the first 300 copies that are shipped out)

What is book about? Here is the table of contents:

When do the books ship? Estimating September 6th.

Are you shipping this book internationally? Yes, however shipping is $25 for international orders. An EBOOK will be available in case you would like to bypass shipping fees and purchase a digital copy.

Have you considered writing a devotional connected to raising sheep on pasture? No, however The Basics of Raising Sheep on Pasture has Scripture throughout and a few journal entries from my first year of farming. (sample page below) I share the Bible verses that encouraged me through ruts and seasons of burnout as a first time farmer.

Do you have bulk discounts for the book? I am buying for friends or to resell.

YES. I am offering three bulk bundles at Shepherdess.com tomorrow:

  • 25% off 10 books
  • 40% off 30 books.
  • 50% off 50 books.

If you have your own website or social media, you have permission to resell the books for a profit! Shipping is $1 per book on bulk bundles (USA).

This is a spiral bound prototype. The book you receive will be a professionally bound hardcover!

Thank you all! I am so excited for tomorrow!!

-the Shepherdess

“And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.” Psalm 90:17

Are you shopping for sheep? Check out the Shepherdess Breeder Directory!​

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The Basics of Raising Sheep on Pasture: A Book for Beginners in Sheep Farming

The Basics of Raising Sheep on Pasture: a Book for Beginners in Sheep Farming.

Buy the Book here

About the book: The Basics of Raising Sheep on Pasture

In 2017, my family and I moved to the country. Shortly thereafter we bought a flock of 36 sheep. We had no previous experience in raising four-footed livestock. Our first few years as beginner sheep farmers was incredibly rough. Over the course of five years, we earned a hard and fast education on animal husbandry. We learned through losses, trial error; you name it, we probably went through it.

In 2020, I personally stumbled upon the concept of regenerative pasture management. It was a combination of an education on basic husbandry principles and regenerative pasture management that took death rate on our sheep farm from 40% in our rookie year to less than 5% three years later.

Industry average death rate for sheep farms nationwide is 15%, so this drop is absolutely astounding.

For the past six months, I have been working to condense everything that allowed us to so dramatically increase productivity on our sheep farm.

The result is a rich resource for beginner sheep farmers.

That resource is a book that I am so thrilled to announce: the Basics of Raising Sheep on Pasture. What sets the Basics of Raising Sheep on Pasture apart from any other book on raising sheep is that it is a photo-educational book. As much as it tells you what to do, it shows you what to do.

The pictures in this book are vivid and show you step by step how to implement the basic principles necessary to raise and rear a healthy sheep flock. What’s more is that sprinkled throughout the book are a series of QR codes. Should you choose to pair technology with the use of this book, you can scan those codes to be taken straight to videos that further expound the processes explained on the page.

While this book was not necessarily written for children, the easy to understand framework makes it ideal for a young audience. The videos that are accessible through these codes are hosted on a child friendly platform and free of third party ads.

This book is being launched exclusively through shepherdess.com and will not be found on Amazon.

Thank you all for your support to this point! I wouldn’t be doing this without you.
-the Shepherdess

“And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.” Psalm 90:17

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BUILDING 7 STREAMS OF INCOME ON MY SHEEP FARM | Sheep Farming for Profit (with PDF)

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Today I am going to walk you through seven sources of income that I generate on my sheep farm for profit. A lot of people talk about the concept of having multiple income streams, and it’s usually presented in a very abstract way. Today I’m going to take you through these seven sources of income and how I generate them without leaving the farm.

“Most successful family economies over history involved a mix of trades rather than just one. The village blacksmith also farmed his own land. Our first president was also a distinguished orchardist. Ben Franklin was a courier, author, publisher, statesman, and inventor. So it will be today successful enduring family economies will most likely need to be diversified and cross a range of durable trades.” (Durable Trades, Pg. 41)

Number one source of income is livestock. I run both sheep and a cow herd. The cow herd is a break-even enterprise. I sell the grass fed beef on a local level and it really allows me to satisfy my desire to produce a local food source for my community. The sheep are a profit center on my farm.

My sheep are purebred Dorper sheep. The demand for my sheep is such that all of my sheep are selling on the hoof. They are selling as breeding stock to other small farms. Managing the livestock end of my farm takes about two hours per day. I know a lot of you probably have a job that you need to keep as your primary income source and wonder if it’s possible to run a farm on the side. It is definitely possible.

Being able to finish my farm work in just 1-2 hours per day came down to having the right tools for both my grazing system and my watering system. Here is a free P D F download that lists all of those tools I use.

The second source of income for me is a result of the fact that I have more demand for my sheep than I’m able to supply with my own farm.

I launched a pasture-based breeder directory at shepherdess.com. Pasture-based sheep farmers can join this directory and I will do the marketing for them. You can check this out at shepherdess.com/breeders.

Income source number three is not tied to farming at all. It is a line of leather work and creative products that I produce myself.

This was the bulk of my income before my work in agriculture really got off the ground and started generating income. I have not completely phased the leather work business out. I understand that what I’m experiencing right now with the ability to generate enough income to support myself through agriculturally related means may not last forever.

So I have put the leatherwork/craft business on a side hustle basis. In the case that things slow down on the farm I can expand my capacity for taking orders.

The fourth source of income is Sheep Care supplies kits at Shepherdess.com. What has really made this popular is that I actually assemble kits for beginner sheep farmers.

What I found as a beginner shepherd was that there were just a few supplies that kept situations from becoming emergencies. I sell those products in kits at shepherdess.com. I run Shepherdess.com out of my garage. It is something that I’m able to do right from the farm.

Income source number five is podcasting and videos. Now, this is a very, very small income source. YouTube ad revenue is very small for me, surprisingly enough. I guess the farming niche that is a very low ad revenue generating niche, but the sheep farming videos I create for youtube generate a lot of traffic to shepherdess.com where I sell products for profit.

Income source number six really ties back to my time in the apparel industry. I really have a love for creating unique and beautiful things to wear, and so periodically I will update shepherdess.com with merch and apparel that has an agricultural theme. The neat thing about this apparel also is that my sister is an amazing artist and she’ll actually collaborate with me to create a lot of the designs that are applied to this merchandising: whether it’s shirts or note cards or stickers. This is a really fun project that we can mutually collaborate on here at the farm, and you guys have been so generous to support that.

Income source number seven is something I’m so excited to tell you guys about, and it is the launch of my very own book, the Basics of Raising Sheep on Pasture. As beginner sheep, farmers going into Sheep Farming with no previous experience in four-footed livestock. Our first few years was really rough.

But we adapted management principles, which I outline in this book, and death rate went from above industry average on our sheep farm to one third of industry average within just two seasons. Pre-order opens on August 15th, 2023, and I would so appreciate your support for the launch at Shepherdess.com.

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July 2023 Farm Update | Raising Sheep in Texas

Hello Friends,

I am excited for August… but I don’t want to bypass a July Farm Update! July started out pretty rough. I lost a few ewes and spent some time doctoring my late-born lambs. Despite a rough start, July ended beautifully. I hope you enjoy a look behind the scenes!

I am adding breeders to the Shepherdess Breeder Directory! If you are shopping for pasture raised sheep, that is the place for you!

I was able to stock up on square bales for the winter. I am grateful for the good rainfall which has made hay more easily accessible this year!

The amazing rainfall is nothing to complain about, but it did lead to an extended parasite season. I typically rely on the dry heat of July and August to end the season. Sadly, I lost a few sheep during the heavy July rains. As the month wore on, a few lambs (above) continued to struggle with anemia. I weaned them and put them on dry feed, but they continued to struggle….until…

Fellow shepherds referred me to a vitamin supplement (drench) called “Redglo”! This is a product for horses. You must assume all liability when you use for sheep. I drenched each lamb with 5 cc’s of Redglo per day for 5 days. Within 2 days I noticed a massive improvement. One little lamb had chronic bottle jaw (fluid buildup as a result of anemia). Within 24 hours of her first dose of Redglo the bottle jaw dissipated! Everyone is on the upswing and I am so happy!!

Pasture moves just before dusk! Such a beautiful time.

The final proof of the Basics of Raising Sheep on Pasture… my book is heading to print!!

PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR AUGUST 15th!!!!!!! My new book book, The Basics of Raising Sheep on Pasture is set release at 8am on August 15th! I will be giving away special gifts on launch day, so please watch your email for details as August 15th approaches :).

Tired but grateful as July comes to a close. Sometimes life calls for a double scoop of ice cream in the middle of the day… the sheep made me do it ;).

Thanks for your support! I appreciate all of you so much.

-the Shepherdess

Check out this featured farm from the Shepherdess Breeder Directory:

“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” Isaiah 41:10

Click here to read previous farm updates!

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3 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE BUYING SHEEP | Sheep Farming for Beginners

📚FREE Sheep Farming E-book
🔸CLEMSON UNIVERSITY SHEEP DEWORMER GUIDE
🌾ROTATIONAL GRAZING SHEEP PLAYLIST

BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO RAISING SHEEP on PASTURE SMALL SCALE

IN THIS VIDEO I am going to give you the 3 things you will need to consider as a beginner looking to get start with sheep. I am going to share with you the difficulty we had as a result of being under-prepared for these 3 things when sheep landed at our farm 5 years ago. Spoiler alert: we lost 1/2 of our initial flock.

I am going to call on the sheep owners watching this: Drop in the comments what breed you are running and give one piece of advice based on what you have experienced with sheep so far. I asked this question on my last video about sheep vs. goats and you guys left a GOLD MINE of information for viewers, so I hope you will share your knowledge in the same way on this video!

If you are just jumping into sheep farming I have a free 1 hour class that I highly recommend you take advantage of. It is going to take a deep dive into raising and grazing sheep. I have linked that free resource for you below.

Parasites are #1 on the list of challenges as a beginner sheep farmer.
When you bring a healthy sheep to your farm, you will probably not have a whole lot of trouble with parasites initially. Beginner sheep farmers typically have a 1-3 year grace period before a land base reaches a saturation point. What this means is that your land is initially a clean slate and untainted by sheep manure, and subsequently the parasites that hatch out and multiply through that manure. As your sheep graze across your land base, parasite loads will slowly build. Unless you are proactive with the right strategy up front, you will hit a tipping point and begin experiencing an increase in Parasite problems, even if you are running a “parasite resistant” breed.

Here are 3 ways to be proactive about parasites:

1: Put rotational grazing practices in place at the start. For parasite management it is ideal to move your sheep to fresh pasture every two days, but at minimum try to move to a new paddock once a week. I do this by using electric poly-tape to section off my 30 acres into 40-90 different grazing paddocks (one at a time, of course). Resting a paddock for 45 days will cause a majority of the parasites that are left behind in the manure to die off naturally.

2: Try to avoid penning your sheep up at night, but if you do make sure it is a dry lot and there is no way they can nibble on grass while they wait for you to lead them back to pasture. The parasites from the manure build up in that pen poses a serious threat to your sheep. I keep my sheep on pasture 24/7 as much as possible. This even means at night. I do not use a shed unless it is an emergency, or predator pressure is heavy. When I do house the sheep in a shed, I make sure it a dry lot where they cannot graze.

3 Probably most importantly: if you are going to use dewormer, be aware of correct dosage rates. The rate provided on the package is a maintenance dose and not a treatment dose. Maintenance dose is about 1/2 of what is necessary to kill all of the parasites within an infected sheep. What will happen is that you will use the maintenance dose on the package which kill the weakest worms, and leave your sheep full of blood-sucking super bugs. I am going to link the CORRECT DOSAGE RATE for dewormer down below. This chart is put out by Clemson university and backed up by Rhode Island State University and guides on proper usage for all types of dewormer available in the United States.

How did we get it wrong when our sheep were dropped at our farm 5 years ago and what happened?
We had no rotational grazing system in place.
We housed the sheep in a shed.
And we had no clue about proper dosage rates when it came time to deworm.

What happened: 18 months into sheep farming we hit that saturation point I mentioned previously. We faced the devastating loss if 1/2 of our adult ewes and most of the lambs from our first year. We finally got it under control and brought our death rate from way above industry standard to way below industry standard through good grazing and good deworming practices

I was very recently reminded of how critical that rotational grazing management is for sheep. This year I took a 6 week break from my grazing program in peak parasite season. In the 6 weeks that followed I lost 9 lambs… more than we have lost in one season since launching our rotational grazing program in 2020. While I’m not proud to admit that, I want it to resonate on how important it is to move your flock to fresh pasture as frequently as possible… I have a dozen videos about grazing sheep, and I will link the playlist below so you can binge watch once you are done with this video :).

Containment is #2:
Sheep are difficult to contain. Not as bad as goats, but way worse than cows. 5-strand barbed wire is not effective for containing sheep. At our farm we overlayed our existing 5-strand cattle fencing with 6” woven Wire field fencing as a perimeter fence. We bought this field fencing at our local farm store on 330 foot rolls. And Within this perimeter fence I use polytape to create the small grazing paddocks for my daily rotational grazing program.

If you cannot afford this expensive perimeter fencing upfront, don’t let it to keep you from getting started with sheep, but I would strongly advise the use of portable electric netting over electric poly tape or poly wire.

When I give this advice, I have Greg Judy followers call out the fact that he runs his sheep on a single strand of electric fencing. However what needs to be kept in mind, is the fact that Greg Judy is working on hundreds of acres in a relatively unpopulated pastoral area. In such a setting, a sheep will jump out of the paddock and enjoy 50-100 acres of grass before becoming a nuisance to anyone.

When farming on small acreage with neighbors close by, your sheep will likely jump out of that paddock into either the neighbors yard, or onto the highway. Best case scenario: you are driving your neighbors nuts, worst case scenario you get the sheriff up your driveway because your sheep are on the highway (don’t ask me how I know that, but it’s true).

Keep that in mind and make your own decisions accordingly.

How did we get it wrong 5 years ago?

We thought 5-strand barbed wire was enough. And it was for about 30 days, until the grass was greener on the other side. Which happened to be our neighbor Debbie’s yard. My apologies Debbie.

Our sheep were perpetually in her yard or on the highway causing us major embarrassment within the community.

We also had a lot of predator losses because coyote and wild dog could slip in and out of the barbed wire.

We ultimately upgraded our fencing to the field fencing I showed you. We did it in small sections as our budget allowed. Perimeter fencing was the biggest and best investment we made for our small scale sheep farm. If it is maintained it will last for 50 years or more.

Predators are #3 on the list of things to have a strategy for before you buy sheep.

Predator pressure is going to vary from farm to farm: but it will be an issue. Whether from wild predators, or the neighbors German shepherd.

Livestock guardian dogs are the gold standard for flock defense.

That said: I myself do not. Have a livestock guardian dog. I mentioned the perimeter fence. Once we installed the tight fencing, our losses abated. We have two large pet dogs that roam the perimeter of our property and bark at anything that approaches the fence line. We have only had one predator loss since we installed the fencing, and it was due to a hole in the fencing.

Predators are pretty serious, so have a defense plan in place.

Watch this video next where I walk you through the 15 things you need to start a sheep farm with cost for each:

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Raising SHEEP vs GOATS: WHICH IS A BETTER HOMESTEAD ANIMAL?

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Interested in purchasing my Dorper Lambs for your own farm? Join my wait-list below!

One year ago I purchased a small goatherd to add to the farm. The does were French alpine (a milk breed) and the billy was a Boer.

I bought them knowing there would some differences between sheep and goats, but assuming (even if I didn’t admit it) that they would be basically the same as sheep.

One year later I am going to share from my perspective

If you are trying to decide between sheep or goats for your farm or homestead am going to share my opinion on a situation in which goats are a hands-down a better for your farm or homestead and a situation in which sheep are a hands down better choice for your farm or homestead.

4 ways that goats have been a more pleasurable animal for me than sheep than sheep, and 4 ways that goats have been a less pleasurable animal for me than sheep and what role they will play on my farm from here on out.

If you are trying to make the decision for your homestead, this video should be chock full of info. Please note there will be exceptions and caveats based on breed, etc so I would like to ask goat owners to leave a comment below with their breed and how their experience has differed or been similar to mine over the past year.

This video is brought to you by shepherdess.com, where I provide beginner sheep owners with the resources they need to get off the ground, including sheep supplies kits and free ebooks and articles. The unique thing about sheep and goats is that there are so many similarities in the healthcare arena that the supplies and resources I offer for sheep crossover into the goat arena.
I’m also going to be launching a book in August that I want you to be watching for: the Basics of Raising Sheep on Pasture: a photo-educational guide to raising and grazing sheep on 30 acres or less.

First up, when we think of bringing an animal back to the farm it is really important to define your goals for that animal. This is going to help you to avoid burnout when the challenges associated with that animal present themselves.

When people talk to me about raising animals on a homestead they are raising them for one of twos reasons: self-sufficiency and food production or Land management

If I am speaking to the self-sufficiency, food production homesteader, I would advise sheep.

Here is why:
At my home, I would a tremendous amount of difficulty convincing my family to make goat milk a regular part of their diet. Lamb, however, slips into the menu and replaces beef in most of the recipes we use it in. Lamb is very easy to integrate into already established eating habits. Until we are starving in some apocalyptic situation I will have to find a secondary use for my goats milk: feeding it to pigs or chickens, or making soap.

Another primary difference between goat and lamb is in the eating experience (should you raise meat goats). Lamb has the capacity to marble and create a similar eating experience to beef, whereas excess fat stores in goats does not become marbling in the meat. Instead it centralize around the vital organs and abdominal wall, and not in the meat. This makes goat a very lean eating experience. This isn’t bad, just different and something that would prove a bigger adjustment for my family at least.

If I am speaking to the homesteader who is managing a very brushy or poor quality forage resource: Goats win.

Goats are extremely aggressive browsers. As I watched this goat herd eat, I at one point watched them work together to tip over a small evergreen tree and then proceed to peel the bark off with their teeth and eat it… all while there were acres and acres of pasture grass at their disposal.

Sheep are 50/50 in their grazing-browsing habits. They are a hybrid between a goat and a cow in that they will eat weeds and brush, but if there is open pasture in front of them, they will opt for it first, then eat away at the brush.

If you have extremely brushy land and very little grass, goats are going to make amazing use of that. The interesting thing I have heard about goats is that within about 5 years they will eat themselves out of a habitat because the brush that they go at so hard is really not used to such heavy grazing impact and will eventually die out of a pasture, making room for grass.

Ok here are 4 ways goats have been a more pleasurable experience for me than sheep over the past year:

Prolificacy: The twinning rate on my goat herd was better than my sheep flock. My goats were supplemented with feed and my sheep were grass only. So please note that could have had something to do with it.

Personality: Goat kids have a way better personality that lambs. The two are equal in cuteness… but goat kids will literally hug you… it’s weird. And it is literally one of the most fun experiences to take your coffee out to the goat pen in the morning and watch them use anything as a gymnasium. Lambs re adorable, but goat personality wins. (Sorry sheep)

Commodity value: Consistently here in the DFW area, goats are pulling stronger prices at sale barns and public auction houses.

Browsing ability: I mentioned this before, but if your land base has more weeds than pasture, goats have an advantage.

4 ways that goats have been a less pleasurable experience for me than sheep over the past year:

Containment: This is the biggest challenge. I had really gotten a good system in place with my sheep. I operate on 2-strands of polytope and a 12 Joule AC charger. This keeps my sheep in at a rate of 90% (which is good enough for me). The goats pretend the fence doesn’t exist. They are super agile and can either jump or muster the bravery to slip through. As I’ve watched them get hit with the electric shock of the poly tape, their instinct seems to be to continue bounding forward, rather than to retract, so whether they are hit with a shock or not, they leave the paddock. I’ve discussed the issue with other goat owners and the concession is that electric netting is the best portable fence option for goats, so invest in a set of that and. You are good to go.

Copper: Goats need more copper than sheep. This isn’t a huge deal, but something to be noted. Twice this year I have administered a copper bolus in the back of the throat for each goat and that was all they needed.

Climbing: It may be the breed, but my alpines climb-climb-climb in ways that my stalky Dorpers never could. They climb out of my handling system and I have to chase them around the corral and manually provide their drenches and treatments. In fact last year they collaborated with the sheep. They climbed to the top of the hay pile, and kicked several bales to the bottom, where the sheep feasted heartily on what was supposed to be winter reserves.

Hooves: I was treating more goat hooves than sheep hooves this year. Now it was an abnormally wet year so I am not certain this is a fair estimate, but I’ll include it anyway and let you agree or disagree in the comments section with the point that goats are more sensitive to hoof issues than sheep.

I noted they were about the same as sheep with respect to parasites… However I did not loose any goat kids to parasites this year and I did lose a few lambs, so they did gain the win there. However I was raising a lot more lambs than goats this year, so it’s not really an even match.

So what am I going to do?? Will goats stay on my farm. Yes, they will. I have been told by my little sisters, who adore the goats, that I must keep them. They will not be a for-profit enterprise.
I am going to keep 2 does for personal enjoyment. One of the does I am keeping is a great milker and allows anything to nurse off of her. I believe she will come in handy for orphan lambs.

I hope this video helped you and please give it a thumbs up if it did. I look forward to seeing you in the next one.

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Pasture Raised Sheep For Sale

Click to see the directory!

🔹ARE YOU A BREEDER wanting to be a part of the directory? CLICK HERE

I am so excited to be launching the Shepherdess pasture based breeder directory: a place for sheep buyers and sheep breeders to meet.

I receive two kinds of emails every week: emails from individuals looking for pasture raised sheep to purchase, and sheep farms looking to sell or market their pasture raised sheep to an audience that appreciates what they have to offer.

The Shepherdess Breeder Directory is designed to provide the missing link that will connect these two parties.

For the breeder: I will market your farm. And for buyer, I will provide a platform for you to find what you need.

What’s more, is this directory (and subsequently the breeders who choose to participate) will be listed as a primary resource in my upcoming book: The Basics of Raising Sheep on Pasture. This book will be distributed nationally, providing even more exposure for pasture based farmers in the Shepherdess Breeder Directory.

If you are a buyer looking for sheep, please bookmark shepherdess.com/breeders

If you are a breeder who is interested in being listed in the Shepherdess Breeder Directory, click on the link below. Annual fees apply, however for July and August, I am waiving the signup fee in hopes that you will join.

-the Shepherdess

“Know ye that the LORD he is God: It is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.” Psalm 100:3

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A rough month on the farm.

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It’s been a rough month on the farm. In this video I talk about the anemia that hit the flock and what caused it for me. I also share about a common denominator in all of the losses. You can find the products referenced in this video at Shepherdess.com

I hope this video helps you! Keep on pushin’ forward.
-the Shepherdess

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EMAIL: shepherdess (at) shepherdess.com

“Buy me a Coffee” to Support my Channel: https://bit.ly/ShphrdssCOFFEE
READ MY BLOG: http://bit.ly/ShepherdessBLOG
SHOP MY MERCH: http://bit.ly/ShepherdessMERCH

sheep #farming #ranching

About this Channel: This channel chronicles my journey as a sheep farmer from the very beginning. My primary occupation is in business management. In 2020, I discovered the principles of regenerative agriculture and embarked on a journey with the end goal of building a profitable small farm on 23 acres by 2027. Thank you for joining the journey!

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Running Hoof Care for My Sheep and Goats

🔹HOOF TRIMMING PDF

This video outlines my annual hoof care process. I cover two ways that you can care for the hooves of sheep or goats: manually or with a handling system. I share some of my favorite hoof care supplies for sheep and goats, as well as what hoof trimming day looks like for me at my farm.

Thanks for watching!
-the Shepherdess

*Minor correction, the grass-fed yearling did have a small grain ration during the winter following 2022’s drought. Very short term.

🔹FOLLOW THE FARM ON INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/harmonyfarms.dorpers/
🔹FOLLOW THE FARM ON FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/HarmonyFarmsDorpers

🔸FREE 1 HOUR CRASH COURSE on Sheep: https://bit.ly/Sheepx3Webinar
🔹Join my NEWSLETTER: http://bit.ly/ShepherdessNWSLTR
🔸FREE SHEEP FARMING WORKSHEETS: https://bit.ly/FarmWorksheets

In this Video:
Sheep Farming
Sheep Care
Hoof Trimming
Goats
Foot
Hooves

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June 2023 Farm Update | Raising Sheep in Texas

Hello Friends,

June was beautiful… mostly because I met a few of you face to face! Micro-flock pickups happened this month and it was great to see these sheep off to new homes :).

Shepherdess Breeder Directory: an opportunity for buyers and sellers to connect!

​

I am launching the Pasture Based Breeder Directory at Shepherdess.com.

​

If you have pasture raised sheep to sell, click here. I am waiving the sign-up fees during the month of July and August.

For those shopping for sheep, bookmark shepherdess.com/breeder​s. I will be listing new farms in the directory at the beginning of August.

It was so rewarding to meet with the new flock owners!

Waiting for some new flock owners to arrive!

Lisa and Dave were so great to visit with!!

At the home front we had a few new calves born! This picture tells you what happens when you leave the gate open :).

With all of the flock pickups wrapped up, it is back to grazing as usual!


If you are managing sheep on pasture, June and July are challenging months for parasites. I’ve had several emails asking what dewormers I use. I use Cydectin for Barber’s Pole Worm and Toltrazuril for Coccidia (Coccidia manifests in stunted growth rate, pot bellies and black diarrhea).

​

Treatment I use for Barber’s Pole Worm

Treatment I use for Coccidia

While we have tested several natural deworming methods (garlic, DE, Shaklees Basic H) , I have not found any of them to be effective for parasites in my climate.

If a sheep is really overloaded, I will follow up the dewormer with 2 products that help to rebuild the red blood cell count.

This is an oral vitamin supplement that is fed through the mouth using a drenching gun!

​These products are available at Shepherdess.com and shipping is free over $75! Orders at Shepherdess.com really support my work on the farm, thank you so much for shopping there!

I hope this helps you!

-the Shepherdess

“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.” Ecclesiastes 12:13

Click here to read previous farm updates

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HOW I BUILT A $100K SHEEP FARM BUSINESS IN 3 YEARS (Sheep farming for profit)

“11 QUESTIONS” Business PLANNING WORKSHEETS

In 2020 I decided I wanted to become a farmer for profit. I had no idea what I was up against, I just knew I wanted to generate $100K per year off of my 23 acre sheep farm with a net profit minimum of 30%.


I had:

  • no farming background.
  • no industry connections.
  • no land.

But what I did have was knowledge.


I knew:

  • Our food system is broken.
  • Our farmers are dying.
  • We need more people growing groceries.

And I knew how to market…
While I had never built a farm business, I had built and marketed several other business… mostly in the retail apparel industry.
So I shoved everything I knew from marketing shoes and clothes in the direction of marketing sheep:
Branding, content creation, email marketing, live launching, product stacking, and diversification.
It’s all I had, and gave it all I had.
1000 days after launching my farm business, it earned just shy of $100K within one calendar year.


WITHOUT:

  • Youtube Ad Revenue
  • Sponsorship deals
  • Course sales
  • Speaking fees

In a year by year format I am going to show you exactly how I built my farm brand and a concept that rapidly increased gross revenue. We are talking going from $10k to $100k within just a year. That $100k gross is split between three distinct products that fit within a similar category and all appeal to the same person.
What I am getting ready to outline transcends industries, so no matter what business you decide to build you will more than likely pull something out of this video.
I know this because the same methods I used to sell sheep were the same methods I used to sell shoes.

HOWEVER, while this pattern is simple (if you are like me)… the hard part of the whole process will be sticking with it and not quitting.
Here’s why:


Year 1, I worked about 1000 hours to build my farm business and grossed about $0.


Year 2, I worked another 1000 hours to build my farm business and grossed about $10,000. That’s like a dollar an hour.


Year 3, I worked about 1000 hours on my farm business and grossed about $100K.

There were a lot of times I wanted to QUIT. It was very discouraging to work so hard without any immediate return.

If you are in it for money you will quit, because there are thousands of easier ways to make this kind of money. You have to farm for deeper reasons.

Here is a year by year look at the marketing that went into building the Shepherdess Brand:

Year 1:
I set a solid foundation. Mindset and otherwise.

  • I decided I wanted to make $100k per year farming 23 acres, with a minimum net profit of $30k.
  • Decided I was going direct to consumer. No sale barns, no middle man, whatever farm goods I sold would be sold through my own website or straight from my farm to you.
  • I penciled out a business plan with beef. I couldn’t achieve a net profit of $30k with beef on 23 acres. Even with the fanciest beef I could only pencil out about $8,900 on 23 acres.
  • I pivoted from beef to sheep as my primary enterprise. I still run beef, I still sell sides of grass fed and finished beef, but just in a much smaller ratio to sheep.
  • I built my website (Shepherdess.com). I published 3 long-form, SEO optimized articles to the website that would rank in Google search.
  • I setup a newsletter.
  • Created a solid brand name, logo, and slogan.

Year 2:
I worked ahead of time to build my newsletter list with people who might be interested in buying my sheep.

By the beginning of year two my flock was lambing and I was almost ready to sell my first lambs. 6 months before launching my first sheep sale, I doubled down on building my newsletter list.

I used social media to find people for my newsletter. I chose Instagram and Youtube to find people for my newsletter. I chose Youtube because Youtube and Google are both search engines. I created videos with the goal of ranking in Youtube search engine in the same way that I wrote the blog posts. With my videos I answered specific questions about sheep farming.

In prep for my first livestock sale, I listed some small merch at shepherdess.com. My sheep weren’t ready yet, but I offered Gateway products: Stickers and shirts. I didn’t make a lot of money off these products, but it was a way that people could connect and purchase something small to support my work.

I held my first livestock sale at Shepherdess.com on August 11, 2021. I advertised my sheep through my newsletter and sold all of them through either Shepherdess.com or through Craigslist.


I did not make a ton of money in year 2 at all… but I had prototyped all of my ideas on a small scale and found viability.


I heard it said that when, starting a new business, the hardest money you will ever make is your first $1000. If you can survive that process, know that it won’t take much more effort to make $100k.


I have found that to be true.

Year 3:
Go big or go home.

My newsletter list was growing really strong around the topic of sheep farming. I hosted my 2nd livestock sale in April of 2022, marketed it through that email newsletter, and sold out of all my sheep at shepherdess.com within 15 minutes.

I was elated… And then I thought: “Wait, that’s all my sheep for the year… what else can I sell?”


There were two FAQ’s that came to me again and again.

1: What books did you read as a beginner in raising livestock on pasture?

2: What kind of supplies do you use to take care of your sheep?

So I took these questions as cues and put the 5 books I read as a beginner in livestock at Shepherdess.com.


And I worked super hard and acquired distributorship for the 32 products I use to take care of my flock on an annual basis. It was something I had never done before, but the Lord opened doors.


I made both of these things available a Shepherdess.com, and by God’s grace, revenue tripled overnight… Because I found more than one way to meet the needs of the people I had spent two years connecting with…. through my email newsletter.


And that is the secret sauce. Listen to the people. Take your mind off of what you want to sell and listen to what they want.

I hope this summary helps you market your own farm!

-the Shepherdess

“So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.” 1 Cor. 3:7

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61 JOBS THAT ChatGPT WON’T REPLACE? | Durable Trades Interview With RORY GROVES

In a world where ChatGPT is pushing millions of jobs into obsolescence, Durable Trades is a roadmap for establishing yourself in a job that will last.

Durable Trades outlines 61 occupations that have stood the test of time and technological advances.

(Spoiler: Shepherding is #1 on the list!!!)

Shop the book →

AI JOB REPLACEMENT

The AI Revolution is taking the world by storm, with the release and rise of ChatGPT on November 30th 2022.

ChatGPT is a first of it’s kind Artificial Intelligence chat-bot made available to the public.

In the 5 short months since ChatGPT was released it is positioning itself to replace the jobs of millions of coders, data analysts, software engineers, paralegals, teachers, accountants, graphic designers AND MORE.

Conservative estimates cite that 300 million jobs will be replaced by Artificial Intelligence software such as ChatGPT.

For perspective, the United States population is 331.9 million. This means that by the very lowest estimations, the equivalent of the entire US population will be without a job, thanks to this revolutionary AI technology.

But are there AI-proof jobs that we can establish ourselves in right now, to avoid obsoleteness in an onslaught of the Artificial Intelligence?

This is an interview with Rory Groves, Author of Durable Trades. Rory Groves is a software developer who saw the merit in diversifying his portfolio with a 10 acre food production enterprise.

The book Durable Trades outlines 61 occupations that have stood the test of time and an era of technological advances.

Enjoy the interview, and as a spoiler: Shepherding is #1 on the list of the world’s most historically durable trades.

JOIN THE GROVESTEAD NEWSLETTER HERE

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THE RISE (and fall?) of the US DOLLAR | History of the US Currency 1914-2023

Historically, Global Reserve currencies have a lifespan of about 100 years and The dollar as we know celebrates it’s 110th birthday in 2024…

Is the US Dollar facing a collapse in 2023? Are we facing a currency crisis? Is dedollarization a threat?

In this video we will look at 5 critical dates in the life of the US dollar, from it’s birth in 1914 to present day.

These dates that may provide you with insights on what kind of time remains for the leading Global Reserve currency.

1914

Our first stop is in 1914, with the birth of the US. Dollar. While the use of paper Currency in the United States dates back to Colonial America, the Dollar as the currency we know today was first printed in 1914. This was one year after the passing of the Federal Reserve Act and the simultaneous establishment of the Federal Reserve as the Nations central bank.

“the dollar as we know it today was first printed in 1914. Printing began a year after the establishment of the Federal Reserve as the nation’s central bank with the passing of the Federal Reserve Act.” -Investopedia.com

At this point in time, the US dollar was backed by the gold standard, meaning each dollar was tied to a certain amount of gold, thus anchoring and stabilizing it’s value.

1933

In 1933 President Franklin D Roosevelt transitioned the dollar from the Gold Standard to a Limited or Quasi Gold Standard.

“The Thomas Amendment to the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 granted authority to the President to alter the gold content of the dollar, with power to reduce it to 50% of its previous value.” (Fas.org p. 10)

What happened was that after FDR’s initial and immediate inflation of the price of gold from $21 to $35 per ounce the government did not allow the price of gold to budge from $35 per ounce… thus stabilizing the value of US dollar for another 40 years.

1944

In 1944 the when Bretton Woods Summit took place in New Hampshire. It was here that the US dollar became the World’s Primary Reserve Currency.

“The [Bretton Woods agreement] was reached by 730 delegates, who were the representatives of the 44 allied nations that attended the summit.” -corporatefinanceinstitute.com

The International Monetary Fund was Established, alongside what is now known as the World Bank.

“Under the Bretton Woods system, the dollar was pegged to gold and most other currencies were pegged to the dollar. As a result of this arrangement, dollars were used as the main intervention currency and, hence, reserve currency.” -treasury.gov

1971

By the late 1960’s, the Gold Standard was becoming difficult to maintain. As previously mentioned, the government held the price of US gold at $35 US dollars per ounce. This fixed price worked, because from 1933-1974 it was not legal to own gold of any significant amount or exchange dollars for gold from the Federal Reserve. This prevented a US population from making a run on gold at that bargain price of $35 US dollars.

However, it did not prevent the international community from doing so. It was at this point in time legal to exchange gold for US dollars in the international, “free market”:

“Although there was no private market for gold in the United States, such markets did exist
abroad.” (FAS.org Pg. 13)

“Foreign central banks were willing to hold US dollars because, at the time, they were readily convertible into gold upon demand. If the free market price rose above $35/ounce, central banks had the incentive to redeem US dollars for gold to then sell the gold for a higher price in other markets. Throughout the 1950s, the US Treasury experienced a continuing drain on its gold holdings.” (libertycoinservice.com)

In light of this problem, in 1971 the Nixon Administration eradicated the Limited gold standard and by 1976 “the definition of the dollar it terms of gold was removed
from statute. The monetary system officially became one of pure fiat money.” (fas.com)

Fiat Money refers to a currency that is not backed (or anchored) by the value of any physical commodity (Investopedia).

At this point, with no anchor, the dollar was left to “float”. And float it did: the price of gold went from $35/oz in 1970 to $875/oz by 1980 (vaulted.com).

But why did the US dollar not crash completely back in 1970?… and not only not crash, but it still remains the world’s leading currency 60 years later?

What took place in 1973 is a lesser known fact about the US dollar. And that was that president FORD settled the Petro Dollar agreement with Saudi Arabia:

A simple summary of The Petro-Dollar Agreement: Is that that US promised safety to global suppliers of oil (Saudi Arabia and ultimately all OPEC members), in exchange for the promise that that oil would be sold in NO OTHER denomination than the US dollar.

The nations of the world were required to exchange their local currency for US dollars before they could purchase the oil they needed.

As a result, the demand for oil has stabilized, in a large part, the value of the dollar for more than 60 years.

“the American currency now contributes to almost two-thirds of the international economy. It is the reserve currency for most central banks worldwide” (www.wallstreetmojo.com)

“That pace would generate annual global petrodollar supply of more than $3.2 trillion a year…” (investopedia Petrodollars: Definition, History, Uses)

2023

In present time this stimulates the demand for nearly $3.2 trillion US dollars annually as world nations flock to exchange local currency for the US dollar in order to satisfy a growing demand for energy.

2023: China and Brazil Abandon the petrodollar standard.

2000’s: US Debt Spiral

For 20 years the United States has been printing US dollars to cover for an unprecedented debt spiral. National debt skyrocketed from $9 TRILLION in 2000 to $31 Trillion in 2022. Stability being a key to maintaining face on the international stage, things are not looking good.

2022: Inflation and Interest Rates Frustrates the International Community
In 2022 this debt spiral culminated in historic levels of inflation. Which the Federal Government attempted to control through the raising of interest rates. However, higher interest rates make it more expensive for other countries to do business in the dollar… paving the way for what we witnessed on March 29th. 2023.

“The deal, announced Wednesday, will enable China and Brazil to carry out trade and financial transactions directly, [in local currencies] exchanging yuan for reais – or vice versa – rather than first converting their currencies to the U.S. dollar.” (FOX NEWS)

There is little or nothing to back the value or authority of the dollar unless the petro-dollar standard is upheld. What happened with China and Brazil on March 29th, 2023 will only propel the dollar down an already dismal trajectory.

By all appearances the dollar is in it’s final days. The timeline, no one knows, And in all reality it would be better for you and for me if the process took 10 years rather than 10 days. Prepping for a shift away from a major world currency will take time. And realistically, we could be looking at a slow burn…

If you want some insights on the decisions I made in light of a currency crisis >>> Watch this video next.

Citations:

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/forex-currencies/092316/how-us-dollar-became-worlds-reserve-currency.asp

https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/economics/bretton-woods-agreement/

https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/206/Appendix1FinalOctober152009.pdf

https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2015/12/09/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-gold-standard-in-the-united-states/?sh=24cae08e6dec

https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R41887.pdf
(Brief History of the Gold Standard in the United States
Craig K. Elwell)

https://libertycoinservice.com/news/the-failure-of-the-1960s-london-gold-pool/
https://libertycoinservice.com/news/the-failure-of-the-1960s-london-gold-pool/

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/fiatmoney.asp

https://www.macrotrends.net/1333/historical-gold-prices-100-year-chart
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/petrodollars.asp

https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/brazil-china-strike-trade-deal-agreement-ditch-us-dollar

https://www.wallstreetmojo.com/petrodollar/

Wall Street Mojo, Petro-dollar

Gold Reserve Fiat Currencies
History of the Gold Standard in America

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DREAM FLOCK WINNER!

After reviewing a huge number of entries there were nearly 60 qualified farmers! From these farmers I drew the Dorper Dream Flock winner!

The winner of the Dorper Dream Flock Giveaway is:

LISA BURTON

The Shepherdess Livestock Sale is on Wednesday at 8 am! The sheep will be sold at a fixed price (this is not an auction). It will be first come, first served. The genetics are color-coded. Be sure to choose alternating colors in the ram/ewe for a breeding pair that is suitable!

Bookmark the following link. 2023 starter flocks will be available for purchase through this link at 8am on Wednesday Morning!

2023 Sheep For Sale HERE

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Why I Used Sheep (not silver) to Avoid Inflation

In this video I am going to give you 5 reasons why I bought sheep instead of silver, why 3 years later I am glad I did so, and #3 I am going to tell you why I am going to spend the next few videos encouraging you to find alternative means to the USDollar of storing your wealth.

In 2020 I was debt free with 6 months worth of expenses saved back and $11k leftover to invest free and clear.

I was watching as the government began to print it’s way out of a national crisis.

Within just 3 months, our national debt increased by $3 TRILLION, a previously unheard-of spike in such a short period of time.

Stimulus money flooded the nation to “rescue” a flailing economy, but it does not take a genius to understand that that was not free money, it is a dilution of existing wealth… but only for those who chose to keep their wealth stored in the form of US dollars.

So I seized a window of opportunity to escape that fate.

While it was not a lot, I began to search out ways to invest this $11,000, and invest in a way that would not only hedge its value, but increase it.

Long story short, instead of silver. Precious metals, or some up and coming tech stock, I spent $11k on sheep and began the intensive process of learning how to care for a flock in such a way that would enhance the health of the soil they grazed. (( BTW )) If you are looking at sheep as a means of hedging wealth… please know that if all of your sheep die you will lose all of your money. It almost happened to us, so I want you to click the link below for free beginner level training that covers some of the mistakes we made at the beginning that cost us A LOT of money.

Here are 5 reasons why I bought Dorper Sheep instead of silver:

  1. Livestock is a dynamic asset, silver and precious metals are static. What this means is that in addition to appreciating and cycling in value as silver does, sheep also replicate themselves at a rapid rate. If you put two sheep together, given the correct gender, you will have 4 sheep next year, 6 the year after that, and 10 ands so on….
  2. Sheep are among the top 3 most Historically Durable forms of wealth: Land, Livestock, and precious metals have since the beginning of time been a consistent measurement of personal wealth. To take it to ancient, Biblical history, the wealth of the most prosperous men was measured first in terms of sheep, followed by various forms of livestock and in some cases precious metals. It is important to understand that many of the things we measure wealth by today did not exist 100 years ago. Whether it be crypto currency, tech stocks, etc. These things that we attribute value to on such a high level are exceptionally fragile. They are a blip on the radar of world history and I believe we will ultimately revert to what has been most historically durable. (Burned by the Curley headed guy. Silicon Valley crash)
  3. Agricultural investments are severely undervalued. Agriculture is in shambles, and those who can enter the arena with ingenuity, and an emphasis on the restoration of soil health, will be future corner pillars of an industry we rely on for 3 meals a day.
  4. Soil is among the most undervalued assets in our culture today. Soil health is a barrier between a nation and starvation. Civilizations have risen and fallen in relation to the capacity of the soil to produce a viable food source. Sheep well managed are a tool to increase soil health acre by acre, thus compounding the wealth building component of your investment, should the land you are grazing belong to you.
  5. Bullion (gold and Silver) is heavily regulated. Nearly every piece of precious metal you purchase is registered and reported to the government by the brokering agency. The reason this is significant is because 90 years ago during the Great Depression, President FDR signed an executive order that made the ownership of **any form of gold over $100 illegal. Citizens were required to turn in all gold coins, certificates, etc to the federal government in exchange for US dollars, and they did so at a volume that totaled $700 million in 1933… or $16.3 BILLION in today’s money. To think we are past such a confiscation in 2023 is not wise, especially considering the fact that bullion is regulated and tracked to an even greater extent today than ever before. I do not by any means negate precious metals as a valid way to hedge wealth, and should we hit something like we saw during the last Depression, you will receive fair dollar exchange for your gold, but given what we have seen historically, precious metals are more vulnerable. What’s more is that in times of true economic crisis bartering becomes a thing. Practically speaking, 10 sheep are more barter able than one gold coin.

Since I made the personal decision based on #1 prayer and #2 the realization of these 5 facts, economic leaders have begun pushing agricultural ETF’s, localized food systems have gained traction, and there is rumor that the BRICS nations (which are the eastern nations of the world) are formulating plans to launch an alternative currency that is backed by gold, rare earth metals, and… wait for it… SOIL. While this alternative currency is still just a rumor, the fact that soil is listed among precious metals and rare earth elements further exemplifies its value as a legitimate commodity.

Sheep instead of silver is not going to be everyone’s answer.

A lot of you watching this with a back ache from working sheep all day and you are going to make the accurate observation that this is by no means a passive investment. It takes work, and sometimes it takes more work than is fun. You have to be ready and able to put in the work.

A lot of you are also going to how about both sheep and silver? Which is is a great option as well. Diversity is my anthem.

I am not really here to tell you what you should do

But I do want to bring awareness to the fact that it is critical to find alternative means to hedge and grow wealth if you have it.

Since 2020 alone the cumulative rate of inflation has been 15.1%, meaning that should I have left that $11,000 in the bank it would only have $9,500 worth of buying power today. Instead, that $11,000 went to work. I have flock that is twice the size of when I bought it and I have consistent income through the sale of excess lambs. (Which, by the way, I am selling my 2023 lamb crop on April 26th, so check the link below for info on starting your own flock with lambs from mine).

I am convinced that the USD is on death row. In the coming videos I am going to present the facts that will tell you why… when they are available, I will put those videos right here… until then diversify, and be watching your flocks.

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(Final Notice) Giveaway + Livestock Sale Details!

Flock Giveaway:

To qualify for the Flock Giveaway (1 ram and 2 ewes) you must fall under one of these categories:

You have completed the course Raising Sheep 101 with a score of 85 or higher on all 5 quizzes. In addition to this, you need to provide proof that you have land suitable to raise 3 sheep and the lambs they produce (2+ acres recommended).

or

Successful sheep owner for 12 months or more. You must have experience with at least one lambing on farm and an annual mortality rate of 15% or less. Winner to be announced on April 24th!

​

April 26th Livestock Sale Details:

  • The sheep sale is ONLINE at Shepherdess.com. It will be first come, first served at the website. Local pickup will be scheduled after purchase.
  • Genetic sets will be color coded (orange and yellow). Make sure you have selected a ram that is the opposite color of the ewes to have a set suitable for breeding.

Reply with any questions!

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Dorper Dream Flock Giveaway (and 2023 Sheep sale details)

Hello Friends,

I have TWO major things to share with you in this post. Info on the April 26th Shepherdess Livestock sale (starter flocks!!) and the Shepherdess.com Micro-Flock Grant (aka the Dorper Dream Flock Giveaway)!! Scroll for info on both!!

One more reminder: I am on the speaker lineup at the Louisiana Women in Agriculture Conference! I hope to see you there on April 14th! You can buy your tickets here.​

Starter Flocks:

Lord-willing, on April 26th at 8am CST I will be posting both Dorper ewes and rams for sale at Shepherdess.com. I will have 2 genetic lines available, meaning you can purchase ewes and a ram that are suitable for breeding together (complete starter flock).

Farming Dorper Sheep in Texas

Availability is limited, so I recommend showing up early. I don’t know what to anticipate in 2023, but in 2022 I sold out of my lambs in 15 minutes. If you are interested in pricing info, you can see 2022’s lambs. ​

Dorper Dream Flock Giveaway:

In October of last year the Lord opened doors for me to acquire Shepherdess.com. Since then, I have been working to build out an all-inclusive resource hub for beginner sheep farmers. At Shepherdess.com I have free training, extended training, and sheep f​arming kits!!

Shepherdess.com has everything I wish I had as Beginner Sheep Farmer… all in one place!

To celebrate the GRAND OPENING of Shepherdess.com, I am giving one of you the chance to start your Dorper dream flock! I will be selecting one farm/homestead to receive 2 Purebred Dorper breeding ewes, 1 Purebred Ram, a 30 Piece Shepherdess Supplies Kit, and a 1-1 consultation call (between the winner and I)! DETAILS​ HERE!

I am accepting grant applications through April 22 and will announce the winner on April 24th! Please share with friends who might qualify!

Thank you so much for reading!
-the Shepherdess

“Know ye that the LORD he is God: It is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.” Psalm 100:3