Animals are not brethren
They are not underlings.
They are other nations
Caught like ourselves
In this web of life and time.
~On a Northern Farm
by Henry Beston
Our family has always had herding breeds. We love their intelligence, devotion to their people, and their beauty. But it wasn’t until we had Fly, our Border Collie, that I really learned to really appreciate the working dog. By the way, you may not know this, but the name “Fly” is a classic Scottish Border Collie name. (Remember the movie Babe? There was a Border Collie named Fly in that movie.)
Fly came to us through a sheep rancher in Northern California. She had suffered an injury to her throat for reasons that aren’t clear but it caused partial nerve paralysis. As you can imagine, there is no room for any dog who can’t pull their full weight on a working farm. But this injury would never affect Fly as a family dog, so her owners were looking for people to give her the love and affection (and daily exercise!) she requires. Thankfully they didn’t look further than us.
When my husband traveled down to meet Fly in ranching country—at 7,000 feet elevation—in northeastern California, he wasn’t sure how things would work out. We had an older Sheltie, and this young whippersnapper needed to be gentle to our older dog. The transition was iffy, because everybody wanted the best for both dogs.
It was tough for the owners to let Fly go and hard for Patrick to put her in the car and drive away. But when Patrick called from a hotel room about half-way home, he said Fly had jumped on the bed and put her head on his chest. With a joyful voice he said, ” I think things are going to work out.”
Fly was born and trained on Magnolia Farm in Oregon, by a remarkable woman and friend, named Elissa. Over the years, we’ve become close with Elissa. It has given us insight into the business side of raising working sheepdogs and the lamb that is sold to high-end restaurants, mostly in Ashland, Oregon.
A few years ago, a chef who has a food network, did a special on Elissa because he was impressed—not only with the quality of her lamb—but because of the ethic that pervades everything about the way she raises that lamb.
I’d like to share the link with you and the reasons why.
As you know, we are having a national conversation about the sustainability of eating meat. Many of us are uncomfortable with how far animals have to travel to be butchered in order to supply us with the meat we enjoy. We wonder is it cost prohibitive to farm in another way?
In this charming short video (a recipe for lamb chops fills the first thirty seconds of the video, so please keep watching), Elissa touches on some provocative subjects: do you make it a habit to know where your meat comes from?
It’s food for thought for all of us. I guess you can tell what touches me the most: the herding dogs. That and the quote by Henry Beston. It touches me to the core every time. I hope you appreciate meeting Elissa and her farm.
The video is short; just long enough to enjoy with your morning coffee.
http://www.grist.org/sustainable-food/2011-08-19-the-good-shepherd-video
Please share with all of us what you think about sustainable food. Your opinion matters. Did this video show you anything you didn’t know about raising animals for food?
I appreciate the wonderful care that this farm takes with its animals, but I don’t eat meat any more for several reasons… Michelle
Yes, I know many gals who have had BC who avoid red meat. I understand. That’s why I appreciate the dialogue about it. When Elissa says “It is a serious thing to take an animal”, you realize that she believes every word. And when she talks about always knowing where your food comes from–well, that is something I think many of us want if only it were possible.
I grew up next door to a sheepdog, lovely creatures, and amazing to watch them working. I greatly value knowing where my meat has come from, sadly the last abattoir on the Island has shut down so that local animals nhave to be transported to the mainland for slaughter. Not ideal, but better than being shipped umpteen miles.
Janet, would you mind telling me where your island is exactly? You know I subscribe to your blog and understand some of where you are, but I’d love to know more. Which is your closest mainland? Also, there again, a word I haven’t used in years: abattoir. Do sheepdogs work on the island where you are? We go each year to a place where we can watch them in competition. One thing I’ve never known is the variety of sheep that they bring to challenge the dogs. Some of these sheep are darn right tricky and ornery. The organizers of the event do it on purpose!
I live on Anglesey, which is just off the coast of North Wales in the UK, we are linked by two lovely old road bridges, one of which also carries a train line. We are the far side of the Island from the mainland, it takes us 45minsutes to drive off the Island, and then we are in Snowdonia, with mountains and castles and yet more wonderful coastline. Our village is the most northerly village in Wales, Anglesey lies in the Irish Sea east of Ireland and due South of the Isle of Man, which we can see on a clear day. Hope that helps!
Wow, it sounds like a little bit of Heaven. I have made a friend in Ireland in County Waterford who has a farm she calls Foxglove Lane and her photos are full of windblown countryside, horses, a wild coastline. Your village sounds just beautiful and a bit like it. I’m going to get out the Atlas. I’ve been meaning to learn where the Isle of Man is, so now I will have a reason to do it. Thank you so much Janet for sharing this. Wales–a place I’ve always wanted to see. I also took the time today to read your background and how you began gardening in this land after the Cotswolds. I’m delighted to know you–and thank you for visiting.
I am with you Susie…such beautiful spots in the UK….I have wanted to travel and visit part of England, Wales and Scotland and definitely to meet Catherine in Co. Waterford. Such amazingly beautiful places. We had Yorkies for a time when I lived at home. And they are working dogs too although now they are pampered a bit much. We do not have pets in our house for various reasons, but I have always appreciated animals whether as pets or in the wild. I remember this video and love this farm. We are still meat eaters but go for organic meats. Hard to find local here but there are a few spots.
We are thinking this may be our next trip–to parts of England, Wales and Scotland. I’ve traveled some in those areas–mostly in Ireland–but there is still much I don’t know. I had to chuckle when you mentioned Yorkies. I guess they are working dogs of a sort (ratters?), but I only know them as barky and fussy little things. I suppose they would be very different if raised on a farm. I think you can consider your gorgeous red fox as “your” wild pet! Very few folks have a red fox who visits so frequently.
I agree Yorkies are no longer workers but are fussy barking dogs….and I love the idea of the red fox as our wild pet!
I’ve always wondered how they do it,
farmers with big kind hearts,
raise their stock so well and good
and then send them off far and away
to be slaughtered in a frightening way.
I so appreciate the work of Temple Grandin
and her heart for respect in the way these animals
meet their end. I think it can be done gently and with
compassion, as well. I’m so glad to read about this
beautiful woman and her sustainable ways.
Thanks for sharing, Susan
I’ve always wondered too. I think that is why Elissa’s story gives an insight into the hard life on a farm. Can you believe how Temple Grandin found the way to help those animals? By feeling her own life and its needs. And isn’t that just what it means to share organic life on earth with all other creatures big and small? I was blown away by that movie. I’m glad you came by and commented on this post because it is a harder one, and I needed to know what people like you think. We simply have to be connected to the results of all our actions. Magnolia Farm gives me some hope.
Susie, what a wonderful post and interesting chat. It’s impossible not to be confused about all of this. My own big bug bear is not eating meat so much as factory farming of meat which has led to such over consumption. So ethical farming and growing is vital. Even if you stop eating meat and decide to eat only vegetables and nuts you come across such unethical practices that some how are just as bad! Spraying and the over use of chemicals breaks my heart. I don’t exactly live on a farm but I am surrounded by them. The pressures that farmers are under to take short cuts and to stay profitable are a disgrace. So ethical farmers are my heros!!
Border collies are adorable animals Susie, I just love your photos of Fly!! x Catherine
Hi Catherine, I’m so glad that you were able to stop by, because I felt you would love “meeting” Elissa through the video and seeing how she raises her sheep. I felt you would value her approach to “eating meat, but knowing where it comes from and how the animal was taken.” I knew you would fall in love with Fly too–she is SUCH a beauty. Working breeds aren’t always designed to be amenable, but Fly is wicked smart and as sweet as can be. You raise very important points about farming practices in addition to the factory farming of meat. These issues plague the other gardening bloggers I communicate with and we all are concerned by the loss of vitally important insects, especially bees. I read somewhere that about 70% of our food crops are pollinated by bees and yet they are continually under fire with nicotinoids. So yes, ethical farmers are my heros too. Thanks so much for visiting from Foxglove Lane!