Grassroots Farm & Dairy
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The 25 acres of hill pasture, barns and old farmhouse that we bought in 2015 are part of a much larger farm that used to span over 100 acres. The farm was historically a small scale dairy that milked Brown Swiss cows and sold milk to Biltmore Dairy in the early 1900's. When Biltmore Dairy went out of business in the 1960's the farm transitioned to tobacco and beef cattle. We have renovated the old cow dairy into a Grade A certified facility where we milk and make all our products. We are proud to be continuing on in the tradition of small scale dairying that was common in Madison County for decades.
We raise a mixed flock of East Friesian/Tunis and East Friesian/Lacaune sheep. Several of our ewes also have a small amount of Awassi and Gulf Coast Native. East Friesian and Lacaune are the standard for dairy sheep as they are heavy milkers and calm to work with. The added Tunis, Awassi and Gulf Coast Native help our flock to be much more parasite resistant and to gain and maintain on grass. We rotationally graze the flock, using temporary fencing to give the ewes new pasture every day. We supplement with non-GMO feed as this helps the ewes keep weight on during the milking season when their calorie needs are high.
We are a "predator friendly" farm. We do not shoot, trap, poison or kill native species like coyotes, bear, bobcat and fox in order to protect our flock, These native predators are critical to ecosystem health and we want the farm to coexist with the wildlife around us, allowing us to be stewards of both. We rely heavily on our electric fences and our Great Pyrenees guardian dogs - Star, Leo, and Tonio - to keep our ewes, lambs and rams safe. So far the dogs have an excellent record - we have not lost one sheep to predators!
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Website: http://www.grassrootsdairy.com/