Ep 232 California Agritourism Summit: It’s Not Just the Beach – It’s the Farm, Too

This week, we’re speaking with Theresa Walker of Great Bay Wool Works and her lovely natural-colored ovine assistant Hazel (okay, so hubby Patrick did a little bit of modeling, too.). We learn about natural-colored sheep, geography in New England, a bit of why New England and Old England feel familiar to each other, and much more. This is one of those where Rick had to keep saying, “Stop patting the sheep, Elara.” We think this fiber is gorgeous, regardless of whether it’s...

18 Juni 202432min

We’re going down memory lane, and back to the beginning of all things for today’s podcast. In this case, it means the start of something that has grown into a behemoth in the world of Agriculture. Originally from the shores of Scotland near Aberdeen, the cattle breed known as “Angus” has become the powerhouse breed by which all things are measured. Today we’re going back to the roots of the breed that has become synonymous with “beef,” and which has also changed over ...

31 Maj 202445min

We concluded the World Devon Congress adventure with the State that put these cattle on the map – okay, they’re on the flag, anyway. We had a wonderful tour through the Green Mountain State of Vermont, on our way to meet up with Anson Tebbets, Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets. This lovely man took a walk down the lane on his family farm to talk about the finer things in agricultural life that are represented in Vermont – maple syrup, socks, adult beverages and ice cream,...

17 Maj 202445min

Backyard Green Films is now in Florida, getting ready to start the World Devon Congress 2024. But first (and last), our podcast with the butcher. The place where everything ends – everything that is ordered medium rare, anyway. A.J. O’Neil is the perfect one to encapsulate almost everything that is fantastic about why Devons are popular. He’s a member of Red Devon USA, and a wonderful addition to their friendly and active Board of Directors. He’s sometimes serious, som...

17 Apr 202433min

Our stay at Clockwork Cottage was one of the quiet delights of our UK trip in August of 2023. The Peak District in England is well known as being a day-hiker’s destination filled with rolling emerald fields, ancient stacked stone walls, and sheep, sheep and sheep. There are those amazing things, yes, and found aplenty, but for the Backyard Green Films crew the hills were alive with the breeze blowing through the grass, and the sound of…Dexters! Dexter Cattle, that is. ...

1 Apr 202438min

Steve Montgomery of Lamppost Farm is our guest on today’s podcast, coming to you from a stop on the Devon Congress pre-tour - Columbiana, Ohio style this time. Steve and his family raise Devon Cattle, Coopworth Sheep, pigs, turkeys and a partridge in a pear tree (okay, no partridges, but there are more chickens than you can safely count). Their goal is to make and teach connections between living things, but the annual flock of Lamppost interns can tell you that they learn how to ...

18 Mars 202440min

Andrea Tibbets of Clover Brooke Farm is our guest on today’s podcast. We usually see her at the New York State Sheep & Wool Festival (Rhinebeck), but since at that fine event we see her running the Camelid Barn and running the Leaping Llama contest and running the Spitters’ Club and…well, just plain running, we decided it was way past time to visit her home turf. For a walk. One of the most peaceful things you can do, we found, is to take a hike through Hyde Park with a llama ...

1 Mars 202439min

It’s another stop on our Devon Pre-Tour run. This time, we’re bringing you the sights and sounds from a delightful and delicious visit to Lakota Ranch in Remington, Virginia. Lakota is the home of Jeremy Engh, President of Red Devon USA, Dr. Jerry Engh, the founder of the herd itself (and Jeremy, for that matter), and Patty Engh, who runs them both, we’re fairly sure. We had a visit that included pasture rotation avec spicy herding dogs and spicier cows, a 30-year old Devon ...

13 Feb 202442min