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Fools Farm was founded in 2022 in Tunbridge, Vermont. We raise sheep for wool and meat.
Our logo includes "the fool" as you know it from the classic Rider Waite tarot deck, as well as a portrait of Burdock, our lead sheep! The Fool in The Tarot represents new beginnings, having faith in the future, being inexperienced, not knowing what to expect, beginner's luck, improvisation and believing in the universe – attributes we welcome while farming during a mass extinction event. During the grazing season, our flock of 20 Romney/ Romeldale CMV ewes and their lambs rotationally graze 21.5 acres of clover-rich pasture. We move the sheep to fresh grass once or twice daily. Our twin breeding rams, Carl and Günther, are also Romneys. They graze the farmhouse lawn and get to sleep inside the barn every night throughout the summer. |
The sheep are protected by our livestock guardian dog Guiseppe Seppeloneous The Great (AKA Seppe) who sleeps with them in the pasture each night throughout the summer. Lola, a border collie puppy, joined the family in winter 2024. We will be thankful to have expert help in moving the sheep to the barn during the extreme weather events that we anticipate increasing in frequency in coming years. Overall, our sheep fared well through the heavy rains of 2023, but a herding dog will be helpful to keep them safe in the future!
The soggy 2023 grazing season inspired in us a deep appreciation for the rugged nature of the Romney breed. Romneys originated in the British marshlands and are well-adapted to damp conditions. Our wool quality remained high despite the stress of the downpours. We also observed the significance of rotational grazing for soil erosion. The pastures slowed down the water so that it didn't drain into the road. Every day we celebrate working in conjunction with the elements and the biodiversity that we're part of through our management, breeding, harvesting and processing practices.
The farm has aspirations to diversify with a micro chicken hatchery, community food scrap composting, and a small orchard. We are currently in a business launch period. The income we will make from our lamb and fiber sales will not be sufficient to cover our overhead costs of caring for the animals year round. The prices we ask do not reflect our cost of production and do not include profit. This is the most we feel we can ask the local costumers to pay and remain within the regional price scales in the market.
A few meaningful partnerships have blossomed out of the early years of Fools Farm. Burlington-based sweater company Muriel's of Vermont sources wool from us to craft gorgeous sweaters. We are proud to be apart of this effort to re-enliven the local fiber shed! Through collaboration and friendship with Mary Lake of Can Do Shearing, we host Vermont's only blade shearing school annually in February. In 2024, blade shearing legend Kevin Ford gave a whole day workshop on prepping the blades in our basement. We learned so much that day! We host a seasonal Fiber Art Club at our home. Community members get together to drink tea and share skills in wool craft -- spinning, knitting, crocheting, felting, and more. Let us know if you would like to join us when we start meeting up again next fall. All experience levels are welcome!
The soggy 2023 grazing season inspired in us a deep appreciation for the rugged nature of the Romney breed. Romneys originated in the British marshlands and are well-adapted to damp conditions. Our wool quality remained high despite the stress of the downpours. We also observed the significance of rotational grazing for soil erosion. The pastures slowed down the water so that it didn't drain into the road. Every day we celebrate working in conjunction with the elements and the biodiversity that we're part of through our management, breeding, harvesting and processing practices.
The farm has aspirations to diversify with a micro chicken hatchery, community food scrap composting, and a small orchard. We are currently in a business launch period. The income we will make from our lamb and fiber sales will not be sufficient to cover our overhead costs of caring for the animals year round. The prices we ask do not reflect our cost of production and do not include profit. This is the most we feel we can ask the local costumers to pay and remain within the regional price scales in the market.
A few meaningful partnerships have blossomed out of the early years of Fools Farm. Burlington-based sweater company Muriel's of Vermont sources wool from us to craft gorgeous sweaters. We are proud to be apart of this effort to re-enliven the local fiber shed! Through collaboration and friendship with Mary Lake of Can Do Shearing, we host Vermont's only blade shearing school annually in February. In 2024, blade shearing legend Kevin Ford gave a whole day workshop on prepping the blades in our basement. We learned so much that day! We host a seasonal Fiber Art Club at our home. Community members get together to drink tea and share skills in wool craft -- spinning, knitting, crocheting, felting, and more. Let us know if you would like to join us when we start meeting up again next fall. All experience levels are welcome!
