{"id":122,"date":"2019-09-03T17:29:30","date_gmt":"2019-09-03T17:29:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/plentiful-lands.com\/?p=122"},"modified":"2019-09-14T20:17:32","modified_gmt":"2019-09-14T20:17:32","slug":"from-grass-to-milk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/plentiful-lands.com\/from-grass-to-milk\/","title":{"rendered":"From Grass to Milk"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

working with the rythms of sheep and seasons<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you might have guessed from my cover photograph, I really like sheep. Sheep are a lot like humans, in a way. They can be the dearest, friendliest animals in the world. But they can also be the most stubborn and destructive ones. Since I wanted to learn more about sheep farming, I decided to work on such a farm for some time myself. And this is precisely where I\u2019m writing from: a beautiful, small sheep farm in a tiny village in the North of Germany. Let me take you to the world of these lovely animals, of the farmers working there and of the tasty dairy products they produce together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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From sheep milk, all kind of dairy products can be made. These wheels of cheese are maturing in a special cooling chamber. Photo by Naomi Bosch<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

A sheep’s world<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Schafscheune (“sheep’s stable”) Vietschow is, with its around 60 lactating sheep, a small-scale organic farm. On their 15 hectares of land, they are able to produce the full amount of forage for their animals. During the day, their sheep can graze on the pastures surrounding the farm. At night, the sheep come back inside the stable, where they get some aromatic hay to eat, which is an important part of their diet. Sheep spend much of their waking time eating, and they can be quite picky when it comes to the right choice of food (just like humans\u2026). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This large barn hosts the stables, several apartments, a farmer’s shop, the machinery… Photo by Naomi Bosch <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Believe me, it is such a delightful sight to watch the flock of sheep peacefully grazing under the setting sun, as you come to bring them back to the stables. It is pure joy to walk before the flock, leading them to follow you home. And it is a pleasure to bottle-feed the sick lambs. To hear them bloat merrily at the very sight of you with the bottle in your hand. But what might seem like a romantic, peaceful life in the countryside proves to come with long, strenuous work. From dusk to dawn, day in, day out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reality on the farm<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

A typical day of the farmer couple starts at 4 am in the morning. The mistress of the farm, who\u2019s also responsible for the cheese making, heads to the cheese dairy. At a time when most people are still soundly sleeping, she’s already busy making cheese from the sheep’s milk. At 5 am, the couple starts the milking, which lasts for 2,5 hours. After the sheep are released onto the pasture, the milking parlour and the stables are cleaned, fresh straw carried in and the hay racks refilled for the evening. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In the milking parlour. Photo by Naomi Bosch<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The hay racks are already prepared for the sheep’s arrival into the stable in the evening. Photo by Naomi Bosch<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

During the summer, the meadows are regularly mown in order to make forage for the winter. From the day\u2019s yield of about 60 litres of milk, the couple produces all kinds of dairy products on the farm itself: yoghurt, curd, feta and barbecue cheese, all kinds of hard and soft cheese, whey and sheep milk. They deliver these products to various shops, restaurants and markets, or sell them directly from the farm\u2019s lovely dairy store. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Wednesdays, they offer guided tours and cheese tasting on the farm to visitors. After lunch, some work in the bureau needs to be done, and the aging cheese needs to be turned and salted in regular intervals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Every evening, the farmers go to fetch their sheep back to the farm.
Photo by Steffen Honzera<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Then, at 5 pm, the second milking of 2,5 hours is done, after the flock has been fetched back to the farm. Sick sheep and lambs are cared for, some more paperwork is completed, the fruits from the garden are harvested for the various kinds of fruit yoghurt\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soon, it is 10 pm. It is not a rarity for the couple to go sleeping as late as 11 pm after a long day of work. The next morning, again, the alarm will ring at 4 am\u2026 And there are no weekend exceptions to this working schedule, as sheep don’t know the meaning of the word “weekend”. (1) <\/p>\n\n\n\n