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I’m grateful to be a part of a community of agrarians. Food production that really focuses on making our landscapes, our natural landscapes better and improving things that have been degraded on our natural landscapes. And there’s more and more faces like me who folks who haven’t come from agriculture who are pivoting and shifting. Like when a country has in its best interest protecting the health of its inhabitants, a lot of these things that have become so rampant in the US are non-issue.
I work in a couple different ways in my business. So, the first one is what I’m so passionate about which is what I call modern day shepherding. I shepherd animals, people, and projects. And what that looks like is operating sheep and goats for contract grazing.
And then on the opposite side of that same block, you’ve got 12 different fast food outlets. Listen to Brittany’s stories about why goats love poison oak so much, all the way through to working with organic cow hides in the fashion industry.
Episode 43: Thayne Mackey
I’m so inspired after every episode, and really appreciate all the work you put into it. I love hearing about herding sheep and using dogs! I would love to hear an interview with a herding dog trainer.
- You know, I have been incredibly welcomed into a culture that you would imagine being a, you know dominated by middle-aged or later-aged white male with a cowboy hat or something like that.
- I love looking at the pics and developing new ideas.
- Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people, I really have gotten that many emails of people saying how can I get into this, I want a vocation that gives me the quality of life that I see you have.
- SHEPHERDESS HOLISTIC HIDES is a collaborative project of designer,Laura Schoorland shepherdess,Brittany Cole Bush.
year in land stewardship and fire hazard reduction programs in Californiaʼs Bay Area. Help the next generation of farmers join a “movement that is actively making change in our food system” by donating to the EcoFarm Scholarship Fund.
I love looking at the pics and developing new ideas. Rarely I have the time to realize the finished objects but visualizing through inspiration sometimes is enough. I’m so excited about the Home & Away knit-along! I’d already been plotting to knit a couple of projects from the book, but it will be even more fun as part of a KAL.
Episode 19: Ashli Tyre
Her experience derives from managing upwards of 2,500 head of sheep and goats in the Bay Area of California to perform stewardship and fire hazard abatement projects. Agrarian Trust’s mission is to support land access for the next generation of farmers. For many years friends and colleagues in the fields of regenerative agriculture and land stewardship have deemed EcoFarm as one of the most impactful and inspiring events of the year.
I get so happy when I find your newest podcast on my phone. I listen to it as I go around on my job of home visits. It makes the time fly by and I have learned so many great things. You have made me question how the yarn I buy is processed, where it comes from and how it has a story. Thank you fir improving my quality of life. I found this episode to be especially interesting. Using controlled grazing in an urban or suburban area is a very useful idea and Brittany Cole Bush is an excellent spokeswoman for its use.
Be sure to check out all of our previous episodes for more small business tips, resources and insights. I think we need to kind of take a step back and look at the history of where we come from and how food is a part of it.
So again, that’s all really localised or regionalized if you think about it. These animals not only produced these beautiful sheepskins or goathides, they were part of our original food system and again, that is an added value product of producing good food. Unfortunately, what we’ve seen over the years is that these inputs have depleted our soils and have depleted the resiliency of our landscapes. And we really do need to reevaluate how we approach, large-scale agriculture, and I don’t feel that all, all inputs are bad.
I just think that there’s a lot of opportunity for us to grow and look at other dynamic natural ways, natural functions to address how we create good food for people. prescription grazing with sheep and goats as as land management tool. I am impressed by how hard everyone works with and for these fiber animals to bring us quality products. I really enjoyed listening to Brittany’s story. Thanks for the wonderful podcast and giveaway. Looking forward to another great episode – excited to learn about how she manages the animals. Thank you so much for doing this podcast.
Brittany Cole Bush, Shepardess: Grazing For Change Consumer Revolution Mc And Speaker
I was especially interested to hear the discussion related to “holistic” hides and the possibility that you may explore this topic in more depth in the future. Your podcasts are truly a highlight of my week – keeping me inspired. Waht a wonderful gift you have this week! Looking forward to listening to the podcast. Thanks for a super interesting and quality podcast. It’s so dangerous to listen to these podcasts on my lunch break…I have a hard time going back to the office, I just want to go home and knit!
If you enjoyed this episode, join us again next week when we welcome RONE – one of Australia’s most prolific street artists. We’ll be chatting with him about emotional responses to art, the risky business of exhibitions, and bumping into squatters.
When it comes to being sustainable and accessible, the farming industry in the US faces a lot of challenges. But Brittany knows that bringing the next generation of farmers and land stewards together for food and fun is a big part of the solution.
Land Access Strategy: One Farmer And 8,000 Landlords At Fordhall Farm
As the market demands better products, we will shift our innovation, and I would love to learn what’s going on in other countries that are very innovative such as New Zealand, how they’re tanning and processing their pelts. So another aspect of my stock business model is taking the pelts, the raw hides after the animal has been harvested. And stopping the trend of what happens right now, which is pelts, raw pelts get bailed and shipped to China and processed into myriad of products. They enculturate their young to have this amazing salad bowlfor all of these things we want them to graze.
Watch more videos at soilsolution.org/interviews. “We have to care about what we buy… Our purchasing power is one of the strongest things that we can do to support folks like us… I think that just becoming aware and conscious is creating power and support for those who are trying to create a conscious product,” says Brittany. “Xero” and “Beautiful business” are trademarks of Xero Limited.
And this can be all over the world and I think that that as a consumer somebody who chooses not to be a shepherdess for example. I think that just becoming aware and conscious is creating power and support of those who were trying to create a conscious product. So it is amazing to see that people like you and other folks that are forefront of this sustainable agriculture movement in the US and beyond are implementing and innovating these practises that will help not only the environment also public health without having a regulatory mandate. Like there’s no law that says that you have to do this, it’s, you just know that it’s the right thing and we’re gonna figure this out because we don’t wanna kill each other. That’s one of the most exciting parts of my work I feel is is that interface. And I don’t think that people are purposely being separated or they don’t know where their food and their products come from. I think it’s really what it comes down to is accessibility and opportunity to learn about this stuff.
You have to understand the processes of life and death with working with livestock. You have to- you have to know how to endure. And what I hope is that I can be a part of inspiring people to see what an incredible quality of life it can be. Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people, I really have gotten that many emails of people saying how can I get into this, I want a vocation that gives me the quality of life that I see you have. And I tell them often, it’s a lot harder than it looks. You can look at some really pretty pictures but it’s a lot harder than it looks.
Having been awarded a scholarship to attend this year, I was able to experience the positive impact of EcoFarm myself. The programming, beautiful setting, and the community of EcoFarm was exhilarating to experience that recharged my own enthusiasm about my personal work in the field of land stewardship and livestock. The San Diego Foundation is providing lunch for the event, so please RSVP to to ensure we have enough food and seats. I have interests in designing and managing the development of technologies to help streamline operations, monitor biological metrics on the ranch, and create better communications internally and with clients in the contract grazing world.
