Climate Farmers: Flying Dog Farm

Climate Farmers: Flying Dog Farm

For the 2024 Climate Farmer Stories Project, I partnered with three of the 12 cohort farmers. This farm intensively grazes livestock to restore carbon and resilience in the soil of its river valley fields. Regenerative grazing requires moving animals frequently so they can stimulate plant growth for maximum carbon draw down. Farmer Shona is carrying fencing, accompanied by her herding dog. We incorporated lots of flowers and plants to emphasize how important biodiversity is to her on her farm.

In her own words, here’s a bit about Shona Sanford-Long’s farm:

“Flying Dog Farm is a certified organic, regenerative livestock farm. I raise beef cattle, sheep, and pigs, and use management-intensive, multi-species grazing to build soil, plant and animal health. I am now working to integrate silvopasture practices into my pastures, which will provide additional shade and fodder for the animals I raise, greater erosion and drought protection for the soil, and increased habitat for wildlife. 

The primary product of my farm is meat, but in an effort to utilize and celebrate the whole of each animal I raise, I have been working to create value-added products that use parts of the animals that often otherwise go into the waste stream, such as wool and sheepskins, and less common products like beef tallow balm and leather tanned from the hides of my beef cattle.

Striving to use as much of each animal as possible contributes to climate resilience by creating more circular resources beyond foodfor example, the wool that sheep grow each year is made of carbon, and turning that wool into clothing and home products stores that carbon, as well as replacing disposable, petroleumbased products.”

  • Date November 29, 2023
  • Tags Illustration