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Natural
Wool & Honey
Products

 


Registered
Romney
& Horned Dorset
Sheep

 

a family farm nestled in the Catskills of New York State

 

 

Farm History

Current Activities

Kate & Ralph Henderson


My husband Ralph and I purchased Sheepy Valley Farm in 1979. We were newly married and interested in finding a small homestead with a barn and land for grazing and gardening. We were pleased to find a small farm located about 12 miles west of Walton, New York (itself about 140 miles northwest of New York City.)

We have raised not just sheep--Ralph and I have had dairy cows, beef cattle, horses, pigs, chickens, ducks, geese, goats, rabbits, turkeys, and one cranky mule.

We decided to emphasize sheep so that they could graze the farm's overgrown pastures.

We found they made good show animals for our kids in 4-H, and that led to learning about the uses of wool.

 

In the summer of 2006, we moved from Walton to a larger farm located in a small hamlet called Medusa in the town of Rensselaerville.  We're located at the southern edge of Albany County, New York, bordering on Greene County in the northern Catskills. The house and land has been in my family for nearly 75 years, and now it's the home of Sheepy Valley.  It's wonderful to see our own sheep in pastures of the farm I used to visit as a young girl, when my aunt and uncle lived on this very same farm! 

We're proud of our new home, and excited that through our website we can tell you about it, and offer some of our fine wool and honey products. Order some, or send us a note--we'd love to hear from you.

--Kate Henderson.

 

While sheep are not the only animals currently living at Sheepy Valley, it's the wooly ones that keep Ralph and me busy. We have 48 sheep, including three rams which we breed with our ewes each fall.  Lambs are born the following spring. The remainder of our flock are yearling ewes (too young to breed), and several wethers (neutered rams) that we keep for their beautiful  wool.

Different colored faces from our flock

 

 

 

 

 

 


We also raise honey bees. There are currently three hives, safely protected by an electric fence from bears. (One ransacked our hives a couple springs ago: we learned our lesson!)

We harvest honey each fall from the hives, and also use the beeswax to make candles.

In addition to the sheep, we raise chickens for eggs and meat and we grow some of our own vegetables in our fertile garden. Our farm also provides firewood and christmas trees.

Winter at Sheepy Valley

There's a lot of work to be done at Sheepy Valley--not just the daily chores, but the inevitable repairs and seasonal tasks like harvesting honey or shearing sheep. Ralph and I are very busy, but in our spare time we both work full-time jobs. I am a nurse, and Ralph works at a grocery.

We'll keep you posted as things change here at Sheepy Valley--check our home page for the latest news.

 


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Copyright © 2007 Sheepy Valley Farms
Last modified: August 27, 2007
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