agri-Culture - Ep 097 Libby Henson: The Conservation Registration Consultation...British Style!

Ep 097 Libby Henson: The Conservation Registration Consultation...British Style!

01/11/21 • 55 min

For some people, an idyllic childhood was all about birthday parties, sleepovers and soccer games. And while those are undoubtedly a fixture for many, for others it was also about cleaning manure out the rabbit hutches and picking green beans until your fingers won’t move anymore. Idyllic, you might question? Yep – one of the best ways to grow up, at least the future me has determined. Having agriculture as a part of daily life when you’re young teaches many great life lessons, and shapes us, our work patterns, and our view of the world.

Our podcast guest today has this perspective in common with your host, having grown up in a family that probably also hatched duck eggs in the guest bathroom and knew how to use a manure fork (thank you for your patience, Mom). Libby Henson comes from a family of agriculturalists at the genetic level. She said her father, Joe Henson, “was born an actor, but ran away to be a farmer,” and practiced that vocation robustly, both in the animals they raised and in his activism. He started Britain’s Cotswold Farm Park in 1971 and the Rare Breeds Survival Trust in 1973. Libby’s brother Eric is also a conservation farmer, showing up on the BBC’s Countryfile show on the telly every week.

Libby is a force of nature, and outstanding in her field (never gets old, that one). Her resume includes titles like first Director of The Livestock Conservancy, Co-founder and Co-director of Grassroots Pedigree Software Solutions, and Very Smart British Lady (okay, we took some liberties with that last one). Our conversation took place in November of 2017, so in addition to learning about her important work, we’ll get her perspective on a few ag things starting to hit the news at that time. Funny how things change, but stay the same – they keep coming around again and again. Kind of like the production patterns of zucchini.

Links:

https://home.grassroots.co.uk/meet-the-team/
https://home.grassroots.co.uk/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1jOFhCkt38
https://www.rbst.org.uk/
https://www.livestockconservancy.org/
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-34456953
http://cotswoldfarmpark.co.uk/adam/about/

Support the show

Links:

Support the show

Previous Episode

Ep 096 Galiceños: Spanish Horsepower, Torque, and a Great Turning Radius

Welcome to the New Year, and goodbye to the old. This is the time of year where we often look back on the past, even if it’s usually just in the form of the “best of and worst of” lists. We’re no different, but instead of the past year, we’re looking back to the last 500 (plus 1) years. Half a century is a long time, but it’s an anniversary to be commemorated for today’s podcast guest: The Galiceno horse.

These little horses are little. Did we say that twice? It’s because they are definitely that – as in, the size of a pony (but unquestionably look like a horse). Even so, they pack a power punch in the “capacity” realm. They arrived with Hernan Cortes in 1519 when he invaded Mexico, and originated from genetic stock from Northwestern Spain. Even at 12 or 13 hands and about 700 pounds, they can carry a 200-pound person all day long over rough terrain. Maybe all that fortitude comes from laboring in the Mexican silver mines, or maybe it’s from its development as a true land-race breed over the last century. But either way, we hope this highly-endangered animal keeps going into the future. There are said to be less than 200 in existence, most of them non-breeding, so that’s a real concern.

Join us as we talk to biologists Rick and Pat Blaney and Heidi Reinhardt at Suwannee Horse Ranch in Live Oak, Florida. We’ll find out more about these wonderful little equines with stamina, quickness, intelligence, and a beautifully-smooth running walk gait. And you don’t need a three-foot mounting block to get in the saddle, either.

And unlike some horsepower of Spanish lineage, they turn on a dime (that’s a gentle dig at the Mustang car). A car joke – Rick can be so proud.

Links:
https://www.facebook.com/Galicenos-of-Suwannee-139480129479917/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel
https://livestockconservancy.org/index.php/heritage/internal/galiceno
https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/fossil-horses/scientific-names/
https://www.galiceno.org/index.html

Support the show

Next Episode

Ep 098 The Dallys, Pt. 1: It Takes a Village – or Maybe Just Joy and Martin

Every meet people who are just plain easy to be with, the minute you meet them? That’s Martin and Joy Dally of Shepherd’s Lane farm and Super Sire Ltd. We have decided to park Bessie on their front lawn to commune with the sheep at least twice a year, if we can get away with it. Okay, so maybe that’s too much to subject them to, especially when they were such wonderful hosts. But it was idyllic to be on their Oregon farm in the fall, with Teeswaters, Gotlands and Valais Blacknose sheep dotting the pastures all around. Toss in chickens, peacocks, herding and livestock dogs, fields of green grass and a wool room to die for, and we hope we can push for maybe once a year, if we’re nice about it.

Today is Part 1 of 2 of our podcast with the Dally’s. These two overachievers have a full and busy life running the farm, going to trade shows, traveling across the country and overseas to find new stock, producing wool, and periodically running a Laparoscopic A.I. Sheepalooza (our new favorite phrase). They have the teamwork down pat, though, and that really makes the difference.

We’re really looking forward to seeing their new venture -- the Panda Muppets (okay, they call them Valais Blacknose) -- next month when lambing season starts. Until then, our trip to Shepherd’s Lane was so delightful, we brought home some sheep to remember the delightful experience. Okay, maybe not all of the sheep. But our living room chairs have never looked so lovely.

Links:

https://www.shepherdslane.com/thedallys
https://www.etsy.com/shop/shepherdslane
http://www.toprams.com/

From the Pasture with Hired Hand
Expert advice on breeding, marketing & technology for livestock breeders & ranchers.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

Support the show