What a whirlwind of a weekend it was!
I was fortunate enough to be able to attend and present at the very first Harvest Wyoming Small Farm Symposium in Riverton.
It was a blast!
There were workshops, talks, farm-tours, and a fabulous farm-to-table dinner with a panel discussion.
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At the end of this discussion, folks were wondering how to get involved in the Local Food movement in Wyoming, and it seemed like a fitting time for Wyoming Food Coalition board member LeAnn Miller, to announce my new position as Executive Director of the Wyoming Food Coalition!
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The Wyoming Food Coalition is a non-profit organization set up to increase awareness, facilitate collaboration, increase education, promote transparency, and influence legislation centered around local food.
Wyoming is a leader in local-food accessibility as one of the 4 Food Freedom States in the Nation (North Dakota, Maine, Utah) with our state-wide cottage law called the Food Freedom Act.
This law is what allows us small farmers and ranchers to sell our products directly to our customers, with limited regulation (although there is an important emphasis on making sure the end consumer is clearly informed about what they are purchasing).
The Wyoming Food Coalition is made up of 7 working groups, and anyone can be a member of these working groups and attend their meetings, which are mostly virtual.
You can check out WFC website HERE.
Feel free to reach out to me if you want to be connected with one of the working groups, or if you have any questions.
We have a lot of work ahead of us, and I'm SO excited to dig in, and to help this organization gain more momentum!
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Peter and I also got to present our very own workshop at this conference, and that was a TON of fun!
Reply to this email if you want to see the recording, and the workbook I put together for this workshop-
Effective Marketing for Your Farm-Raised Products.
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Peter and I also enjoyed the farm tour of Lakeview Gardens and Red Roof Meat Company. The afternoon "breeze" reminded him of doing farm chores at home.
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We got to attend a couple of great talks on goat browsing, profitable poultry, local food policy, solar power, farm finances, and operation efficiency.
It was a blast, and the perfect timing to get us excited for the coming season.
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Want to be in-the-know about upcoming events like this one?
Get on the free Ag Dispatch list for Wyoming HERE.
By the way, I was interviewed on the Wyoming Women in Ag Talk Show last week- it airs tomorrow!
You can view the episode on Instagram or Facebook Live at 12PM CST.
Learn more about NWIAA HERE.
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We are in the process of starting a local NWIAA chapter for Wyoming. I'm excited to finally have the Equality State represented through this national organization!
NWIAA is looking for other Women in the Ag industry to interview on their talk show. If you know of someone who would be awesome to hear from, please send your recommendation to: womeninag@gmail.com.
Want to take part in the best part of Local Ag?
The Eating of delicious, locally-raised food of course!
Keep your freezer full and...
Place your deposit on our local lamb, pork, and beef shares for 2023 HERE.
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We also have CSA shares available if you would like an array of products delivered to your door every month.
Not long after Peter and I got home from Riverton, were we welcomed with our first lamb of 2022!!!
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Woohoo! A healthy and strong Icelandic x Jacob cross Ram Lamb out of a first-time momma.
The first lamb born every year is always a little bit funny (and dangerous).
Some of the other ewes get a bit jealous and start to want to steal the new baby away from his real mother... we call these "baby-snatchers."
This was starting to happen in my flock, so I locked these two up in our little sheep shelter and gave them some alone time to try out the nursing process.
It didn't take long for them to get it figured out!
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It won't be long at all before we have a big group of lambs bouncing and running and jumping around, enjoying the sun and snow and wind like these Icelandic sheep love to do!
I'm so excited!
Stay tuned for more photos of lambs as we get further into lambing season.
Happy Almost Spring!
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-BJ, Peter, and the Taste of the Wind Crew
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