Rotational grazing workshop offered by PCSWCD and Widdershins Farm 

DOVER-FOXCROFT — The Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District (PCSWCD) is very excited to announce that it will be collaborating with Widdershins Farm LLC this summer. Widdershins is a local farm in Dover-Foxcroft offering a wide variety of services and products and includes a creamery and farm store that is open seven days a week. The farm specializes in sustainable agriculture and caring for their livestock in the most natural way possible. Widdershins offers everything from raw milk, cheese and yogurt to grass fed beef, pasture raised pork, lamb and chicken. They breed and raise Katahdin sheep, a meat breed of sheep that were developed in Abbot for their hair coat, hardiness and prolificacy.

PCSWCD will be welcoming 20-25 working livestock animals that will consist of Katahdin sheep, donkeys and goats to the Law Farm in Dover-Foxcroft. The livestock will be arriving on PCSWCD’s Law Farm Volunteer Workday, Saturday, June 6, and stay for five weeks where they will be moved between pastures as needed to increase soil fertility, implement permaculture practices and decrease the use of motorized mowing fuel and costs. 

Want to see how it’s done? Would you like to learn more from an experienced farmer? The PCSWCD pleased to announce that Wendy Russell from Widdershins Farm LLC will be presenting a rotational grazing workshop from 9:30 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, June 24 at the Law Farm to demonstrate the general care and instruction of working Katahdin sheep sustainably on your land. Russell will be discussing types of equipment for grazing both cows and sheep, which includes maintaining, transportation and types of equipment that work best. She will also demonstrate how to train the animals, how to move the fence as well as what animals and age groups work best together. Topics will also include watering, shelter needs and the conditions of grass to browse and graze. Russell will also discuss how often to move, awareness of poisonous plants, wet holes, predators, the public’s safety and insurance. She will give instruction on how to plan your paddock for consecutive moves, start and stop spots for moving animals in and out and containment for catching and loading the animals.

While our animal friends will be residing with us for the summer, the PCSWCD encourages visitors to observe the best management practices, but they are also urging visitors to refrain from bringing your dog to the Law Farm. These animals are working and they want to decrease any risk from distracting them from their duty. They also will have signs up stating that they are not to be fed, as they want them to eat the unwanted overgrowth instead! So please, no dog visitors and do not feed the workers. They appreciate the community’s excitement as they welcome this opportunity and encourage you to visit the Law Farm and join us in this educational workshop. 

There is a registration fee and space is limited for this workshop. For more information and to register, please contact the Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District by visiting the website at piscataquisswcd.org, the Facebook page facebook.com/www.piscataquisswcd.org, calling 207-564-2321 ext. 3, emailing info@piscataquisswcd.org or stopping by the office in the USDA Service Center at 42 Engdahl Drive in Dover-Foxcroft.