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Urban Shepherds is an LLC created by three Production Dorset Sheep Farms for the purpose of promoting urban and suburban sheep grazing as a cost effective and environmental alternative to mowing,  promoting  urban farming and increasing sheep production; and educating youth and recruiting future shepherds.

We hope to expand the Urban Shepherds program to link other shepherds to other large vacant lots regionally.Please contact us whereever you are if you have land to mow or sheep to graze.

Learn more about how you can save money, enhance the environment, and provide social capital by managing your lawn with sheep. See a recent article on our program: http://www.ohio.com/lifestyle/sheep-touted-as-mowing-alternative-1.292472


Introduction
Leasing land for grazing is a common occurrence in rural counties in Ohio where farmers secure additional land for grazing and the landowners benefit from the ability to put their land in CAUV. However, in urban and suburban areas, we have identified another potential grazing opportunity where the land owners have an interest in leasing sheep for mowing. Sheep offer a cost-effective alternative to mechanized or human mowers for the landowner.

Mowing one acre requires two to five gallons of gasoline. Hiring a lawn cut would cost fourty to sixty dollars per week, and, sometimes, lawns need to be cut twice a week. That is as much as $120 per week per acre. Here in Ohio, grass begins growing in March until the middle of October. That adds up to about 28 weeks of grass cutting over the whole season. In spring and fall, the grass needs to be cut twice per week, and during dry seasons, only every week and a half, a reasonable average would be about 32 cuttings required to maintain an acre. This can add up to over $1,900 per acre per year.

The benefits of using natural lawn mowers go beyond saved time and money. An acre of lawn can provide 600 pounds of grass forage. This is enough forage to produce about 160 pounds of lamb meat and several pounds of wool. In addition, 200 animal days of grazing creates 600 pounds of manure containing 10 pounds of nitrogen and 8 pounds of phosphate that are readily available for plant growth. This would be similar to the amount of fertilizer recommended for a spring treatment for the average lawn care.

According to Consumer Reports (http://www.consumerreports.org), small, two-stroke engines used in conventional lawn-care equipment are big polluters. Mowing a lawn one hour per week for a summer consumes only 10 gallons of gas, but releases an average of 148 pounds of carbon-dioxide emissions per year. Furthermore, one hour on an average riding mower emits roughly the same amount of NO2, one of the key ingredients in smog, as driving a very clean new car for 75,000 miles.

Studies show that sheep mowing reduces pollution, maintenance, use of herbicides, and gas and oil requirements, fertilizing while they graze, and producing lean, healthy local food and wool products. Sheep are a great interim solution for vacant city lots. Sheep can operate in conditions, like steep terrains along power lines, that men and machines cannot easily access. In tightly spaced vineyards, sheep come in before bud break and leave the site ready for the growing season. Sheep do not compact the soil or disturb the indigenous species. They provide a holistic land management and brush and weed control through grazing. Sheep can eliminate thistle, brush, noxious weeds, and other invasive plants and restore native grasses. They are low maintenance, very entertaining, and do their job well. As a result, property owners are beginning to use sheep to mow lawns. The White House lawn once had sheep grazing during Wilson's administration to save on groundskeeping. In fact, our modern idea of lawns was born from images of European estates that were maintained by sheep. With budget challenges and fuel prices rising, this is an idea whose time has come back.

Who we are:

Miller Farm: The Miller Farm is an Amish family farm located in Mount Hope in Holmes County, Ohio. Wayne Miller has been raising sheep for 15 years. His family keeps 40 Production Polled Dorset commercial ewes on 30 acres. Wayne Miller brings expertise in pasture management, designing pasture layouts, and raising hay. In addition, he trains herding dogs to work. Located two miles from the auction in Mount Hope, he is a liaison to the farming and Amish community where we have seen an increase of lamb production in Ohio.

The Spicy Lamb Farm: The Spicy Lamb Farm, located in Peninsula, Ohio, is a national park farm in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP) leased by Laura DeYoung since 2007. It is part of the Countryside Initiative farm program, a unique modern sustainable farmland rehabilitation and revitalization plan, making the CVNP an agricultural provider. The farm’s mission is become economically viable; to provide agritourism opportunities; and to educate the public on the critical need for local sustainable farming. The farm provides education to the public on the economic, social, and environmental reasons for agricultural preservation and restoration.  The farm has 50 Production Polled Dorset ewes on various leased fields. In addition to farming, Laura DeYoung is an environmental planning consultant specializing in sustainable economic development strategies. She works with public and private entities, developing solutions to unique planning and public policy issues in environmental, agricultural, and cultural heritage preservation.  She also holds a masters degree in management and completed her doctoral program of study in urban and regional planning. She is published in planning and sustainable development. Laura also brings a background in advertising and public relations and media production.