Our Animals
Our fertility is a true testament to our animals' health and well being.
We believe that our animals should have the best of native grasses and forage, purest water and the love and appreciation they deserve. Our entire fertility system starts and ends with our animal husbandry practices, and we believe that our animals are the key to the best quality soil, food and medicine. With that said, each animal is loved and cared for daily by every member of the Lane Creek Reserve team.
Our Herd
Daily we manage around 50 animals for the purpose of fertility, we harvest the manure from our ruminant animals and bring it out to our growing beds. We maintain a decent flock of chickens and a handful of pigs to process all our personal food waste, and partner with local businesses to supplement our animals additional needs.
Our supplemental food program is geared towards a fully organic diet. We obtain organic produce scraps, have a local brewery to take their spent grain, and have recently added in our local creamery for their cheese and bread waste. This supplemental food is simply a treat for our animals, and in no way fills the void for the native grasses and incredible hay they require.
Our animals are a key factor in our overall farming systems, so it is in our best interest to keep them well fed, healthy and active. When native forage is not available, our animals are supplemented on locally grown grass, oats, peas, and alfalfa.
Before & After: Watch how we manage our pastures
We utilize rotational non-selective grazing to regenerate the land and prevent soil erosion while providing continuous feed for our animals.
Our Cattle
Our cattle have become very vital animals for us. We use them to rotationally and intentionally graze our acreage. This system allows us to give the animals the land to roam and forage on, all while providing a much needed rehab for the soil life. Our cattle are are raised on mothers’ milk and great forage.
They remain on rotated pastures, are respected for the work they do naturally, and are encouraged to keep moving, eating and staying happy. Over their lifetime, they will rebuild and support over 30 acres of land, which supports our crops to be stronger and healthier, and the native land to rehab back to a fertile and thriving state without any store bought nutrients or chemicals.
This natural grazing system also provides high-quality beef. Our beef is grass-fed and grass-finished, which yields the best final product. It is important to us that at the time of harvest, our cows will have lived a great life, ingested high quality grasses, and have enjoyed the freedom to graze and roam the foothills of the Siskiyou Mountains.
Our Goats & Sheep
Our cattle are not the only well kept and vital members of our ruminant animals. Our goats and sheep are also rotated on similar grazing patterns, which allow them to also enjoy sweet green forage. They too are part of the rehabilitation of the soil, but we also do intentional feeding in the barn so we can collect their manure to make our essential barn cake.
Our goats and sheep are our largest growing population as we have had many multiple births in the last few seasons. With a heavy female count, we feel our numbers will continue to increase. This has allowed us to expand our gardens, incorporate more beds, and harvest a few select goats and sheep for meat. Again, a very full circle approach.
Lane Creek Wildlife
In addition to all of our “farm animals,” a section of the land is protected for wild Winter Deer and Elk habitat. Other incredible wildlife roam the property, like wild turkeys , black tail deer, coyote, fox, and vocal bullfrogs and a vast variety of birds, including Canadian geese, killdeer, hawks, owls & hummingbirds.