Sheepberry Farms
(Continued from Page B 2)
get the most nutrition out of the
pasture.
“That makes better use of pas
ture because sheep and llamas feed
on different types of grasses in the
pasture,” John said. “Diseases are
species specific and they don’t
give worms to each other. Better
control of parasites is possible
when you raise them together.”
Portable fencing allows easy
rotation of areas. Every time John
spreads manure on the pasture he
adds three to four coffee can mea
sures of meadow grass seed, which
results in beautiful lush meadows.
Adaptation to farming
The Zerpheys purchased used
equipment such as a 1926 Ford
tractor and a Sears and Roebuck
manure spreader. Because the Zer
pheys have about an hour’s drive
from their work, they often do not
arrive home until around 8 p.m.
The day their used tractor was
QUALITY PRODUCTS FOR TODAY’S PRODUCER
delivered, John was only arriving
home from work. While dressed in
his suit and tie, he learned to drive
a tractor. A memory his wife never
lets him forget
Seminars, voluminous reading,
and discussions with members of
the Pennsylvania Sheep and Wool
Growers keep the Zerpheys up to
date on such areas as grazing, pas
turing, and breeding.
Marketing
Their business backgrounds are
beneficial with record keeping and
in marketing. The Zerpheys mark
et their own lambs, which are
raised without growth enhancers
and on ■ unmedicated feed.
“It’s the most tender lamb you
ever ate,” John said. “Our animals
are fed well and do not have much
fat. They have a meadow in which
to exercise, which develops
muscle and cuts down on the fat”
John said.
“At the market, a lamb brings
$6O to $75. If you market it your
self, it brings $ll5 to $150.”
For years, the Zerpheys have
been planning to print a brochure
about Sheepberry Farms to use in
marketing lamb and wool, but it’s
the typical story of “a printer never
has time to make his own bro
chure,” said Lynn.
The couple did find lime to
develop a logo for Sheepberry
Farms that illustrates a llama and
sheep touching noses.
John plans to mail-order target
individuals who can afford and
like lamb and to include recipes in
the brochure that are easy to pre
pare.
“We should be handing out
lamb samples at physical fitness
centers to equate lean lamb with
fitness. It’s ridiculous to hand out
free lamb samples at farm-related
meetings to beef and pork far
mers,” said John, who is full of
ideas for expanding marketing
capabilities in lamb. He has accu
mulated recipes to manufacture
processed lunch meats, sausages,
bologna, and other products from
lamb.
“It’s a novel thing to market,”
Galvan
Ized
Bulk
Feed
Bins
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 12, 1992-B3
said Zerphey, who adamantly
argues that to entice more consum
ers to eat lamb, the name must be
changed.
Fiber artists
When his wife began working as
a fiber artist, it seemed natural for
John to become interested also
because he works with design, col
or, and texture every day in his
printing business. Much of the
same eye for design is needed
when working with fiber arts.
When John first began attending
a weaving and spinning guild, he
was the only male, now several
other men attend. John has his own
loom set up in an upstairs
bedroom.
The Zerpheys provide spinning
and weaving demonstrations and
participate in sheep-to-shawl com
petitions. Much of their expertise
was gained by studying books on
weaving and self teaching, and
from some help from a skiing bud
dy who had taken an art course on
weaving.
Several of their projects such as
an afghan, sheep throws, and a
wool blanket have taken ribbons in
local fairs.
The Zerpheys also show their
wool at fairs and fiber shows such
as York Interstate Fair, Keystone
Livestock Expo, Pa. Farm Show,
and the Maryland Sheep and Wool
Festival. The wool has received
many champion and reserve
champion ribbons. Much of theii
wool is sold to other fiber artists,
craft persons, and to some small
wool mills with an established
reputation of clean, quality, health
y wool.
The Zerpheys are chairpersons
for the convention of the Greater
Appalachian Llama Association to
be held in Hershey in September
1993.
“It’s the first llama convention
to be held in Pennsylvania,” John
said.
The Zerpheys learned to shear
their own sheep. Australian teach
ers taught Lynn how to grade and
pack wool. Recently, she com
pleted the Level I Wool Classer
course that the American Sheep
Industry Association has deve
loped to improve the wool quality
and production of United States’
wool. Through a better quality
wool clip, U.S. wool growers
expect to have a competitive edge
to the available domestic and inter
national wool markets. Prior to
these courses, few wool producers
had a complete knowledge of fiber
science and as a result wool class
ing was inconsistent.
Both sheep and llama wools are
used in the Zerpheys’ fiber
projects.
Llamas have both guard hair,
which is stiff and straight and is not
used in yams, and soft down that
blends easily with sheep wool,
which has more elasticity and
crimp. Llama wool makes a lighter
and warmer sweater than sheep
wool.
The Zeipheys also sell fleeces,
which they wash instead of dry
clean, which takes out luster.
Rewards of labor
Although it takes more effort for
the Zerpheys to do their own mark
eting and to branch out in so many
different aspects in using wool, it
makes more money and is worth
the effort, said John.
John, who plans to retire from
his printing job within a few years,
will devote full lime to marketing
lamb. He also would like to offer
one-day llama treks for those inter
ested in the pleasure of sightseeing
on a llama.
The work at Sheepbcrry Farms
is never-ending. Since the Zer
pheys have fixed up the farm
buildings, built a pond, and
improved the land, they are now
concentrating on restoring the log
house in which they live.
“I’m a Jack-of-all-trades, but
master of none,” John said of his
ability to do woodworking, caning,
furniture refinishing, remodeling,
and other handyman chores.
People wonder how the Zer
pheys can hold down full-time jobs
and then face so much work on the
farm.
Lynn has the answer. “This is
therapy,” she said as she surveyed
the rolling meadows and the neatly
painted bams. Sheep and llamas
arc very calming. After a day of
using your brain in the office,
physical work is relaxing and
rewarding.”