We are a small gentleman's farm in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. While we (Gary and Melanie) both have jobs outside of the farm, we raise a few animals, garden and enjoy the pleasures that the farm life offers. This site is to show off our Leicester Longwool sheep and the products they produce. It is always our goal to be productive, be healthy in what we do and respect the nature of our surroundings, above all, with good humor.

We went to the New York Sheep and Wool show in October 2009. It was a wonderful gathering of shepherds and fiber craftspeople. The Leicester Longwool was the selected breed of the year and as part of that honor, The Leicester Longwool Sheep Breeders Association worked hard to feature the sheep, including a card grading demonstration that brought in judges Brenton Heazlewood from Tazmania, Lee Parsons from the U.K., and Phil Sponenburg, from Virginia Tech.

Gary had the opportunity to assist the judges and really learned a lot about what features are sought after in the breed. Richard Larson wrote a terrific article about the genetic excellence of the breed that you can read at:

http://www.sheepmagazine.com/issues/31/31-1/card_grading_advantages_building_a_breeds_genetic_excellence.html

Gary is seen in the photos handling the sheep as the judges review. We came home pleased to look over our flock and think we're doing pretty well.

In addition to the card grading, the LLSBA also set up a country store where we had great success selling raw fleece, roving, yarn and our sheep's milk soap. You can check out all these products on our For Sale page.