10/11/2026
When I first moved in to this farm, I had huge visions of what I thought I wanted it to be. I took in a bunch of ex Amish rescue horses that had a huge variety of health issues and were starved, that cost me 10k the first few months. I took them with a vision of bringing together wounded veterans and horses that had suffered their own trauma. Then came Covid, and that put the end to that. Simultaneously, I was working on a dairy sheep operation, as there was no one milking and making sheep cheese. That was a project in conjunction with the local college, who had recently opened a dairy facility. That too fell by the wayside. Living in rural Suffolk county for a good chunk of my life, I had always wanted livestock, but land regulations, and yes we do have farmland there, was quite restrictive. As a kid I always wanted a farm filled with livestock so that people could enjoy them, and I did do that. It has not come without a cost. The cost of feed/shearing/hoof trimming/ fencing/ veterinary care each year has become above a mortgage each month, and in fact their yearly expenses are double my mortgage on this place each year. That is no longer going to be sustainable for us, and as I pivot into a full scale flower and event space, is really putting a huge dent into our quality of living as a family. The kids are older, in college, leading their own lives, and are at this point are hardly at the farm anymore. I cannot justify paying someone to help take care of animals, that bring in little to no income, with my most hated time of year (winter) approaching, I have to make some decisions about where we are going as a business, as well as our personal lives. The increased prices in fuel are leading to increased grain and feed prices, some of those haven't even hit yet, and let's not even talk about heating our homes this winter. I am here to say that we are going to begin the process of looking for placement for animals. Since we raise working LGDs, we will always retain livestock for them to look after, but at some point our quality of life has to count for something too. We are looking for rescues, non-profits, petting zoo type operations that can take on some animals to be used for educational purposes, petting zoos, and simply for backyard enjoyment. I will NOT sell to anyone looking for meat animals, nor will I give them to the first person who comes asking. This isn't a decision that is being made lightly, and I will not rehome unless the absolute perfect situation is found. These animals have all been halter broke, for the most part, and handled since birth. Please PM with SERIOUS inquiries only. Heres a picture of Rip, who is on stall rest for weeks after the porcupine incident yesterday. I am not rehoming the guard dogs, I have other livestock, including George, up for discussion.
