Today, most everybody is concerned about his or her health and the health of their family. Marvin and Linda Jones, owners of AJ Grass Fed Farms in West Fork, Ark., are concerned about the way they eat.
The couple have been farming in Northwest Arkansas for 16 years. Their 125-acre farm is home to 160 happy, healthy, hormone free Katahdin sheep.
After several years of raising sheep, Marvin and Linda decided to raise their sheep on grass instead of grain. The sheep graze on Clover, Fescue and other native grasses. “I guess you could say it’s like a smorgasbord for them,” said Marvin.
During the winter months when fresh grass is not available, they move the sheep to a pasture close to their house and feed the sheep hay. The sheep are never fed grain. The Jones’ feel that grass-finished is more natural for the sheep and healthier for the people who consume the meat.
The most important thing when raising sheep on grass only is to rotate the flock. The Joneses have their farm divided into 10 individual pastures so they can do just that.
Marvin and Linda only breed their ewes in the winter. They prefer to have spring lambs. If you give the ewes six weeks of eating good spring grass you will have healthier lambs. You don’t have weak lambs that way. In the spring, about 90 percent of the ewes lamb within three weeks of each other. “They just pop like popcorn,” said Marvin with a smile.
The couple admit there are some challenges they face. One is time. Marvin works two jobs outside of farming. This eliminates the time Marvin can spend on the farm so Linda spends her days tending to the farm. “I do the feeding during the day when Marvin is at work,” said Linda. “There is an old saying, don’t have more sheep than your wife can take care of,” joked Marvin.
Another challenge was finding a good market to sell their sheep. They usually take the sheep to Centerton, Ark., Kansas or Oklahoma, but they have recently found a new market.
“I found a place in Diamond, Mo., which has a sale barn. People come from Texas and Pennsylvania to purchase, and they buy more sheep and they pay a good price for them,” said Marvin.
