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Karen Weinberg and Paul Borghard, along with daughters Emily and Zoe, are the Farmers of 3-Corner Field Farm. Like many of life’s most interesting and rewarding circumstances, our fate to become sheep farmers revealed itself to us quite unexpectedly. We moved to our 100-acre farm in Washington County, New York, in the late 1980s with the dream of one day becoming full-time farmers. After living on the farm for a few years, we gave in to a neighbor’s suggestion and acquired two lambs to help keep grass and weeds under control near our property’s streambed. Within a very short time our farm became a haven for local lambs in need of a loving home. One lamb led to another—and another. We began to think about how sheep are extremely versatile animals—yielding meat, milk, and fiber—and how they are a good choice for the type of land we have. This led us to seriously investigate how we could fulfill our dream by raising dairy sheep and lamb full-time. Today, we raise more than 150 sheep and over 300 lambs on our sustainable farm, providing wholesome lamb and sheep goods locally and to customers at the Union Square Greenmarket in New York City. And we do it with more than a little help from our “friends” Roque, Francoise and Sweep. Roquefort, or Roque as we like to call her, is a Maremma-Abruzzi guard dog who takes her job to heart. Roque patrols the pastures to stave off coyotes and domesticated dogs. She has bonded so deeply with our flock that she’s abandoned her doghouse to sleep outside among the sheep—even in the deep winter snow!
Roque on patrol Francoise is our ever-popular guard donkey. She strongly dislikes canines of any kind, and she has lived with sheep since she was four months old, so she’s the perfect pasture mate for protecting our lambs. Leveraging the theory that “personality goes a long way,” Francoise likes to pose for tourists’ pictures by the roadside whenever the opportunity arises.
Francoise strikes a pose for passersby Our “Most Valuable Employee,” Sweep makes milking a large flock of sheep possible. As Border Collies are bred to do, Sweep gathers the sheep together and brings them safely to the milking parlor twice a day. She’s learned all the tricks and favorite hiding spots of our most stubborn animals, so there’s no slacking off when it’s milking time at 3-Corner Field Farm.
Ears up, Sweep is ready for action |
