SweetMeadow Farm 2025
This post was authored by Stephanie LaRochelle in January 2026, it is entirely the fault of her apologetic daughter Sophie that posting was delayed 7 months. Please enjoy this overdue retrospective on the year of 2025 at SweetMeadow Farm.
The year our bodies began to betray us…
With a shoulder replacement and tendon reattachment for Guy and a meniscus tear repair for Stephanie, we were forced to face the fact that small scale livestock farming is for the able bodied! We made and met a commitment to reduce our livestock numbers by 30%, purchased an Agri-Tech handling system for the cattle and a flippable squeeze table for the sheep, took a couple shows off the calendar, rewired and reconfigured the sheep lane fencing, and stocked up on ibuprofen and acetaminophen!
Thanks to our children for taking over farm chores throughout hospital stays, recuperation, and the long trek to Louisville, we were able to not only muddle through, but also celebrate several successes throughout the year.
Stephanie attended the Ohio Sale in May, bringing home a new ram from Hickory Grove Farm, “Mick”. He has a pedigree full of old Canadian and imported Australian genetics that have
worked for us. The pregnancy scan looks great with 100% confirmed in lamb. Here’s to hoping “Mick” joins the rams from the past that have made a difference in our flock: Heidi Barkley’s “Psalm”, Hickory Grove’s “Essie”, Travis Johnson’s “Chronicle”, and Deakin Family Farm’s “Deuteronomy”. We’re excited to welcome lambs starting late February 2026.
We sold ewes privately to several young Border enthusiasts and consigned a Blue Faced yearling ewe to the inaugural BFL online sale. Our champion yearling ram, “Stache”, has gone to Vermont to work in a predominately black Border flock. A few steers went as show prospects, and Top-of-the-Hill Farm in Wolfeboro, NH, purchased our feeder lambs and beef weanlings for their beautiful farm market. Outsourcing meat sales worked better for us this year.
Early summer brought hay making, grazing the back pasture, baseball for the grands, a home-improvement project that quickly grew from a bedroom refresh to a full kitchen and laundry room renovation, family time in the woods of Maine, and a brand new grand niece!
Stephanie, Iris, and Colby ventured to the North East Youth Sheep Show in West Springfield, Mass, for Colby’s 2nd year. He had a yearling ewe and a ewe lamb to exhibit and friends to reconnect with. It was a great long weekend.
Eastern States Exposition was a surprising success for us. The judge, Jacob Reister, liked the kind of sheep we raise, and we came home with lots of show swag and the Supreme Champion Ewe of week 2, aka “Wool Week”, with “Gossip”, a white Border Leicester yearling ewe. This was our second time winning Supreme Ewe at ESE: “Gaida” received this honor in 2019. With several of our animals in the ring from other exhibitors, we were also privileged to win the Premier Breeder award for 2025.
These successes prompted us to enter NAILE – the North American International Livestock Exposition, for the first time since Iris had aged out of the Junior Show. With Guy still in a shoulder sling, and Stephanie working a distinct limp, we made the 16 hour drive to Louisville, Kentucky, with 3 sheep in the back of the Ford. While the length of the drive and the overcrowding of the first weekend was a bit overwhelming for us, Iris’s work in the show ring did not disappoint. Our ram lamb and ewe lamb each placed second in their February class, and “Gossip” placed first and later took Grand Champion White Border Leicester Ewe from the younger yearling ewe class! While Iris had to fly back for work, Stephanie and her BFL bestie, Duckey, took “Gossip” to the top 5 line up for Supreme Champion Ewe! By all accounts, a great showing.
In amongst the travels to the 2 big shows and the 2 big operations we also ventured to the New York Sheep and Wool Festival, spent time at the family camp in Aroostook County Maine, made 2 trips to North Carolina to spend time with Sophie, enjoyed a day trip to Fryeburg Fair, hired out the re-fencing project, poured cement pads in the newer barn, and kept all the livestock safe and well fed. It was a good year.
