Tag: Farmer-to-farmer
West Africa Cultural Farm Exchange
Farm Visit: During a week of Wisconsin’s -10° F weather we enjoyed a visitor from Bamako, Mali, West Africa. Drissa visited Wisconsin to learn how to produce value added meat products and to work with a chef as part of the Common Pastures project. Although we generally have lambs and kids in the spring a few […]
Why Are We GPS Tracking Sheeps?
GPS tracking of livestock is being used more frequently by U.S. farmers to monitor the movements of their animals as they evaluate land utilization and improvement through grazing. GPS tracking data helps farmers understand a great deal about how pastured animals interaction with the land. This is important for land preservation and recovery activities. In […]
Upper Midwest Sheep Farmers Working in Mali, W. Africa? Why?
This question is often asked in various forms: “What do you (sheep and goat producers from Wisconsin) have to offer sheep producers in Mali?” Sometimes the tone of the question is curious, or amused, or sarcastic. Sometimes the question is asked just by a questioning look. Often the question is followed by a puzzled but isn’t […]
Urban Garden Update: Bamako, Mali
Update from Bamako Farmer-to-Farmer program. “…Every Monday, we communicate the vegetables available to the clients through email and the orders are placed from Tuesday to Wednesday and delivery is done on Thursday from 12:30 to 2:00. I am very proud to be part of this and it is really interesting…” (Alfousseni Sidibe, Project Assistant at Winrock […]
Ethiopia Highland Shepherds
Sheep, goats, and their shepherds in the Highlands of Ethiopia. During the wet season, children from the age of 4 are often responsible for moving the livestock to pasture in the morning, staying with them during the day, and returning in late afternoon. These children take on their responsibility seriously. When they return to school at […]
The Sheep of Prestige: Bali-Bali Sheep
The remarkable Bali-Bali is a hair sheep native to the Mali and Niger boundary and highly desired for breeding stock across Western Africa. It has a noble appearance due to their distinctive foreheads, lopping ears, elegant legs and body structure. The long straight tail also differentiates it from fat tailed sheep. Rams display a long […]
The Shepherds of Guinea-Conakry
Why is improved goat and sheep production in Guinea important? The average protein intake in Guinea is 5.9 g in contrast to the standard American diet of 101.9 grams for males and 70.1 grams for females (National Health and Nutrition Survey). This low level of available protein makes goat and sheep production an important agriculture focus of […]
Great Food. Interesting Places. Mali
Lunch simple but elegant. Sometimes stewed chicken is added. One lunch (right corner image) using chicken, egg and cucumbers was especially delightful. The seeds and centers of the cucumbers were removed prior to sauteing with tomatoes and onions. The meat was browned and stewed with a spicy sauce and placed on the prepared vegetables. The chicken revealed […]
Nubaria Region Sheep Production, Egypt
Confinement livestock practices are often associated with large factory farms and overcrowded conditions. The photo of a successful working farm in Egypt demonstrates that this does not have to be the case. Although grazing land is not readily available in this part region the livestock are allowed to graze produce residue seasonally. When they do […]
Sustainable Sheep Farming in Mali
Lofiné, Mali is approximately 100 km south of Sikasso and 30 km from the Ivory Coast border. This is traditionally a poor region of Mali but not because of encroaching desert or arid conditions. The rain is heavy from May through September and continues through December. This heavy rainfall results in a wet, humid environment […]
A Glimpse into Village Life
Lofine, Mali, West Africa: Life in the village is a mixture of technologies. Homes may be 1 room with dirt floors and clothes washed by hand in the river flowage but a solar collector provides energy to pump water that is transported by pipe and stored in a water tower for drinking. Cell phones ring […]