Lynn Mordas didn”™t intend to become a farmer, let alone a lamb breeder. Back in 1993, a friend asked her to tend some of his lambs on her property “for a few days ”¦ and never came back for them,” said Mordas.
The geologist, who worked for the Environmental Protection Agency at the time, found herself in the agricultural industry by chance, but stayed in it by choice.
During her transition from studying rocks to raising wooly flocks, she”™s become an active proponent of “buy local” for her community and other farmers in the region and across the state.Â
“During the course of learning about this industry, I traveled to Spain, which faces similar challenges as we have here in the U.S.” she said. “Overall, Europe is way ahead of us when it comes to nurturing and protecting its small farming communities.”
Mordas”™ little lambs have grown to a healthy herd since those first few appeared at her doorstep, raised not just for their wool but for their meat, which she sells to restaurants all over the region and as far south as New York City.Â
But when she started out, Mordas knew little if anything about raising lambs or what was best for their own menu; fortunately, her northern Dutchess community of Millerton had a wealth of sheep and lamb farmers and Mordas found herself in good company. When she first began to learn about the needs of her new charges and eventually embarked on starting her own business, raising lamb for both its wool and meat, she found herself surrounded by “a group of terrific, intelligent people who were very much into farming and agriculture and sharing their knowledge. They helped me over the rough spots, pointed me in the right direction when I was in need of help and allowed me to become a part of an amazing community of farmers working together.”
After nearly 15 years in the agricultural business and developing a network that stretches from Pine Island to Pine Plains and beyond, Mordas says the help and outpouring of invaluable information shared with her by her farming cohort has enabled her to “pay it forward … I can help others now, just as I was helped when I started out.”
Mordas has been doing that by grant writing for the farming community in northeast Dutchess. Already getting a farm protection grant for $25,000, she is now in the process of writing a second grant, this time to create a cooperative for her fellow farmers.
“The cooperative will allow us to have a place where restaurants can buy meats, vegetables, fruits and herbs in one place,” said Mordas. “Restaurant owners will be able to say, ”˜Yes, I know where this came from and where it was raised.”™ It will make it that much easier for them to place orders and help our farming community thrive. That”™s the goal.”
Mordas takes her business seriously, as do her counterparts, fighting to get more legislation passed that not only protects the health of Americans by letting them know the origin of the food they eat ”“ a law already on the books ”“ but to protect the small farmers “who are truly the backbone of our country,” said Mordas. “It”™s frightening to think how dependent we have become on exports. What if there were a natural disaster? Would America be able to feed its own population?” For Mordas, the time has come to “get back to the garden. We were America”™s breadbasket. It”™s time we got back to our roots.”
While corporate America “big boxed” agriculture back in the 1970s with some notable success, Mordas said the trend to buy local, eat locally grown foods and buy cooperatively has come back with a bang, particularly after the scandals emerging from tainted products shipped from overseas. “People like to know what they are eating and where it came from,” said Mordas, who counts many top chefs from Westchester, the Hudson Valley and beyond as customers for her lamb products. (Slaughtering is done at a USDA approved slaughterhouse in Pine Plains.)
The lamb”™s wool is also a valuable commodity, and Mordas cross-breeds her flock to not only get the most delicate meat, but the finest wool.
Thanks to a grant from the Dyson Foundation ”“ “Where would we be without its generosity?” ”“ lamb farmers are working in Millerton”™s middle school, teaching young teens to knit squares, that will eventually be sent to Africa. “Those squares will be made into blankets for children who lost parents to HIV/AIDS and have no means of warmth other than fire. Not only are kids in our community learning to knit, but they are learning to give to others not as fortunate as we are.
“We take so much for granted in this country,” said Mordas. “Most of our kids can”™t imagine not having a pair of shoes with the latest label or a rack full of clothing. Imagine having only a blanket to protect you from the cold or the elements. This project is helping our kids here understand there is a world of people out there not as fortunate as we are. In today”™s ”˜I need an I-Pod”™ culture, it”™s good to teach our children to be morally responsible and raise that awareness. You can tell by their enthusiasm in this project we are doing just that.”
Dashing Star Farms participates in many events, including at Clermont in Germantown and at the Connecticut Sheep and Fiber Festival, which draw participants from all over the region and showcase wool and natural fiber products.
In addition to wool and meat, Mordas”™ products include fresh eggs, yarn, and several handmade items. Dashing Star Farm goods can be found at Silamar Farms on Route 22 in Millerton as well as at the village”™s farmers”™ market, which will be held every Saturday from Memorial Day weekend through October. Rhinebeck”™s New York Sheep and Wool Festival at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds will also showcase Mordas”™ and her neighbors”™ goods in October.
Mordas praised Michelle Obama”™s White House vegetable garden, and hopes the first lady will follow in the footsteps of presidential predecessors. “Woodrow Wilson had sheep grazing on the White House lawn during World War I,” said Mordas. “Not only did he have a steady supply of food for the White House and its staff, but nobody had to cut the grass.”