Shepherds are Shepherds, No Matter Where (or When)

Thanks to my friend and fellow sheep-raiser, Ryan Mahoney, who suggested we start recording our sheep-related conversations during the first spring of the COVID-19 pandemic, I've had the chance to be part of a fun little podcast we call Sheep Stuff Ewe Should Know for the last year-and-a-half. About a year ago, another sheep geek, Dr. Rosie Busch (our UC Davis Sheep and Goat Extension Veterinarian), joined our podcast. Amazingly, we've found time to talk once a week (mostly) about all kinds of sheepy topics - and a handful of folks have started listening! What fun!

Before the pandemic began, another shepherd friend and fellow California Wool Growers Association director, Joanne Nissen, sent me a copy of an amazing book - A Shepherd's Life by James Rebanks. A British shepherd, Rebanks' book described his relationship to his native landscape (where his family has grazed sheep for nearly a thousand years, and where sheep have grazed for far longer than that). He wrote about ways of knowing a place and a production system built on place, on community, and on family. I devoured the book.

Last year, Rebanks published a new book - Pastoral Song (in the U.S., English Pastoral in the U.K). His new work describes his realization that traditional farming (which usually included livestock and crops) offers solutions for our modern food system. He talks about his own realization that the modern focus on specialization and efficiency has had ecological consequences. He also talks about the importance of people who have economic and ecologic ties to a specific place - farmers.

Rebanks is perhaps the most famous shepherd on social media - he has nearly 150,000 followers on his @herdyshepherd1 Twitter account. Last spring, he tweeted something about wanting to talk about his new book before it came out in the U.S. in August 2021. So I contacted him! And last week, I got to interview James for Sheep Stuff!

Through the miracle of Zoom, I talked to James on Thursday morning (my time - after my morning chores; Thursday evening in the U.K.). Had we been talking in a pub (on his side of the Atlantic) or a bar here in Auburn, I suspect we'd still be talking. 

I won't spoil the podcast, which will be available next week. But I will say that shepherds are shepherds, no matter where they raise their sheep. A California sheepherder friend of Basque descent, Martin Etchamendy, told me a great story about an international gathering of shepherds he attended more than 30 years ago. "There where shepherds from Russia and Iran and all sorts of other places," he said, adding, "We all spoke different languages, but we understood one another." I experienced the same thing talking with James!

In the meantime, if you haven't read A Shepherd's Life, I highly recommend it! And be sure to ask your local bookstore if they have Pastoral Song! At the end of our conversation, I asked James if he was a farmer who writes or a writer who farms. You'll have to listen to the podcast to hear his answer; you'll need to read his books to decide for yourself!