Mark Duprey

Mark is a 4th generation farmer who lives and breathes the land he farms and the animals he raises. For over 30 years, he has grown our sheep flock to feed his neighbors and to help reclaim overgrown pastures into once again fertile fields. His passion is for the total farm picture and how it will affect the future of the farm and the land he cares for. Mark grew up eating beef from his family's cows but now loves to eat a meal of his own farm-raised lamb. His favorite cut is a lamb shoulder slowly braised.

Kristin Nicholas

Kristin grew up in NJ and always dreamed of living on a farm. When she and Mark met at Oregon State University during their individual "University Exchange Programs", her passion for wool, yarn, textiles and color met Mark's passion for animals and farming. The rest is our history. Kristin writes knitting and stitching books and designs all kinds of textile related things while helping to manage the farm. Check out her website at www.kristinnicholas.com and her blog "Getting Stitched on the Farm" where she writes and photographs our life on the farm. She is the photographer and home cook behind this website and our recipe development. Considering she never grew up eating much lamb, she now counts it as her favorite protein and can't stop trying new ways to prepare it for healthy and delicious meals for our family, our friends, and our customers.

Julia Nicholas Duprey

Julia is now 14 years old and doesn't know life without animals in it whether it be her most favorite cats and kittens, our dogs, the lambs that run through the kitchen in the winter, and the chicks we raise in the kitchen in the spring. She tells us constantly, she can't wait til she is old enough to move to NYC. Her favorite meal is a lamburger with ketchup and relish and a nice green salad.

Border Collie Phoebe

Phoebe is the elder statesdog of Border Collies here at Leyden Glen Farm. In semi-retirement, she still helps out collecting the flock when needed. During the day, she can be found by Kristin's side, supporting her current work in progress.

Border Collie Ness

Nessie is our faithful worker. She lives to work and loves a good day on the hill, collecting her sheep and moving them from pasture to pasture. Nessie is a sweet, sweet dog who is always willing to lend a hand to the humans but is not fond of thunderstorms. She literally runs the farm.

Border Collie Kate

Kate is our BCIT (Border Collie in Training). She was born at the Gould Farm in Shelburne during the blizzard of October 2011. We have high hopes for her ability to grow into a able herder. She is a total love and enthusiastic in all she encounters, including jumping on our customers. We developed our "liver treat" recipe to help in her training.

Great Pyrenees Livestock Guard Dogs

Archie & Winston arrived at Leyden Glen Farm in the fall of 2011 after a spell of lamb losses from coyotes. They are sweet and lovable dogs and their deep bark seems to keep the coyotes away from the lambs and sheep. Right now they weigh 100 lbs each but when they are fully grown they will top out at 150 lbs. They eat a lot of dog food!

Guard Donkey Eeyore

Eeyore arrived on our farm via a neighbor who knew we were having trouble with coyote kills of our lambs and ewes. He purchased Eeyore at the local livestock auction and after a few weeks of thinking about a donkey and a few more losses, we paid the neighbor and took possession of Eeyore. He is quite photogenic, wouldn't you say? The coyotes still are a threat but Eeyore helps keep them at bay.

Guard Llama Jeremy

Jeremy has been here on the farm for almost a decade helping to deter the coyotes. He has a placid disposition and looks so regal. He grazes with one of the ewe flocks.

The Ewe Flock

Our ewes are Leyden Glen Farm. Each January, they birth lambs and nurse them to weaning weight at our greenhouse barn and winter headquarters in Bernardston. In May, they head off to the pastures and hillsides without their lambs to re-gain their condition. We have several different groups of ewes grazing various hillsides in Leyden, Bernardston, and Greenfield. Breeding season begins in August and the cycle begins again. At present, we have 200 or so ewes of mixed breeds of Romney, Border Leicester, Dorset, Polypay, and Texel stock. The ewes are sheared in July and their wool is sold off the farm and becomes part of the textile industry.

The Lambs

Our lambs are our product. In January and February, the ewes birth one to two lambs each. The lambs nurse from their mothers until they are old enough to be weaned. They are moved to pastures to graze when the grass and soil is ready for them. We keep many of the ewes (females) for replacements but most of the ram lambs become our product. While living on our farm, our lambs are well cared for and happy. Treating our animals well results in a tasty and healthy meal for your family.

The Cats

Julia is our "catfarmer" and she takes her job seriously. Our cats live in and out of our Leyden farmhouse keeping the chipmunks, squirrels, moles, voles, and mice at bay. We frequently have a litter or two of kittens in the summer if you are ever in the need of a good farm cat.