Shepherd’s Lamb

Local Hero: FARM/RANCH, NORTHERN NEW MEXICO

An interview with Molly and Antonio Manzanares
Photos by Lara Manzanares

The family sheep ranch in the mountains of northern New Mexico is the reason Molly and Antonio Manzanares have never had a vacation. With 750 ewes, that’s understandable. Shepherd’s Lamb produces high-quality lamb and pelts, for sale at the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market, as well as premium wool products including hand-dyed yarn, handwoven items, and wool blankets. Beginning in the cattle business with some sheep, they soon sold the cattle and grew the sheep flock by buying older ewes and keeping the offspring. In time, they started Ganados del Valle, a nonprofit community development organization, and Tierra Wools, a weaving enterprise with a showroom and workshop now located in the cottonwoods of Chama. Both grew up in the Chama / Tierra Amarilla area, Antonio in La Puente and Molly in the Cañones Creek area; Antonio attended UNM and Molly attended NMSU and UNM. The Manzanares have four children, Agustín, Lara, Raquel, and Luisa, for whom ranch life is a firsthand experience.

The history of Shepherd’s Lamb has become quite well known. There’s even a movie about your journey, Los Últimos Pastores. What is it like to carry on a generations-old tradition in the face of so much change?

It has been very challenging to keep up old traditional sheep raising with so much change in land tenure patterns in our area. It seemed like many times we were swimming upstream, but we have persevered in spite of many obstacles. We recognize that without the help of family and friends, we might not have made it work.

Can you talk about what’s different about animals ranched traditionally, moving flocks from mountain to pasture, versus meat produced via other farming methods?

What stands out is that the transhumance method seems to provide a large variety of forage for the animals, which we believe results in the flavor that people associate with Shepherd’s Lamb meat. The flock is also cared for by an excellent shepherd who lives with them year-round. The lambs spend their whole lives together, all the way to harvest, as opposed to feedlot-finished lambs, who are mixed with lambs from other flocks, which can produce stress.

When you consider what you’ve achieved, what makes you most proud?

We’re most proud of the amount of knowledge we have accumulated over the years in all aspects of sheep production, meat processing and marketing, wool production and wool processing (both through mills and all the handwork we do), and marketing . . . and bookkeeping and business management! We seem to do everything. It is exhausting!

Do you have a favorite time of year on the farm? What’s a perfect day like for you?

Molly’s favorite time of year is lambing in the spring, and then the fall, when we bring the sheep home. Antonio’s favorite time is when the sheep get to the mountains in the early summer: we’re through the hard time of lambing and can see the fruits of our labor spread out and grazing contentedly. Molly’s perfect day is a day spent moving or working the animals on horseback. Antonio’s perfect day is watching Molly have a perfect day.

You raised your children on the farm, and for the most part they’ve chosen different lives than you did. Are there aspects of farming that they enjoyed? What do they like to do when they visit you?

Our children were reared on the ranch and developed a strong work ethic. They have been recognized in their fields. They come to help lamb when they can and to help trail the sheep home from the summer range. It is a family affair.

You’ve talked about your early mistakes as ranchers. As you progressed, was there a particular influence, person, or experience that told you that farming had been the right choice after all?

We just lived and worked and reared our children. It is not until more recently that we have had a chance to reflect on whether or not we chose the right path. There were many times over the years that we wondered what the hell we were doing in this business, but it had been the thing we both wanted to do with our lives and we just kept at it, because we liked the life.

As young people in the 1960s and ’70s, you were both drawn to the land, despite having the choice to live otherwise. Any words of wisdom for young people who feel similarly drawn to farming in New Mexico, or who want to practice traditional kinds of animal husbandry?

To young people now who feel drawn to practice farming or ranching, we would say never look back unless you are planning to head in that direction. Having a good partner and pulling together in the same direction was probably our strongest asset . . . we recommend it. Start small and learn from your mistakes. Read, read, read.

What’s something most people don’t know about Shepherd’s Lamb?

We were probably the first outfit in the West to use guard dogs. Our first ones were Anatolian Shepherds, a breed long used as livestock guardians in Europe and weighing up to 150 pounds, and were acquired from Dr. Raymond Coppinger from Hampshire College.

How’s it going with the dogs? Do you have a favorite right now?

We use herding dogs, border collies, to move our flocks. Our current border collies are Roni, Bert, and Rey. A good herding dog is worth its weight in gold. We also have guard dogs (Pyrenees, Anatolians, and Maremmas); we currently have a really good crew of guard dogs. We recently lost Prince, our very best guard dog.

505-795-3671, organiclamb.com