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- The Best of 2025
Roisin, Elise, Jeff, and Fleur on the green shavings at the 2025 North American International Livestock Exposition.
Over the last week, we’ve been reflecting on 2025 and the great farm moments we experienced. Below are three of our favorite Sylvan Sunday posts:
Elise: In January, a reporter from WTHI-TV stopped by to record a story about the Diverse Corn Belt Project, which explores how diversified farming systems impact farmers, consumers, and rural communities. I’m part of the project team for my off-farm job, as well as a diversified farmer, so I was interviewed for the story. The sheep, goats, and llamas played themselves in prominent roles (above).
Below is a behind-the-scenes look at the outro reporter Rachel Law used for the broadcast.
It feels like I only just finished planting all of these trees!
Jeff: In early April, I picked up this years’ trees from a nursery in Michigan, and we began planting. Other tree farmers may favor bare root seedlings that are small and thus cheaper and able to be shipped. I have planted this type of stock in the past, but I really prefer these potted trees, even though there’s a bigger upfront cost outlay. They’re bigger and thus more resilient, and they’re not as time-sensitive and fussy to get into the ground.
When I got to the nursery, I let them talk me into a deal on some extra stock they had, so not only was the back of the van packed, but there ended up being trees squeezed into the passenger seat, the floorboard, and the console.
Grand Champion Roisin, front (Also present: Jeff and Elise)
Elise and Jeff: Winning Grand Champion, no matter the species or breed, isn’t just about the purple banner: it’s about the livestock program itself. Genetics, nutrition, care and all the other management decisions are all validated by the banner. It is inspiring to hear from a third party that what we’re doing is working. So, we enthusiastically look forward to not just continuing, but expanding with our sheep.
We hope you also had a wonderful 2025! Thank you for joining us this year. We wish you all the best in the upcoming year. We are looking forward to sharing even more farm adventures in 2026! (🐎)
🎉 Happy New Year! 🎉
~Jeff and Elise, Sylvanmore