National CSA Directory

Fiber Fest Weekend Retreat

farm@shepherdscross.com May 27, 2025 No Comments

PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Fiber Fest Weekend Retreat June 19, 20, & 21, 2025 – Thursday, Friday, & Saturday 8:30 am – 3:30 pm Calling all crafting enthusiasts. Learn a diverse variety of fiber craft skills in one, two, or all three days, including spinning yarn (drop spindle & wheel), weaving, needle felt, wet felt, fiber (wool, etc) washing, dyeing, and carding. These are great skills for homesteaders, enabling them to process wool from their own sheep, and make farm produced products. Each participant will make and keep multiple projects. Virtual or onsite Retreat fee is only $297 (all three days); all materials provided. Any single day of the Retreat is available for $99 per day. Retreats are augmented by hands on learning tools available in the Educational Farm Museum and with a collection of fiber arts from around the world. Registration is required. Information and registration form is online or call 918-342-5911. Shepherd’s Cross offers these and other craft classes year-round on an individual or group basis. Shepherd’s Cross is an accredited Agritourism facility, an Oklahoma Museum Association member, an Oklahoma Farmer’s Market Hub, and a Made in Oklahoma Company that processes Animal Welfare Approved fiber (that is chemical free, hormone free, free range, all natural). Shepherd’s Cross hosts a mini wool mill, processing the wool from their own sheep raised on site. Heart of the Shepherd is a non-profit organization (501-C3) that operates at the farm and establishes wool mills in remote, impoverished areas around the world. Heart of the Shepherd teaches Biblical references to the

Gospel Sing

farm@shepherdscross.com May 20, 2025 No Comments

Gospel Sing – Oklahoma Farmers Market Week Celebration – Spin-n-Knit-In Saturday, June 14th, 2025 Shepherd’s Cross is hosting its annual Gospel Sing. All individuals, families, or church groups are invited to listen or participate. Gospel, Country Christian, Worship and Hymns will be enjoyed inside the Tour Barn. The Gospel Sing is from 1pm to 4pm. We are recruiting volunteer musicians to bring your instruments, your voice, and your favorite songs. Folks can pick, sing, and play together – like the good old days! Those who register in advance are given priority on the roster that fills quickly. However, we will allow walk-ins as time allows. This is also the final day of the inaugural Oklahoma Farmers Market Week. Shepherd’s Cross features Farm Fresh and Hand Made Products including: Honey, eggs, chicken, beef, lamb, bread, herbs, baked goods, jams, kefir, kombucha, candy, nuts, produce (limited quantities), pottery, artwork, wool yarn and so much more! We accept cash, card, SNAP/EBT, SFMNP, and Cherokee Nation WIC Farmer’s Market. Free gift for every child that visits the farm (limit of one per child). Free bundle of herbs (limit of one per person – Sat. June 14 only) You may even participate in our monthly “Spin-n-Knit-In” where individuals bring and work on their fiber arts projects such as spinning, knitting etc. This is our monthly free help session for fiber arts. Spin-n-Knit-In is from 1pm to 4pm. Donations accepted (suggested donation of $5 per person) Farm Museum, Silo, Wool Mill, Bible Garden, Picnic area & Farm Animal Barn Petting Zoo area will be open. The

Summer Barn Sale & Plant Swap

farm@shepherdscross.com May 8, 2025 No Comments

Summer Barn Sale (Garage Sale) & Plant Swap Thursday June 5, Friday June 6, Saturday June 7, 2025 7:00 am – 6:00 pm Barn Sale: Donated items graciously accepted. Please drop off your donations at the barn Tuesday through Saturday 8:30 am – 5:30 pm through May 31st. Huge, Multi-Family Garage Sale of donated articles including appliances, antiques, farming items, furniture, wall décor, housewares, DVDs, farm and garden items, children’s games and toys, home decorator items, bedding, office supplies, books, and collectibles, as well as clothing for the entire family. Photographs of sale items can be found on our Facebook page the week of the sale at: https://www.facebook.com/ShepherdsCross Indoors and air conditioned. Sale benefits Farming Missions, Starter Flocks, and Wool Mills in remote locations around the world. Locally, the sale benefits Baby Blessing Bags. 100% of funds from the barn sale will go directly towards the projects. Monetary Donations towards these missions are greatly appreciated. A tax-deductible receipt is provided upon request. Plant Swap: Bring a plant to leave and take a plant home. Plant selections may include bulbs, tubers, bushes, trees, grasses, seeds, herbs and much more! This is a great way to expand your garden. Please be prepared to identify the plant you leave with its name, color, and planting characteristics. Great fun! In addition, the following activities are always available at the farm (on a donation basis): Touring the educational & interactive Farm Museum & Silo Touring the Bible Garden – self-guided – Podcasts available: https://shepherdscross.com/bible-garden.html Spinning and Wool Mill demonstration See and Pet the Farm Animals

Small Ruminant Animal Husbandry Training

farm@shepherdscross.com April 12, 2025 No Comments

Small Ruminant Animal Husbandry Training Saturday, May 17, 2025 8:30 am- 4:30 pm For those interested in returning to the basics of farming, small ruminants present a great option for sustainable living. Our small ruminant class is a great place to start learning how to be more self-sufficient and for homesteading. Learn how to care for small ruminants such as sheep, goats, alpacas, and llamas. Class includes instruction, handouts, videos, tutorials, and hands on experience. The primary instructor for the class is Dr. Diane Dickinson, a licensed veterinarian and an agriculturalist, with over 40 years of livestock and farming experience. Her unique perspective of animal husbandry care includes that of a producer, a veterinarian, and a small flock & herd owner. She also shares her experiences in global agriculture, Biblical agriculture, sustainable living, natural production, agritourism and niche markets. The Dickinsons have owned and operated Shepherd’s Cross, a working sheep farm, for over 30 years. Their livestock include sheep, cattle, alpacas, llamas, donkeys, horses & poultry. Their farm is Animal Welfare Approved with their livestock pasture raised and pasture fed. Class Topics Include Vaccinations Feet Trimming Tail docking Bloodless castration Managing pasture & Feeding Parasites & Worms Practical profitable flock herd health for working shepherds FAMACHA Sheep, goats, alpacas & others Lambing & birthing Neonatal care – lambs, kids & others Tubing Wool management AWA Shearing Classes are limited to 20 participants and fill quickly. Beverages are provided. Bring your lunch. Cost is $99.00 per person, $179.00 for 2 family members, or $259.00 for 3 or more family members (age

Hand Dyeing Yarn Class

farm@shepherdscross.com April 5, 2025 No Comments

Hand Dyeing Yarn – Day Retreat Saturday May 10th, 2025, 8:30 am Learn how to easily create vibrant and uniquely colored yarns & roving. Gaywool Dye is an easy, safe, economical, color fast and dependable dyeing product. Class includes all materials needed to take home beautifully dyed yarn and roving. The class is taught by a Gaywool Dye Instructor. Choose between a full day or half day class Full Day Make 3 colorful skeins and one colorful braid of roving 8:30 am – 4:00 pm Class Fee: $109 Half Day Make 2 skeins of colorful yarn 8:30 am – 12:00 noon Class Fee: $59 Bring a sack lunch. We provide beverages. There is a class minimum of five, and a maximum of 20 participants. Additionally, inquire about hosting a hand dye class at your location or about becoming a Gaywool Dye Wholesale Dealer. Retreats are augmented by hands on learning tools available in the Educational Farm Museum. There you can find a collection of fiber arts from around the world. Other fiber arts classes are offered on an individual or group basis throughout the year. The Farm Store is open Tuesday through Saturday 8:30 am – 5:30 pm, year-round, offering Gaywool dyes in a variety of sizes, hand dyed and un-dyed natural yarns, roving and Gaywool Dyes. Additionally, the store offers handmade gifts, farm fresh meats and produce, and many more items. Shepherd’s Cross is an accredited Agritourism facility, a “Made in Oklahoma” Company, and Animal Welfare Approved. It is home to a non-profit Christian organization named Heart of the

Woolly Weekend at Shepherd's Cross

farm@shepherdscross.com March 4, 2025 No Comments

Woolly Weekend at Shepherd’s Cross Thursday April 24, Friday April 25, & Saturday April 26, 2025 10:00 am – 7:00 p.m. Woolly Weekend is a “sheep to shawl” festival held at Shepherd’s Cross, an authentic working sheep farm, just north of Claremore OK on Scenic Route 66. Come to the farm and watch as the sheep are shorn (given a haircut). Sheep shearing occurs throughout the day. After the fiber is shorn from the sheep, visitors can watch the wool being processed on site. It will be combed, spun, woven, knit, crocheted, and felted into finished products. This is a true Sheep to Shawl Event. Over the three-day period at least three shawls will be created entirely from the wool shorn on the first morning of the event. It is rare to find a true Sheep to Shawl experience. Shearing and demonstrations take place inside the Amish built tour barn, which houses some of the animals as well as the wool processing, farm museum, and the gift shop. There are Short Course Fiber Classes available; learn drop spindling, hand carding, needle felting, or weaving during the event. Be sure to visit the Farm Animal Barn & pet the barnyard animals. Tour the educational interactive Farm Museum & Four-Story Observation Silo, as well as the Bible Garden. Bring the entire family. Children’s activities include weaving, games, wool project, and coloring contest. This is a free event. Donations are welcome – suggested donation of $5 per person. Groups of twenty or more, please pre-register. Volunteers are needed to demonstrate fiber arts. If

Spring & Summer Field Trips or Road Trips to Shepherd's Cross Farm

farm@shepherdscross.com February 21, 2025 No Comments

Beginning Mid-March 2025 Spring & Summer Field Trips or Road Trips to the Farm Sheep & Shepherd Tours begin when the lambs are born each spring here at Shepherd’s Cross, an authentic working sheep farm, just north of Claremore OK on Scenic Route 66. Come to the farm and watch as the sheep peacefully graze the pastures and rest by the still waters. The newborn lambs jump for joy and frolic in the pastures. Sheep & Shepherd Tours: Self-guided Tour – Donation-based (suggested $5 per person) Enjoy watching the sheep in the pastures as you stroll the grounds in the visitor areas. Sheep & Shepherding Guided Walking Tour – Donation-based (suggested $5 per person) Drop by or pre-schedule. Please Note: Walking Tour is not in the pasture with the sheep, but adjacent to the pasture per Animal Welfare guidelines. Sheep & Shepherding Guided Wagon Ride Tour – $7 per person Wagon Ride in pasture with the flock Must be pre-scheduled. Holds 20+ passengers per wagon load; ramp-loading. Springtime also brings blooms in time for Bible Garden Tours. Shepherd’s Cross is home to one of only a handful of Bible Gardens in the U.S.A. Over 100 plants in this garden have Biblical references. Bible Garden Tour Options: Self-Guided Tours – Donation-based (suggested $5 per person) Enjoy the English Country Garden, read the placards, pick up a brochure with map. Audio Tours Available online: https://shepherdscross.com/bible-garden.html All Tours also include the following: Visiting the sheep, lambs, and other farm animals at the petting barn area. Teaching Nomadic and Biblical shepherding practices. Wool Mill

Summer Internship Program

farm@shepherdscross.com February 14, 2025 No Comments

Heart of the Shepherd’s Intern / Apprentice Program at Shepherd’s Cross Summer Semester May – Mid-Aug or Early Sept. The internship program at the farm equips students with basic farming skills and with Biblical references to farming and shepherding. Students are taught historical agriculture, mixed with a healthy appreciation for industrialized agriculture and exposed to agricultural parables found in The Bible. Shepherd’s Cross is a working sheep farm. There are many other animals and activities on the farm. Other areas of the farm include a Farm Museum, a Farm Store, Wool Mill, and Bible Garden. The internship is under the direction of Dr. Diane Dickinson, an agriculturalist with a Bachelor’s in Agriculture, a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine, and over five decades of farm and livestock experience. She serves as an on-site veterinarian and operates a veterinary care unit on the farm. The summer semester is the busiest Bible Garden season to intern, as this is harvest season. Educate visitors on growing, harvesting, and using seasonal produce as part of our outreach program. This is weaning season for the lambs, and summer grass range season for the ewes. There are a lot of hands-on activities with the sheep in the summer. More information is available online: https://shepherdscross.com/intern-residency.html Apply in-person or online. Experience is advantageous but not required. High school or college students as well as any age adult are welcome to apply. College credit may be received for students enrolled in college classes. Following successful completion of the Internship, the student may apply for the Apprentice/Residency Program. This program allows the

Winter Barn Sale (Garage Sale)

farm@shepherdscross.com January 17, 2025 No Comments

PRESS RELEASE — FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Winter Barn Sale (Garage Sale) February 6, 7, & 8, 2025 – Thursday, Friday, & Saturday 7:00 am – 5:30 pm Rain or shine Donated items graciously accepted. Please drop off your donations at the barn Tuesday through Saturday 8:30 am – 5:30 pm by end of day February 1, 2025. Huge, Multi-Family Garage Sale of donated articles including appliances, large selection of vintage & antiques, farm house, farming items, furniture, wall décor, housewares, DVDs, pallets, farm and garden items, children’s games and toys, home decorator items, bedding, office supplies, books, and collectibles, as well as clothing for the entire family. Photographs of sale items can be found on our Facebook page the week before the event at: https://www.facebook.com/ShepherdsCross Indoors and heated. Free cider, hot beverages, and pumpkin bread will be available. Sale benefits Farming Missions, Starter Flocks, and Wool Mills in remote locations around the world. Locally, the sale benefits local outreach and Baby Blessing Bags. 100% of funds from the barn sale will go directly towards these projects. Monetary Donations towards these missions are greatly appreciated. A tax-deductible receipt is provided upon request. In addition, the following activities are always available at the farm (on a donation basis): Touring the educational & interactive Farm Museum & Silo Touring the Bible Garden – guided or self-guided Spinning and Wool Mill demonstration Shepherd’s Cross is an accredited Agritourism facility, a Made in Oklahoma Company, and is Animal Welfare Approved. Website: https://shepherdscross.com/index.html Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ShepherdsCross Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShepherdsCross Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shepherds_cross/ Heart of the Shepherd is a public

Small Ruminant Animal Husbandry Training

farm@shepherdscross.com December 18, 2024 No Comments

Small Ruminant Animal Husbandry Training Friday, January 24, 2025 8:30 am- 4:30 pm For those interested in returning to the basics of farming, small ruminants present a great option for sustainable living. Our small ruminant class is a great place to start learning how to be more self-sufficient and for homesteading. Learn how to care for small ruminants such as sheep, goats, alpacas, and llamas. Class includes instruction, handouts, videos, tutorials, and hands on experience. The primary instructor for the class is Dr. Diane Dickinson, a licensed veterinarian and an agriculturalist, with over 40 years of livestock and farming experience. Her unique perspective of animal husbandry care includes that of a producer, a veterinarian, and a small flock & herd owner. She also shares her experiences in global agriculture, Biblical agriculture, sustainable living, natural production, agritourism and niche markets. The Dickinsons have owned and operated Shepherd’s Cross, a working sheep farm, for over 30 years. Their livestock include sheep, cattle, alpacas, llamas, donkeys, horses & poultry. Their farm is Animal Welfare Approved with their livestock pasture raised and pasture fed. Class Topics Include Vaccinations Feet Trimming Tail docking Bloodless castration Managing pasture & Feeding Parasites & Worms Practical profitable flock herd health for working shepherds FAMACHA Sheep, goats, alpacas & others Lambing & birthing Neonatal care – lambs, kids & others Tubing Wool management AWA Shearing Classes are limited to 20 participants and fill quickly. Beverages are provided. Bring your lunch. Cost is $99.00 per person, $179.00 for 2 family members, or $259.00 for 3 or more family members (age