ISBONA Icelandic Sheep Breeders of No. America

ELECTION: 2021 DIRECTORS October 15-18, 2020

ISBONA VOTER INFORMATION BOOKLET ELECTION FOR 2021 BOARD of DIRECTORS

OCTOBER 15-18, 2020

Enclosed is some advance reading pertaining to the upcoming election.

There are four candidates for four open director positions on the Board. Each candidate has provided a brief biography to help you get to know them:

Beau Bibeau Dawn Nicholson Tracy Robertson (running for a second term) Lydia Strand

Two current Board members will be returning and have also provided brief biographical sketches:

Rosemary Brown Susan Engwall

HOW THE ELECTION WILL BE CONDUCTED

On the morning of Thursday, October 15, 2020 starting at 6AM Eastern Time, one regular member from each eligible household account will receive an email with a link to his/her ballot and a “secret key” to be able to vote. On the ballot, you can click a check box for everyone you wish to vote for, abstain or write in a candidate; review your ballot and cast your vote. It takes as little as 1 minute of your time.

For the election to be certified as valid at its close on Sunday, October 18 at 10PM Eastern Time we must have participation from one-third (⅓) of the eligible voters.

We use an application called Election Buddy to handle our election in an online and anonymous way. Election Buddy works hard to successfully deliver all emails and ballots ASAP, but you can add their address in your email program to help, too. Just add : “invitations@mail.electionbuddy.com" to your Contacts List.

Do not think that your vote does not matter because the election is uncontested. Your vote matters very much — both to have a valid election and, more importantly, to support your association’s leadership.

Questions? Please email: admin@isbona.com.

Please PLAN TO VOTE on October 15!

ISBONA Icelandic Sheep Breeders of No. America

CANDIDATES

BEAU BIBEAU

Hello shepherds of ISBONA! My name is Beau Bibeau and I am running for the Board. My partner and I own and operate Bright Earth Farm in the Finger Lakes region of NY. We are entering our 4th year raising Icelandic sheep. We still know what it feels like to be new to the breed and the organization, and as a Board member, I would look forward to providing a bridge to help new members and new shepherds get acquainted with and integrated into ISBONA. I have been lucky to have the incredible mentorship of many long-time Icelandic shepherds, and it’s important to me to pay that forward and give back to the organization that many of my mentors have built and grown. I am passionate about Icelandic sheep and being a voice to promote our incredible breed.    I graduated from Vassar College with a BA in Political Science, and for the past four years have built and operated a dog walking business in Western NY that employs a team of 20. Previously, I worked in community organizations and nonprofits, and I am passionate about organization building and digital marketing. I am also permaculture design certified and we strive to farm in environmentally friendly and sustainable ways, utilizing rotational and regenerative grazing practices.   We selected Icelandics for their triple purpose and (let’s be honest) their beauty. I am interested in genetics and selection, and we have worked hard and culled significantly to build a flock that is hardy, increasingly parasite resistant, with excellent conformation, and great mothering, meat and fleece qualities. We value milky lines that offer us fast-growing lambs. We also appreciate the ability of Icelandics to thrive on grass only, and our sheep are 100% grass-fed.   ISBONA is an important institution for our breed and for shepherds of Icelandics, both new and seasoned. I hope to bring my energy and enthusiasm to the board to protect and promote our beloved breed in North America. Thank you for your consideration!

DAWN NICHOLSON

Greetings, my name is Dawn Nicholson and I am the owner of Stonecroft Icelandics. Stonecroft is a small family farm nestled in the great Northwoods of Wisconsin where we raise Icelandic sheep, and a variety of cattle, chickens, turkeys and bees. Our focus is on raising healthy and parasite resistant breeding stock with vigorous growing lambs, luxurious fleece and exceptional genetics to back them up. It's important to us to raise quality animals that have lived a quality life. 

My homesteading adventure started in 2011 when my husband retired from the Army. Though I had no farm experience, I was determined to hit the ground running. In 2014 we purchased our first group of Icelandic sheep which included a registered ram, a wether and two unregistered ewes. What had started as a small group of 4, quickly expanded into a colorful registered flock of over 30. 

Over the years it has been a great privilege to share the knowledge I've gained by mentoring new up-and-coming breeders. There is something very rewarding about helping a fellow shepherd in need.

In addition to my shepherding duties here at Stonecroft, I currently serve as the Vice President for the Rusk County 4H Leaders Council. I also have the pleasure of working as the sheep, goat, exotic and poultry superintendent for the Rusk County Jr Fair every year. It's been such a wonderful experience working with the 4H and FFA kids from elementary age to seniors in high school. Through barn set up, clerking the shows, and the livestock auctions, to the comforting of a child as they load their market animals onto the trailer, the whole experience is truly humbling. This is the experience and knowledge that I hope to bring to the board.

Thank ewe for your consideration! 

TRACY ROBERTSON

We live on the west coast in Corvallis Oregon, in what is called the Willamette valley. We have 26 acres which about 20 are in various pastures. Our farm started in 2011 with about 15 sheep, a flock of both horned and polled stock, all purebred Icelandics. We fell in love. Over the next few years our flock grew to about 60 sheep and we decided to focus on just polled stock. Currently we are running about 30 head.

Our primary focus is good meat conformation and great milkiness. We have found a pretty strong market for folks wanting to cross breed Icelandics with their dairy flocks and small homesteaders that want sheep to milk. The milkier ewes of course raise the fastest growing lambs. We also try to maintain stock with good temperaments, most our flock is quiet and easy to handle. We have good success with resiliency against parasites, a combination of rotating through pastures and stock that is less stressed by moderate loads of parasites. There is a good portion of our flock that haven’t been dewormed in several years. Each year presents its own challenges as we all know, what is working well this season may need tweaked next season. I believe pasture rotation, of which we need to do better, good minerals and quality hay keep most everyone thriving. We have found these sheep to be the perfect fit for sustaining our small farm.

I’m hoping to spend more time promoting small farm production as a way to ensure a more balanced food supply chain here locally. I have seen the trend slowing growing in this direction but with a possibility of food shortages looming, I think it will be of utmost importance in our future.

I currently still work full-time for a company called Poly, we were acquired by Plantronics. I am a network engineer for their video conferencing solutions. The upside is I am a work from home employee, although that is probably more common these days for a lot of folks than in the past. My husband just recently retired and is working on building a plane and flying in his now copious amounts of free time

LYDIA STRAND

Hi, I’m Lydia Strand. My husband Jared and I are first generation farmers who have been shepherding Icelandic sheep since 2010 both in the PNW and Central Minnesota, beginning in the backyard of our former home in the Rainier Beach neighborhood of Seattle, accessing double lots and other forage and browse rich open spaces in our neighborhood to rotationally graze our flock through their 1st year with us. We currently live just outside Bellingham, WA where we raise a flock of about 85 Icelandic and 40 Shetland sheep on 48 acres of pasture and wooded land utilizing managed intensive grazing and regenerative agricultural practices.

Our mission is happy sheep, healthy soil. We raise registered breeding stock of the highest quality, pastured lamb, single source/small batch yarn processed as local to the farm as possible, and beginning and ongoing shepherding education courses and mentorship with a focus on pasture based management systems.

As an avid knitter, I wanted to raise sheep in order to have access to a completely traceable yarn from the sheep to finished garment. My husband chose the Icelandic breed because of their size, horns, color and pattern options and adaptability to a variety of environments. Our starter flock of 6 Icelandic sheep (4 ewes and 2 rams) was purchased from Katie and Randy Pleasance at Alderwood Ranch in Coupeville, WA. Our breeding goals are focused on raising a balanced sheep that will work in a variety of climates throughout our region. We breed and raise for gentle temperament, lustrous fiber, color and pattern variety, excellent lambing and parenting ability including raising fast growing lambs, a mild tasting meat and sheep that are comfortably able to live with guardian dogs. As we sell starter flocks, expanding genetic diversity in the west is an ongoing focus for the farm.

In addition to raising sheep, we also have a small flock of laying hens and 5 Great Pyrenees dogs that protect our flock.

My previous work history includes funeral service, professional photography, costume design assistant and commercial seamstress. I have spent much of my adult life raising two daughters, now 22 and 25 years old. While I do not have a background in agriculture or shepherding, I have dedicated the last 10 years to educating myself about sustainable and regenerative agricultural practices and the vital role that our flock imparts on those systems.

I have been a mentor with Food Animal Concerns Trust for the last two years focusing on small scale, pasture based sheep husbandry, production, and management. From 2016-2018 I served on the board of the Three Rivers Fibershed as their Producer Outreach Coordinator working with small scale shepherds within 150 miles of the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul in the production of single source wool utilizing climate beneficial practices with a focus on carbon sequestration and closed loop “soil to soil” systems. Our current farm has been the focus of small ruminant educational pasture walks in partnership with our county’s Conservation District as we diligently work each season to improve the overall health and viability of our soil, diversify forage availability and quality using no-till methods to offer our flock the best of everything while in our care.

I am running for the ISBONA Board of Directors because frankly, raising Icelandic sheep has been one of the greatest joys of my life. I’ve found my passion and my calling in being given the opportunity to raise sheep, something I don’t take for granted. These animals offer personal meaning that I’ve not been able to find in any other aspect of my adult life; I want to take that meaning as well as my experience, knowledge, and energy about Icelandic sheep and give back to the North American Icelandic sheep community. You can find out more about our farm at www.lydiasflock.com or on Instagram- @lydias_flock.

Lydia, continued

ISBONA Icelandic Sheep Breeders of No. America

2021 ISBONA Returning Directors

ROSEMARY BROWN

Living remotely and off-grid in the backwoods of the Colorado mountains, my husband, Kenn, and I tend a flock of thirty (give or take) Icelandic sheep on our three-generational homestead. The sheep beautifully complement our wild land. 

I studied fine art and art history at Colorado State University and I have worked professionally as a fiber artist, exhibiting weavings in western galleries. I began the Icelandic shepherding journey nine years ago after first experimenting with purchased fleeces from a variety of many breeds and comparing their qualities for rug weaving. My woven work now revolves almost exclusively around the use of Icelandic wool.

With a background also in dog breeding and conformation showing, as a shepherd, I emphasize the goal of consistently more perfect functional conformation in my flock. I feel the abilities, attributes and hardiness of the whole animal should be considered with our versatile sheep, not just one aspect over another. In my breeding goals, I begin with a strong and muscular frame and then add to that a desirable fleece. I also have trained a group of my ewes to milk for me each summer. I freeze the milk and turn it into farm cheeses (and the world’s best yoghurt) over our long winters. What a lovely commodity our breed offers with this rich milk! For homesteaders far from a grocery store, having an on-site milk source is quite a thrill!

As a member of ISBONA since 2012 (and membership secretary from 2015 to 2019), I have thoroughly enjoyed becoming acquainted with many of our shepherds. Now that the organization has established our own registry, we can turn our attention toward making inroads into other areas of importance for our sheep and interest for our membership. Let’s tell and retell our lively history and sharpen our vision for how we wish to steward our unique and treasured breed into the future!

SUSAN ENGWALL, DVM

I welcome the opportunity to continue to serve ISBONA as a member of the Board of Directors, most recently as its President.

I have a lifetime of knowledge and skills that I have found to be useful on the BOD.  My primary interest is ethics, ethical conduct and business practices but I also have expertise in communication, education, animal health and welfare, import/export, DNA testing, breed promotion and animal registration. I understand the responsibilities and time commitment involved with being on the BOD. I would like to help ISBONA grow and thrive.

I am a veterinarian with 28 years of clinical experience and am an Associate Professor Emeritus of veterinary technology. My 15+ years of teaching experience at colleges and universities has given me proficiency with both oral and written communication, committee work and the experience of working with multiple constituencies. I have developed college courses and written college policies that provided guidelines and standards for the use of animals in teaching and learning, and an Animal Emergency Action plan. I was the person responsible for biannual inspections and coordination of repairs needed to keep institutional animal housing in compliance with the federal Animal Welfare Act. Throughout my career, I earned the reputation of being a trustworthy, responsible person who is a capable problem-solver and effective team member.

Currently I am a practicing veterinarian in Mendocino, CA. I have owned and bred Icelandic sheep since 2015. I live on an organic ranch with my husband Grant, two teenage sons, and a bevy of ranch animals, including cattle, chickens, ducks, a pack of high-spirited dogs, and some hilarious goats in addition to my flock of beloved Icelandic sheep. I am a member of the local Point Arena Theater, Mendocino Arts Center and the Manchester Guild.

I look forward to another year having the opportunity to lend my knowledge, skills and experience to ISBONA, to help the organization thrive and grow.