Walk with a farm animal at a Brecknock Township stand
At $15 for 30 minutes, you can walk with a farm animal at a Brecknock Township stand.
Emma Scarpino, 2, warily gripped the rope halter as Daffodil, a Corriedale sheep, tugged away from her. The air was slightly muggy as a drizzle threatened to turn to rain. Daffodil pretty much knew where she should go, which may not have been where she wanted to go. Emma did not know what to do.
Emma’s mom, Heidi, also holding the leash, nudged the child and ewe forward around a hay field at Swartz’s farm in Brecknock Township.
“Our kids are obsessed with farm animals,” said Heidi, explaining why she and her husband, Alessio, brought Emma and sister Aria, 4, to walk with sheep, Daffodil and Dorothy. The Scarpinos of West Lawn wanted to provide an immersive experience to connect their daughters with real farms.
The Swartzes charge $15 to walk a sheep for 30 minutes plus $5 for others to walk alongside it.
The excursion provides a peaceful outdoor experience and a way to expose young children to farm life and farm animals. To be sure, real sheep are a far cry from those depicted in children’s books. Farm animals can be noncompliant, ornery and smelly as much as they can be adorable and calming to be around.
Dennis Swartz Jr. and his wife, Alyssa, introduced sheep walking at the beginning of August. He said he saw that sheep treks were a popular offering to visitors in the United Kingdom and wanted to see if it would be popular here. The walks are billed as peaceful and soothing, and they provide extra income to farmers. At the Swartz farm, Dennis, his father or Alyssa escort or monitor the sheep walks. So far a few families have tried out the trek, with positive experiences, Swartz said.
The four-generation Swartz‘s Roadside Stand on 1641 Alleghenyville Road is a non-GMO egg, poultry and produce farm that is no stranger to creative agritourism. It offers baby goat yoga sessions and has provided baby goats
in photo sessions.
A seed of an idea
The seed to offer sheep walks was planted in May when Swartz got the sheep from farmer Ben Wissinger of Tulpehocken Farm in Lower Heidelberg Township. Swartz wanted the sheep to help keep hawks away, and Wissinger joked about sheep walks, which were popular in the United Kingdom.
Swartz and his wife thought the joke might not be a bad idea. It took a while for the sheep, who were used to being pastured with little human contact, to agree.
That first day the sheep took an hour just to get into the barn, Swartz said. He began to sit with them and feed them. The toughest thing was when they saw the rope halter. Over time and with a lot of effort and patience, the sheep warmed up to Swartz and humans.
The difference still amazes Swartz.
“We had a family the other day and after the sheep got going they said ‘this is like walking dogs,’ ” Swartz said.
The farm is not far from the Horse-Shoe Trail, and Swartz hopes someday the walks can include that trail. For now, it’s trips around the hay field bordered by woods.