A new animal can often seem like a small addition to a landscape, but things can go wrong very fast. Aoudad are native to northern Africa, but were introduced into the wild in Palo Duro Canyon, Texas, in 1957, according to a 2025 Texas A&M AgriLife Extension fact sheet. Since then, these long-horned sheep have … Read more
Some plants look like a great idea until they take over the yard. Hawaii learned that lesson on a huge scale with gorse, a thorny shrub from western Europe. A 2000 Hawaii Department of Agriculture news release said gorse was introduced to Hawaii from England or Scotland in the early 1900s for sheep forage. By … Read more
Jon Stewart, wife Tracey paid $4m for 45-acre NJ farm; now grows crops, rescues animals (Image Credit: The Two River Times) Jon Stewart’s life away from television has included an unusual investment in New Jersey’s agricultural landscape. In 2016, the comedian and his wife, Tracey Stewart, bought the historic 45-acre Hockhockson Farm in Colts Neck … Read more
Two wildlife crossings are planned over State Route 62 near Joshua Tree National Park. (Photo: KTLA) Wildlife crossings are increasingly being used across the United States to help animals safely navigate roads and highways, while reducing wildlife-vehicle collisions. Now, two new crossings are being planned in California’s Mojave Desert near Joshua Tree National Park, in … Read more
A glimpse inside Chris Pratt’s Washington ranch, where life moves by the seasons, not Hollywood’s release schedules. Hollywood star Chris Pratt and his wife, Katherine Schwarzenegger, have built a life that extends well beyond the glitz and glamour of Los Angeles. While the couple have made headlines for their high-profile relationship and impressive real-estate portfolio, … Read more
Sheep under solar panels in Lanai, Hawaii. Images Credit: Wikipedia Chad Raines, a fourth-generation Texas cotton farmer, stopped planting cotton after years of losses and found a very different way to make a living from his land and livestock. Instead of relying on crops, he began moving sheep between solar farms, where the animals graze … Read more
For first-generation sheep farmer Hannah Thorogood, gaining access to land beneath solar panels has opened a new chapter in her farming journey. She began with just 20 sheep on 18 acres in Lincolnshire, a scale she says was all she could afford at the time. Today, her flock has grown to more than 200 sheep, … Read more
A 27-year-old Tennessee diesel mechanic has left his job to become a full-time livestock farmer after gaining grazing access to more than 400 acres of utility-scale solar farms. The arrangement, made through vegetation management contracts at solar sites, allowed the young farmer to expand his flock to more than 300 breeding ewes without having to … Read more
Sheep grazed on San Miguel Island prior to 1850, but the ranching period expanded greatly when California pioneer George Nidever made his home on the island in 1850. Once, on a remote island battered by fierce winds and surrounded by the Pacific, there existed a peculiar ranching empire. San Miguel Island, now part of California’s … Read more
Across Texas, solar panels are appearing on land that has long been associated with farming and ranching, creating an unexpected overlap between energy production and agriculture. Instead of treating solar development as the end of a property’s agricultural use, some projects are finding ways to keep livestock and other activities on the same ground. Sheep … Read more