Farm and Land
You like cows? We got ‘em! You are welcome at Loretto Motherhouse to enjoy our 800 acres of Kentucky paradise and tour our farm and land, where cows and agriculture co-exist with the life of the Loretto Community. Learn more about our farm and land.
Loretto Motherhouse Farm’s Farm Director, Cody Rakes, and his wife, Angela Rakes, the Motherhouse Education and Outreach Coordinator, gave a Zoom presentation on regenerative farming to Louisville’s First Unitarian Church for a special Earth Day service on April 25. In the video below, Cody introduces everyone to the farm while discussing caring for Earth through regenerative agriculture.
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Remember times of going barefoot? “It is a profound act of intimacy and freedom,” says spiritual writer Jean Blomquist. She goes on to explain, “Only when our feet are bare can we wiggle our toes freely in the fertile soil of life and root ourselves firmly in holy ground.” (“Barefoot Basics: Yearning and Learning to Stand…
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The Loretto Land Ethic affirms that “those responsible for land at any particular time should regard it as a sacred trust, received with gratitude, tended with care for its integrity and long-term sustainability.” In keeping with the Loretto Land Ethic, the Loretto Motherhouse Farm strives to promote sustainability and care for Earth in every aspect…
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Smithsonian exhibit group meets at Motherhouse By Susanna Pyatt, Loretto Heritage Center Curator The Loretto Heritage Center will host the Smithsonian traveling exhibit “Crossroads: Change in Rural America” at Loretto City Hall in fall 2020 in partnership with the Beautify Loretto Committee and other local partners. We are planning and organizing programs and content specific…
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The studies that have been done about regenerative agriculture, that’s really what Cody is already doing in many aspects. Susan Classen CoL, Eco-Systems Manager Photo by Christina Manweller Farmers, working hard to produce crops and put food on our tables, bear much of the burden of a changing climate. “I’m checking the weather multiple times…
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‘The bees are swarming!’ One of the hives tended by Susan Classen released a black humming cloud that was moving up and onward with definite purpose. Swarming bees can mean the loss of 10,000-plus bees in a matter of minutes. After a rush of excitement, Susan was fortunate; the bees settled in a nearby tree. She…
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We seek to live humbly on land made good by its Creator. We accept the privilege to live in responsible relationship with the land and with all of life. We commit ourselves to being shaped by the beauty and harmony of God’s Universe. Three goals guide the work of the Motherhouse through its Farm and…
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Strip Grazing For our grass-fed and finished beef cattle production we need superb quality forages to keep our animals growing. The most successful forages we have found have been summer and winter annuals which are planted each year and grow for 1 growing season. Here you see our calves grazing a winter annual mixture of…
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Working with Gravity Cattle need more water in their diet than any other single component. Therefore, it is extremely important to have it available in ample supply and in good quality. As we are continually improving the farm, we are fencing the cattle out of surface water (ponds, creeks, streams) and installing water tanks. The…
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Local Farmers Bringing local farmers onto our land for field days with multiple agriculture specialists from the University of Kentucky and other places is one component of our education efforts. As you can see, even our calves are part of the educational experience! Agriculture Students Other field day visitors are the local agriculture students. Not…
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Controlled Burning Part of our Conservation Reserve acres are planted in native warm season grasses that thrive in the summer months, providing great habitat for many types of wildlife and storing carbon from the atmosphere in the soil! Unfortunately, the grasses thrive so well that they will smother themselves to death unless accumulated thatch is…
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Some months after my arrival at the Motherhouse in 2002, Sister Anthony Mary Sartorius, who was the Motherhouse Service Coordinator, asked me to write about the many events which take place here, much like the annals which each convent used to keep. I decided to record the present happenings and end the monthly piece with…
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