Saturday, November 19, 2022 | Country Acres South • Page 1 PRSRT STD ECR U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT #278 Madelia, MN 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave Sauk Centre MN 56378
SOUTH Saturday, November 19, 2022
Focusing on Today’s Rural Environment
Volume 1, Edition 12
YYak is for
Clear Spring Farm raises Tibetan wonders BY SARAH COLBURN | STAFF WRITER
WELCH – Yaks graze the pasture of Melodee Smith’s farm, their thickened winter coats of dense luxurious down providing all they need for the harsh Minnesota winters. There is a sense of calm in the pasture, a serenity comes from the spirit of the animals. Smith works toward that calm intentionally, bottle raising her yak calves, giving the exotic, wild animals what she said is a tamer demeanor. There’s no bellowing in the pasture, just an occasional low grunt as the yaks communicate with each other. “This is the result of bottle raising. I wanted a herd where I can go out in the pasture and enjoy being with
the animals and not be intimidated or threatened by their presence,” she said. “Mingling with the yaks is quite therapeutic because they are so docile. It’s calming.” Smith runs Clear Spring Farm, specializing in Royal and Native Trim Tibetan yak. She sells bottle babies, starter herds, rare yak fiber products, yak meat and a variety of agritourism activities. Smith knows each of her 45-member herd by name and can identify each of her animals, even from the rear or side as she approaches. She knows which yaks are bonded and finds them frequently together. She knows six-year-old Emil is deaf and that she needs to keep a hand on him at all times when working with him. She knows which ones love to cud-
dle, which want to lick her legs gs and hands, which are playful and will approach ch running with their tails flying over their backs and which ones would ld rather acknowledge her from a distance. Smith welcomes Tibetan refugees, and all visitors, to her farm regularly. She has a special relationship with the people of Tibet who have a true and honest respect for the yak. Many, she said, haven’t seen a yak in decades and are grateful to reconnect with an animal who is revered in their home country. “I can feel their connection to the yaks,” she said. “I love to share my farm and my animals
PHOTOS SUBMITTED
(Above) Hugh and Melodee Smith pose with their yak, Emil, at Clear Spring Farm. The Smith’s raise a herd of yaks on their small farm near Welch. (Left) Melodee Smith’s niece, Olive Anderson, gets up close with Faith, one of the yaks on Clear Spring Farm near Welch. Clear Spring with people who are interest- Farm is home to 45 yaks.
ed in, and love them.” Often, she said, her Tibetan visitors will hug the yaks, sprinkle them with Holy Water and bring a picnic lunch and relax on the grounds in the presence of the 600 to 800-pound animals. They’ll pick up dried dung to use as firewood, just as they did in Tibet. In Tibet, she said, people often milked yaks – something she doesn’t do because it’s so tedious and only produces six cups per milking.
Melodee Smith cuddles with her yak, CeCe, at Clear Spring Farm near Welch. Smith bottle raises all of the heifer calves to ensure her herd has a tame demeanor.
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Watch for the next edition of Country Acres South on December 3, 2022
Though many Tibetans are vegetarians, she said they use every single part of a yak when it dies of natural causes – the bones for jewelry, the fiber for clothing, the meat for food. Kalsang Kyoh brought her parents to the farm to see the yaks. She learned about Smith’s farm when Smith brought some animals to the celebration of His Holiness Dalai Lama’s birthday.
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