The Great American Cattle Drive 2020 was an exciting trip for us, with farm visits to see American Milking Devons, Ancient White Park Cattle, and Yaks. Wait – Yaks? Okay, so the “Cattle” in “Cattle Drive” part was a little fast and loose on the list near the end (we try not to limit ourselves, if you can tell). The genus “Bos” does include cattle, aurochs, bison and yaks, but yaks, including “Bos grunniens” are technically not in the “cattle” clump, so we stretching GACD a little. With a name meaning the “grunting yak” (the domesticated version, anyway), you’ve got to step off the beaten path a little.
Suzanne Drumm of Bentwood Alpacas and Yaks gave us an up-close look at a yak herd, and we were captivated. That’s an impressive feat, as it was July in New York, but these animals are ones you just have to see to get your head wrapped around. Board member of IYAK (volunteer, no less), restaurateur, fiber producer, and nice human being -- it’s people like Suzanne that make things like GAC(&Y)D memorable for us. Even if we didn’t make it to Alaska, Steve.
We’ll post a few videos soon on our YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/BackyardGreenFilms/videos), but until then, we hope you enjoy the conversation with the truly gracious Suzanne Drumm.
Links:
http://www.bentwoodalpacasyaks.com/
https://www.iyak.org/leadership-team
https://www.sunnyhillranch.com/
https://www.milkingdevons.org/
https://twitter.com/BkyrdGreenFilms
https://www.facebook.com/BackyardGreenFilms/
https://www.instagram.com/backyardgreenfilms/
https://www.youtube.com/backyardgreenfilms
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yak_fiber
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bos