Life of Fiber
a photo essay
Life of Fiber
In the rolling farm country of upstate New York, farmer Lisa Ferguson raises goats and alpacas for fiber. Her natural fiber business, the Laughing Goat Fiber Farm in Ithaca, New York, was started in 2009 on the property her family has lived on for over 20 years. Transitioning to working full time on the farm in 2015 after a long career as a network engineer, Ferguson cares for over 90 animals morning and night. Ferguson’s love affair with natural fiber began over 25 years ago when she transitioned a passion for knitting into an experiment with raising her own goats. Enamored after purchasing the first one, she quickly expanded her herd. “It’s a slippery slope with goats,” she says. A herd of six can suddenly turn into a whole barn.
As winter fades into spring, life in the barn becomes hectic and vibrant. The goats are restless and eager to be let outside onto fresh grass, the pregnant mothers begin having their babies, and the young kids play freely inside the barn. Ferguson attentively tends her herd through one of the busiest times of year.
Photo essay and captions by Edie McRoberts.
After a long winter confined to the barn, Lisa Ferguson releases her goats into the pasture on May 2, 2022. The season’s babies are free to roam, but the adults are kept in the barn in pens until spring. It’s a relief when warmer weather finally arrives in Ithaca, NY and the grass begins to grow. During the winter, the goats are fed hay and grain in order to stay warm in the harsh weather. (Photo/Edie McRoberts)
Eager for a bite of hay, Soren the goat sniffs Ferguson’s shoulder as she refills the feed. Known for their friendly and outgoing personalities, the goats in Ferguson’s barn often form a special bond with their owner. She’s especially fond of the ones who are eager to see her, but not too rambunctious for attention. (Photo/Edie McRoberts)
Ferguson carefully tends a newborn goat on the evening of April 13, 2022. Labor can sometimes take hours, and usually happens in the middle of the night. Ferguson tries to be present to assist with the birth in case something goes wrong. She loses a few babies every year, which she says is always hard. In this case, the birth was successful. (Photo/Edie McRoberts)
A group of Angora goats stretch their legs during their first day in the pasture. Ferguson carefully breeds her goats to produce the best quality fiber. She produces two main types - mohair, which comes from Angora goats, and cashmere, which can come from a variety of goat breeds. She carefully harvests the mohair by shearing the Angoras twice per year. (Photo/Edie McRoberts)
Ferguson bottle feeds a baby goat to supplement its mother’s milk. If a mother rejects a baby, if the baby is injured, or if the mother is unable to feed the baby, Ferguson will bottle feed with its own mother’s milk. The bottle babies tend to be the friendliest goats, often following her back to the house hoping to be let inside. She sells babies as farm animals and as pets. (Photo/Edie McRoberts)
Ferguson holds up a jar of goat milk, which she’ll use to feed the mother’s baby inside her house. The baby’s front legs were injured by frostbite, so Ferguson raised it inside her home until it healed. She does not sell goat milk, and only milks the mothers if necessary. (Photo/Edie McRoberts)
After washing a bag of alpaca fiber by hand, Ferguson lays it out to dry. After harvesting the fiber with the help of professionals, it falls on Ferguson to wash, dry, spin, and dye the fiber herself. She then sends the yarn off to artists in the local community to make into scarves, hats, mittens, socks, and other natural fiber products. Her customers love her products. “People forget how warm natural fiber is,” Ferguson says. (Photo/Edie McRoberts)
Ferguson prepares her spinning wheel to spin her dry fiber into yarn. She enjoys creating the fiber: it was her passion for knitting which drew her to raising goats originally. However, she finds it difficult to set aside time to produce and dye the spools while also balancing the responsibilities of the farm. (Photo/Edie McRoberts)
Followed closely by a friendly kid, Ferguson returns to her house after work in the barn. With spring transitioning into summer, some of the hardest work of the year is almost over. Once all the pregnant mothers have kidded and everyone is turned out into the green pastures, Ferguson can turn her attention towards other farm matters outside of the barn. (Photo/Edie McRoberts)
