Welcome to Williams Farm
Nestled on 450 acres in the rolling north Florida hills, this land has been used for family farming for hundreds of years. The farm consists open pasture, silvopasture/woodlands, and wetlands. Hills with soaring oak trees, open grasslands, woods with oak hammocks and wetlands with cypress stands are all present on the farm. We are lucky to be the stewards of this small slice of the rapidly disappearing “real Florida”.
In past generations the farm has been used for row crops, tobacco, a small dairy, and for the last 5 decades, raising cattle. It is currently home to our herd of ADCA registered Dexter cattle, and our flocks of registered Florida Cracker sheep and registered Leicester Longwool sheep. These breeds of heritage livestock excel at living off the land with minimal impact on the environment, while their grazing helps control invasive plant species. Dexters eat more browse than commercial cattle, and the sheep love a good weed. By rotating their grazing through the fields, the pastures flourish.
We share this land with numerous wildlife species, including deer, coyotes, turkeys and bald eagles. Our livestock is protected by our pack of Maremma livestock guardian dogs. We could not successfully raise livestock in this environment without the Maremmas.
Dexters are a great choice for smaller farms, new livestock owners, people seeking low environmental impact, easy to handle, friendly cattle. They are used for meat and milk production. Their beef is tender and flavorful. Their milk is rich and creamy.
We maintain a breeding herd of 30-40 ADCA registered Dexter cows. They are all PHA and Chondro negative. They are health tested annually for BLV, BVD, Johnes, and Neospora. We have primarily polled cows, with a few dehorned ladies representing genetic lines that we felt would add to the herd. We have numerous A2/A2 cows in our herd. Some anecdotal evidence suggest that A2/A2 milk may be easier to digest for some people.
Florida Cracker sheep have roamed the rangelands of Florida since the Spaniards attempted to tame Florida 450 years ago. They are a landrace breed, developed from whatever sheep survived in the wild Florida landscape. They flock tightly, are excellent mothers, exhibit better parasite resistance than other sheep breeds. Florida Cracker sheep are listed as critically endangered by the Livestock Conservancy.
We strive to maintain our Cracker flock in as natural an environment as possible in order to maintain their genetic advantages. They live on native pastures, guarded by the Maremmas. They range through wooded and open pastures, browsing on underbrush, weeds, and native grasses. Any ram that requires deworming, or any ewe that doesn’t raise her lamb is culled from the breeding flock. By following these strict protocols, our flock maintains the characteristics that set Florida Crackers apart from other breeds of sheep.
Leicesters are a larger sheep with curly wool locks. Ewes typically weigh from 150-200 pounds, while rams range from 200-300 pounds. They are very milky. Leicesters are a higher maintenance breed. They require more input and monitoring than our Florida Cracker sheep. But nothing can clear a pasture of weeds like a flock of Leicesters. They are always grazing.
