'Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unanswered.' -Anatole France
Like several of the people I have interviewed for the Community News Brief in recent weeks, Ann Knowles shares a common thread. She was a public school teacher, teaching agriculture for Colchester School District and then the consolidated West Prairie District, for a total of 23 years.
Ann knew, even while still teaching, that her retirement years would be focused around her 250 acre childhood home, which is located approximately five miles west of Macomb.
After she retired in 2016, Ann wasted no time in turning Hickory Grove Farm into a dream mecca where she could raise a flock of 100 or so purebred border Leicester sheep. The meat and wool sheep breed are the main focus of Ann's labors; however, in addition, she raises meat chickens, turkeys, a small cow herd and some Berkshire hogs. The broadbreasted white turkeys and market chickens at Hickory Grove Farm are shown by her grandkids, who reside in the Galesburg area but commute to McDonough County to participate in 4-H, as their chosen category is not available where they live.
While the Knowles family used to have an egg license and sold eggs commercially, they now just take care of family and friends with the eggs from their flock of free range chickens. When I asked Ms. Knowles if keeping her flock of sheep is difficult living fairly remotely, she gives credit to her Great Pyrenees guardian dogs Butch and Sundance, who faithfully keep such animals as coyotes away.
Hickory Grove Farm was named as such for the abundance of hickory trees on the land. As a child, Ann remembers her parents burning the hickory wood for heat and her mother using the nuts in cooking.
Ann talks with passion about her sheep flock, stating that they are not rare in the United States, yet they are not common either. Her sheep are show quality, with long wool that tends to be curly and crimpy, producing a coarser wool. They are well-suited for our climate as the humidity tends to dry quickly from their wool.
The Leicester characteristics include a Roman nose, with black points at their eyes and hooves, and white or black wool. They are a medium sheep in size and volume, averaging a lifespan of around 10 years. They are a joy to manage due to their maternal nature, easy keeping, and calm nature. Ann's herd, which feeds on pasture, hay and grain, produces an average of 120 lambs a year.
In an attempt to improve her flock, Ann has imported sheep semen from Australia and has extensively studied the gene pools. For example, in 2021-22, the semen she imported from Australia produced a 25% artificial insemination conception rate and out of those offspring she kept two studs. In 2023 she kept one stud.
Off and on for the last eight years, Knowles has served as President of the American Border Leicester Association (ABLA), which was founded in 1973 to maintain a registry and promote this 'regal' breed in the United States and Canada.
Those of us who live in the area are lucky in that we can reap the benefits of Ann Knowles' specialty sheep by purchasing their wool products. Ann's Hickory Grove Farm is a vendor at Macomb's newly opened 309 Marketplace, and soon, our very own Community Market. She sells rugs, throws, scarves, beanies, yoga mats, dryer balls, felt coasters and trivets. The wool used in her products comes from her own sheep, which are professionally sheared twice a year by a couple out of Vermont state. Ann herself skirts the fleece (cleans it of impurities) and bags it. Knowles takes the fleece to a fiber mill, such as one in northern Illinois or another in Des Moines, Iowa. The spun fibers can then be shipped on to other facilities to be made into such products as throws, rugs, yoga mats, shoe insoles, coaster, Christmas ornaments, etc.
Ann stresses that fiber mills are becoming harder and harder to find. As in the past decades people got away from wool, in an attempt to spend less on clothing and comfort. Many of the fiber mills in the United States sold their expensive equipment overseas, killing the natural fiber industry in this country.
As if her massive sheep business is not enough, this story about Ann Knowles is really just getting started. Although she is not a breeder, Ann has a keen appreciation for the Scotch Collie dog breed. The Scotch Collie has been voted as the quintessential 'farm dog' of the last 150 years. Hickory Grove Farm is the home of Echo, who came from a farm in Kentucky in 2017, and is the matriarch from whom Ann raised two litters. Ann now has a 'granddaughter' from one of Echo's two litters. Most of us baby boomers grew up watching the TV show Lassie, who just happened to be a 'Rough' Scotch Collie. A Rough collie is a large, long-haired herding dog from Scotland, known for its intelligence, loyalty and gentle nature, making it a popular family companion.
Ms. Knowles is a proud McDonough County 4-H leader, heading up the Goal Diggers, with co-leader Alison McGrew. Ann's grandchildren are active in showing their sheep as well as their market chickens and Broad Breasted white turkeys. The grandchildren show not only at the McDonough County 4-H Fair but also on the state and national level, keeping the Knowles family quite busy during fair months.
Hickory Grove Farm is definitely a family business. Ann's husband Kendall loves the farm, but actually has a far different occupation. Kendall hauls wind tower bases, a tedious and demanding job that requires him to be away from the farm at times as he travels nationwide. Ann has three daughters and a total of five grandchildren. To help with the daily chores she sometimes hires agriculture students or local farm-oriented high school students.
Ann is on the board of a local community service project, The Giving Gardens, which was founded in 2022 when John Cuirtis created four public access gardens in Macomb. Everyone is welcome to walk among the now nine-and-growing public garden spaces to harvest flowers, vegetables, herbs, berries and more. Ann also has her own garden, which she uses to provide her family with produce.
This very busy wife, mother, daughter, grandmother, farm operator, 4-H leader and gardener does have a few goals for the future. She would like to see McDonough County have a county fair as other communities do, with bigger and better fairgrounds. She would like to see more of the area's vacant lots turned into Giving Gardens (and more communities have expressed interest) and she would like to continue to improve her sheep herd genetics. And of course, spend more time with their grandkids.
