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What does it really mean to care for animals?

In this episode of Barn & Soul, we explore the quiet but powerful difference between loving animals and being responsible for their lives every single day. From daily routines and financial realities to emotional bonds and unseen sacrifices, this conversation takes an honest look at what animal care truly involves.

This is not a judgment of animal lovers. It is a compassionate, behind-the-scenes look at the commitment, responsibility, and lifelong dedication that animal caretakers carry.

Whether you visit farms, share your home with pets, or simply feel a deep connection to animals, this episode offers a thoughtful perspective on the work that happens long after the joyful moments end.

Because animals are not experiences. They are lives.

Until next time, take care—and don’t forget to appreciate the rare and wonderful things in life.

References and Sources

American Pet Products Association (APPA)
APPA National Pet Owners Survey and Industry Spending Reports
https://www.americanpetproducts.org/

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)
Pet Statistics and Shelter Intake Data
https://www.aspca.org/helping-people-pets/shelter-intake-and-surrender

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Livestock and Poultry Care, Daily Labor Requirements and Husbandry Resources
https://www.usda.gov/

Journal Anthrozoös
Human–Animal Interaction Research on Compassion Fatigue and Caregiver Stress
International Society for Anthrozoology
https://www.isaz.net/

University of Lincoln, School of Life Sciences
Research on Animal–Human Bond and Recognition of Primary Caregivers
https://www.lincoln.ac.uk/

American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA)
Veterinary Care Costs, Access to Care, and Industry Trends
https://www.avma.org/

American Veterinary Medical Association Economic Reports
Trends in Veterinary Service Costs and Pet Healthcare Spending
https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/reports-statistics

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Bitter Cold Survival: What Farm Animals Actually Need in a New England Storm

What do farm animals actually need during a bitter New England cold snap?

After weeks of snow, ice, and forecasts hinting at more, this episode is a practical winter survival guide for animal care during extreme weather. We’re talking about what truly keeps animals safe in storms, what people often get wrong, and why winter care is less about gadgets and more about systems.

In this episode, we walk through the essentials of cold-weather animal care:

• Why dry + wind protection + calories + unfrozen water matter more than heat
• The real risks of heat lamps and why they can become dangerous in coops and barns
• How chickens, sheep, goats, and pigs actually handle cold temperatures
• Practical winter strategies like deep bedding, ventilation, staging water, and storm preparation
• The sustainable, low-tech “storm hacks” that make winter chores safer and more manageable

If you’re caring for animals during winter storms—or just curious about how farms operate when the world outside looks like a snow globe with consequences—this episode is for you.

Because winter animal care isn’t about perfection.
It’s about systems that work when conditions don’t.

Fast facts in this episode

• Frostbite risk in poultry is driven by cold + moisture, not cold alone.
• Sheep and goats tolerate cold well but struggle with wet conditions and wind exposure.
• Fire safety organizations warn that heat lamps and heaters are major coop and barn fire risks.
• Extension guidance consistently emphasizes water access, dry bedding, wind protection, and monitoring as the foundations of cold-weather livestock care.

Resources & further reading

• University of Maine Cooperative Extension & Maine Dept. of Agriculture — Cold weather livestock care guidance
• University of Minnesota Extension — Caring for chickens in cold weather (ventilation, moisture, frostbite)
• University of Maine Cooperative Extension — Winter Care of Laying Hens bulletin
• Michigan State University Extension — Preparing goats and sheep for winter weather
• Ohio State University Extension — Cold stress and shelter guidance for small ruminants
• USDA National Agroforestry Center — Windbreaks for livestock operations
• National Fire Protection Association — Chicken coop fire and electrical safety
• Penn State Extension — Barn fire prevention resources
• New Hampshire DOT — Salt brine anti-icing concept (for walkways and human safety)

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🎙 Barn & Soul — Episode 33

The Ones Who Stay: Why Some People Don’t Leave Farming, and Why Some Start

Why would anyone choose farming, especially now?

In this episode of Barn & Soul, Kendall takes a grounded, first-hand AND data-informed look at one of the most enduring questions in agriculture: why some people stay in farming despite the odds, why others leave, and why new people continue to begin anyway.

Using the latest U.S. agricultural census data, income reports, and research on farm structure and wellbeing, this episode explores the realities behind romantic ideas of farming and the quieter truths that don’t always make it into the conversation.

This episode isn’t about glorifying hardship or offering easy answers. It’s about seeing farming clearly- as work that is relational, meaningful, demanding, and deeply human.

Whether you farm, hope to someday, or simply care about where food comes from and who produces it, The Ones Who Stay offers context, compassion, and clarity for a system that holds more people together than we often realize.

📚 References & Sources

• USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS)
  2022 Census of Agriculture Highlights: Farms and Farmland (March 2024)
• USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS)
  2022 Census of Agriculture Highlights: New and Beginning Producers (2024)
• USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS)
  2022 Census of Agriculture Highlights: Farm Producers (Average Age Data)
• USDA Economic Research Service (ERS)
  Farm Household Income Estimates (January 27, 2025)
• USDA Economic Research Service (ERS)
  Farm Household Income Forecast (September 3, 2025)
• USDA Economic Research Service (ERS)
  Charts of Note: Direct-to-Consumer and Other Direct Marketing Sales, 2022 Census (March 21, 2024)
• USDA Economic Research Service (ERS)
  Access to Farmland by Beginning and Socially Disadvantaged Farmers: Issues and Opportunities (AP-096, 2022)
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
  Suicide Rates by Industry and Occupation — MMWR (2023)
• CDC / NIOSH
  Farm community mental health and occupational risk research collections
• National Young Farmers Coalition
  2022 survey and reporting on beginning farmer challenges, land access, and priorities

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Why do some animals, places, and species inspire fierce protection… while others quietly disappear?

In this episode of Barn & Soul, Kendall explores the real psychology behind conservation - not just the statistics and extinction charts, but the emotional bonds that actually move people to care, act, and protect. Drawing from conservation psychology, environmental research, and lived experience on a heritage-breed farm, this episode asks a deceptively simple question: why do we save what we love?

From biophilia and nature connectedness to empathy, storytelling, and sense of place, we unpack why facts alone rarely change behavior... and why love, identity, and relationship are doing far more work than we tend to admit. You’ll hear how childhood experiences shape lifelong environmental values, why naming animals changes how people respond to conservation, and how heritage livestock breeds offer a powerful case study in saving what we understand.

This episode blends research-backed insight with farm stories, offering a grounded, human-sized approach to conservation - one that doesn’t rely on guilt or fear, but on connection, memory, and care.

Whether you’re a parent, educator, farmer, animal lover, or someone feeling overwhelmed by the state of the world, this episode is a reminder that you don’t have to save everything... you just have to love something enough to protect it.

📚 Sources & Further Reading

Whitburn, J., Linklater, W., & Abrahamse, W. (2019). Meta-analysis of human connection to nature and pro-environmental behaviour. People and Nature.

Kirkey, J. R. (2024). What’s love got to do with it? A biophilia-based approach to conservation. Frontiers in Conservation Science.

Raymond, C. M. et al. (2025). The effect of empathy with nature and humans on conservation behaviour. Journal of Environmental Psychology.

Chawla, L. (2020). Childhood nature connection and constructive hope. People and Nature.

Oh, R. Y. Y. et al. (2021). Connection to nature predicted by family values, social norms, and experiences. Journal of Environmental Psychology.

Castillo-Huitrón, N. M. et al. (2020). The importance of human emotions for wildlife conservation. Frontiers in Psychology.

Batavia, C. et al. (2021). Emotion as a source of moral understanding in conservation. Conservation Biology.

van Eeden, L. M. et al. (2025). Why do (or don’t) people protect nature? Global Environmental Psychology.

Richardson, M. et al. (2020). Applying pathways to nature connectedness. Journal of Outdoor and Environmental Education.

The Livestock Conservancy. Conservation Genetics & Heritage Breeds.

Farm Flavor (2024). What Are Heritage Breeds and Why Are They Important?

CFSPH. Heritage Livestock Breeds – Why Are They Important?

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Sense of Place Supports Climate and Drought Resilience.

Craig, G. (2023). Fight for the Wild: Emotion and place in conservation. Taylor & Francis.

Fabien Cousteau interview (2017). “People protect what they love…” LUXUO.

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🎙 Barn & Soul Podcast - Where farming meets heart, history, and a mission to preserve the past for a more sustainable future. Episode 31 - Still Here at 165: Scituate, Stewardship, and the Future of Dalby

Dalby Farm turns 165 years old in 2026.

Founded in 1861, this family farm has weathered generations of change in Scituate, Massachusetts. In this re entry episode, Kendall reflects on what it truly means to still be here, and why endurance is not the same as ease.

This episode zooms out to place Dalby within the longer history of Scituate and the South Shore, then zooms back in to the daily realities of keeping a family farm and an endangered heritage breed mission alive in the modern world. Through real data, lived experience, and honest reflection, Kendall explores how farming has changed since the 19th century, why land pressure and aging producers matter, and what is quietly at risk when small farms disappear.

Rather than romanticizing farm life, this conversation looks directly at responsibility, repetition, and care. It considers how stewardship evolves over time, why rare breeds require active commitment, and how shared responsibility may be the only sustainable path forward for farms like Dalby.

This episode is for anyone who has ever looked at something they love and wondered how much longer they can carry it, and then chose to keep going anyway.

Resources

Dalby Farm. Our Farm and Friends.
https://www.dalbyfarm.com/our-farm-and-friends

United States Department of Agriculture. National Agricultural Statistics Service.
2022 Census of Agriculture Executive Briefing.
https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/AgCensus/2022/index.php

United States Department of Agriculture. Economic Research Service.
Farms and Land in Farms Summary.
https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-economy/farm-structure-and-organization/

Choices Magazine.
Analysis of the 2022 Census of Agriculture.
https://www.choicesmagazine.org

Mass Audubon. Losing Ground.
2003 and 2020 Editions.
https://www.massaudubon.org/our-work/advocacy/land-protection/losing-ground

The Livestock Conservancy. Conservation Priority List and Breed Definitions.
https://livestockconservancy.org/conservation-priority-list/

Scituate Historical Society.
History of Scituate, Massachusetts.
https://www.scituatehistoricalsociety.org

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🎙 Barn & Soul Podcast - Where farming meets heart, history, and a mission to preserve the past for a more sustainable future. Episode 30 - Back From the Brink: Species We Thought Were Gone but.. Weren’t?

What if extinction is not always the end of the story?

In this episode of Barn & Soul, Kendall explores some of the most extraordinary conservation rediscoveries of the last century. These are animals and plants once declared extinct that quietly survived in hidden pockets of the world, waiting to be found again.

From a prehistoric fish thought lost for 65 million years, to an insect rescued from a single rock in the Pacific, to species whose survival hinged on one accidental discovery, this episode examines what scientists call “Lazarus species” and why their return matters so deeply.

Grounded in real science and conservation data, this conversation looks at how rediscovered species reshape ecosystems, influence land protection, and challenge the belief that loss is always permanent. Kendall reflects on what these stories teach us about resilience, stewardship, and the responsibility humans carry when life pushes back against the odds.

This episode is a reminder that nature is not passive. She adapts, hides, endures, and sometimes reappears just when we think hope is gone. For farmers, conservationists, and anyone who loves the living world, these stories offer something rare and powerful: cautious, evidence-based optimism.

Resources and Further Reading

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
https://www.iucnredlist.org

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
Coelacanth rediscovery and ongoing research.
https://naturalhistory.si.edu

Coelacanth Conservation Council.
Population monitoring and conservation efforts.
https://www.coelacanth.org

Australian Museum and Lord Howe Island Board.
Lord Howe Island stick insect rediscovery and breeding programs.
https://australiamuseum.net.au

https://www.lordhoweisland.info

New Zealand Department of Conservation.
Takahe rediscovery and recovery programs.
https://www.doc.govt.nz

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Black-footed ferret recovery and reintroduction programs.
https://www.fws.gov

Re:wild (formerly Global Wildlife Conservation).
Lost species rediscoveries including the Somali elephant shrew.
https://www.rewild.org

BirdLife International.
Ivory-billed woodpecker assessments and conservation context.
https://www.birdlife.org

National Geographic Society.
Lost Species documentation and field reporting.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com

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🎙 Barn & Soul Podcast - Where farming meets heart, history, and a mission to preserve the past for a more sustainable future. Episode 29 - Good News, Earth! Environmental Wins You Might Have Missed in 2025

This week on Barn & Soul, we’re doing something rare. Instead of doom and dread, we’re highlighting the real environmental progress that happened this year. These are stories backed by data, not optimism for its own sake. From major renewable energy milestones to wildlife recovery, coral resilience, textile innovation and community farming, this episode brings together some of the most encouraging developments of 2025.

If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed by the headlines, this is your reminder that the world is still capable of healing and that conservation work has real impact.

References
Renewable Energy
International Energy Agency. Renewables 2025 Midyear Report.
MIT Energy Initiative. Agrivoltaics research findings 2025.
US Department of Energy. Solar Circularity Initiative.
National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Solar lifecycle analyses.

Textile Recycling
European Environment Agency. Circular materials and textile recycling update 2025.

Wildlife Corridors
National Park Service and USGS. Wildlife Connectivity Report 2025.
Federal Highway Administration. Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program.
Environment America. Wildlife collision cost savings analyses.
Scioto Analysis. Cost benefit findings for wildlife crossing projects.
The Wildlife Society. Collision reduction data.

Coral and Ocean Health
NOAA Coral Reef Watch. Annual bleaching and recovery summary 2025.
The Ocean Cleanup. 2025 Impact Report.
NOAA Marine Debris Program. Coastal cleanup participation and plastic recovery data.
UNEP Coastal Initiatives. River barrier effectiveness studies.

Urban Agriculture
USDA Urban Agriculture Census Addendum 2025.

Species Recovery
US Fish and Wildlife Service. Recovery Update 2025.
NOAA Fisheries. North Atlantic right whale monitoring.
California Condor Recovery Program. Annual chick survival summary.
USGS Amphibian Research Center. Wetland restoration impacts.

Listen in for the Fast Facts, the full stories, and a closing reflection meant to help you exhale and feel hopeful again.
🔔 Subscribe for more farm life insights, rare breed conservation, and the behind-the-scenes of running a small farm! Remember, all the animals on our farm our PETS! They live out their days as educational ambassadors to our community far & wide! Please follow us here on Youtube!
Find us on Instagram & Facebook @DalbyFarm

Shop our Online Country Store! https://www.dalbyfarm.com/country-store
At least 50% of all shop revenue directly helps fund the care & upkeep of our 160 year old educational family farm and all the endangered breeds who live there.

...Or you can always shop for the animals instead! https://www.dalbyfarm.com/animals-shop

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🎙 Barn & Soul Podcast - Where farming meets heart, history, and a mission to preserve the past for a more sustainable future.Episode 28 - Heritage Breeds Are Time Machines And We’re Letting Them Disappear

In this episode of Barn & Soul, Kendall dives into the extraordinary and often overlooked world of heritage livestock. These animals are more than old-fashioned breeds or nostalgic farm icons. They are living time capsules carrying centuries of human history, culture, survival strategies, and genetic resilience.

From Arapawa goats to Ossabaw Island hogs to Shetland sheep, Kendall explores why heritage breeds are disappearing from modern agriculture and why their loss would mean more than losing animals. It would mean losing stories. Losing adaptations. Losing solutions we may desperately need in a changing climate.

You will learn how industrial agriculture narrowed the global gene pool, why biodiversity matters for food security, and how small educational farms like Dalby Farm act as tiny but essential preservation sites. This episode is part science, part history, part love letter to the rare and wonderful breeds who shaped the world long before industrial farming existed.

Whether you are a farmer, homesteader, educator, or simply someone who loves animals, this episode will change the way you see heritage livestock. These animals are archives. They are time machines. And the choices we make now will determine whether their stories continue.

Thank you for listening. And as always — take care, and don’t forget to appreciate the rare and wonderful things in life.

Resources

Livestock Conservancy
Breed status reports and conservation priority listings for heritage livestock.
www.livestockconservancy.org

FAO
Global assessments of livestock diversity, agricultural biodiversity, and genetic erosion.
www.fao.org

Our World in Data
Trends in livestock populations, agriculture, and genetic resource loss.
www.ourworldindata.org

USDA National Animal Germplasm Program
Information on genetic diversity, rare breed preservation, and cryo-conservation research.
www.ars.usda.gov

Slow Food International – Ark of Taste
Documentation of heritage breeds and traditional food cultures at risk.
www.slowfood.com

American Sheep Industry Association
Breed histories and genetic value of heritage sheep, including Shetland.
www.sheepusa.org

Rare Breeds Survival Trust (UK)
Annual “Watchlist” reports and data on heritage breed declines and recoveries.
www.rbst.org.uk

University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry
Research on biodiversity, resilient livestock systems, and small-farm conservation models.

Smithsonian Magazine
Articles on domesticated animal history and the cultural value of heritage livestock.

National Geographic
Features on animal domestication, rare breeds, and agricultural biodiversity.

🔔 Subscribe for more farm life insights, rare breed conservation, and the behind-the-scenes of running a small farm! Remember, all the animals on our farm our PETS! They live out their days as educational ambassadors to our community far & wide! Please follow us here on Youtube!
Find us on Instagram & Facebook @DalbyFarm

Shop our Online Country Store! https://www.dalbyfarm.com/country-store
At least 50% of all shop revenue directly helps fund the care & upkeep of our 160 year old educational family farm and all the endangered breeds who live there.

...Or you can always shop for the animals instead! ht

Support the show