(This post was contributed by Melissa Richards, founding member of Restoravore.)

When we decided to become a part of a yak cooperative, our focus was on the facts and the “cool” factor. Yaks would, theoretically, allow for easier land management than some of their larger bovine relatives. Plus, they are also so flipping cool! I grew up on a dairy farm and Mr. Richards grew up on a farm with dairy steers. Bison and Highlanders would be tempting choices to have roaming Pleasant Valley (there is actually already a herd of Highlands), but when Gabe Ericksen approached us with the idea of putting together a yak co-op, we quickly did an internet search. We recognized that these animals were the perfect ruminant to roam Pleasant Valley. Yaks combine the swagger of the American Bison with the stature equivalent closer to a Scottish Highlander.

Our Yaks found their way to County Road 17 via a farm outside of Hastings, MN (Clear Spring Farm). Erica, one of our fellow members (and Gabe’s wife), asked me if I knew of a colleague at my work who raised yaks. I was not aware but soon found out my good work friend, Dr. Hugh Smith, and his wife, Melodee, not only raised yaks but had one of the largest herds in Minnesota, including ‘Jericho’ (Google him). Our four yak-interested families made the trip up to the Smith’s gorgeous farm and solidified the plan to join the yak farming community.

We decided to purchase 2 yearling heifers and 2 babies. After the babies were old enough to leave the farm, Josh and Gabe borrowed a trailer and returned with FIVE yaks (it was a game-day decision to purchase a bonus yak).

All 5 yaks initially went to Sara and Josh Lallaman’s property to get their Winona County bearings settled. Paul and I had just purchased our valley farm in September of 2023 but we were soon prepared to have the 3 yearlings- Arctic, Astrid and Agate (the bonus yak) moved down to our place where they started their job grazing our land. 

Bronx and Berlin (the babies) have stayed at the Lallaman’s, transitioning from twice a day bottlefeeding of high fat milk replacer to their current diet of water and vegetation.

The Yak Cooperative is a community effort. Our little co-op group consists of four families: Josh and Sarah Lallaman, Erica and Gabe Ericksen, Kira and Craig Burda, and ourselves (Paul and Missy Richards). By having all the families work together, we are able to bring different schedules, backgrounds and talents to our team. Between the four families, we are learning to become yak farmers and better stewards of our lands.

Editor’s note from Gabe- A few additional reasons that we became interested in Yaks include their propensity to enjoy steep rocky slopes (of which we have plenty), their dietary needs (which excludes grain almost entirely), their cold hardiness (they actually PREFER winter weather), and their smaller size (I, myself, tend to view them as a sort of ‘starter buffalo’).