Elizabeth Link
Link Land & Livestock is the result of a life spent in agriculture, a childhood dream to spend my days with as many animals as possible, and a niche hope that being in love with grass & soil might be part of a livelihood.
There is nothing else in the world quite like the relationship between plants, ruminants, and humans. It’s a challenge and an immense reward to participate in this cycle wholly and responsibly, and a privilege to shepherd my flock and to work with others.
Owner, Shepherd
Growing up, “crop science” was the name of the building my dad worked in at Oregon State—an echoing Soviet-looking building that smelled like damp concrete and feed bags, a treasure trove of barley varieties in small labeled envelopes, and a world of plants I wanted to be part of. My mom, deeply engaged in bringing science and art to elementary school students during my childhood, spent her early career in dairy feed analysis and plant pathology.
Crop science drew me back to Oregon State University in my 20s, where I delighted in plant physiology, soil science, animal nutrition, and ag economics. I worked as a field agronomist in the diverse crops of the Willamette Valley, checking filbert worm traps and grid sampling thousands of acres of grass and grain fields, before moving on to years spent in the small farm world.
While a first-generation farmer, both growing and cooking food is an integral part of my family’s story from Hungary to the United States (sorry, Grammy, I know you left Coal Hill for a life out of the mud, but here we are not two generations later). I come to sheep both from a love of livestock perspective, but also a love of cooking; there is no protein I enjoy working with more than lamb and am passionate about the global cuisines that celebrate these amazing animals.
If you are new to cooking lamb, the American Lamb Board has more than 400 incredible recipes to inspire you, and we have our own growing collection of tried & true recipes.
Mom in a mobile forage analysis lab, 1986
The Sheep
Our mule-eared sheep are “Avondales”, a four-way cross developed to thrive on Pacific Northwest pasture.
This unregistered breed is the life’s work of a Snoqualmie Valley couple who ran the only 100% organic, grass-fed lamb operation in western Washington; a real force of animal health and grazing science.
We raise Avondales on pasture across Whatcom County; you can think of these as community-supported animals as their lives are dependent on the generosity of friends and strangers who said yes to cold calls, text messages out of the blue, and in some cases, those who reached out eager to see their rural properties put to use. Without an acre to my name, my sheep graze open ground on farmland across the county, rotated frequently to manage animal and pasture health.
We practice management-intensive rotational grazing, maximizing animal productivity on pasture while improving soil and forage quality. If you’re interested in being a seasonal home for sheep, please reach out about contract grazing.
We didn’t choose Avondales so much as they chose us; working on a shearing job, the option to buy some ewes came up and without a single plan in place I committed to bringing 40 up to Whatcom County. As we work with them, we are learning to appreciate Avondales for their hardiness and exceptional gains on pasture—they are especially resilient animals that lamb on pasture, graze efficiently, and are easy to handle. They produce a lean, mild meat with all the best traits of their background genetics; substantial loin cuts and quality meat from Blue Faced Leicester, New Zealand Suffolk, Clun Forest, and some Texel. Their background also create a lovely wool coat with heavy crimping—typically creamy white, but with some dark natural colored animals as well.
I hope you’ll fall in love with these animals as I have from pasture to plate; regardless of whether animals are destined for the table or kept in the flock, I value the lives and wellbeing of each and every animal and am proud to offer high-quality meat, hides, and wool products.
Thanks for supporting a pasture-based economy.