CONSERVATION

Churro Sheep Registry, which has been diligently
maintained since 1986 by producer-weaver Connie
Taylor. The registry developed into the Navajo-
Churro Sheep Association which now sponsors the
breed registry, maintains cross-cultural relations
among herders and breeders, and reminds the public
of the shared Native American and Hispanic legacies
associated with this breed. Hispanic producer
Antonio Manzanares and Navajo leader Milton
Bluehouse were elected as the first Co-Presidents
of this Association. Through its work the number of
trained breeders offering Navajo-Churro sheep to
producers has grown from a handful of participants
in the1980s, to 48 breeders in 2001, and about 80
registered breeders in 2013.
Commercial marketing of Navajo-Churro lamb
to Chefs began through the work of Maria Varela,
Antonio and Molly Manzanares and others within
the community micro-enterprises associated with
Las Ganados del Valle: Los Pastores Lamb, Tierra
Wools, and Cerro Mojino Woolworks in Los
Ojitos, New Mexico. Chef Mark Miller’s Coyote
Café in Santa Fe, NM and Angelina’s Restaurant in
Espanola, NM were among the first in the Culinary
Arts to recognize the epicurean qualities of Churro
lamb, and ordered as many as 200 animals a year
in the 1990s. The engagement of these respected
restaurants triggered media attention for the breed
and stimulated similar efforts elsewhere to further
engage Chefs with supporting Navajo-Churro sheep
producers. As a result, Churro Lamb was served at
Slow Food USA’s first national leaders gathering at
Shelburne Farms near Burlington Vermont.
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