After searching for just the right place, Jered and Shawn found a ten-acre farm in Marengo for the Iowa Farm Sanctuary. Surrounded by fields of corn, the Iowa Farm Sanctuary is nestled among rolling hills, with a small pond and plenty of space for grazing and rooting. It’s home to 28 rescued farm animals, including cows, sheep, goats, pigs, ducks, and chickens, plus five rescued dogs. It also provides an opportunity for people to experience these animals as sentient, intelligent beings in a picturesque rural setting. The Iowa Farm Sanctuary is a popular destination for families looking for a wholesome farm experience.
How The Animals Got There
Some of the animals have miraculous rescue stories. Pigs Kayla and Sammy both fell out of trucks on the Interstate, and escaped with minimal injuries. Runts Monkey and Marley were rescued from one of Iowa’s largest hog confinements.
“They were set to be killed because they were so small they wouldn’t make good wean pigs,” Shawn says. It takes more time and money to get runts up to slaughter weight than they’re worth, she says, so they’re generally killed when they’re babies. An employee took them home instead, and got them to the Iowa Farm Sanctuary on the Fourth of July. “She told us at that particular facility they kill 2,000 runts a week.”
Hope, also a runt, got one of her back legs crushed when she was stepped on by another pig. “She’s doing fine now,” says Shawn, “but if she grows any more, she’ll need a prosthetic.”
The pigs are kept in their own fenced pasture. Shawn has no doubt they’d get along fine with the other animals, but their need to root destroys the grass other animals need to graze on. The calves, goats, and sheep are in a larger pasture.
A sweet calf travels to his new home at the Iowa Farm Sanctuary.
Most of the animals are friendly and enjoy being petted by visitors. Some of them, like former veal calf Carl, can be downright pushy. Carl leans his forehead into visitors, hoping to have his head scratched. Bennie, Carl’s buddy, a sweet black and white kid, was a runt whose mother wouldn’t nurse him. The farmer was going to take him to auction when a neighbor rescued him. Bennie likes having his head scratched almost as much as Carl and will butt against a visitor hopefully. Being a goat, he’ll also absentmindedly chew on whatever coat hem or scarf edge he finds.
Bennie and Carl share a large pasture with twin goats Racer and Rider, their mother Gigi, and their adoptive sheep father Matty. Also present are Kip, a calf unexpectedly born on a feedlot, and cows Donnie and Dannie, who came from an Illinois dairy farm.
Shawn’s been impressed with the level of connection small-town farmers feel for their animals. She says the farmer who brought Kip to them looked “like he might cry when he gave him to us. He was really excited and said he wanted to visit in the spring.”
Racer, Rider, and Gigi all came from a small farm whose owner was having back problems and couldn’t care for them anymore. The Camps took as many goats as they could and helped find homes for the 20 or so others.
Bennie, a runt whose mother wouldn’t nurse him, was on his way to auction when a neighbor rescued him.
Otis, an intact ram, is their resident “grumpy old man” and has a pen all to himself. An escape artist whose owner was no longer paying the fines to get him back, Otis is now lord of his own pasture. “He’s really nice through the fence, usually, but when you try to put him in his stall or bring him out, he’ll just ram up against you,” says Shawn.
The rest of the residents enjoy head pats and belly rubs, joyfully bounding up to anyone entering their pasture or pen for a visit.
The Iowa Farm Sanctuary is partnered with the Animal Rescue League in Des Moines. They’ve taken a few animals from the ARL and have directed people there when they’ve been full. They also have a relationship with Iowa City Animal Care and Control. People looking to place farm animals can work with the Camps and post pictures on the Iowa Farm Sanctuary website to find them new homes.
Iowa Farm Sanctuary is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. All donations go directly to help the animals, providing food, healthcare, and shelter. Iowa Farm Sanctuary is located at 2485 Highway 6 Trail, Marengo, IA 52301. Want to volunteer? Email iowafarmsanctuary.volunteer@gmail.com.