Four reasons why I raise sheep!
This is another one of those ‘get-to-know-me’ posts, to give you some insight and share our reasons on why we farm the way we do. My last post was on why I have chickens, but as sheep are a bigger part of our farm, I figured this next post should be focused on why we chose to raise them!
In the grand scheme of things, there are relatively few sheep farms or ranches in the USA compared to beef, chickens, or pork. I wish more people would consider eating sheep meat and it was a better promoted livestock. I think there are several historical political and cultural reasons we eat less lamb compared to other countries. But when I look at other countries like New Zealand and Ireland, where sheep are still a predominant livestock, I think of lovely green places. I believe sheep, if more widely grown here, could really help transform regions (like Appalachia) of the USA and improve the environment, and offer an alternative path to better sustainability, and increase local food security. Sheep are adaptable to a small homestead and farm or to larger farms.
I see so many advantages to raising sheep, but here are my top 4 reasons:
1. I just enjoy being around sheep. They are just nice animals to work around, and I do get attached, especially to some of my ewes that have been here several years. They are not so big that I worry they could really hurt me, like an angry or protective beef cow might. With their smaller size, if one needs help with lambing or needs to be treated for an ailment, I can do it myself if my husband Mark is not around to help hold them. Also, I get a lot of joy and contentment just watching them graze in the pastures.
2. Sheep are magic – well all ruminants are magic - and perform an everyday alchemy. They convert very fibrous plants like grasses, hay, and weeds into energy and proteins, because of their unique multi-chambered stomach system. Ruminants like sheep, cows, deer, buffalo, and goats have trillions of bacteria, protozoa, and fungi in a teaspoon of stomach/rumen fluid that allows them to breakdown and utilize plants that we humans could never eat and utilize, because of our digestive system. There is a whole mini-ecosystem of cool microbes in their rumens. (Remember not all microbes are bad! Some are good and very beneficial and important!.) Then their manure when spread out, adds carbon, nitrogen, other key nutrients, and microbes back to the soil and over time encourages more plant life to grow. It is a beautiful life cycle to observe!
This is so valuable on our little farm. We have small hilly fields with heavy clay soil that would have a hard time supporting more ‘traditional’ crops. We don’t have the field size, or the big equipment, to ever compete with big row crop farmers. But we can still produce high quality food for people and while transforming the ground to be more fertile and lusher with our rotational grazing of the sheep.
3. With management, sheep can be beneficial to the environment and they are very adaptable. It is only when they are kept in one spot too long that they over graze it and can damage the plant roots. But any livestock will cause soil damage if kept on the same small spot. Rotational grazing is key to protecting grasses and allowing beneficial regrowth and carbon capturing in the roots. Animal stocking density factors in too and changes farm to farm! Where we have managed our pasture rotations well, we see improvements in pasture growth in just a year or two.
An additional benefit is that sheep drink a lot less water compared to cows or other livestock. We haul all our sheep water with an ATV everyday out to the different groups or pastures. Our sheep drink about 0.5-1 gallon/head of water a day – depending on weather and age/size – so we can feasibly do this. Sheep have been shown to be more drought tolerant than other livestock and with climate change promoting drought resistant livestock could be a game changer to sustainability.
We have found that our hair sheep easily adapt to hot or cold weather and after a few days of age even the baby lambs are pretty hardy. Which is why sheep are grown in all climates all over the world! With climate change I think it will be more important than ever to find animals that are heat tolerant in the summer, but still do well during winter cold snaps!
4. Sheep meat is a good source of lean high-quality protein and other nutrients. Sheep meat is visibly leaner than some of the other red meats, especially with our hair sheep. Any fat tends to be on the outer edges of this cuts, so it is easily trimmed off at eating time or cooking time. It is very versatile and can be paired with spices and cooking techniques from so many cultures all over the world! Additionally, it is a food that has been eaten for millennia, and I think it will do us all good to consider eating more whole ancestral foods and less processed foods. Our sheep meat goes from our pastures, to a local butcher, to your freezer! It is a single ingredient food, except for what you add to it!
Of course, like with anything, there are some drawbacks and unexpected challenges to sheep and raising them is just not always easy. I don’t want to give the false impression that there are not tough days and challenges. But challenges come with any type of livestock. There is always a learning curve, but I am getting better with increased knowledge and experience. Our management strategies and breeding selection practices are improving. And I know our meats are getting better and better each year we have our farm! Which means our meats are increasing in quality and getting more delicious for you!
Overall, most days, I really enjoy raising sheep and find to rewarding to provide high quality food to people in the best way I can with the resources I have! I think there are a lot of opportunities for growing this sustainable, regenerative, and nutritious food source!
Our growing ram and wether lambs grazing in May 2024