Still Learning

Photo by Kaleiah Schiller

Sixteen years ago this week, I turned a ram in with the first 27 ewes I purchased in the summer of 2005. We had been given an opportunity to graze our sheep at Loma Rica Ranch near Grass Valley - I started with 20 Dorper-cross ewes from Mel Thompson (purchased in partnership with my friend Allen Edwards), and 7 Dorper ewes from Dr. Wes Patton - who also supplied our first ram. When I think back to how much time it took me to manage 27 ewes - learning to build fence, move sheep from paddock to paddock, take care of lambing ewes - I'm a bit amazed that I'm still at it 16 years later!

One of the things I enjoy most about raising sheep is learning about how to do it better - and by better, I mean with greater regard for our environment, greater care for the animals, greater understanding about efficiency and economics. During our first lambing season in 2006 (in Grass Valley), it snowed once a week for six weeks - I learned a huge lesson about how hardy sheep can be! Several years after our first breeding season, we needed to move sheep from one side of a ranch in Lincoln to another - I think it took 6 of us to move 75 head. Today, that move would take me and one dog.

Over the course of these last 16 years, we've marketed lambs as meat at farmers markets and restaurants, as fair lambs, as feeder lambs that other producers would finish, and as specialty lambs for ethnic markets. We've learned that some sheep fit our environment and some do not - and we've focused on raising those that do. We've realized that maternal ability is critical in our pasture lambing system, and have taken steps to improve the maternal instincts of our ewes. And still there's more to learn!

During this past 6 months, I've had the opportunity to collaborate with my friend and fellow shepherd, Ryan Mahoney, on a podcast we call Sheep Stuff Ewe Should Know. I can't speak for Ryan, but for me this has been a great opportunity to learn more about the business of raisin
g sheep. We've interviewed each other about our approaches to sheep production (which are quite different). We've interviewed some of the legends in our industry. And we've interviewed researchers at the cutting edge of sheep production - it's been an amazing learning experience for me!

Which brings me back to this morning. The day we turn rams in with the ewes is my second or third favorite day in the entire sheep year! If lambing is like six weeks of Christmas, the start of breeding season is like New Year's Day. I guess that makes shearing day the equivalent of the 4th of July. Seriously, though, I do love this day - it feels like the first step on another journey of learning - I'll know more about raising sheep in late September next year!