The Other side of Wool....

I’m never sure if it’s appropriate to talk about sheep farming with “lady’s who wool”. I do though think its important that while we talk about wool, we also talk about the other side of wool as wool wouldn’t be in such abundance if farming sheep for food wasn’t part of daily life.

The farming cycles and choices we make impact on how good the wool is from the ground where a sheep lives, to the climate it breathes, to how it’s fed, and the vaccination system it is in. Down here in Devon for example the old boys will tell you that a moorland greyface or whiteface sheep reared away from the granite of the moor will not do as well in the lowlands as one that is allowed to roam the tops of its namesake. Everything plays a part – just as it does in rearing our own children.

Today is a sad day at Lower Boasley. Our ram lambs will be coming in to go to slaughter tomorrow. Usually lambs are either fattened and sold within 16 weeks of birth or born later in spring so the new grass can fatten them over the summer for sale in early Autumn.

Here at LB our lambs are born in January in a warm cosy barn with the best of health care where the ewes stay on green hay with their precious off spring until March when the weather clears. On the edge of the moor we have clay fields so the winter rains struggle to drain. Bringing them in has to happen to protect their feet from rot so we lamb at the same time. Early lambing also means we can clip the long wools twice in a year.

Most of the rare breed ram lambs we sell on to be the next generation of boys in charge of lamb production. Three of our Longwool’s went off to service a flock of 400 mule ewes as mixing in a rare breed with a commercial flock improves the flavor of the meat and definitely the weight of the wool something which is becoming increasingly important as meat prices continue to sail downwards.

Our lambs have had nearly a year of good life in south facing pastures with rich grass. They are docile creatures who love the sound of the feed buckets and a couple will sit for a chat on fencing duties, or logging, the other task which is taking up our time at the moment.

So after today our sheep men folk will be down to George – an orphan, who along with his sister Mildred, the children hand reared last lambing when their Mum rejected them. He’s now the biggest sheep we’ve ever had, must be close to 50kg, a commercial Mule who is going nowhere and Rhino, a Devon Closewool 6 year old, a sizeable and solid brick of an old man who walks with presence and power with a passion for ramming everyone and everything out of his way.

As midwinter approaches the farm will fall quiet now until lambing.