Sheep used to dominate Vermont's agricultural economy back in the 1800s. But these days, making a living raising sheep is difficult, and it鈥檚 rare to drive by fields with large flocks of sheep.
On the latest installment of the Vermont Edition series Animal Hour, Mikaela Lefrak spoke about the unique characteristics of domestic sheep breeds and our region鈥檚 sheep economy with local historian Mark Bushnell, Barnet sheep farmer and University of Vermont extension grazing specialist Amber Reed, and Mark Rodgers of Glover, the president of the Vermont Sheep and Goat Association.
Vermont鈥檚 sheep craze: boom!鈥nd then bust
In the 1800s, nobility in Spain raised Merino sheep for their extremely valuable coats of wool. Their wool was so coveted that the Spanish didn鈥檛 want to export them at all. But along came Napoleon and his army, and the Spanish decided that they needed to sell their Merinos to raise funds and avoid capture by the French.
An American diplomat by the name of William Jarvis, among others, saw the potential for Merinos in the U.S., including Vermont. He exported thousands of Spanish sheep to the U.S. and eventually settled with a flock of 400 in Weathersfield, Vermont.
By 1840, the peak of the sheep boom, there were 1.7 million sheep in the state. The merino market became so competitive that Vermonters started making counterfeit Merinos. 鈥淭hey would create this nasty, tiny mix of burnt umber, lamp black, and linseed oil, and treat the sheep with them. The counterfeiters came to know it as the Cornwall finish, after the Addison County town,鈥� Bushnell said.
One Vermont Edition listener called in to share that the genetics of Vermont鈥檚 Merinos can still be found in sheep across the world, like in Australia. There, Merinos have extra folds of skin under their neck, a trait that Vermont breeders selectively bred for. These sheep are known as Vermont sheep.
The sheep boom ended in the 1840s when Congress lowered tariffs. Large sheep farms out west remained profitable, but Vermont farmers could no longer compete.
The sheep biz today
Most sheep farms today in Vermont are sideline projects, Rodgers said 鈥淭hey cannot economically sustain themselves. You have to do something else,鈥� Rodgers said. 鈥淢ost of the rest of us have another source of income so that we can consider ourselves sheep farmers.鈥�
That being said, there are many interesting ways humans and sheep can meet each other's needs. The owners of Green Mountain Merino in East Hardwick allow their sheep to graze in their hops yard. The sheep help weed the hop yard, allowing them to avoid the use of conventional herbicide sprays.
Vermont sheep farmers are also increasingly developing relationships with owners of local fields of solar panels. Solar grazing is a growing trend where sheep or other livestock graze the land beneath the panels.
鈥淐attle are too big, and goats climb on everything. So sheep are excellent for doing this,鈥� Rodgers said.
Some farmers have found new markets for lamb. One listener wrote in to say that many of his customers are Middle Eastern immigrants living in the Burlington area.
There are a handful of local companies that create products from local wool, including the clothing company Muriel鈥檚 of Vermont. And many farmers draw on Vermont鈥檚 reputation for award-winning dairy and produce sheep鈥檚 milk cheese.
Beginner livestock
As lighter-bodied animals, many sheep farmers agree that sheep are great livestock for people who are new to farming. But Rodgers cautioned that 鈥渋t's more complicated than keeping a cat or a dog. The responsibility that a farmers has, and whether they have two animals or 200 is significant.鈥�
Farmers have to be able to read the subtle signs of when a sheep is not feeling well. 鈥淏iologically, the evolution of a sheep is for them to blend in with a flock to survive,鈥� Reed said. 鈥淎s a shepherd, you really have to learn to read the subtle signs of when a sheep is not feeling well or is starting to have an issue before they show the issue completely, because it's almost too late by the time they're obvious.鈥�
Despite the demands of raising sheep, many Vermont Edition listeners wrote or called in to share their love of the species. As one Middlebury resident wrote, 鈥淲e would love people to understand how smart and emotionally intelligent sheep are. They have very strong feelings and deserve all of our best care and respect.鈥�
