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Newsletter 2009

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FARM REPORT

Old Gjerpen Farm, Culpeper, VA

submitted by Richard Larson

This past summer I returned home for high school and family reunions. I grew up on a 100 acre dairy farm in Wisconsin on the shores of Lake Michigan. Gone was the one-room country schoolhouse I attended for six years. Gone was the church I attended for 18 years and for which our farm is named. Also gone was my father’s big red stone-bridge barn – once the largest barn in the neighborhood. While the absence of these buildings which are associated with so many wonderful childhood memories is thought-provoking and in some ways sad, most striking was the complete absence of the many herds, including my father’s, of Guernsey milk cows which once grazed contently as I passed each day on my mile-long walk to and from school. Today there are probably fewer Guernsey cows in all of the US than the number that was likely in the county I grew up in 60 years ago.

While Old Gjerpen Farm has been dedicated to rare/heritage breeds (sheep, cattle and chickens) conservation since 1989, the importance of livestock conservation was reinforced during my recent trip home. Buildings can be replaced but genetic diversity, once gone, can not be replaced. There are many legitimate reasons for choosing to raise rare/heritage breeds – this is a story about one journey on the road to rare/heritage breeds conservation. It is also a story of the much longer journey of the restoration of Leicester Longwool sheep to the US.

The Leicester Longwool is a rare, heritage breed that originated in England in the 1700s and subsequently became popular in the colonies. President George Washington is known to have referenced the breed in several of his letters. Because of its high quality carcass and long, soft-handling and lustrous fleece, in the 19th and early 20th centuries the Leicester Longwool was used to created several new breeds of sheep in the U.S. and England. However, by the 1980s the Leicester Longwool had disappeared from North America. Fortunately Colonial Williamsburg arranged to import 15 Leicester Longwools from Tasmania in 1990. The reintroduction of Leicester Longwools to the U.S. has been very successful. Today there are almost 700 registered Leicester Longwools raised by approximately 50 shepherds in the U.S. Leicester Longwools may be either white or colored (black or English blue).

Why do we raise Leicester Longwools? Simple – they have a beautiful lustrous high quality fleece that sells easily; they are productive and excellent moms; they are attractive and standout at festivals/shows; and there is an exceedingly strong demand for quality breeding stock. All of these factors combine to make the breed economically feasible.

We have 30 ewes (20 white and 10 colored) and 12 flock-rams. You might well ask, why so many flock-rams? Because the Leicester Longwool is a rare breed, we maintain three distinct bloodlines in our closed flock. Each year we use between six and eight rams for breeding. This enables us to specialize in offering small starter-flocks of genetically diverse, quality breeding stock. This has been an effective way of introducing the importance of heritage breeds conservation to families, and especially the youth, who can carry on this important mission. But also remember, these rams produce 10 to12 pounds of high quality fleece a year that markets at $8 to $10 per pound so they are earning their keep even if they aren’t used for breeding in a particular year.

We know of very few people who raise sheep to pay the mortgage. If that is true then, at least for us, when raising sheep stops being fun we will hang it up. Well you ask, exactly how is raising sheep fun? We could give you many answers like: the suspense at lambing – color, sex, twins or triplets; the soft calming bleating of ewes with their new born lambs; lambs frolicking in crisp spring air on new green pastures; or the flock grazing contently bathed in fall colors.

For us one of the most enjoyable sheep-related activities is exhibiting our beautiful Leicester Longwools at festivals and shows. Both Donna and I were active in 4-H as kids and, I must confess, the thrill of pinning a purple rosette on one of our rams or ewes is as real today as it was those many years ago when I was showing cows and hogs at the county fair.

This spring for example, we took three of our Leicester Longwool yearling rams and a yearling ewe to the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival (MS&WF). For those of you not familiar with the MS&WF, over 1,100 wool sheep are exhibited at MS&WF, the largest and oldest sheep and wool festival in the U.S. We were honored to receive Champion Ram, Reserve Champion Ram, Champion Ewe and Best Fleece in Show in the white longwool show. Our colored ram, Oscars, received Reserve Champion Ram and Best Fleece in Show honors in the natural colored longwool show. The real thrill came on Sunday when, back in the show ring with all the other champions, OGF Churchill was honored with the Supreme Champion Fleece award.

Exhibiting at festivals and shows is much more than the competition in the show ring. It is a wonderful opportunity to talk with the many people who stop by our pens to admire our attractive Leicester Longwool sheep. It is a great opportunity to educate the public about both the breed and the importance conserving rare breeds. It is also an invaluable marketing opportunity. We shear our sheep the last day of the festival/show and frequently there is a small inquisitive crowd of people watching, asking questions and buying the fleeces as soon as they are sheared.

Marketing is as important to conserving rare breeds as it is to any other business. A broad genetic base is essential for successful breed conservation. The more farms raising and selling breed stock the higher the probability that a breed will not only survive for another generation but can also grow and become even more viable. Stained successful marketing requires a dynamic marketing strategy. Our strategy is built around our strengths – a love of farming and the natural harmony of seasons, a basic understanding of genetics, an eye for excellence, an appreciation of the evolving fiber market, dedication to consistent quality, 20 years experience raising sheep and a willingness to share our knowledge by mentoring new shepherds. That is why, for example, we initiated the Youth Conservationist Program (YCP) ten years ago. Every year the YCP awards registered rare breed ewe lambs, from over a dozen rare wool breeds, to young aspiring shepherds at the MS&WF.

More information about Leicester Longwools and our farm is at www.oldgjerpenfarm.com or contact us at oldgjerpenfarm@yahoo.com