New Zealand is Domestic

In New Zealand, we learned a thing or two about raising sheep. We now know, for instance, how to tell a lamb from a hogget (a new word for us—essentially, a teenager) from a two-tooth ewe, and so on. Flocks mostly consist of the same graduating class. They stick together from birth until retirement. 

Over a lifetime, we were told, sheep will likely be sheared about every eight months, not so much for the wool, but more to prevent their becoming cast (another new word, meaning unable to get back up after tipping over because their coat becomes too heavy). In the polyester era, farmers get less for wool than it costs them to shear it.

So the money in modern sheep raising comes from the meat, the quality of which depends on the quality of the grass. Figuring in costs like preventive health care, water, and occasional feed (depending on how well the grass is managed), farmers in New Zealand net about $100 per animal.

These tidbits came to us via our South Island hosts, a family that for nearly 150 years has shepherded 5,000 souls at a time on 1,000 acres near Waikaka. Their farm has been in the family for nearly 150 years, ever since Grandpa came over from Ayrshire. Dad and firstborn son work together to make sure the grass appears in the right places at the right times. Together with two or three dogs, they move the sheep from place to place. “I feel less alone back in the gully with a couple of dogs,” Dad told us, “than I do in a big crowd.”

For breakfast there, we ate sheep liver and bacon, served on toast with gravy. Tasty! Then we drove over to Gore, the nearest town of any size. Popping in to the agricultural cooperative store, we wandered aisles that were marked as follows:

AG Chem
Wool Shed
Pet Supplies
Equestrian
Animal Health
Dairy Supplies
Electric Fencing
Fencing
Hardware
Farm Safety
Livestock
Workwear
Clothing

Today, the country’s sheep population has fallen to under ten per person, down from over twenty at the peak, about 35 years ago. Lots of former sheep land has converted to dairy. Sure enough, for dinner we were offered a delicious roast. The beef was paired with turnips that Sister had pulled up earlier in the day as we accompanied the dogs on their rounds. We had only just arrived. Already we felt right at home.