Sheep . . . A Way of Life

Sheep...A Way of Life
By Molly Manzanares
Chama Valley Times, May 2000

Every two months or so my friend Paul calls and we agree on a time for me to cut his hair. So far in April he's been out of luck because every time he calls I am outside working with the sheep. He finally told me he has been thinking about showing up on emorning in the meadow and hanging out with our sheep just to see what happens. This might have worked last week, since the the sheep shearing crew was here giving the sheep their annual spring haircut. Despite some bad weather, the shearing was finished quickly. A crew of four shearers can shear 400-475 head of sheep in one day. Paul might have slipped through with a nice short haircut.

Some other spring sheep work includes dealing with many pounds of raw wool (skirting, sorting, baling, storing and hauling it to where it will be sold). Then the bred ewes, the horses, dogs, and and assorted equipment are hauled to the lambing grounds where we spend an intense month lambing out the ewes. During the first part of June, the ewes and lambs are trailed horseback coss country for about thirty miles to summer pasture in the mountains above Canjilon. There they are taken care of all summer by several guard dogs and a shepherd who stays with them all the time. At the end of the summer the whole band is trailed back to low country where the lambs are weaned. After a couple of months the ewes are bred and the cycle begins all over again.

Hearsay has it that at one time in the early part of the last century, more lambs were shipped out of the Tierra Amarilla/Chama area yearly than anywhere else in the world. In those days sheep were counted in the thousands. Almost any person you talk to who is native to this area has stories about their fathers, grandfathers or other family members who raised sheep or herded sheep for someone else in the past.

These days sheep are counted in the tens and hundreds rather than thousands. There has been a steep and steady decline in numbers of sheep due to people changing over to cattle or getting out pf the ranching business entirely. The pressures from governmental concerns, environmental concerns, predators and changing land tenure patterns are great. Coupled with recent drops in wool and lamb prices in the traditional marketplace, raising sheep has become a risky proposition at best. The number of flocks in Northern New Mexico is still declining, with only two range flocks left in all of Rio Arriba County and more small flocks disappearing from small farms.

Rather than continuing to rely on traditional markets for wool and lamb, some of the sheep producers in the country are selling their products through niche marketing venues, such as Tierra Wools (www.handweavers.com) and Shepherd's Lamb, in an attempt to add value to their product. At Tierra Wools, which is located in Los Ojos, local wool is processed almost completely on site. Tierra Wools has the capability of washing the wool, hand spinning, dyeing, and hand weaving the wool into one of a kind pieces that are then sold from the retail store in Los Ojos.

Through Shepherd's Lamb, fresh and frozen organic lamb meat is made available to customers year round through Farmers' Markets, natural food stores and direct sales. Shepherd's Lamb is the first certified organic lamb supplier in New Mexico and is part of the New Mexico Organic Livestock Cooperative, which also supplies organic chicken, turkey and beef. There is a growing demand for locally grown products by customers who appreciate knowing where their food comes from and who grew it. They are committed to supporting small local growers. This is one ray of hope for some small farmers and ranchers who are trying to sustain their traditional way of life by marketing this way.

Sheep...A Way of Life By Molly Manzanares Chama Valley Times, May 2000 Every two months or so my friend Paul calls and we agree on a time for me to cut his hair. So far in April he's been out of luck because every time he calls I am outside working with the sheep. He finally told me he has been thinking about showing up on emorning in the meadow and hanging out with our sheep just to see what happens. This might have worked last week, since the the sheep shearing crew was here giving the sheep their annual spring haircut. Despite some bad weather, the shearing was finished quickly. A crew of four shearers can shear 400-475 head of sheep in one day. Paul might have slipped through with a nice short haircut. Some other spring sheep work includes dealing with many pounds of raw wool (skirting, sorting, baling, storing and hauling it to where it will be sold). Then the bred ewes, the horses, dogs, and and assorted equipment are hauled to the lambing grounds where we spend an intense month lambing out the ewes. During the first part of June, the ewes and lambs are trailed horseback coss country for about thirty miles to summer pasture in the mountains above Canjilon. There they are taken care of all summer by several guard dogs and a shepherd who stays with them all the time. At the end of the summer the whole band is trailed back to low country where the lambs are weaned. After a couple of months the ewes are bred and the cycle begins all over again. Hearsay has it that at one time in the early part of the last century, more lambs were shipped out of the Tierra Amarilla/Chama area yearly than anywhere else in the world. In those days sheep were counted in the thousands. Almost any person you talk to who is native to this area has stories about their fathers, grandfathers or other family members who raised sheep or herded sheep for someone else in the past. These days sheep are counted in the tens and hundreds rather than thousands. There has been a steep and steady decline in numbers of sheep due to people changing over to cattle or getting out pf the ranching business entirely. The pressures from governmental concerns, environmental concerns, predators and changing land tenure patterns are great. Coupled with recent drops in wool and lamb prices in the traditional marketplace, raising sheep has become a risky proposition at best. The number of flocks in Northern New Mexico is still declining, with only two range flocks left in all of Rio Arriba County and more small flocks disappearing from small farms. Rather than continuing to rely on traditional markets for wool and lamb, some of the sheep producers in the country are selling their products through niche marketing venues, such as Tierra Wools (www.handweavers.com) and Shepherd's Lamb, in an attempt to add value to their product. At Tierra Wools, which is located in Los Ojos, local wool is processed almost completely on site. Tierra Wools has the capability of washing the wool, hand spinning, dyeing, and hand weaving the wool into one of a kind pieces that are then sold from the retail store in Los Ojos. Through Shepherd's Lamb, fresh and frozen organic lamb meat is made available to customers year round through Farmers' Markets, natural food stores and direct sales. Shepherd's Lamb is the first certified organic lamb supplier in New Mexico and is part of the New Mexico Organic Livestock Cooperative, which also supplies organic chicken, turkey and beef. There is a growing demand for locally grown products by customers who appreciate knowing where their food comes from and who grew it. They are committed to supporting small local growers. This is one ray of hope for some small farmers and ranchers who are trying to sustain their traditional way of life by marketing this way.
	Antonio and Molly Manzanares P.O. Box 307 Tierra Amarilla, New Mexico 87575 575-588-7792 fax 575-588-9332 shepherd@organiclamb.com