Did you know that some of our four-legged friends can be
great helpers in the vineyard? One of my favorite sustainable winegrowing
tactics involves employing armies of Old English Babydoll Sheep (yes, that is
actually a kind of sheep) to help out with many of the day-to-day vineyard
maintenance tasks.
A babydoll sheep’s resume in the vineyard:
- Chemical-free weed control
- Reduced fuel-emissions in the vineyard
- Reduced (human) labor pulling suckers at base of vines
- Soil tilling
- Natural nutrition and fertilizer for soil
The sheep roam through the vineyard during the day, chomping
the weeds and tilling the soil with their feet. Babydoll sheep are only 24
inches tall, so in many vineyards they are the perfect height for vineyard
ground maintenance, but are not tall enough to eat the grapes. These sheep are the perfect team to help any vineyard reduce the amount of herbicides, fuel, labor, and fertilizer they use.
Some key issues include the damage babydolls can have on a
young vineyard (when the vines are very low and green), as well as the fact that
they are very delicious targets of animal predation. It is important to protect
your babydoll sheep with secure lodgings at night!
Some local wineries that have employed babydoll sheep are Concannon
Vineyards in Livermore and Kiger Family Vineyard in Sonoma.
One winery in New Zealand, Yealands, employs both babydoll
sheep as well as furry little Kunekune pigs. The pigs work alongside the sheep
to maintain the vineyard floor and improve soil quality. The pigs are also part
of Yealands corporate waste reduction program- any leftover food waste is sent
their way! Yealands hopes that employing these animals will ultimately lead to
a $1.1M reduction in annual operational costs. Not baaaaah-d at all!
First of all, this is adorable and now I really want to see this in person. Second of all, fascinating! I wonder if these vineyards need to employ extra staff to manage their animal herds, or if these are pretty easy-going animals. Additionally, are there any other positive externalities or monetization opportunities that come from having these herds, such as wool production (from the sheep) or, dare I say, the sale of lamb and pork?
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