Sheep belong to a family of animals called ruminants. Because they have 4 stomach’s, they can process foods we as humans cannot. Very useful in farming!.
by Chad Steiner
Yes, sheep have 4 stomachs. In fact, they belong to a family of animals called ruminants. Cow’s, sheep, goats, bison (yep) and deer are some of the animals we’re probably all familiar with. This is important because they can digest and live off of plants we cannot – making them a valuable part of the farm and ecosystem. In orchard’s and vineyards this creates an opportunity to enrich the soil biology, in turn having the potential to produce more nutrient dense food and wine. At Chelan Valley Farms we started incorporating sheep in 2023 and continue to learn how they can be a valuable fit into the operation. But it’s only because these animals have 4 stomach’s that make it possible.
Why does it matter sheep and other ruminants have 4 stomach’s? Did you also know they don’t have any upper teeth? They have bottom teeth and gums on the top. Perfect for grabbing grass to eat. And therein lies the ticket – sheep can eat and live off of grass or broad leaf plants BECAUSE they have 4 stomachs. Imagine if we were asked to live off of what we could eat on the orchard floor? There’s no way. But sheep with their 4 stomach’s are able to process these plants into energy to live off of. As a result, they fertilize the area they’re in and grow themselves into something we as humans can eat. They’re fertilizer is a key ingredient for healthy soil.
How can sheep grazing make your apples or wine taste better? In previous writing’s I talked about nutrient dense food. Soil alive with biology is better able to support healthy, nutrient rich plants which then provide nutrient dense produce. But, this likely begs the question of how?? This is its own topic and, in some circles, may still be debated – but science is making headway. I’ll see if I can boil it down by making a list. 1. Our soil is alive and more diverse with the total quantity of species of organisms than the number living above it on all of Earth. 2. The use of salt-based fertilizer can limit soil biology. 3. Using herbicides to eliminate weeds (albeit very effective) also removes plant roots able to provide food to the soil biology via their roots. 4. Ruminant animals like sheep can provide “natural” fertilizer via their manure and consume “some” weeds in the process. 5. Result = soils feed by “natural” manure fertilizer thrive (there’s a lot to this) as the microbes love manure. Which in turn creates an environment where the apples or wine grapes grown there can take up a rich and diverse, natural nutrition. We’re determined to be part of helping prove this result.
Yes, we’d like to be part of proving how animals can provide more nutrient dense fruit and wine. Let’s be clear, we’re at the very beginning of the journey and are in no way claiming to be experts. Check out my prior article on Bringing Sheep to Chelan Valley Farms. We’re up to 8 ewes now and if the buck sheep was welcomed by them, we’ll have many lambs starting in January. In 2024 we had a couple of great lessons. 1. Without under row sprinklers in the vineyard, grazing is limited to about a 6-8 week window. From the time in early March when there’s enough vegetation for the sheep through to bud break. 2. The sheep did fantastic being moved around the orchard. Since we’re irrigating with sprinklers and not drip, we’ve been able to move the sheep around between the rows. Apples themselves are not good for the sheep because of the risk of acidosis. It turns out in 2024, we haven’t had to feed the sheep anything other than letting them graze since the 1st week of March. That’s 8 months and still going. We’ll be loading up on hay for the 4 winter months thanks to a hay farmer in Twisp (so many great things come from the Methow – Old Schoolhouse Beer, Bluebird Grain Farms, Sun Mountain Lodge, The Wine Shed and so much more). Next is figuring out how to do more with the chickens and ducks in this rotational grazing set up… more to come!
In conclusion, I’d like to emphasize how uniquely cool it is ruminants exist. Without them, what would come of all the plant matter? Their 4 stomach’s are totally able to digest plants for nutrition that would not work for us to eat. Imagine the beauty of the ecosystems across the United States great plains as bison moved through, occasionally stalked by predators, then followed by turkey’s and so on…. Mother nature had it figured out. It’s our turn to support a more natural ecosystem by including sheep into our operation. I wonder how the chicken with its gizzard compares? Maybe a future topic.
Have a great weekend everyone! Ask us about seeing the sheep, but remember, don’t touch the fence.
