In the most recent season of Clarkson’s Farm, Farmer Harriet told Jeremy “Always come down the mountain.” What was she talking about? When it comes to sheep, does the mountain matter?

There is nothing fashionable about the stratified hill system. It was born when British farmers were trying hard to find ways to grow food and fibre for a rapidly expanding population, a population that was more and more often living far away from the farm.

This way of building a flock did not begin in a university, it was was born on hard land, by hard men of hard experience.

In Britain — particularly in Scotland, Wales, and northern England — sheep country rises into wind-scoured hills and thin soils. Think the Penninies, the Dales, the Cheviot Hills, the Highlands, the Lake District. These regions simply could not carry the wandering fluff-nuggets of more bucolic dells and river valleys. We Canadians, confirmed in our belief that we are among the chosen few who truly understand appalling winter weather, may be surprised to know that famed evangelist Charles Wesley, once had to prepare to meet his maker on Gateshead Fell when a winter storm landed with a thud and dropped three storeys – yes STOREYS – of snow on the barren plain.

We may know diabolical temperatures but our friends across the pond have their share of snow.

Given the conditions, farmers quickly came to understand that some breeds just wouldn’t cope so our ancestor farmers didn’t force it. Instead of building to suit the sheep, they built sheep to suit the climate.

The roughest hills kept the toughest ewes — hardy types such as the Scottish Blackface, Herdwicks (made famous by James Rebanks) Black Welsh Mountain, and Cheviot. These sheep survived on sparse forage, lambed outdoors, and endured. They were built to make the most of what was there. These were the Mountaintop sheep.

When those ewes matured and proved themselves, many were sold down to slightly better country – they went down the mountain. There, they were crossed with longwool rams like the Bluefaced Leicester or Border Leicester – called “Upland” sheep. The daughters from those crosses were larger, milkier, and exceptional mothers.

Those crossbred ewes then moved down again to richer lowlands and were bred to terminal sires to produce market lambs. (“Terminal” when it’s applied to sheep just means that that’s the end of the road – literally – for that particular breeding chain. The offspring of these terminal rams are bred to grow quickly and put on good weight and then they’re sent to market. They are not retained as replacements).

Three levels.
Three jobs.
One effective system.

And the system worked. It worked because each sheep type was matched to the land it lived on. No one asked a hill ewe to grow like a lowland finisher. No one asked a heavy meat breed to survive a moor in February. The path was always downhill – like Farmer Harriet told Jeremy, you can only ever go down the mountain.

It was an effective system and because it worked so well, it traveled.

New Frontiers

The stratified idea was exported because other countries had the same problem: varied terrain. And English, Scottish, Irish and Welsh farmers – some of them ejected from their own counties and countries – brought what they knew with them. From technique to stock, these immigrant farmers got busy recreating the lives they’d left behind. Over time, they tweaked the system to suit their new geographies which is how we ended up with regional variations.

In New Zealand, hill-country sheep remain distinct from lowland finishing systems. In Australia, Merino-based range ewes are frequently crossed to terminal sires. In parts of western Canada (especially southern Alberta), Rambouillet-type range ewes are crossed with meat/terminal breeds to build those market lambs.

The breeds changed.
The climates changed.
But the principle endured:

Let the land define the ewe. Improve her thoughtfully. Use a terminal sire for market lamb.

Canada isn’t Britain.

No guff.

We have:

• Prairie grasslands
• Aspen parkland
• Foothills fescue
• Boreal mixedwood
• Freeze–thaw cycles
• Long winters
• Predator pressure
• Wide swings in moisture – and very often, at least in Alberta, not enough of it.

No single sheep thrives everywhere. While heritage breeds are better generalists – in that they do a lot of things very well – it’s too much to expect that one sheep breed could take all the differing conditions that exist across this vast country and thrive. Most humans don’t, after all.

Building a Made-in-Canada version

Everyone loves a Made In Canada story. So let’s do that. What if I was going to build a “Down the Mountain” system similar to the template the British shepherds refined so many generations ago?

If we’re going to do this well, let’s begin with a couple of criteria.

• We can only use sheep already in my immediate area – Central and Southern Alberta
• We will limit our candidate pool to sheep that are proven to live well here (animal welfare must be our first consideration)
• This will not be an intensively managed or indoor operation with multiple lambing/breeding throughout the year – no artificial hormones, no implants. We’re going all-natural
• No significant interventions – they have to be known to be good mothers (individual hiccups aside)
• No heavy feed inputs. Our theoretical flock has to do well on grass/hay
• Good feet. People don’t think about feet until they stop working. No feet, no critter
• Longevity. We want them to be more productive over a lifetime. Again, Animal Welfare FIRST.

The Mountain Top

So based on our criteria of only using breeds I know to be in the area (that’s my area – your research may find different options), we have two very strong contenders for our mountaintop ladies.

• Cheviot – a true hill sheep. Hardy, alert and they make excellent moms. A bit wild, probably not for the beginner shepherd. Very good with forage a lot of other breeds leave behind.
• Black Welsh Mountain – there’s a flock not far from me. They’re small-framed, resilient and thrifty. Black wool, if it’s kept clean and non-kempy, can command a premium price, an important consideration on small farms.

The Upland Sheep

These are the rams that meet the mountaintop ladies when they come “down the mountain.” The principle role for these fellas is to pass along their genetics – the genetics that take already strong mothering and add a lot of milk and more size without compromising structure or function. We still need the offspring to be strong and sturdy, they’ve got a job of their own to do.

Contenders for this role from my area might include

• Border Leicesters – known as the ‘Great Improver,’ Border Leicesters were the result of a fortuitous cross of Cheviots and/or Teeswater ewes in Northumberland (Gateshead Fell is in Northumberland) with Robert Bakewell’s Leicesters from the Midlands of England. This breed is known for passing along exactly what’s needed for the next stage of our planning.
• Dorset – I know a flock not far from me and another that’s in the works. Dorsets are known to be big milk factories, are reasonably docile and like the Border Leicester, robust. My first shearing attempt was on a vast, pregnant Dorset ewe – can confirm. Unlike the Border Leicester’s longwool staple, the Dorset is a down-style sheep – think fuzzy instead of long locks.

Now one thing all shepherds need to think about is matching sires to moms. A Black Welsh ewe needs a ram that is larger but not so large that he’s going to flatten her or make it impossible to deliver his offspring. We want everyone to thrive and we want the sheep to be able to do it for the most part unassisted. We also want to ensure that the mothers have the milk supplies they’re going to need to feed those babies. It’s critically important to do a good job matching dams to sires. Traditionally, the mountaintop ewes would lamb out at least once – possibly more – to replenish the pure mountaintop stock BEFORE they came down to meet their Upland swains. Practice swings are important. Also, that purebred replacement stock has to come from somewhere.

The end of the road – Lowland terminal

So around me, there are quite a few options – it would come down to personal preference.

• Southdowns – they’re adorable!! Fuzzy-faced teddybears, really. But the Southdown is also a long-bodied, compact terminal sire candidate. Relatively easy to handle and reasonably quick to grow. Not as big as some of the other options. Attention should be payed to conformation to maximize best possible body type for both the animal’s body function as well as market value. It’s a grass-friendly animal with well-regarded meat quality.
• Hampshire – BIG. Like really big. That size gives a lot of options when it comes to weight for sale but it also means that beforehand, you’re going to have to feed it. Nutrition is key for these big guys.
• Texel – efficient, muscular and generally good grass conversion. I’m told they’re quite lovely but. . . I haven’t been able to quite come around on how they look. I’m all shallow like that.
• Canadian Arcott – one of the Arcott breeds developed at the Experimental Farm in Ottawa, it was built specifically for Canadian conditions. Tend to be more prolific – more babies per mom – which might not be ideal in a pasture-based system. (To read more about the development of all three Arcott breeds, head over to Keeping, Animals and Breeds for the Government of Canada document that chronicles their history)

Defining the field of play

Providence Lane sits in the Foothills Parkland Natural Subregion.

A few years ago, we had the homestead audited by a wildlife biologist from MultiSAR. The final report describes:

• Native fescue grassland
• Wetlands and riparian zones
• Aspen and willow patches
• Sensitive grassland bird and bat habitat
• A need for moderate grazing and habitat patchiness

This is living prairie. Not a feedlot. Considering where we are, how would I personally pull together a stratified system? How would I build my mountain?

My mountaintop choice

Between the candidates listed, I would likely go with the Black Welsh Mountain. It’s available nearby so I can access a genetic pool of potential. The black wool is sought after. The ewes are hardy and can handle our conditions. They’re smaller and, after my Border Leicesters, I will always choose more/smaller over less/bigger – it works for us, ecologically. I would select my ewes prioritizing overall conformation, feet, wool quality, disposition (we want ’em calm), a history of twins (no trips!! NONE) and longevity.

My upland choice

O come on! Like you have to ask??

Border Leicester, all the way. Now, having said that, I’m going to make sure I spend time properly considering my ram relative to my new pretty little Black Welsh ewes. Border Leicesters aren’t small but they also don’t have wide foreheads – they’ve got nice, aerodynamic noses. I’m going to make sure that my ewes and my ram are well-matched. Remember, in the traditional UK version, when mountaintop ewes come down the mountain to the uplands, it wasn’t their first rodeo – they’ve had some experience and those tendons and ligaments are nicely practiced. But still, we’ll be judicious in our pairings. Our current ram Banjo is nicely-sized and will be, I’m sure, persuasive. . . in his lunk-headed way.

They’ll make some gorgeous babies!

The final pair. . .

So, those Black Welsh lassies crossed with a carefully chosen Border Leicester ram have now theoretically grown up, had a couple more replacement ewe lambs for me and are ready to make some babies with the lowland boys. In my head, this is quite a simple choice – it has to be the Southdown.

Why? The Hampshire, as lovely as he is, is just too big – I don’t want to keep him fed while he’s between dates. While I’m sure Texels are very nice (don’t fight with me. This is all just my opinion), I think I want my sheep to look more. . . like sheep. Sorry, I know it’s not good – but it’s a reason. The Canadian Arcott might be the patriotic choice but I’m not interested in any risk for multiples which would come with increased nutritional demands. I am intentionally prioritizing a set-up that doesn’t include extras, either in terms of grazing in Summer or grain in Winter. So, based on our criteria and what’s available to me locally, it’s a Southdown. Besides, with our Black Welsh roots, the Southdown’s theoretically smaller size might actually be an asset.

Where the rubber meets the road

There are many sheep in the world. Not every sheep is a good fit for Alberta. Not even every sheep from the breeds discussed here might be a good fit for a specific farm or circumstance. I’ve been talking about generalities, my ideas and opinions based on what looks good on paper and is available near by. There are breeds I haven’t talked about – I heard all you Shetland and Icelandic shepherds howling when I didn’t talk about your breed in the mountaintop section. Truthfully, if I knew of a Scottish Blackface flock within driving distance, I’d have put them in there – that would probably be my very first choice of hardy ewes. I also didn’t talk about the Bluefaced Leicester in the Upland section – mostly because I’ve had them myself and I found them a bit too excitable. They were never happy unless they were running and they didn’t seem to worry too much about where they were going. Your experience may be different. And even though I’ve had Cotswolds and enjoy them, I didn’t add them to the roster either – with a Border Leicester already in the mix, I didn’t need any more longwools and besides, Cots, bless them, are giants. Their size and their wool took them out of contention for me but, if I may, if you’re new to sheep and looking for an easy breed to love, Cotswolds should definitely be in yours.

This wasn’t supposed to be an exercise in mimicking the British system. It was a thought exercise, a chance to build my dream flock using the British system as my model.

I don’t necessarily want to venerate “old” just because it’s old. . . but practice makes perfect and old systems become old because they endure. And I think we can all agree, endurance is something every Canadian understands.

This is a Tending post — a practical look at our methods, routines, and on-the-ground decision-making with the flock. It’s not a one-size-fits-all how-to, and it isn’t meant to substitute for local knowledge or professional guidance. It’s just what we’re doing here on our farm, in our conditions, with our sheep (and alpacas), written down plainly in case it helps. For more about why we do things the way we do them, the philosophy that informs our process, you’ll find those posts in Living.