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Sheep Farming In The Peak District
Sheep (Ovis Aries) were the first domesticated animals to be farmed by man. Archaeologists have discovered evidence of Sheep Farming in the Peak District dating back thousands of years to around 3,000 BC.
Between the 12th and 14th century’s large tracts of land in the Peak District were held by abbeys and monasteries where granges were established to rear vast flocks for their valuable wool, much of which was exported to the Continent.
Almost a thousand years later and you will still find many references to granges in the Peak District although the monks have long since left, but the sheep are still here in their droves, forming a quintessential scene to the Derbyshire and Staffordshire landscape where Sheep Farming in the Peak District is more popular than Dairy or Beef Cattle farming.
There are in fact hundreds of different breeds of sheep around the world, but some are more suitable to the Peak District climate than others. The traditional black-faced Derbyshire Gritstone is the true Peak District sheep which is a hardy breed that has adapted to life on the exposed Dark Peak Moorlands. Other breeds suited for Sheep Farming in the Peak District are the white-faced Woodland, Swaledale and Mule, the latter being a cross between a blue-faced Leicester and a Swaledale or Northumberland Black-face. Occasionally you may come across a few white and brown Jacobs which are becoming more popular in the region or even a few unusual and rare breed flocks.
Sheep Farming in the Peak District is currently hard work for little reward with wool prices low and not much money in meat, but with most Peak District land unsuitable for arable farming and generations of sheep farmers unable to diversify or find alternative employment, the struggle continues in the hope that prices will improve.
The annual cycle of Sheep Farming in the Peak District begins in spring when lambs arrive around April in lambing pens and sheltered barns before being released to frolic in the meadows or escape to the wilds of the moors. In summer they are generally rounded up and brought back to the farm for the ewes to be sheared in June and dipped to protect them against sheep ticks and lice.
Although quad bikes and tractors have made rounding up much easier in recent years, there is nothing quite like a good sheepdog. Sheepdog Trials such as those held at Longshaw, Ilam and Hope Show being a test of their skills and a part of Sheep Farming in the Peak District where the farmers can gather and socialize.
The Peak District has evolved around sheep that are not only a valuable form of economy but also an intrinsic source to the whole ecology of the National Park environment. Long may their fluffy little shapes dot the fields and moors and their bleating be heard to reverberate and resonate around the hills and dales.
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