miniature sheep cutting costs in orchards

Cute take on modern mower
By RACHEL YOUNG - The Marlborough Express
15/07/2009


MINI MOWERS: Yealands Estate owner Peter Yealands with a one-year-old fully grown babydoll ewe. By October he will have imported 11 babydoll rams and 29 ewes in a bid to become more environmentally friendly. DEREK FLYNN


Babydoll sheep

First it was sheep, then it was guinea pigs but now babydolls are roaming Yealands Estate's Awatere vineyards in a bid to become more sustainable.

Owner Peter Yealands has imported 10 babydoll sheep from the only known Australian breeder of the ancient miniature sheep breed, with another 30 due to arrive by October.

Mr Yealands said the tiny sheep, which grow to between 45 and 60 centimetres and cost the winery $3000 each, including quarantine costs, would be used to keep grass and weeds down on his 1000-hectare vineyard instead of using a tractor, mower and a "fair bit of fuel".

It is understood the flock are the only babydolls in New Zealand.

Due to their small stature the sheep will roam the vineyards year-round as they will not be able to reach the lowest hanging grapes.

Mr Yealands found "normal" sheep took a fancy to the grapes and while using guinea pigs seemed like a good idea it was not viable on a commercial basis.

He planned to cross-breed the babydoll sheep with saxon merino sheep to grow the flock to 10,000.

He said this would take four crossings until the sheep were seven-eighths babydoll and would probably take at least five years.

Mr Yealands said as part of the winery's carboNZero accreditation the winery was continuing to reduce its carbon footprint.

"We have to reduce it but we have no meat to start with."

Mr Yealands said he wanted Yealands Estate to be "the most sustainable" wine operation in the world so it was important to take further steps to reduce its carbon footprint.

Related plans include using pruning bales to run the boiler and the refrigeration unit.

Mr Yealands said as a by-product of the babydolls he hoped to create a niche market by selling cuts of babydoll meat to restaurants.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/marlborough-express/news/2595961/Cute-take-on-modern-mower