Hello, Dolly! (Or, Big News on a Small Farm)

Dolly, just before she hopped onto the trailer to head north.

Sometimes the biggest news on a small farm arrives on four feet.

A couple of weeks ago, I made one of those decisions that every livestock farmer eventually has to make: I culled one of my ewe lines, Sox. She and her daughters simply haven't thrived on a 100% grass-based system, and that's the foundation of how we raise sheep here at Lucky Dog Farm.

One of the sayings I come back to again and again is, "The shepherd makes the flock." Every breeding decision shapes the future of the farm, so when an ewe consistently falls short of the goals I'm breeding toward, it's time to make a change—even when it's not an easy one.

So the search began.

My wish list wasn't exactly short. I wanted a ewe with outstanding genetics who was completely unrelated to the rest of my flock (including my ram). I wanted a long-bodied ewe—more room for a bigger rumen, which means a better ability to consume and utilize the forage that grass-fed sheep depend on. I wanted a proven mother who raises healthy lambs without drama.

And yes...I wanted her to be pretty.

I spend a lot of time looking at sheep. I might as well enjoy the view.

Enter Dolly. (What else am I going to call a ewe from Tennessee, the home of the legendary Dollywood??)

She comes from Bar-B Farm in Bell Buckle, Tennessee.

Now here's where the story gets fun. Through one of those wonderful bits of farming serendipity, I found Dolly just two days before another shepherd from New York was planning to drive through Tennessee on the way home. She generously offered to bring Dolly north, saving what could have been a very complicated transportation puzzle.

Sometimes the farming stars really do align.

If all goes according to plan, Dolly will soon be settling into life here in Vermont. After a proper quarantine and a little time to get acquainted with her new surroundings, she'll hopefully become the foundation of an exciting new ewe line at Lucky Dog Farm.

One more bit of exciting news: Dolly didn't come alone—she's already bred to an outstanding ram, and if everything goes according to plan, we'll be welcoming her lambs this October.

That means we'll get our first glimpse of what this new ewe line can bring to Lucky Dog Farm much sooner than I expected. I can't wait to see what she produces, and I have a feeling you'll be hearing a lot more about Dolly in the months ahead.

Welcome to the flock, Dolly. I think you're going to fit right in.