Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/56967
VINEYARD Sheep in the Vineyards Wooly workers assist with North Coast vineyard management s labor resources become more expensive and difficult to find, some North Coast winegrowers are looking to a com- pletely new pool of talent. Their new workers stay on the clock 24/7, and the only compensation they require are food, water and protection. They can provide skill- ful vineyard floor management, trunk suckering and even leaf pull- ing. They can greatly reduce the need for mowing or tillage beneath the vine herbicides. And they leave behind useful concentrated organic fertilizer. Welcome to managing your vineyards with sheep! SHEEP IN THE NORTH COAST Before North Coast agriculture was dominated by winegrowing, sheep were an important agricultur- al commodity. The mild coastal cli- mate, abundant green forage in the spring, and an immigrant population that loved lamb and mutton made sheep a perfect fit for the region. In the 1970s, the market for sheep and sheep products began to decline due to overproduction in Australia and New Zealand, and a change in consumer tastes. The animals' inability to protect them- selves against predators didn't help matters, and sheep numbers in the North Coast plummeted. In recent years, however, the movement toward "eating local" has generated renewed interest in sheep, as lamb can be fed grass and raised without hormones and antibiotics. Sheep are an efficient By Glenn McGourty way of turning herbaceous plants into high-quality protein with very little off-site petrochemical inputs. Sheep grazing utilizes agricultur- al ground, such as steep slopes and forested areas, which is not suit- able for many other crops. Sheep are quite efficient at turning grassy feed into protein: 6-8 pounds of feed will make about 1 pound of lamb if weather conditions are favorable and the animal is healthy. They also provide soil nutrients. For each month in the vineyard, one sheep is likely to deposit via manure about 1.25 pounds of nitro- gen, 0.6 pounds of phosphorus and 1.2 pounds of potassium. This in turn helps promote biodiversity in 46 VINEYARD & WINERY MANAGEMENT MAR - APR 2012 North Coast producers such as Husch Vineyards in the Anderson Valley are turning to sheep for vineyard floor management, leaf pulling and other maintenance tasks.