Ewe Just Never know

by Jonathan van Bilsen

I cannot say I know much about farming, having only been to a farm a handful of times. My first visit was to my aunt’s farm in the Netherlands. I remember the food being great, but the experience was marred by her German Shepherd biting me, when I was six. Apparently, taking a dog’s food away is not a good idea. My second farm encounter was in my twenties, visiting a friend on a farm. Unfortunately, I happened to be there on the day they were castrating the piggies. That is an image you do not easily forget.

There was another memorable time, during a trip to New Zealand, where I spent the better part of a day at a sheep farm. For those who have not been to the 'other' land down under, New Zealand has 25 million sheep. They outnumber the people five to one. Driving through the countryside, I saw sheep everywhere, and noticed many had different colours painted on their backs. I initially assumed the colours were a way to identify which farm they came from, but when I saw sheep with varying colours in the same field, I realized my theory did not hold up.

I started to wonder if it was some strange breeding practice, unique to New Zealand. The idea seemed odd, but I could not shake it, so I kept thinking about it until I finally got to the sheep farm. After watching the sheep get sheared and learning about the different breeds, I could not resist asking about the colourful markings.

It turns out the colours are part of a practical system for the sheep ranchers. Ewes which give birth to twins are especially prized, since it is more profitable. During breeding season, the rams are fitted with special breastplates which have coloured crayons attached. This marks the ewes they mate with, allowing the ranchers to track which pairings produce twins. The ewes and rams with successful, multiple, offspring are then selected for future breeding. It is a clever way to ensure the most productive sheep are kept in the breeding program.

The simple use of colour to track breeding success was fascinating. It certainly was not what I expected to learn about, on my trip to the land of the kiwi. What a concept!

Jonathan van Bilsen is a television host, award-winning photographer, published author, columnist and keynote speaker. Watch his show, ‘The Jonathan van Bilsen Show’, on RogersTV, the Standard Website and YouTube and follow his adventures at photosNtravel.com