Romney

The breed was recognized in England by 1800, and its export career started early: twenty sheep to New Zealand in 1853, where the Romney became the backbone of the frozen-lamb trade that began in 1882. The English breed society formed in 1895, New Zealand's in 1904, and the American Romney Breeders Association in 1912.

They are large, polled and white, with natural-colored lines as well, and a long, lustrous fleece that hangs in distinct locks. Under the American standard, ewes run 140 lb and up and rams 200 and up.

The clip is heavy and clean: around 11 lb a year from a ewe and 22 or more from a ram, at 29 to 36 microns, with a clean yield of 75 to 80 percent that beats most fine-wool breeds. Ewes are good mothers and lamb without much help.

Quiet, according to the American Romney Breeders Association, which says Romneys readily bond with a young person who spends time with them and are easily trained for the show ring. It recommends the breed to young shepherds for that reason.

A true dual-purpose sheep: market lambs and a fleece that sells on its own merits. Handspinners buy Romney fleeces specifically, and the wool takes dye well.

The trade is climate mismatch. A breed adapted to a cool, wet maritime climate does not handle heat and humidity well, and the heavy fleece works against them in a hot summer. In the right climate the parasite resistance is worth real money in avoided drenching.

Check the map first: in a cool, wet region the Romney's disease and parasite package does real economic work, and in a hot, humid one you are paying for traits that fight the weather.

Registration runs through the American Romney Breeders Association. If fiber is part of your plan, ask whether the line is white or natural-colored and what the fleeces have been fetching, because that market is half the breed's case.

Recent sale prices on HoofnHorn, where there are any, are further down this page.