South African Farmer Shares Sheep Farming Tricks
Sheep graze in a pasture on Thys and O'nel Roux' farm in Western Cape, South Africa.
At the gated entrance to the farm, armed guards patrol the area as a means of discouraging those who want to steal some of the sheep to feed their families.
"Police are a long way from the farm, and the presence of the guards keeps them from trying to enter our farm," Roux told a group of Wisconsin farmers who visited recently. "They also protect the sheep from invading lynx that wander in at night."
He described how farms are getting bigger in South Africa to take advantage of the economies of scale, and many are becoming vertically integrated.
"Our soil has a very thin layer of top soil and lots of rocks," he said. "We need many acres to raise our crops. Grazing works well because we don't bring up the stones."
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