Watch for information about our Royal Cascade Sheep.  They show excellent parasite resistance.  They produce wonderful handspinning fleeces.    Our ewes will be sheared in mid-March.   Our fleeces will be at The Fiber Event in Greencastle, IN on April 9 and 10, 2010.  We will look forward to seeing you there.  Thanks to all of our past fleece buyers!!  

Our Royal Cascades (landrace breed originating in the Cascade Valley on the South Fork of the Sangamon River) are predominately of Romeldale ancestry but have a few other breeds thrown in.  In 2005 I noticed that a strain of these showed excellent parasite resistance.  All showing the parasite resistance were sired by the same ram, now known as RC (Royal Cascade).  To maintain this very important economic trait, I have begun linebreeding back to RC, trying to keep the lambs at 50% of his genetics. 

To remain in our breeding flock the RC lambs (as well as the adults) must never be dewormed with a chemical wormer.  That is a really tall order since sheep have been raised non-stop on our farm since 1968.  And they are pastured with our Icelandics which are not nearly as parasite resistance as the RCs, but we are working on that, too.