Falkland Islands’ Sabbatical

Farming - Kingsford Valley Farm, San Carlos


Gathering, Shearing and Returning

This section catalogues the process of transforming the wool on the sheep's backs into baled fleeces.


Area to be gathered (Mt Usborne, Rabbit Mountain and Flatts Shanty)
The terrain, amongst other features, is rugged, mountainous and rocky with peat bogs, rivers, marshy areas and hidden holes. Kingsford Valley Farm (KVF) is 25,000 acres and 17 miles from end to end, with the settlement being at one end, so gathering is carried out by way of quad bikes and motorbikes with sheep dog assistance. This view shows Mt Usborne (highest mountian in the Falkland Islands) to the right of the picture in the shadow of a cloud and which forms a ‘side’ boundary; Rabbit Mountain on the left of the picture and the buildings in the foreground (Flatts Shanty) which are used for basic overnight stops if work necessitates it. These two mountains roughly form the most distant point of KVF from the settlement.


Gathered Sheep Crossing River
Sadly for the sheep, the trek back for shearing is no holiday outing. The sheep in this particular instance have been gathered from Rabbit Mountain and therefore have to walk the whole end-to-end distance back to San Carlos crossing whatever obstacles cannot be avoided. On this river crossing, one sheep drowned as it ventured into a deep part and was not helped by the wet weight of its fleece and another, having successfully reached the other bank, had a heart attack. These things happen.





Sheep Taxi
Any sheep having fallen by the wayside is bundled onto the quad bike and given a lift to a suitable place where it is offloaded. The lift tends to allow them to recover their energy and enable them to carry on walking with the rest of the flock.






Gathered sheep down 'race'
Almost there! The sheep are making their way down the ‘race’. A race is the run between two fences and this one had been built by Terence and myself putting the right hand stretch of fencing up parallel to the existing camp boundary. Races are such that sheep can virtually ‘take themselves home’ and, if all possible escape holes are plugged, prevent them meandering into other areas by confining them to the required route. Having done this route previously without a race, the difference with it was excellent.









Drafting Sheep
Having been through a series of pens, the sheep are eventually funnelled into this channel so they can be sorted by sex and sheep type (wether, ewe, lamb, ram, etc.). This ensures an accurate count can be made of stock and also separates out the specific sheep for shearing or whatever other purpose.










Counting Sheep
Following the drafting process, and prior to shearing, the sheep are counted to establish livestock totals and also so shearing time can be booked, based on numbers to be shorn. These sheep are being controlled for counting through a partly closed gate and seem to jump for joy once through it. The joy is premature as they will not be ready to be released back to their home territory for a while.





Sheep awaiting shearing
"So, what style are you going for this time?"

The sheep are put into the shearing shed the night before they are to be shorn. This ensures they are dry and ready in situ for shearing the following morning. As shearing starts at 0600, there is no time for unnecessary tasks in the morning.







Expectant customer
"Well, I thought I might try some extensions and some highlights. Which do you think, auburn or chestnut brown?"

This is a Polwarth sheep. The other breed on the farm is Corriedale. During my final weeks there, the Agriculture Department was doing the rounds of farms carrying out artificial insemination and embryo transplants of other sheep breeds, such as Merino. This is to increase the genetic pool and improve the quality of fleeces.





Me shearing
It had to be done! Having watched the shearers closely, when you try it, it is not an easy task. Moving round the sheep during the shearing process is like a well choreographed dance. Unfortunately for the three sheep I had a go at shearing, they did not escape without some blood being drawn. It's good for back ache, too!!











Gathered fleece
Each sheep is shorn the same way. The fleece is prepared, on the floor, so it can be gathered, picked up and then thrown onto the table, neatly, for cleaning and grading, as is being carried out on the other side of the table.








Fleece thrown for grading
The fleece is thrown so that 'second cuts' fall off and through the slats in the table onto the floor. It should lie in such a manner that the 'skirt' (the edge of the fleece) is exposed, without too much manipulation, and can be picked off where it is dirty. Once cleaned, and extraneous matter removed, the fleece is graded (A, B, C, AA. BB, CC, etc.) with A being the best quality.






Fleece awaiting baling
This is the graded fleece waiting to be baled.








Fleece into baling machine
Fleeces are baled using this machine and to a bale weight of approximately 185kg. The better quality fleeces are more springy and may be such that the weight of the bale is less than those of lower quality fleece.














Fleece Bales
Bales ready to be taken to Stanley for shipping to the UK. They are marked up on both ends and two sides with the farm mark (KVF); the type of wool (in this case 'W' for Wether); the quality of fleece (A, B and C are seen here); the bale number (bales 18 to 23 seen) and the quality mark for Falklands wool. Once delivered to Stanley, that is it as far as farm activity goes. The wool is sold on the international wool market, in accordance with the farmer's instructions and payments then made to the farmer.      





Newly shorn and away back home.
Having spent a few days in sheltered camps, the sheep are taken back to their 'home' territory. The next time they would have direct human contact would be six months, or so, later when they are gathered to have their bellies shorn and their faces cleaned of wool (called eye locking).











The posse (Terence & Sheila) with SC in background
This shot was taken as we gently coaxed the sheep in the preceding photo up the ‘race’ on the side of Rocky Mountain. Two dogs were also used, one of which is standing up by Terence but not obviously visible. San Carlos settlement is the white buildings to the right of the photo in the distance.



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Copyright ©Peter Ormond 2004