Research Post-Mortem

Why did you decide to integrate sheep into your vineyard?

Shannon: From a business perspective, the vertical integration is hard to beat. These animals can provide incredible winter weed control under the vine. They can thin out suckers and leaves in the lower canopy during which time they are dropping and stamping in about five pounds of manure per animal per day. This greatly accelerates the transformation of organic matter from the ground cover into manure, resulting in a microbially-rich soil that can further break down nutrients.

Additionally, as the sheep eat, they poop in the vineyard, increasing the fertility of the soil which encourages growth. More growth means more food and protein for the sheep to make milk for the lambs.

Which came first: the grapes or the sheep?

Shannon: Grapes. I initially bought land and started a vineyard and farmed it conventionally because it was easy and cheap. I started farming grapes between 1985 to 1993. About 20 years ago, I bought my first sheep and began experimenting with them: this marked the beginning of Project Ovis.

It has been said that integrating sheep in the vineyard cannot be profitable on any significant scale. Has that been your experience as well?

Shannon: We have about 1,000 acres of vineyard, and we have 800 ewes that produce about 1,100 lambs. At $250 per lamb that puts us at about $250,000 in revenue. In addition to selling lambs, we also sell the wool from the sheep which, in total, yields about $412,000 for the year—not too shabby when you consider that our cost to keep sheep was about $150,000 last year. That doesn’t even account for what I’m saving on fertilizers and herbicides in the vineyard.

In fact, I have reduced my herbicide usage on the grape side of the business by $100,000, and that number keeps going up the more we learn.

Rootstocks and clones make all the difference when developing a vineyard. Likewise, is there a specific type of sheep that you prefer?

Shannon: I prefer Corriedale because their wool is in the medium range of coarseness. If the wool is too fine, they don’t do too well in the rain due to wool rot. Wool rot is just nasty. If you have a dryer location, you may be able to get away with a fine wool sheep breed, like the Merino, Rambouillet or Columbia. The Corriedales also have a hard hoof which resists rot in wet or muddy soils. Some breeds that have softer hooves can splinter and get funky.

Where does one find a decent shepherd these days?

Shannon: Basically, we train our own. It’s hard to find vineyard personnel that are open to doing something a different way. It’s easier to turn on the sprayer than to run the sheep. Most people are simply too lazy to run sheep. It’s a lot of moving parts. Frankly, this is how we all have to start working if we are going to take better care of our planet.

Can this advantage pencil out as an investment?

Shannon: Well, the wine program is up to about 300,000 cases per year now, and the sheep operation just made us a nice little profit this year. Most importantly, it’s a lifestyle thing. We set out to build a fully regenerative farming system, and we are mostly there, and maintaining business sustainability helps us stay in the game long term. It’s not about being extreme in this approach but rather to make small incremental improvements over time. Sure, we still have some acreage that is farmed conventionally, but little by little, we are finding better ways to work with nature rather than against it.

The Art Of Screw Caps

Hard work and experimentation getting your site dialed in pay off. Sure, there might be other ways to make more money faster, but this is who we are, and we love what we do.

What advice would you give to a grower that is considering implementing a grazing program?

Shannon: I’d say shut off the herbicides and hire a grazer. We did grazing when we were conventionally-farmed just to clean up the summer weeds, especially since spraying herbicides, during the drought, wasn’t working—the weeds just get harder to kill. It’s also good to recognize that grazing doesn’t work everywhere, and you have to be OK with the smell of sheep dung. You also must have tolerance for a livestock business. There are no holidays, and someone’s always got to be on watch.

How have sheep impacted your mowing, tilling and herbicide application?

Shannon: We have pretty much eliminated herbicides. Mowing has been reduced by about 80 percent. We are largely a no-till operation, except during drought.

How many sheep do you need per vineyard acre to do the job?

How do you know when to move the sheep?

Shannon: In my experience, you need about 1.2 ewes per acre. At roughly 1,000 acres, we generally have about 1,200 sheep organized in roughly 400-sheep grazing units. What’s interesting is that sheep in one grazing unit are like a family. They know when there is an outsider in their midst.

What is High Density Short Time Grazing and why is it important?

Shannon: We call it mob grazing, but essentially, we bring a big group of sheep to a vineyard block that has had some time to grow some vegetation, and they basically take a bite before moving on to more easy-to-eat grass. They really clean things up quickly; so, if you leave them there too long, there is more opportunity for them to eat things they aren’t supposed to. Plus, it takes the grass longer to grow back when it has been eaten down to the nubs.

Our atmospheric river just stopped four days before this interview (Jan. 19, 2023). How did your vineyard fare regarding erosion?

Shannon: We did not have any erosion in the vineyards. Maybe a couple of the roads but the vineyards held up great. I was in Carneros on Tuesday, and there were some serious trenches out there. I think that all the grass, roots and biological activity in the soil gave the water somewhere to go. WBM

References:

Ryschawy, et al. : Moving niche agroecological initiatives to the mainstream: A casestudy of sheep-vineyard integration in California

Hopland Research and Extension Center (VIDEO Presentation) YouTube Overview: Integrated Sheep- Vineyard Systems: Benefits and tradeoffs in the Napa-Sonoma Valley

Kelsey Brewer: Carbon sequestration and soil health outcomes in California integrated sheep-vineyard system.