Bad things can happen when domestic and wild sheep mix. A new collaborative research project in Montana is trying to come up with new solutions to an intractable disease problem.

Bighorn Bacteria

Millions of gallons of blood go to waste in slaughterhouses every year. But for some farmers, blood is the primary harvest. 

Blood Ranch

A Maryland farmer reflects on how sheep manage motherhood — and how that connects to her own life and daughter.

Mother Shepherd

The Silicon Ranch solar company has plans to install droves of sheep on sites across the country. Do the ecological and community benefits outweigh the methane output?

Do Sheep Under Solar Panels Count as Clean Energy?

A USDA lab devised a way to ID toxins from common poisonous plants using “non-traditional” bodily excretions.

Sick Sheep? Let Us Inspect Their Earwax.

Sukey and John Jamison never intended to farm — never mind sell 5,000 lambs per year to some of New York’s finest restaurants.

The Accidental Shepherds

Wool pelleting provides an income stream for shepherds’ waste wool, while giving vegetable farmers a valuable soil amendment.

Sweaters for the Soil

A visit to California’s Outlaw Valley Ranch gives a peek into the production of truly natural fiber.

Shearing Sheep, Grazing Green

Named for leading their fellow livestock into slaughter, these betrayers aren’t as common as they used to be. But they’re still around.

Whatever Happened to the Judas Goats?

As U.S. farmers and ranchers get their hands on the technology, its labor-saving, climate-friendly benefits are becoming clear — and so are its shortcomings. 

All “Sheep” Posts