The Value of Sheep

Long prized for their wool and meet, sheep are one of the world’s greatest agricultural commodities. Easily managed they provide much needed income worldwide to people tied to the land. Peaceful by nature they have been managed and valued throughout history. Descended from wild stock they are one of the world’s first domesticated animals.

Their wool has been transformed into the very basics of human clothing such as shirts, trousers, coats, scarves, socks and shoes. Wool has also found it places among the arts. Textiles such as fine rugs of distinction litter homes on all habitable continents and provide a ready source of income for talented artisans across the Middle East and Asia.

This heard of sheep took time to graze. Fattening them for their other purpose in meat production. Over 540 million sheep are slaughtered annually to keep up with the demand. Mutton is prized the world over for its tenderness and tastiness. Chefs routinely choose them for their most prized dishes.

Long valued for their ability to abate weeds these sheep are at home serving this function. As the global population so will the words demand for sheep production, as their many benefits will never go out of fashion.