The Introduction of a New Breed into the US

We are proud to be the only restaurant in the United States where you can enjoy the delicate, luscious flavors of the sustainably raised Herdwyck Lamb!

Have you ever heard of Herdwyck Sheep? These beautiful creatures have been traditionally bred and raised in the fells and pastures of the Lake District in Cumbria, England.

Now they are being ‘humanely and holistically raised’ by only one farm in the United States, the Helder-Herdwyck Farm in the Helderberg Mountains in upstate New York.

At this point in the U,S., the highest percentage of Herdwick genetics is at 75%. They are hoping for USDA to open the doors this fall and allow us to import new Herdwick genetics to continue the breeding program at Helder-Herdwyck Farm. This is all part of diversifying the geographic location of the Herdwick breed.

The susceptibility of the breed as a whole was realized during the 2001 outbreak of foot and mouth disease. The epidemic was tragic, devastating effects throughout the area. With only about 100,000 Herdwick sheep at the time of the outbreak, about 25,000 Herdwick sheep alone were lost. For comparison, there were an estimated 75 million Romney sheep in New Zealand in 2000.

It was realized that the Herdwick breed needed to be distributed geographically, or risk extinction should another disease strike. Recent studies have shown the Herdwick to be highly disease resistant, and genetically distinct from all other breeds of sheep. Part of the reason England refers to the Herdwick as the original slow grown food is that ewes do not breed until their second year, and tend to have one lamb per year. The breed became threatened as more prolific breeds were desired for commercial production (montadale ewes readily breed at 6 months of age). However, the flavor is unique, favored by Queen Elizabeth.

Most importantly to Erin and Ray Bradt’s, the owners of Helder-Herdwyck Farm, holistically managed sustainable farm, the Herdwick’s ability to convert very little forage into body mass meets their sustainable goals. Additionally, the breed is smaller in stature than commercial breeds. This quality makes them safer and easier to handle, and, does not impact the environment in the ways heavier breeds do.

They believe this rare breed is highly important to U.S. agriculture because of their unique abilities to thrive in sparse vegetation and difficult terrain. Given the extent to which the U.S. is being developed, these sheep will thrive in the areas left, where commercial breeds will be hard stretched to perform accordingly.

Because the Herdwick is rare, and the U.S. breeding program has been closed to new genetics for about 5 years, each of the animals is very important. They are engaging in a new breeding line this year to ensure the genetics start out as purely 50% Herdwick and 50% of a base breed we are determining to be as close to Herdwick type as possible. The ewes used by the original breeder in the U.S. were of varying breeding.

This breed has been a wonderful asset to the Helder-Herdwyck Farm. These animals have nearly eradicated an invasive species in their main pasturing area, giving new life to native grasses and plants which had been choked by the invasives. The compacted soil is now soft like a carpet and the grasses team with bugs, butterflies and birds.

There has been NO plowing, no large scale seeding (if the dirt is scuffed where they gathered at the water trough, they toss some clover seeds there when they’ve moved them), and absolutely no herbicides or pesticides have been used. Simply by rotating the animals in tandem - sheep, then hens and broilers, and then 60 days of rest, we have lush pasture that is turning emerald green with natural nutrients.

And after all that, the wool is also completely unique, and known as “the smiling sheep”, over all the Herdwick has a delightful personality.

Read more about this breed at Helder-Herdwyck Farm

Be one of the few to experience Chef Jay Lippin’s fine dining specialty crafted dishes with these sheep. For now, there is a very limited number of portions, but we plan on making it a regular item on our menu!