The tastiest sheep — ewe better believe it
GRAZING beside the River Derwent on Arundel Farm at picturesque Macquarie Plains is Australia’s largest flock of heritage breed English Leicester sheep.
Arundel Farm in the Derwent Valley has been run by Fiona Hume’s family since 1894, when the family moved from the East Coast where they had been farming since the 1840s.
The farm’s English Leicester flock of 200 ewes is used for meat, wool and sheepskins.
“The English Leicesters have attitude, they are a strong animal that stand their ground and make good protective mothers,” Ms Hume said.
“Dad started the flock here in the 1950s.
“I manage the farm with my father Bill, who is now 85. We also have a part-time stockman, Mat Bone, who helps us run the farm.”
Unlike some other sheep breeds which can be ready for consumption in three to four months, the English Leicesters take longer to mature and are ready after about eight months.
“From about 10 to 15 months sheep dentition changes and they shift from a lamb to a two tooth or mutton. One of my interests is getting people over the obsession of lamb and promoting two tooth or mutton. Many people on the land would agree that a two tooth is tastier than a lamb.
“The meat from my sheep will feature in two locations at the Dark MoFo Winterfest, including the Mona heavy metal kitchen and with chef Massimo Mele.
“The English Leicester is said to be what sheep used to taste like.”
Arundel Farm also runs 1000 Cormo Merinos and 700 English Leicester/Merino cross for prime lamb mothers.
Ms Hume is a farmer and zoologist who has worked in Antarctica and Macquarie Island on penguins and albatross. She also works part-time for the Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service as a Discovery Ranger.
She has also worked as a biologist studying seals and Tasmanian devils and currently does seasonal work on threatened birds in Tasmania.