NEW ECONOMIC HOPE
Sheep farming doesn’t take off in Cape Breton as expected
Columnist looks back at Cape Breton’s sheep experiment.
On October 5, 1975, a Boeing 707 landed in Sydney carrying a very special cargo. When the plane landed, it was greeted with great fanfare. There were bagpipes, reporters, photographers, and applause.
The plane was loaded with 500 Scottish sheep. The reception was due to the hopes that this cargo would give local farmers renewed economic prosperity. This financial stability had been missing since the end of the Second World War and the decline of the steel and coal industries.
Farming was difficult in Cape Breton. In the 19th century the island had been a major sheep producer. As industrialism took hold, many farmers began working off farm in the steel and coal industry. A great many left farming altogether and moved into the industrial towns, trading farm work for a steady cheque. Between 1921 and 1956 the population of farmers in Cape Breton decreased by 64 per cent. By 1971, there were only 148 sheep in Cape Breton County.
As the steel and coal industries fell the government began to look for ways to initiate rural reconstruction. DEVCO sought to revitalize the economy by investing in infrastructure and by eliminating the risk to those involved in business. They offered financial aid through loans, guarantees and market support. They invested in loans for fencing, supplies and of course, the stock. They believed that Cape Breton sheep “could be a high-class food for the affluent market.”
Instead of looking for inspiration from the leading sheep producers in the world, countries like Australia and New Zealand, the powers that be at DEVCO decided that Cape Breton had need of only one kind of sheep, the white-faced Cheviot sheep.
These sheep came from the Orkney Islands and across Scotland. DEVCO felt that Scottish sheep would be best suited to survive in Cape Breton’s environment. Their thick wool insulated them from the driving rains and harsh climates that were characteristic of Scotland.
Scottish sheep were the preferred breed not only for their versatility in harsh climates, but also for their authenticity. Another part of the DEVCO plan was to invest heavily in Cape Breton tourism. They felt nothing could be more authentic than the rolling hills of Cape Breton, where Gaelic was still spoken and sung, being dotted with real Scottish sheep.
“When you eat lamb, wherever you may be, perhaps it will evoke thought of hills and shorelines, and the forests, fields, and lakes of Cape Breton Island.”
DEVCO created a model farm on hundreds of acres of land in Inverness County. After their arrival the sheep needed to be held in quarantine for thirty months before they could be distributed among island farmers. This demonstration farm and sheep herd in was overseen by Ann MacDonald and later Frazer Hunter. It became a resource centre for sheep farmers and included services such as a ram rental program for breeding.
By 1978 there were 8,000 sheep in Cape Breton. There were several spin-off industries from the increased sheep population. There were tanneries like the one at Blue Mills and woolen mills like those at Irish Cove. DEVCO Brought a small craft mill in Quebec and relocated it to Irish Cove, Cape Breton.
DEVCO counted on the size of the herds significantly increasing, which would lead to an estimated 78 full-time jobs. Soon, however, problems arose in the government’s sheep policy. The North County Cheviot Sheep wool was not malleable enough to be dyed and spun. Those wishing to knit or weave with it had to blend it with imported Australian sheep’s wool.
In 1979 farmers at the Mabou demonstration farm found several cases of pulmonary aden-omatosis amongst their flock. This lung disease caused a cancer-like tumour on the sheep’s lungs that lead to asphyxiation.
The sheep suffered a second disease that severely impacted their profitability. Many of the Scottish sheep had difficulty carrying a lamb to term. Approximately, 25-30 per cent of pregnant ewes aborted, caused by enzootic abortion. This lead to 16 per cent flock loss and a profit loss for the farmers.
Despite the valiant efforts of DEVCO’s copywriters, it seemed the Cape Breton sheep industry was doomed.
“The lambs are not stuffed with grain in feed lots nor are they growing fat in lush bottom pastures. They have ample milk from the ewes and in the high hills there are plentiful fine-stemmed grasses. In the spruce and fir woods where the flocks shelter from the mid-day heat, there are berries, a bite of mushroom, an occasional browse among hardwood saplings, clear water and always a tang of salt in the air, for the sea is never far off.”