The Spelt Project 1, July 2014 | Page 35

SELLING THE SHEEP One sheep has a lot of dibs on its edible parts. The meat sheep farmer goes to market and buys some wethers (the castrated males) then trucks them, or pays for them to be trucked, to his farm. Over the coming days or weeks s/he keeps the mills running so they have water, moves them between paddocks to get the best feed to keep the fat on them, and over the dry season checks them every day. Stockman’s rule No 1: no-one wants a skinny sheep. Depending on the season and practice of the farmer, they may need crutching, shearing or worming – and all the fencing, sheds, windmills, engines, diesel and labour that this sugges