Two Farms

Working together with one goal – hard-working sheep for forage-minded producers.  That’s the way we see it.  We are two farms, Charmingfare Farm in Candia, NH and Waldoview Farm in Winterport, ME, working together to meet the growing demand for top quality Katahdin Hair Sheep across the northeast and beyond. At our farms, we are passionate about our sheep, the genetic progress we’ve made, and the opportunity to promote these animals across the industry.  Here, KatahdinsForSale.com is a marriage of ideas, complementary skill sets, and a desire to work together to create the hardest working sheep available today.  We hope you’ll let us help you accomplish your goals, whether you are just beginning and looking for a starter flock or you are a seasoned producer looking to enhance your bottom line with improved genetics.  Please contact us anytime to let us know how we can help identify individuals that will work hard for you.

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Why Katahdins?

TOP 5 REASONS to buy our Katahdin Hair Sheep

  1. DOCUMENTED PARASITE RESISTANCE – Don’t just take our word for it…..ask to see our data.
  2. PROLIFICACY – Multiple births make money. Katahdins average 210% lambcrops.
  3. SCIENCE-BASED SELECTION – We use performance data, not the show ring, to improve our flocks.
  4. MATERNAL SKILL – We’ve culled hard to improve mothering and select for vigorous newborn lambs.
  5. PASTURE-RAISED LAMBS – We raise grass-fed lambs, outdoors, without pampering that will excel in a variety of management types.

Katahdins are perfectly adapted to New England conditions, require exceptionally few inputs, and can take care of themselves, even at birthing….. they epitomize [a] low input ecological philosophy….

– Dr. John E. Carroll
Professor of Environmental Conservation
University of New Hampshire

Our Philosophy

We share the common goal of creating functional sheep that require minimal input, are capable of resisting internal parasites, and do these under an array of environmental and management approaches.  Our aim is to provide superior seed-stock to farms looking to raise lambs profitably on pasture.  We hope that our combined experience and shared vision can enhance, in some small way, local food production in New England serving farmers, their families, and the community in which they live.

Functional Sheep

We breed Katahdins that require minimal care.  We believe strongly that whether you are a commercial producer with 175 ewes or a hobbyist with just five, you have a lot of demands on your time.

Parasite Resistance

There are few things that are more detrimental to profitability in raising sheep on pasture than a heavy parasite burden in your lambs.

Productive on Forage

Just as it takes a solid foundation to build a solid house, profitably raising grass-fed lamb needs to start with a solid genetic foundation.

Science-Based Selection

Guiding the philosophy described above is an underpinning of science.  We do not base our selection solely on visual appearance as is common show flocks.

Collaboration

Our two farms have worked closely since 2012. Over time, we learned a lot about each other, that we shared many of the same views of how to raise sheep and about the sheep industry in the northeast. With any good collaboration, we learned from each other along the way. It is our collective hope that our shared efforts and combined experiences translate to better sheep and satisfied customers.

Commitment to Breed

One thing is for certain, both farms are committed to the Katahdin breed. This is a breed like few others; a maternal breed that offers so many traits that work so well under harsh New England conditions. Although both farms maintain a few commercial Katahdin ewes, both are members of Katahdin Hair Sheep International and register (or record) all retained lambs each season documenting a 5-generation pedigree for each animal. Our commitment, however, is best demonstrated by our efforts at breed improvement through participation in the National Sheep Improvement Program.

Shared Genetics

Our strongest collaboration has been the sharing of genetics between our flocks. We have been sharing rams since 2013, allowing us to prove rams on each other’s farms with slightly different management practices. The result has been to strengthen the accuracy of the statistics from the National Sheep Improvement Program. That is, by sharing rams, our flocks are genetically connected giving greater predictability to the Estimated Breeding Values for various traits that we use to guide our genetic improvement. This allows us to offer lambs to our customers with greater confidence that they will perform well on any farm under any conditions.

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