Gotland Embryos

Three years ago, our farm joined 4 other farms in the United States in an exciting breeding program importing 100% pure Swedish embryos into the United States. Anette Skoog of Gotland Sheep and Wool International, facilitated the import, using genetics from her Swedish flock of Gotland sheep.  This spring, all five farms, including ours, Vermont Grand View Farm, welcomed their first pure bred Gotland sheep into their flocks. The potential that these lambs bring to Gotland sheep in the United States is exciting.

Last fall, Tufts University Mobile Vet Services came to our farm to implant embryos. We welcomed our 100% Gotland ewe lamb into our flock one week ago. She was carried safely through gestation by our Coopworth ewe. We look forward to future breedings and embryo implants to continue to build our 100% pure Gotland flock.

Why 100% Gotland Sheep?

Seven years ago, our journey with Gotland sheep began. Just a few months after bringing our flock of Gotlands home, we found ourselves standing on Gotland island, Sweden. We spent four days visiting with as many shepherds across the island as we could. We visited the spinnery and attended the local ram auction.

Ram Auction Gotland Island

It was at the ram auction that I gained a full appreciation for the Swedish breeding standards and the development of the Gotland breed within Sweden. The rams at this auction were the most beautiful and uniform sheep I had ever seen. Though I felt that my Gotland sheep were quite lovely, they did not come close to the rams at this auction. It was at this auction I realized, though percentages of Gotland sheep in the U.S. were creeping into the high 90^th percentile through the upbreeding program, there was still much work to be done to refine the breed to meet the Swedish standards. Click 👉🏽HERE👈🏽 to read about our trip to the Ram Auction on Gotland island.

So when the opportunity became available to be a part of this import project, it took little convincing for our farm to join in the effort.