If you’ve visited Godmanchester, you may have come across Lamont Farms, a 275-acre farm that is home to 300 ewes. The farm has been in the family for three generations and is currently being run by Jackie Lamb and her husband Shawn McNamee.
Lamb says that they try to shear their sheep once per year. “We usually do it six weeks to two months before lambing, so that everything is nice and tidy and visible.” This helps with the delivery of the babies, but also allows for the lambs to get to the udder more efficiently.
With that many sheep, shearing can be quite the process, not to mention a huge cost. “When we first started this years ago, the cost of shearing would almost equal the income we got from selling to the Canadian Wool Growers co-op. But with COVID and honestly with our personal quality of wool, [it] is not returning the cost of the shearing.” This year, they hired a professional shearer from Les Fermes Authentik SENC to come in and help. With a task this size, they enjoy working with someone who can do it in a fraction of the time it would take them.
Shearing their sheep is important to maintain the comfort of the animal. “The wool keeps growing. It does not stop, and if you miss it, they’ll have two years of wool on them. And it can be two to four inches thick. I imagine wearing a four-inch-thick coat in July,” Lamb says.
Though none of Lamont’s fibre goes directly into the wool economy, Lamb explains that it is an incredible product that has many benefits. “Wool is fully biodegradable over time; it’s a carbon holder for the life of the product. And you can wear a well-made wool shirt in the summer and in the winter: it’s thermodynamic.”
Pretty soon, Lamb is hoping that the farm will become a spot for agritourism. Part of this is due to the creation of a Christmas tree farm. She explains that some of the fields on her property are inconveniently shaped and she wasn’t sure how to get good use out of them. She then had the idea to start a Christmas tree farm, which can eventually become a whole experience where guests can visit and cut down their own trees.
Lamb also plans to use wool to help protect the trees. “Most Christmas tree growers use a geotextile or a plastic to mulch the trees. Some of the little baby trees are only four inches tall, so this helps them not get out-competed by grass,” she says. On her farm, she tries to reduce the use of plastics as much as possible. “We did a test of cardboard, wool, and paper corn seed bags, and wool did the best. It kept the weeds away and had good water permeability. It’s important for any baby plant that the water gets to the roots and doesn’t sit at the surface.” And because wool is like hair, which is protein, this helps more nutrients get into the soil which can act as a gentle fertilizer over time.
The tree farm won’t be ready for visitors for about seven years. But in the meantime, Lamb is also opening an AirBnB on the property in the coming year, as soon as her licensing and permits go through. Lamb emphasizes the importance of being proud of what we do and reminds farmers that it’s important to be proud of their hard work.