Sheep of the United States and Iran

When we, as Americans, think of sheep we usually think of Mary and her Little Lamb. We are raised believing "Beef, it's what's for Dinner" and "Got Milk?". No one stops to realize that in other countries the cattle industry doesn't exist. In some countries, India for instance, cattle are holy animals; while in others, Russia, Siberia, Norway, Iceland and Greenland, for example there is no way for cattle to survive the climate. Still, people have to eat. Centuries before cattle were domesticated, people have relied on sheep, goats, and even camels to feed, clothe, and shelter their families. The debut of sheep in two countries, America and Iran, will show us how sheep pave the way into the future and connect us to the past.

Sheep are a main staple food in most countries of the world. The United States and Iran are just two of these countries. The United States owes a lot to sheep, and Iran won't be the country it is today if it weren't for its Nomadic shepherds. The history of these countries will show us the importance of sheep, not just for food, clothing and wool but for the culture and people.

Sheep were domesticated 10,000 years ago in Central Asia, but it wasn't until 3,500 B.C. that man learned to spin wool. Mankind began using wool about 10,000 years ago by collecting the fibers shed by wild sheep. After sheep were domesticated, they were selected to produce larger quantities of wool that did not shed. Sheep helped to make the spread of civilization possible. Sheep farming is man's oldest organized industry. The long relationship between sheep and man has led to the development of a large number of breeds. (A Rare Breeds Album of American Livestock, pg 85-86)

In 1519, Cortez began his exploration of Mexico and the Western U.S. He took with him, sheep that were offspring of Columbus' sheep. These sheep are believed to be the descendents of what are now called "Churros." The Navajo Churro is the oldest breed of sheep in the U.S. Despite efforts by the U.S. government to replace them, the breed is still raised by Navajo Indians. (Becky Weed) During the 16th and 17th centuries, England tried to discourage the wool industry in the American colonies. England thought that if the colonies could produce their own wool, they would not be dependent on the other British colonies, thus costing England thousands of pounds of money. Nonetheless, colonists quickly smuggled sheep into the colonies and developed a wool industry. By 1664, there were 100,000 sheep in the colonies. By 1698, America was exporting woolen goods. (Sheep101.info 2005)

Iranian nomads are among the last of the world's nomadic people. There are over 1.5 million estimated nomads in Iran today. The Qashqai are a Turkish-speaking tribe of pastoral nomads in southern Iran. They migrate between winter pastures near the Persian Gulf and summer pastures on the Iranian Plateau. (Iran Rozaneh Online Magazine, Vol.3 # 15)
By 1920 nomadic pastoral tribes were over a quarter of Iran's population. Their number declined sharply as a result of forced settlement in the 1920s and 1930s. Continued pressure as well as the lure of the cities and settled life has resulted in a further sharp decline since the 1960s. (Iran Census) Traditional nomads are pastoral, which means they have no fixed home. Instead everyone packs up and moves together when necessary, normally every season. The animals' feeding needs determine when and where the nomads will move-they move on once a grazing area is depleted, or when the winter season approaches. The nomads' constant travel makes it impossible for them to plant, tend, and harvest crops for food. Instead, they rely on the animals they keep for much of their diet. With 54 percent of Iran as natural range land, the Qashqai have little problems finding somewhere for their livestock to graze.

The Qashqai raise Baluchi sheep. Baluchi is a breed of sheep that originated in the eastern and south eastern area (Sistan and Baluchestan) of Iran. The Baluchi sheep make up 50 percent of all the sheep breeds of Iran. From these animals come meat and dairy products-milk, cheese, yogurt, and qurut. Qurut are sour curds that have been dried into balls. Crushed and boiled in water, qurut makes a meal when no other food is available. (Mason, I.L. 1996. A World Dictionary of Livestock Breeds, Types and Varieties. Fourth Edition. C.A.B International. 273 pp.)

For most nomads, you can't put a price on their sheep. The women use the wool to weave rugs that are highly sought all over the world. These rugs and mats are made from the wool collected every spring. While it may seem uncivilized to the rest of the world girls are still betrothed at a young age and a dowry, consisting of sheep , goats, blankets and rugs woven by the girl , her mothers and sisters, pottery and various other articles, is given to the man's family. The girl and her dowry then leave her family and go to his. Sheep are valuable to the nomads like cattle or horses are to Americans. (Sherman Shamoon 2003)

Over the past 200 years, the U.S. sheep population has come full circle. From 7 million head in the early 1800's, sheep numbers peaked at 56 million head in 1945, and then declined to less than 7 million head on January 1, 2003. At the same time, industry emphasis switched from wool to meat production. Meat is an important ingredient in our diet and lamb supplies us with many of the vital vitamins and proteins we need for healthy living. Lamb is the meat from a sheep that is less than one year old while mutton is the meat from a sheep that is over one year old. (Kathy Miller) While sheep meat accounts for only 6% of the world's meat consumption, it is the principle meat in regions of North Africa, the Middle East, India, and parts of Europe. The European Union claims to be the world's largest consumer and the number one importer of lamb. Ninety-nine percent of lamb imports originate from Australia and New Zealand. (Sheep 101.info. and British Registered Soay Sheep: Kathy Miller)

Wool as a product is well known to everyone. Wool is used in clothing from knitwear such as socks and jumpers to cloth used for suits and costumes. It is also used in the furniture trade for making both chair covers and for upholstery.

In addition to the many products that sheep provide, sheep as well as goats are valued for their ability to control unwanted vegetation. The use of sheep for vegetation control is likely to increase as they are a more environmentally friendly alternative to chemicals and machines.

In 2002, there were 64,170 sheep farms/ranches in the United States. Large sheep farms which own 80 percent of the sheep are located primarily in the Western states. Small family farms, those owning less than 100 head of sheep, make up the majority of sheep operations, but own only 17 percent of the sheep. (2002 Census of Agriculture). While the U.S. sheep industry is dominated by a few large factory farms, the large range operations are on a decline while the number of small farms is on the rise, especially in the Eastern U.S., where the majority of lamb is consumed. To be profitable, small farms must be efficient and have access to excellent markets. (Sheep 101.info) Sheep are especially popular on small farms that employ more sustainable farming practices. Sheep can be pastured with goats, cattle, and horses because they eat different types of grass that may other animals will not. Unfortunately, sheep do not clip the grass and weeds they eat, they pull up the roots so many sheep pastures become bare quickly.

It is almost impossible to compare Iran and the United States in terns of their shepherding ways. The countries both have sheep, great, but where does one go from there? Iran has the forth largest sheep population in the world while the USA does not make the Top-ten list. Iranian people eat mutton and lamb every day keeping the price relatively low. American's rarely eat mutton and lamb unless they are having a large holiday meal. Since the sheep farm in America sell mainly to a small ethnic or specialty markets the price of lamb and mutton is high. Wool is not used as much in the twenty-first century America, as it once was. Girls do not learn knit or weave anymore and quilting is not done at home.

Iran's women have to learn these things if they wish to marry into a good family, so the wool they shear are used. American farmers and Iranian shepherds are trying to make a living and provide a home, food and clothes for their families. Sheep may not be as popular with main stream America as cattle are but they are just as important. Our country was fed and clothed by sheep, and sheep even helped win us our independence, but they have been put on the back burner. American's think that if what they eat is not a beef or pork product that it is "ethnic" or to expensive for them. We as Americans have to learn to open our minds to 'new' and different ways of living. Iran's people are not as blesses as we are. They live in a harsh world, with severe weather and an unstable government. If the United States can start importing mutton and lamb we will be helping Iran in a small way. The government will see the importance of the small nomadic tribes and maybe this will form bonds between our counties. The United States and Iran could learn to work together with agricultural systems and benefit both countries.