I grew up in the country, but was not naturally equipped to farm --- so have entertained myself with other pursuits. That doesn't mean I don't remember the farm and its livestock fondly, including the small flock of sheep that my dad always kept.
And then there was our neighbor just the other side of the Chariton River, champion shearer Jake DeBok --- a master of a craft now less called for in Lucas County where these days it's a challenge to find a sheep to shear and wool isn't valued.
So those are among the reasons why I enjoy escaping vicariously via YouTube into the sheep farming operations of Scotland, England and Wales --- where sheep still are a major ag industry.
Cammy Wilson's The Sheep Game is one of my favorites.
Wilson, who appears to be in his 30s, is the son of a shepherd, but was working as a police officer in Glasgow when his father died and, beginning in 2015, he launched himself into "The Sheep Game."
Today, he and his wife, Lizzie, run a thousand or more sheep annually on a thousand or so rented acres in southwest Scotland's Ayrshire. Their eventual goal is to buy land, but for the time being they have parlayed good farming practices with technological talents to develop a successful operation on several related fronts.
Lizzie is a full working partner in the operation --- with two small children.
In addition to raising sheep, the Wilsons are professional shearers, run a small pregnancy scanning operation and market online and at livestock shows products bearing their brand.
Episodes are frequent and entertaining (if you're interested in sheep) --- pure escapism for armchair shepherds like myself. Here's a link to the YouTube channel.
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