We are excited to support these special heritage breeds, which are perfectly suited for silvopasture farms and a diverse array of targeted grazing projects! Their natural grazing tendencies compliment one another, so that Bellstar can accommodate a variety of vegetation management goals. 

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Our Shropshires enjoy nothing more than eating your delicious grass. Their disinterest in trees and shrubs makes them ideal for agricultural and lawn-mowing applications. They are a larger sheep, but do not stand on their hind legs or browse like our St. Croix. They are used across the world in silvopasture operations, from orchards to Christmas tree farms. Their wool is medium/fine, dense, and elastic, which is often used for hats, socks, and more. Shropshires are one of the few blackfaced sheep on the Livestock Conservancy Conservation Priority List. Plus, they are very friendly!

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St. Croix sheep have a much wider appetite and eat many of the same plants as goats do - while being easier to manage! Their varied appetite, small size, and lack of horns make our St. Croix sheep perfect for forestry, solar, conservation, and fire mitigation applications. They are hardy and highly adaptable to different climates and environments, even generally parasite resistant! As a hair sheep, they do not need shearing; they shed each year on their own. St. Croix have a strong flocking instinct, making rotational grazing easy to manage. Not only that, but they will breed and lamb year round, so we are able to tailor our lambing dates to coincide with agricultural harvests and cover crop plantings (animals must be removed 60-90 days prior to harvest to prevent contamination of food crops). They are also on the Livestock Conservancy Conservation Priority List, but their future seems promising!

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Despite their differences, these breeds have a number of things in common, which make them perfect for hobby farmers, commercial farms, and silvopasture operations like ours:

• Docile and easy to handle

• Easy lambing and excellent mothers

• Prolific (usually producing twins)

• Polled sheep (no horns)

• Easy keepers 

• Known for their high-end, delicious meat, which is very mild and tender

• Compatible with a variety of agricultural operations​ and grazing goals

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We also offer lambs for purchase of both breeds. We time our lambing dates to coincide with most farm harvest dates in our area. This allows local farmers to integrate our sheep into their own silvopasture systems or attain their soil health goals, while still being able to meet deadlines for animal removal prior to their primary crop harvest. Shropshires are an excellent choice for grazing concurrently with agricultural operations from April or May through July or August, while St. Croix lambs can be purchased for grazing of cover crops in the off season, from October through spring planting. At the end of the season, farmers can sell their fully grown sheep for butchering, as a secondary source of income. This gives farmers the opportunity to earn additional income while improving their soil health and reducing their vegetation management costs, all at the same time!