AGRICULTURE REPORT - Raising Sheep

AGRICULTURE REPORT - Raising Sheep
By Bob Bowen

Broadcast: Tuesday, March 08, 2005

I'm Gwen Outen with the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

 
Graphic¹ Image
If you have a few hectares of land, it might be a good place to raise sheep. Some years ago, the magazine Organic² Gardening, from the Rodale Institute research center, offered several reasons to consider.

Sheep can be raised for their meat. They produce milk which can be made into excellent cheese. Sheep have wool which can be made into weaving material. The wool is cut off once a year in the spring.

Sheep eat grass. They are good, natural grass cutters. And, sheep provide a good supply of waste that can be used to fertilize³ the vegetable and flower garden. In fact, sheep manure⁴ contains more nitrogen⁵, phosphorus and potassium than horse or cow manure.

The report in Organic Gardening offered some advice from a field crop expert in New York State named Carl Bannon. He said it is possible to raise as many as eighteen sheep on one hectare. And, he said it is not necessary that the land be completely covered with grass. A mixture of grass and trees will do.

Mister⁶ Bannon said the sheep will keep the grass cut low. They will even eat weeds and the remains⁷ of crops harvested from your garden. The waste they leave behind will add nutrients⁸ to the soil. The manure can be collected and spread in the garden.

Sheep manure is not like that of cows. It does not have a bad smell. It is like waste produced by rabbits, only there is more of it.

You should not plan to become rich selling the wool of your sheep. But, you may be able to sell the wool to people in your area who weave clothes or other things. Or, you can send it to a company that will clean it and prepare it for you to use.

There are many different kinds of sheep. Your choice of which kind to raise should depend on your plans for them. For example, Dorset sheep are good milk producers. Suffolk sheep are raised for their meat. Rambouillet sheep produce fine wool that is prized by cloth makers⁹.

If you decide to begin raising sheep, you need to choose the right kind for the weather in your area. But you do not need to provide much shelter from the weather for adult sheep. Just be sure to provide a secure¹⁰ fence to keep dogs from attacking the sheep.

And there are other considerations before you go out and buy a sheep. For one thing, it might be a good idea to make sure that the local laws permit people in your area to have farm animals.

This VOA Agriculture Report was written by Bob Bowen. I'm Gwen Outen.

1 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

2 organic   

adj.有机的，有机物的；有组织的

参考例句：

• Organic farming is expanding everywhere.有机农业正在各地迅速发展起来。
• The organic fertilizer shall keep the soil in good heart.这有机肥一定会使土壤保持肥沃。

3 fertilize   

v.使受精，施肥于，使肥沃

参考例句：

• Fertilizer is a substance put on land to fertilize it.肥料是施在地里使之肥沃的物质。
• Reading will fertilize his vocabulary.阅读会丰富他的词汇。

4 manure   

n.粪，肥，肥粒；vt.施肥

参考例句：

• The farmers were distributing manure over the field.农民们正在田间施肥。
• The farmers used manure to keep up the fertility of their land.农夫们用粪保持其土质的肥沃。

5 nitrogen   

n.[化]氮

参考例句：

• The atmosphere consist of more than 70% of nitrogen.大气中含有70%以上的氮气。
• What is the percentage of nitrogen in air?空气中所含的氮的比例是多少？

6 mister   

n.(略作Mr.全称很少用于书面)先生

参考例句：

• Mister Smith is my good friend.史密斯先生是我的好朋友。
• He styled himself " Mister Clean ".他自称是“清廉先生”。

7 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

8 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 secure   

adj.无虑的，安心的，安全的；adj.牢靠的，稳妥的；vt.固定，获得，使...安全；vi.(海上工作人员)停止工；vi.(船)抛锚，停泊

参考例句：

• He found a secure foothold and pulled himself up.他找到了一个稳固的踏脚处并爬了上去。
• Extra men are needed to secure the camp against attack.需要增加兵力以保护军营免受攻击。