The Lucknow Sentinel, 1996-03-13, Page 57A
by Pat Livingston
Lismore Sheep Farm's Ven-
ture into the agri-tourism sector
last suer,proved to the• owns
ers that diversification was a
smart move. And so this, vain -
mer, John and Gillian Crawford.
will once again
offer r their
weekly entertaining and educa-
tional presentation to the public.
Getting into agri tourism
started . out as a joke says
Gillian. "People would often
slow down and look; at the sheep
:in the, field." One canunder-
stand why. It is not the dorm ;toy.
see 500 sheep on pasture in
•Huron County "It was a conver-
sation thing," says .Gillian..
The 'joke' germinated. Why
not?. Shows . ° such as the
Crawfords were contemplating,
Were extremely successful in
Scotland. John knew this' first-
hand. He is a Scottish shepherd:
and farmer who grew up with
sheep on the Duke of Argyle's
estate. •The. couple met when
Gillian, an Ontario. teacher, was
on an exchange to Scotland.
When: John sold his farm in
Scotland in 1993, they decided
to move to an Their v Canada, ada�search
for a farm ended when they
found 200 acres in Howick
Township, with - a beautiful.
1870s house, .a large traditional
style,barn and a driving shed.
Once the decision was made
to host a sheep show, John and
Gillian scoured Ontario to rind
.15 different breeds of rams.
i...
_
Next .was some modification-
tion to
the. drivingshed to provide an
• area:. far the .shows, including
g
sea#s, stagp, Washrooms and an
. products.
area for sale of'sheep rod u ts.
The show
includes a ppre-
sentation of
the rams on
stage, =han&.
and machine
shearing
demonstra-
tions, and.: a
sharing of
information
on shearing,
wool scour-
ing, carding,
spinning and
weaving.
Moving-
outside,,
ovingoutside,: visi-
tors
si-tors are treat
ed to they. site.
of " Meg, a
small :.black
and ' white
border collie
showing off
hernatural
instinct
-
�nstin t to
move, •' the .
Jacob is the, show -stopper when the rams
sheep upon at Lisnr p►r+ . Farm. (Pat :Livingston''pho o >
soft command
'from John
Meguite often',Called the $2,000 to. $5,000, the, energetic
star -of the show, emigrated to. dog was brought outof retire-
, later than, John and ment.
Gillian. When -leaving Scotland, We ve
John had. given Meg early
retirement. Sheas''livin `with
w g
John's mother. But ''when 'the
oute.
:couple found trained .sh sheep
dogs , were a rarity in Canada,`
and that the cost ranged from
encouragementto continue the
Shows," says Gillian.' "People
must like what we're doing:.
"There's beena really good
reaction," says John.. "People
have'resPonded laterwith, is
aures, letters
and cards,"
s,
John.
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received a:.1ot :of
gets a big"
kick out "of
children's
reaction to
the show..
And the
adults enjoy
the demon-
stration just
as much,
a l w ay s.
amazed that
there is so':
much to
know about
sheep.
T h e
weekly- pre-
sentatiOrnns onare
Saturdays at
2: pfrt
June, 22� td
Sept. 28. 'The 'are
facile x s
.`' wheelchai�r;
come an stage , accessible.
Picnic tables
arescattered
about the lawn, and light snacks
are available. Admission is, $6
for adults, $5 for seniors and $4
for children. Group bookings
andavailable.
rates: are' availab e.
Lismore Sheep Farm is` locat-
ed on then
2-d Cance .sios -.n seuth.
of
Pottle;
•; Gorneandjust west of
coat*
1 road 28. The mailing address
is. .1 2, Wroxeter, NOG 2X0,'
John CrawfOr
and Meg