Story: Sheep farming

‘The Old Lincoln Breed’

‘The Old Lincoln Breed’

Lincoln rams were popular in damp areas of the North and South islands. They are big-framed, hardy sheep, and good foragers. The rams were bred with Merino ewes to produce lambs for the frozen meat trade. The Lincoln ram seen here carries a very heavy coarse fleece. Because their wool was so strong they fell out of favour for cross-breeding. With the advent of refrigeration, dairying became more profitable on the heavy North Island land where the Lincolns had been run.

Using this item

Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand
Reference: Henry B. Smith, The sheep and wool industry of Australia and New Zealand. Melbourne: Whitcombe & Tombs, 1929

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page:

Hugh Stringleman and Robert Peden, 'Sheep farming - Early imports of British sheep breeds', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/16634/the-old-lincoln-breed (accessed 16 April 2024)

Story by Hugh Stringleman and Robert Peden, published 24 Nov 2008, updated 1 Mar 2015