Gotland Sheep
2026 was a landmark year for Gotlands in North America. At the Black Sheep Gathering, a Gotland fleece from Appletree Farm earned the Wayne Thompson Memorial Trophy for Best Natural Colored Fleece - the top fleece honor of the show - while Gotland lambs bred here at River Birch Farms received the Black Sheep Cup for Best Young Flock. To see the breed recognized at this level, after years of careful importing and breeding by many hands, is the real reward.
The credit really belongs to the choices that legacy breeders made, the persistence of importers of high quality genetics, the hand of the Maker, and the many flocks that have contributed to Gotland sheep in North America looking like the flocks on the island of Gotland in Sweden. It's the kind of result that tells us our focus on sound conformation, curl, and color is pointed the right way.
More than an award, it's a signal to anyone choosing breeding stock: the sturdy, correct, curly Gotlands we're working toward are showing up in the next generation.
It's the most wonderful time of the year!
New fleece seeds arrive every spring!
