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Sheep farming is important to the economy of Wales. Much of Wales is rural countryside and sheep are a very common feature in the landscape throughout the country. Sheep farms are most often situated in the country's mountains and moorlands, where sheepdogs are employed to round up flocks. Sheep are also reared, however, along the south and west coasts of Wales. There are more than 10 million sheep in Wales, and in 2011 sheep farming accounted for 80% of agriculture in Wales. ==Historical development== Sheep farming is an ancient husbandry activity in rural parts of Wales where the climate and soil conditions were not suitable for growing crops other than oats. The activity is documented from mediaeval times, by which time white sheep probably imported by the Romans had interbred with native dark-fleeced types to produce varieties of Welsh Mountain sheep. Initially, sheep were bred for their milk and fleeces, rather than their meat.〔 By the 13th century, sheep farming in Wales had become a major industry and source of income, largely from wool, much of which was exported. Large flocks of sheep were owned by Cistercian abbeys and monasteries, such as those at Strata Florida, Margam, Basingwerk and Tintern.〔( H.E. Hallam (ed.), ''The Agrarian history of England and Wales: 1042-1350'', pp.479-480 )〕〔( R. A. Donkin, ''Cistercian Sheep,Farming and Wool-Sales in the Thirteenth Century'', The Agricultural History Review, vol.6, 1958, pp.2-8 ). Retrieved 27 June 2013〕 The production of wool was a major contributor to the national economy, accounting for two-thirds of the nation's exports in 1660.〔 However, large-scale sheep rearing on the higher moors of Wales, such as those in Denbighshire, is only believed to have developed within the last 300 years. Sheep farmers often practised transhumance, with part of each household moving to live in the hills with the sheep during the summer; later, their seasonal hillside ''hafod''s or dwellings became permanent homes. In the past, grazing rights were determined by local courts. Historically, Welsh sheep were shorn twice in the year. Besides the regular shearing in May or June, the wool was clipped close about the neck and forequarters at Michaelmas, otherwise all of it would have been lost before the following summer in the wanderings of the animal among the thickets and furze in search of food during winter and spring. Glamorganshire mountain sheep wandered over the countryside from early times, some being horned and others being polled. In the 1840s, Youatt described the sheep of Glamorganshire: "Some are nearly white, and others are between a dirty white and a perfect black. The head is small; the neck long, erect, and delicate; the fore-quarters light, with narrow breast and shoulders; the sides flat; the back and loins narrow; the legs slight and long; the animals possessing considerable agility. The fleece weighs about . On the Gelligaer and Eglwysilan mountains the quality of the wool is fine; but on the hills lying on the western side of the Taff valley it is kempy, which deteriorates its value. The breech wool is still more hairy and coarse."〔 Dre-fach Felindre in the Teifi valley became known as the "Huddersfield of Wales" when the wool industry was prosperous there. In the 1840s, the hills of Montgomeryshire included flocks from the low country. Towards the south and west, a smaller white-faced breed was more prevalent while in the north-east a black-faced native breed was found. The breed in the valleys had been improved, principally by sheep from Shropshire. The sheep on the higher grounds weighed about 10 lbs. the quarter, while those in the valleys weighed 12 to 14 lbs. The lambing season at that time was in March and lambs were shorn in August.〔 There were fewer sheep in Denbighshire and Flintshire, particularly in Flintshire, than in any of the other counties, and these were mixed with English breeds. Their weight varied between 10 to 20 lbs. per quarter, and the fleece from 2 to 5 lbs.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Sheep farming in Wales」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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