SHEEP AND PASTURES

De Rustica runs approximately 2800 Dohne Merino ewes on an intensive production cycle that aims to lamb every 9 months, so that we produce around 4200 lambs pa.

Our sheep are humanely raised, pasture fed and hormone & antibiotic free. De Rustica’s lamb eat a healthy diet of fresh plants. Our crops are essentially lucerne based. In winter crops such as barley and oats are sown over dormant lucerne, which re-emerges in the spring as the winter crops die off. In summer we rely on lucerne and sweet sorghum.

We are currently testing an exciting and innovative new mix of diverse winter perennials which regenerates, improves the soil, and supplies our sheep with a fully balanced diet.

We slaughter small batches of animals at our fully licensed abattoir on the farm. Our lamb is sold as premium branded De Rustica lamb via high-end butchers in Johannesburg and Cape Town. We also produce vacuum packed half lamb in a box which is sold from the farm and at select outlets in the Southern Cape.

Our sheep are sheared by our staff, and the wool is sold through the SA Wool auction process.

Interesting fact – our flocks are protected by Anatolian sheep dogs that attack and kill predators, as jackal and caracul (rooikat) on our top farm have learned at their cost.