The Polypay breed is a dual purpose sheep and was created to produce good quality meat, but also beautiful wool. It's name actually means "many ways to provide return on investment" It is a mix of Targhee, Dorset, Rambouillet and Finnsheep genetics.
The breed was created at a USDA sheep experimentation centre in the 1970s. The sheep perform well on farm pasture or on a range and they are very prolific, they have beautiful wool and they are excellent mothers. Polypay wool most likely is prevalent in commercial yarn because of its consistent staple lengths and relative fineness.
Border Cheviots
Polypay wool is known for its equal parts softness and body. It is a full-bodied wool that will provide loft and bounce (thanks to its dorset influence) but also will be fine and wearable (thanks to the rambouillet and targhee influence)
Polypay only grows white but takes dye very well, and it will felt. It is excellent for blankets, sweaters, hats or mittens, and will also show off textured patterns well.
For handspinning keep the handling light to avoid clumping and thinning out.
Staple length: 3 - 5 inches
Fibre diameter: 22 - 29 microns
Fleece weight is 7 - 11lbs
Structure: Well developed crimp slightly tapered tips matte in appearance
Brian Greaves moved to Canada in 1993 to start Silver Bend Ranch with his wife, Karen Hill. They along with their children, Alison and Mark, raise cattle and sheep just north of Miniota, Manitoba.
Brian brought with him 18 years of New Zealand farm experience. In his last job as Livestock Manager of an 8,500 acre farm in New Zealand, he managed 16,000 ewes, 1,000 cattle, 350 breeding deer, 1000 goats and 25 brood mares.
Brian now farms 2¼ sections of light sandy soil. Formerly a grain farm, Brian has transformed it into a stock farm by developing both tame and native pastures, using multi-species grazing and rotational grazing, fencing dugouts and waterways, and using remote solar watering systems. As well, he has added corrals, pole sheds, calving barn, workshop, solar system and a new home.
After starting in 1993 with 10 heifers, 25 lease cows and 100 ewes, Silver Bend Ranch currently runs 140 cow-calf pairs and 80 ewes. Over the years, Brian has developed a commercial line of ewes with high fertility, fast lamb growth, high carcass quality and an average 10 lb. of fine range quality wool per head.
Brian is a certified wool grader, and is a trained wool judge and shearing competition judge. He is also a retired shearer who runs shearing schools for the Canadian Cooperative Wool Growers (CCWG).
Currently, Brian is the sheep and goat producer representative on the National Farm Animal Transport Code Development Committee. He also served as the MB Director of the Canadian Cooperative Wool Growers from 1999 - 2019 and was the representative on the Canadian Sheep Value Chain Roundtable.
He served as a producer representative on the National Farm Animal Sheep Code Development Committee and is a past director of the Manitoba Sheep Association and the Canadian Sheep Federation. Brian served his community on the Soil Conservation committee and as a volunteer Firefighter with the Miniota Fire Service.
Brian and Karen received the Upper Assiniboine Conservation District Award in 2009 and the Red River Ex Farm Family of the Year award in 201
Border Cheviots waiting to be sheared at Graham Rannie and Janice Johnstone’s farm
I used the polypay wool in this beautiful sweater to show off the texture - more details coming soon.
