The Sheep Rancher’s Wife
Hello everyone! I’m glad you found me! I’m Kelly Myrvik, also known as TheSheepRanchersWife. Our ranch is located northeast of Devils Lake North Dakota on my husband’s family ranch established in 1896. Although our adventure here began in 2019. More on this a little later! There truly is so much history here. We run our ranch as a husband and wife duo, along with our 3 littles! The true definition of family owned.
In sheep lingo there are many different terms. A “ewe” is what a female sheep is called. A “wether” is a castrated ram. A “registered” ewe is like when a dog has registration papers. A “commercial” ewe is a ewe that isn’t registered. A few fun Lamb facts: lambs start standing and trying to nurse within 10 mins of birth. They know mom by her bleat and smell. Sheep have a field of vision of 300 degrees. Katahdin breed originated from Maine, named after the highest peak, Mt. Katahdin.
I grew up in a bigger town in central MN. One of four children. I am a triplet actually! My parents had us 3 girls and then 6 years later my brother. I wasn’t raised on a farm, although we lived on a few acres which I considered out of town and in the country. We always had dogs and cats growing up and my dad hunted, fished and raised turkeys, ducks and geese. I always loved animals and petting zoos, but if you would have told me even 10 years ago I would be living in “the middle of nowhere North Dakota,” I would have said you’re crazy! God’s plan is so much bigger!
After meeting my best friend and husband Lance on eharmony in 2014 and having our firstborn son in 2017 we quickly decided we wanted more for him and future children than what we could give them in the cities. So with prayer and lots of patience we packed all that we knew and moved back to Lances family’s Farmstead in late summer of 2019 with a 2.5 year old and 11 week old.
Why sheep you might ask? We did lots of research and looking into breeds, with this we found that Katahdin Hair sheep are very low maintenance and do great in harsh weather. Because Katahdin Sheep have hair instead of wool, they do not need to be sheared. They have hair that will shed out like a dog in the spring and grow back in for the winter coat.
Our sheep’s hair do not have lanolin. The lanolin can give wool sheep meat a strong lanolin flavor. This makes our breed most unique and the lamb flavor tender and wonderful!
Thinking back on our journey to where we are now, Every now and again I become a little homesick. Homesick for my nieces and nephews, my sisters and brother and parents who are all back in MN, 350 miles away from me. Even though it is hard to be away from them, we FaceTime daily and see each other fairly often, which makes things a little easier.
Thank you for lending an ear to my very first article. You can find us on Facebook at: MyrvikFamilyFarm or myrvikfarms@gmail.com.
~God Bless
Kelly
