Sheep Serve as Weed-Busting, Fertilizing Friends
If you visited Domaine Willamette in the Dundee Hills in January, you may have encountered some surprise guests: sheep.
The sheep aren’t new pets — they eat weeds and provide fertilizer as part of Bernau Estate Vineyard’s biodynamic farming practices. These wooly grazers act as natural mowers and fertilizers, helping improve soil health while they reduce overall carbon emissions and reliance on chemical sprays.
“The benefit of the sheep is they graze cover crops and cycle them back to the soil as manure. They help remove the need to mechanically mow and till,” Jim Fullmer, Willamette’s agronomic consultant, said. “They also are effective at controlling vineyard weeds such as blackberries.”
Around 100 sheep, including primitive breeds such as Shetland, Jacob, and Icelandic sheep, grazed the property this winter. A few goats also grazed the vineyard.
Biodynamics at Bernau Estate Vineyard
Biodynamic farming is a holistic, ecological and ethical farming method used in all kinds of agriculture, including viticulture. Applied biodynamics at Bernau Estate Vineyard includes increasing the farm’s capacity for self-renewal and sustainability.
“A biodynamic farm aims to generate what it needs out of the living dynamics of the farm itself versus importing materials from outside,” Jim said.
Bernau Estate Vineyard received Demeter Biodynamic Certification in 2023. The vineyard follows biodynamic practices, maintaining biodiversity on the property and generating crop fertility and health using natural methods instead of chemical pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers.
“We’re trying to mimic nature,” said Erik Augerson, Willamette’s Vineyard Operations Manager. “The goal is to create a closed loop system so we’re not relying on outside intervention.”
Other examples of biodynamic practices at Domaine Willamette include burying cow horns packed with manure and unearthing them months later. The nutrient-rich material is then diluted with water and sprayed under the vines.
“The goal is to feed the soil and let the soil feed the vines,” Erik said.
