EAST HARDWICK – In the early afternoon, with dew on the grass and sun peeking through the clouds, high pitched bleats echo through the air. With spring having come and gone, these summer mornings are a first for these fluffy springtime arrivals.
Kevin and Karen Broderick returned hops farming to Hardwick in 2017, bringing the crop back to Hardwick after a 100-year hiatus.
In 2025, after several years of working on the logistics, the Brodericks acquired Saxon Merino ram genetics from Tasmania. The Broderick’s have been raising Merino sheep in and around the hop yard for some time, with a new line of genetics emerging this spring with promising and colorful results.
This past Friday, the Broderick’s shared some updates on the flock’s progress, with twelve spring lambs born this season.
Six ewes and two rams will remain at Green Mountain Merino & Whitefield Hop Yard to continue the symbiotic relationship the Broderick’s have carefully cultivated over the seasons.
The flock are closely intertwined with the cultivation and maintenance of the crops at Whitefield Hop Yard. Sheep are used to weed, prune and control pests, reducing the need for herbicides, fungicides and commercial fertilizers. Sheep grazing introduces organic fertilization, as well as improving soil structure.
In the back half of the Broderick’s Barn at prime snacking time, the lambs stood clustered together, awaiting their mid-morning hay in their stall.
With 12 lambs this season, some earlier arrivals than others, the Brodkerick’s had a full house this spring. For some, Friday was their final day in East Hardwick before going to other farms.
Eileithyia, darkest in color and largest in size, is two months older than her fluffy flockmates, “She was born in February.
photo by Raymonda Parchment
n the middle of what was the coldest night, windiest night of the year, so 20 below.
He continued, “I had to put her in my sweatshirt, she was tiny, and of course really cold, so we had a bunch of space heaters on, but it still was only keeping it up 20 degrees above the outside temperature, so it’s zero.
o she had to go inside my sweater, I sat under a heat light with her to get her body temperature up, so she would be able to sort of revive, I would say, and then be able to have milk. But now she wouldn’t know it now. She looks healthy.”
The Broderick’s had the opportunity to rent a stud, but only in October, which meant the lambs would be born in February.
A mixture of brown and white, Ptah is another standout with the emerging color line. Ptah was named for the preeminent Egyptian god, worshipped as the creator of all life and the universe. He will be remaining with the Broderick’s, hence the name. “He’s going to have a lineage here, so he’s sort of creating a little main universe.”
Five of the ewe lambs were sired from Tasmania Winton-Saxon ram genes, with their mothers traveling to Maryland for artificial insemination in November. The Broderick’s have four Winston rams they source genetics from, creating a superfine Merino wool; a soft, fine, yet durable fiber with similarities to cashmere.
The Broderick’s hops production is also progressing, in part with the assistance of their flock.
“We’ve been fertilizing with sheep manure, and they [the flock] have been weeding and taking down the basal growth around the crowns of the hop plants,” Kevin said.
He continued, “We didn’t know exactly, we didn’t know if it would work having them managing the way we are. It’s working well.”
It’s a two-part goal, however, Broderick says, “We want to be able to provide stock to Vermonters and New Englanders of superfine Merino.”
Orion, a four-month-old dark chocolate brown ram, was in a stall next to the lambs, bonding with Ptah as they will be sharing the same spaces.
“So this go-round, we’re being able to offer natural colored merinos, which are very fine,” Karen Broderick said. “There’s a lot of people who like them, the mill we supply is encouraging of the natural colors, the darker colors.”
Among their flock, the colors range from coffee and mocha to a silver-tipped brown. It began with Java, aptly named, for his soft, light brown wool.
“He was kind of a surprise.
e had a natural color gene in one of our ewes. And at the mill, they kept saying, “We love this one.
e need, like, more of this.” So when I heard about Taft being a stud for hire, he was in Maine, from Ashley Young, has a place out there.
thought, well, we could just try and develop that line and see what happens,” he said.
The Broderick’s have found, happily, they add, that Merino are doing really well in the area.
“There’s other people who are really interested in them, and they’re starting their own flocks.”
Karen continued, “And that’s what we’re hoping is that it really encourages younger people to say, ‘Hey, this is what I want to do!’”, she stated.
Age is just a number, however, the couple recently brought two ewes over to a sunsetting dairy farm in New York, “So you have older people who are transitioning from dairy into the sheep, and they wanted some of our fine ewes.”
To cap off the visit, the Broderick’s had Patience the lamb lead the flock of ewes into the hop yard, a bellwether in training.
Raymonda Parchment is a Hardwick Gazette reporter. She recently graduated from Vermont State University - Castleton with a Bachelor’s Degree in English. She is a strong supporter of freedom of speech, and the right to publish information, opinions, and ideas without censorship or restraint. She is a lifelong lover of the written word, and is excited to join the team as a staff member.
