The Soviet Merino sheep breed has been preserved in the Stavropol Territory

For decades, the Stavropol Territory has been holding the high bar of one of the main sheep-breeding regions of the country. The region not only produces up to 30 thousand tons of lamb per year, but also successfully engaged in breeding

So, Stavropol breeding plants and reproducers breed sheep of seven breeds, four of which were bred in Stavropol in different years: in Soviet times - the North Caucasian meat-wool and Manych merino, in the last decade - the Dzhalgin merino and Tashlin.

Of these seven breeds, five breeds of sheep have fine wool, two breeds have semi-fine wool.

- Different breeds of sheep have their own characteristics, and due to them they are divided into: fine-fleeced, semi-fine-fleeced, semi-coarse-wooled and coarse-wooled. A distinctive feature of fine-fleeced breeds of sheep is white wool, consisting of fluff and grease. Curvature is well expressed. The representatives of this direction sheepskin is stronger. The yield of wool after all treatments is up to 50% of the sheared,” said Alexei Krisan, Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Stavropol Territory.

The Soviet Merino is a domestic breed of fine-fleeced sheep, widespread in RUSSIA and popular among sheep breeders due to its undemanding maintenance and, at the same time, a fairly high profitability due to the large yield of valuable wool. The wool of these merinos is elastic, soft, with a silky sheen.

One of the agricultural enterprises specializing in Soviet merinos is the breeding plant of CJSC Kamennobalkovskoye in the Blagodarnensky district.

They have been breeding the breed here since 1978, at the beginning of 2021, the plant had a herd of 5.1 thousand heads, including 2.8 thousand queens. On average, the shearing of pure wool for 2020 amounted to 3.5 kg, including 6.6 kg from sires, and 3.7 kg from breeding ewes. According to the grading data for 2020, 73.1% of animals are classified as "elite" and 15% as first class. For selection and breeding work, CJSC Kamennobalkovskoye uses only elite rams in order to constantly improve the performance of the breed and increase the elite livestock.

- In 2020, wool production in the region amounted to 5.3 thousand tons, including 4.2 thousand tons of fine and semi-fine wool. As part of a subsidy to support the production and sale of fine and semi-fine wool sheep last year, sheep breeders received 127.5 million rubles, while the subsidy rate almost doubled to 157 rubles per 1 kg of wool. In 2021, about 100 million rubles have also been allocated for these purposes,” the acting HEAD emphasized. Minister of Agriculture of the Stavropol Territory Vladimir Sitnikov.