Tila / The Farm
Näistä kolmesta uuhesta polveutuvat kaikki tilamme uuhet. Tänä päivänä katraassamme on noin 150 uuhta ja parikymmentä siitospässiä, jotka nykyään asuttavat vuosina 2005 ja 2011 valmistuneita lampoloita sekä laiduntavat muun muassa Kemijokivarren perinnebiotooppeja. Vuosittain tilallamme syntyy noin 350 karitsaa, joiden nimeämisessä ryhdyimme heti alusta alkaen seuraamaan lehmien nimeämiskäytäntöä: nimen ensimmäinen kirjain määräytyy syntymävuoden mukaan ja kirjaimia edetään eteenpäin aakkosjärjestyksessä. Esimerkiksi vuonna 2017 syntyneet karitsat saavat O-kirjaimella alkavan nimen. Nimen eteen lisäämme aina myös tilamme nimen "Vanhalan".
Our story began in 1995 when we bought our first Finnsheep ewes called “Arkajalka” (Tenderfoot), “Mamma” (Mom) and “Lillan” (Little). At the same time, we also bought our first ram called “Kontrabasso” (Contrabass). As the years went by, our farm got bigger and nowadays we have got 150 Finn ewes and about 25 sire rams. Over the winter our sheep live inside the sheds but in the summertime they graze on the paddocks next to the river. Every year there are about 350 lambs born in our farm. With their naming we are following the system farmers in Finland normally use with the cows: all the lambs born in the same year get the name starting with the same letter and then we just keep following the Alphabets. Like the lambs born in 2017 will get the name that starts with the letter “O”. At the beginning of the name there is always our farm’s name “Vanhalan” as well.
Why did we decide to choose Finnsheep, one of the old traditional Finnish breeds? Simply because it so multipurpose breed. They produce meat but also amazing high quality wool what is one of the most important feature in this breed. On top of that they also produce very special skins. The wool fiber is fine, and the wool itself is shiny, soft and frizzy. Finnsheep wool is known worldwide for its easy felting.
Finnsheep are kind, curious, lively and social. Natural curiousness also makes them perfect grazers to the tougher environment and more difficult country. One very important feature for this breed is also its very high fertility. Finnsheep’s genes have been successfully used in over forty countries to improve reproductive performance. Even the meat is special from the other breeds because it’s lean and the fat is stored internally.
In our products we utilize Finnsheep wool’s unique features. We have handmade all our products from our own sheep’s wool and skins. We don’t dye the wool or the skins at all so all our products are in natural colors. Our aim is to make timeless, long-lasting and needed products, and to minimize the waste of the materials.