They are a miniature measure, but Peter Yealands hopes his baby doll sheep will make a big impact.
He hopes they will eliminate both the weeds and the need for chemical pesticides on his grape vines.
“So it’s going to put us a step closer to being in a position to produce organic wines,” says Mr Yealands.
The baby doll breed originate from Britain and are usually bought for pets, rather than protection.
The grapes grow about 110cm off the ground while the baby dolls grow to around 60cm to the shoulder – which means the weeds stay down, while the grapes stay safe.
There are only around 300 of the mini-sheep in the world, and breeders are scarce.
Mr Yealands has ten, but wants to breed them into a flock of 10,000.
His are a cheeky little number he imported from Australia.
“We don’t mind the Aussies,” says Mr Yealands.
“They’re drinking all of our wine – so why not!”
The price tag certainly is not small though - they cost Mr Yealands $30,000.
But they should be an improvement on his first weed-wacking flock - they were a breed known as Giant Guinea Pigs and went well, until the local hawks caught on to the easy meal.
Mr Yealands already has a dozen more baby dolls on order from Australia to breed from.
He says the environmental cost of shipping the animals over will be off set by the eventual ridding of chemicals amongst the vines.
“Just imagine not having to worry about spraying, not having to worry about ever mowing and having the satisfaction of producing a sustainable organic wine.”
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