Indian Farming July 2021 27 Kashmir Merino Kashmir Merino The pride of Kashmir Mubashir Ali Rather 1 , Safeer Alam 2 , Nusrat Nabi Khan 2 and Ambreen Hamadani 2 Department of Sheep Husbandry, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kash- mir, Jammu and Kashmir 180 009 The Kashmir Merino sheep is a medium sized sheep breed (adult bodyweight 29-75 kg). This dual-purpose breed is being used both for meat and wool production and has a good influence on the socio-economic status of tribal, marginal, land less farmers and laborers of Kashmir Valley. The flock size varies from 5 to 90 sheep per farmer. The flock composition varies from 3-73 number of ewes, 1 to 5 number breeding rams and 2-22 young ones. This breed is being reared by the sheep farmers for meat as well as wool production and is known for fast growth, adaptability, and production of good quality wool with fibre diameter of 18-22.5 µ. The farmers have mostly adopted sheep rearing as a secondary source of income. Most of the Kashmir Merino farmers belong to the Chopan cast or the Muslim community. Natural random flock mating was practiced during autumn which is the main breeding season. The most prevalent diseases in the area were sheep pox, orf, foot root, gid, fascioliasis, cerebrospinal namatodiasis, mange, diarrhea and other ecto and endoparastic disease. Key words: Farmers, Kashmir Valley, Kashmir Merino, Meat, Sheep wool T HE livestock sector is one of the most dynamic fields of human activity on global level. At present, it is one of the fastest growing agricultural subsectors in developing countries, especially India. It employs a major section of the labour force and also provides a large share of draft power being used to cultivate crop land. India’s livestock sector is one of the largest sectors in the world and in this country, besides other domestic animals, sheep breeding is an important enterprise in animal production yielding wool, meat and milk, etc. The sheep population in India is estimated to be about 74.26 million thus ranking second in the world. There are 43 registered breeds of sheep distributed in various agro climatic zones of the country. It contributes greatly to the agrarian economy, especially in the livelihood of a large proportion of small and marginal farmers and landless other natural endowments. Nature has bestowed this state with high mountains to low hills and vast meadows providing enormous scope and excellent atmosphere for sheep rearing. The pastoral areas of state are found both in sub-tropical zone of Jammu and temperate zone of Kashmir. Sheep and goat rearing is the core activity of rural masses in the state and plays a vital role in socio- economic upliftment of weaker sections of the society viz; Gujjars, Bakerwals, Chopans, Gaddies and Changpas. The Gujjars and Bakerwals have adopted the sheep and goat rearing as their primary occupation from times immemorial and prefer to migrate in search of pastures to feed their livestock. Sheep rearing is not new to Jammu and Kashmir. It has been practiced from times immemorial. The statement is supported by recovery of tools made from bones of domestic sheep and goat during labourers providing nutritional security and insurance to the farmer at the time of crisis due to crop failure. Therefore, sheep are seen as, “finance elevators” by the countryside poor farmer and are raised for fleece, mutton and even milk. Sheep husbandry is practiced throughout the majority of the inhabited world, and has been fundamental to many civilizations. Sheep has excellent adoption for utilization of wastelands as well as low and high pastures converting them into high quality proteins in the form of meat and wool. Besides, sheep are gregarious in nature and are less prone to extreme environmental conditions prevailing in the valley during winter. Kashmir Merino in Kashmir In India, Jammu and Kashmir is ideally suited for rearing of sheep and goat owing to favourable agro- climatic and geo-physical conditions, rich alpine pastures and a host of Indian Farming 71(07): 27–30; July 2021 Case Study