A Grade 10 student from Alberta took over the family sheep business when she was 13 and hasn’t looked back since
Sheeps’ milk soap, handmade dryer balls, raw fleeces, hand-shearing, breeding stock, sheepskin tanning, rotational grazing set-up, meat sales, rovings and wool batts — where does first-generation sheep farmer Kamden Bartman find time for it all?
It’s even more remarkable when you realize the pint-sized power behind The Prairie Shepherdess is 16 years old.
As a Grade 10 student at Camrose Composite High School, Bartman is barely old enough to drive on her own, but she’s been running her own business for close to three years.
“I started with sheep in the fall of 2020. My parents had bought a flock of bred ewes in the spring but they decided to get out of them and sell them… but I had fallen in love… I begged.”
Unlike many of her classmates and 4-H contemporaries, Bartman didn’t stop with one or two projects. She has a whole flock of them.
“I have 27 ewes, two rams and 34 lambs,” she said.
She initially raised only Navajo Churros but has since branched out to include Icelandic sheep.
“One of the main things I love is they are such amazing moms,” she said.
Having recently come through spring lambing, she appreciates the importance of good mothering because, like so many other shepherds, she tries to catch up on her sleep.
“We never had one rejection, never had to worry about any of them. Even the yearlings do really well.”
In addition to nurturing mothers, Bartman’s sheep are winter hardy and can be sheared twice a year.
The wool got her started, she said, but learning how to deal with it created challenges.
“In the beginning, we weren’t doing anything with the wool. I started skirting them and just got so overwhelmed, being a newbie. I didn’t know what to do, how to process it. That first year, I actually ended up throwing it away. I was scared.”
It wasn’t until the following fall that Bartman, armed with some new knowledge thanks to a hand-shearing workshop her family had hosted, really got into wool. She started simply, making dryer balls to sell online.
“It was a lightbulb. Now’s my time,” she said.
As her flock grew, so did her ambition. With dreams of all the things she could make, at first she thought she’d keep all the wool for herself, but staring at the mounds of fleeces convinced her that maybe she could sell raw fleeces to hand-spinners and other fibre artists. She found her customer base quickly.
Kamden’s mother, Kylie Bartman, has watched Kamden grow through her entrepreneurial efforts.
“It’s been incredible for her,” she said. “We don’t always find our niche so young. It’s been interesting to watch.
“She brings things to us and she’s already researched and knows how to make it happen. Mostly she just needs us to take her there.”
Adding sheepskin tanning was a logical next step for Bartman as she continued to build her business and worked toward the goal of making every use out of her animals. She got started with some reference materials and after that, it came down to a lot of practice. Now, she’s confident enough in her skills to take on outside clients.
“Mostly local people,” she said. “I started tanning in 2022 and if you’re like me, you start something and you can’t stop. I love it.”
Last year’s 4-H ewe also presented a new opportunity after weaning, said Bartman.
“She had a huge bag. I thought, maybe I need to milk her out. So I did that night,and the next morning and it just went on from there. I milk them for about a month after weaning and freeze all the milk to make soap. It’s been good.”
Work-life balance presents a challenge to Bartman and she gives a lot of credit to her parents for their support. She’s also, like so many her age, saving her money for a car.
For anyone looking to get started in a business of their own, Bartman offered advice.
“Take it slow,” she said. “Don’t rush things. People get this huge plan and then it just gets so overwhelming. You can always add in later.
“Start slow, take it easy. Go with the flow.”
