Ryan and Romy Schill co-own a sheep operation and wool company
Sheep farmers and wool producers from Wallenstein, Ont. are Ontario’s Outstanding Young Farmers for 2025.
“It’s great to be recognized by your peers in the industry with an award like that,” Ryan Schill told Farms.com.
“When we started the sheep farm, there were people questioning us about it,” said Ryan’s wife, Romy. “But it’s a great industry to be a part of, and this helps us showcase what’s possible.”
Along with his wife Romy, they own and operate Circle R Livestock and Revolution Wool Company.
The sheep operation started in 2005 after Ryan returned home from Vermilion College in Alberta, and as part of the farm’s ownership transition from Ryan’s grandparents.
“There was an empty spot in the barn, so I bought 25 ewes,” he said. “The next year I bought another 25.”
At the time, the mixed farm included farrow to finish hogs and background feed cattle.
Layer breeder chickens were part of the operation until 2023.
Market conditions in 2010 meant Ryan and Romy needed to plan the farm’s future.
“The cattle markets were not great, and pigs were horrible,” he said. “We had to have a discussion about wanting to continue farming, how we were going to do it and how it was going to look. We saw opportunities in sheep with ethnic markets and immigrants in Canada.”
Today, the Schills raise about 700 purebred Dorset ewes on 100 owned acres and another 50 leased acres that includes crop production to support the sheep.
They grow corn, hay, wheat, and all the forages they need to feed and provide bedding for the flock.
They treat the soil as the farm’s main pillar and put an emphasis on environmental sustainability.
“Without healthy and productive soil, we don’t get the crops we need for the sheep,” Ryan said. “Crop rotations and soil testing are super important. And we got away from the moldboard plow years ago and try to do as much no-till or minimum tillage as possible.”
Starting a sheep farm from scratch meant the Schills had a blank slate to work with.
“We didn’t take over a sheep farm and have to keep it the way it was,” Romy said. “We weren’t afraid to try new things and figure out what worked and what didn’t.”
In addition, they invest in help when necessary.
“We have a vet we work with closely, we have an independent sheep nutritionist that helps with our rations, and we have an agronomist for our crops,” Ryan said.
“Nutrition is the number one thing when it comes to getting the sheep to their maximum potential,” Romy added. “If we don’t have good feed they’re not going to breed, they’re not going to gain enough weight, and that’s all key for profit at the end.”
While Ryan looks after the crops and the sheep, Romy oversees the wool part of the business.
She began Revolution Wool Company more as a hobby, having small batches of yarn made from the wool.
“I discovered knitting markets and figured people should be using Canadian wool,” she said.
About six years ago Romy started scaling the business up, looking for larger mills to work with and processing larger batches of wool.
People can buy anything from loose wool fill, to blankets and pillows, to dryer balls, and gloves.
Romy started scaling the business up in 2023, and now manages it full time.
“I create product, ship product, take orders, coordinating with mills, do social media posts, kind of all of it,” she said.
Romy and Ryan will represent Ontario is the national competition in Toronto this November.