![America’s Proud Farming Heritage: People Thrilled to Watch 2,500+ Sheep Streaming Down Idaho’s Largest Highway [VIDEO]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2023%2F05%2F25%2Fid5290761-sheep-crossing-idaho-highway-700x420.jpg&w=1200&q=100)
This stunning visual reminder of America’s proud farming heritage is nothing less than a spectacle, and people turn out in their hundreds to witness it: thousands of sheep streaming across Idaho state’s largest, most major north-south highway. The extraordinary event, captured via drone, looks even more magnificent from above.
Stuebner first filmed the crossing two years ago, his amazing footage attracting national and international attention. For him, the sight of the public sheep crossing holds great significance.
“People just really enjoy it,“ Stuebner told The Epoch Times. ”It’s a slice of our history, a page out of our history, because this kind of thing goes back to the 1880s.”
Every spring for the past hundred years and beyond, Idaho’s ranchers move herds of sheep from low pastures up into the mountains. As the snow melts on high ground, the green grass is ripe for grazing and the great herding gets underway.
In the 21st century, the huge public sheep crossing close to the city of Boise requires dedicated coordination with Eagle Police Department, which closes the highway temporarily and deploys crowd control to ensure it all goes safely.
“People just love to come out and see the sheep,” he said. “It’s turned into a situation where we have so many people that come out to watch that there’s a fair bit of crowd control involved, basically try to keep people off to the side of the highway, so that they don’t get in the way when the sheep are coming through.
“But everyone wants to get their own pictures and videos. So I find myself going up and down the road, before it happens, to tell people to be sure to stay off to the side of the road and, keep their dogs leashed and things like that. So that the ranchers can move the sheep through without any problems.”
Once the sheep start coming at around 9.30 in the morning, the crossing goes by fast, the process wrapping up in around 15 minutes. After that, Stuebner says, the sheep move into the foothills of Boise, and “they’re on their merry way.”
The crossing involves around 2,500 sheep, and it takes a well-orchestrated effort to keep them all moving in the right direction.
A lead herder walks in front of the herd with a lead ewe, making a jingling sound with a bell around her neck. The rest of the sheep follow the lead ewe, and there are several Border Collies working with the flock along with at least ten other herders, plus friends and family who come along to help.
Since the lambs are just months old, Stuebner says, they’re especially beautiful to see—particularly for those city dwellers who don’t have the chance to see these animals very often.
“We see grandma, grandpa there with their children, and the grandchildren, and lots of moms with kids. It just seems to be a real thrill for them to watch, and the animals are all ba-ba-ing as they trot by,” he said.
Once the flock gets into the foothills, they continue on into Boise National Forest and higher and higher up into the mountains, covering hundreds of miles on their route and munching on vegetation as they go. “They trim the vegetation,” said Stuebner, “and that’s good for reducing fire danger. It also invigorates the plants when they’re being fed on, so it’s really a win-win situation for everything.”
Stuebner is passionate about American ranching and American meat.
“One thing Idaho sheep ranchers would say is, buy American lamb,“ he said. ”We get a fair number of imports from Australia and New Zealand and that affects the pricing that they get for their lambs. So, please do buy local; it’s a wonderful product.”
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