115031 web1 Romy and Ryan Schill.jpeg
In an era when many young people choose to move away from the farm to pursue other career opportunities, Romy and Ryan Schill chose to embrace farming. The duo purchased their 100-acre Wallenstein-area farm 17 years ago and have since grown their small sheep operation into a large-scale meat, breed stock, and wool-producing operation.
Why it matters: The sheep farming industry is prime for growth as demand outstrips supply.
Under the monikers of Circle R Livestock Ltd. and Revolution Wool Company, the couple have expanded their operation to more than 800 ewes, producing nearly 2,000 lambs per year.
Their efforts have not gone unrecognized, with the couple recently being named Ontario’s Outstanding Young Farmers for 2025. The pair will go on to represent Ontario in Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers competition come November in Toronto.
Away from the spotlight, the pair are focused on continuing to grow their farm operation. Both were raised on farms, with Romy growing up on a dairy farm before completing a degree in agricultural science at the University of Guelph. Ryan, meanwhile, grew up on a mixed farm and completed an agricultural certificate at Vermilion College.
Easy scalability was one of the first things that attracted them to sheep farming when they set out on their own. The couple chose to raise purebred Dorset ewes, Dorset Rideau crosses, and maternal crosses for strong maternal lines. Additionally, the Dorset breed lambs year-round, which allows for year-round income.
Ryan noted that the sheep industry as a whole is prime for growth, with immigration spurring on demand for lamb and goat meat. Many new Canadians from regions like the Middle East and India have pushed demand for beef down and created new demand for alternative meats.
“Ontario is only meeting 20 per cent of supply demand for lamb, and Canada as a whole is only 40 per cent. This leaves us with a lot of potential,” said Ryan, adding that a recent strong shift to buying Canadian products will only continue to reinforce this growth. He said that presently, the farm is unaffected by recent tariffs on agricultural products imposed by United States President Donald Trump. He added, however, that this may change on inputs in time.
The couple added that they are also planning for succession, as their three children, Cameron, Emerson, and Adalyn take on more duties around the farm. Romy said that the ability to easily scale up and scale down with sheep farming gives them the flexibility to plan for the future.
The pair started their farm operation off with 25 head of sheep, which grew into 50. The couple also raised pigs, beef cattle, and chickens; however, sheep farming quickly became their main passion. A major barn renovation in 2010 pushed them to make the decision to move away from other livestock and transition over to sheep entirely.
“Back then the joke was one day we would have 1,000 sheep, and here we are,” said Romy.
Renovating the existing barn allowed them to increase their flock to 200. The addition of a new facility in 2018 allowed them to grow to their current size.
Romy said they are looking to the future with both themselves and their children in mind.
“It’s easy for the kids to take over in the future. But right now we are comfortable where it is at,” she said, adding the focus right now is on fine-tuning the sheep operation.
“Our goal is to raise fast-growing meat lambs on an accelerated year-round system so we can pull in that income year-round. We are a little limited in space in the barns now; we only have so much land, and we have to push the number of lambs each ewe produces and how many times they can produce lambs each year.”
During the renovation process, Ryan said the couple had to do some serious planning for the future as they embarked in a new direction. “We saw huge potential, so it was a matter of believing in ourselves and proving a lot of our doubters wrong that we could do this.”
Romy said it was always the couple’s dream to grow the farm so they could both work full-time from home. She said this meant investing both in the farm and in themselves personally and professionally through networking.
Romy is also busily expanding her wool business, which operates on the farm. Wool that is sheared on the farm is sent to mills across Canada and the U.S. to be processed before it is sent back for manufacturing. The business runs an ecommerce store featuring yarn, blankets, batting, and felt.
Demand was so high that Romy had to send wool for production to industrial mills to scale up efficiently. She noted that the recent tariff threats have slowed U.S. business, but her Canadian business remains strong.
“I’m a fairly artistic and crafty person, so it’s been a nice avenue for me to use that creative side. It started with a bit of yarn, and it turned into blankets and bedding, and it’s been a really great way to use what we are already producing and add value to that,” she said.
Ryan noted that the wool business grew out of the couple shearing their sheep several times a year. He added that even though running a commercial wool business is not viable at the scale of their operation, they have exceptional capacity to do so on-farm.
“I think it’s really important that as Canadian producers, we use this amazing natural material that is already being grown on the farm. Our customers and farmers need natural, sustainable materials to help with our carbon footprint and our effect on the world. As farmers, we try to do everything we can to leave the world in a better place and keep the soil healthy and our animals healthy, and using wool is just one of those things that we can do too.”
To learn more about Circle R Livestock and Revolution Wool in this video:
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2025-04-25 17:07:43
Karl Hoffman is a distinguished agriculturalist with over four decades of experience in sustainable farming practices. He holds a Ph.D. in Agronomy from Cornell University and has made significant contributions as a professor at Iowa State University. Hoffman’s groundbreaking research on integrated pest management and soil health has revolutionized modern agriculture. As a respected farm journalist, his column “Field Notes with Karl Hoffman” and his blog “The Modern Farmer” provide insightful, practical advice to a global audience. Hoffman’s work with the USDA and the United Nations FAO has enhanced food security worldwide. His awards include the USDA’s Distinguished Service Award and the World Food Prize, reflecting his profound impact on agriculture and sustainability.
