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Within the South African sheep farming industry, the current total of sheep is around 25million. Of this number,
about 18million are of the Merino type. Merino sheep were initially the property of the King of Spain. He donated a number of sheep from his famous Escoriale Merino Stud as a gift to the House of Orange. The sheep could not adjust to the high rainfall in the Netherlands. During 1789 the Dutch Government donated two Spanish Merino rams and four ewes to Col Jacob Gordon, the military commander at the Cape at that time, on an experimental basis. He immediately realised the possibilities of this breed and decided to keep it pure, grazing them on the Company farm Groenkloof, 55 km from Cape Town. South Africa was the first country outside Europe which owned Merinos. By 1830 woolsheep farming in the Western and Southwestern Cape was already fairly well established. The next expansion was eastwards. The 1820 Settlers played an important role in this extension and development of Merino flocks. In 1834 the Great Trek started and the Voortrekkers took their sheep flocks northwards with them. Within a few years the Merino had spread to all parts of the country. From 1891 considerable numbers of Merinos were brought to South Africa from America and Australia and the South African breeders have succeeded in developing typical Merino on a par with the best of the world. These Merinos form the backbone of South Africa's sheep farming industry. Different types of merino sheep were developed for different regions in South Africa. These types vary from strong wool (25 micron) to the finest wool (16 micron) and plain-bodied sheep for the drier Karoo regions. 
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