The CVM/Romeldale is the rarest of rare sheep breeds in the US.

The Romeldale is a dual purpose breed developed by A. T. Spencer in the early 1900's.  Mr. Spencer crossed imported New Zealand Marsh Romney rams with his Rambouillet ewes with the intent to increase the staple and length of fleece and to improve the carcass quality.

Romeldales come in two varieties: white and colored.  White Romeldales should have entirely white fleece, while they may exhibit spots on their face, ears or legs.  The natural colored Romeldales come in a large variety of colors and color patterns, including dark grey, black, moorit, white, silver and spotted.

The California Variegated Mutant, or CVM, is a mutation of the Romeldale. During the 1960's, Glen Eidman found a multi-colored ewe lamb in his purebred Romeldale flock.  Two years later, a ram lamb with the same coloration pattern was born. When the ewe and ram were crossed, the resulting offspring also had the same unique color pattern.  Through subsequent breeding and further mutations, the CVM breed was painstakingly developed by Glen Eidman over a 15-year period.  During that time, Mr. Eidman did not sell any of the CVM sheep, in order to maintain complete control over the breed's development.  Upon retirement in 1982, the flock was dispersed.

Unlike many colored sheep, the CVM's color will darken with age. Staple length averages 3 to 6 inches with a Bradford count of 60 to 64.  The wool is soft and can be worn "next to the skin". With a well defined crimp it is easy to spin and is a pleasure to work with.