Recently, I was the guest speaker at the Tennessee Sheep Producers annual meeting where among my topics I was asked to give my vision of the future of the sheep industry and among my comments were these. The NSIP project is toast despite ASI's efforts to attempt to convince, with the help of academic personnel, that somehow a statistical, insignificant, time consuming program that has an extremely poor participation rate after several years of support from the same people is somehow going to succeed.
My solution is not new either, but it does have a history of success and that was the former Dwight Holloway's blue print to expansion that was straight forward. Don't let the ewes see grass until the lambs are weaned at eight weeks of age and by creep feeding and continued full feed the lambs being marketed at 120 to 140 days of age. If you have too much grass, run more ewes. Properly managed, some of these will lamb three times in two years. At this point, I would like to honor and express appreciation of John Wichern's efforts, the first Pipestone Program Producer to successfully market a 200% lamb from a hundred ewes in one lambing. John passed away recently and was certainly an outstanding contributor to the sheep industry.
Not part of the original program but with new technology, CIDRS, PG600, and availability of breeds that are more prone to lamb in the fall, the annual percentage may be further increased.
With this type of program the internal parasite problem is relatively non-existent. Worming of lambs is not necessary and coccidiosis can be controlled and prevented. Death losses are reduced and feed conversion is 3:1 instead of 8:1. It is a win-win in the Midwest and other areas of adequate rainfall where worms generally win.
Parasite resistance is the new buzz word. I would say a better term would be management failure. Producers substituted ivermectin and worm cock tails for management and look what happened. I have always advocated that every farm or ranch needs a parasite control program that fits that farm and that producer's needs. That was another part of Holloway's program the ewes weren't on grass when they were most susceptible and the lambs were never exposed.
I have no arguments with the academics. They serve a purpose and do a good job but for the most part don't own any sheep and if they are responsible for some they always have plenty of student help around. They remind me of some professional sheep fitters. They were full of ideas and suggestions but when it came to producing a good sheep themselves it just didn't happen. On the other hand, the former professors Merle Light and Bob Jordan were tremendous in help and ideas that were successful. They also were challenging, something my critics should keep in mind. Without conflict, resolution can't be achieved.
The other area that needs to be addressed is marketing. It appears that the industry is being controlled by a major packer. Not only do they slaughter and merchandise US lamb, but they also influence and control the sale of foreign lamb and the major feed lots. Often a pig becomes a hog and that is what has happened.
Recently, I sold my cull Katahdin ram lambs at the local auction market, 145#, $1.60, also sold a few similar age ewe and wether lambs, 120# $163. Thirty-seven dollar difference, advantage ram lambs with tails and all. The ewe lambs and wethers had been docked. Had I sent those lambs grade and yield they would of graded 2s and 3s but when they arrived in cooler house grader would have marked a number of them no grade. Grade and yield or grade and steal. No grade lambs first occurred when the price fell below contract support price, coincidence?
In Tennessee, I provided as lamb chops at the noon meal that I viewed prior to cooking that appeared outstanding and they ate as well. They were from the first place fall ram lamb in the junior show at Louisville. He had gotten hurt and was QR so the owner salvaged him for slaughter. I presume he would have been a no grade as well.
Maybe the sheep industry by shrinking numbers isn’t all bad. It appears the goat people have it figured out. When they started the sheep sale in Pipestone at the local auction market, who would have thought that often half the consignments would be goats. With goats bringing over two dollars a pound and lambs at 1.50 it looks like the goat people have a much better market.
By: Dr. G.F. Kennedy
