Shepherd to Shepherd: Producer Forum Blog #3

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For our third producer forum we asked our four shepherds, all enrolled in NSIP, how they select their breeding rams and how they make breeding decisions on their farms. Their answers, shared below, reflect the differences among the farms in environment, markets, individual flock goals and management styles. As a reminder, our producer forum includes: Michelle Canfield (Canfield Farms, Western Washington), Lynn Fahrmeier (Fahrmeier Katahdins, Western Missouri), Roxanne Newton (Hound River Farm, South Georgia), and Etienne and Isabel Richards (Gibraltar Farm, Central NY) What traits do you look for when selecting a breeding ram? Canfield: I always seek a ram…

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Protecting Your Flock from Disease

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Disease is present in every flock and can reside in the animals, soil, air, and water. Producers don't often talk about illnesses affecting their sheep because they don't want the stigma of disease to reflect negatively on their flock. But producers shouldn't have to deal with the problem alone. Let's accept the fact that disease is inevitable, remove the stigma, and learn how we can prevent or mitigate disease transmission in our flocks. Disease is defined as "a condition of the living animal that impairs normal functioning and is typically manifested by distinguishing signs and symptoms." Unfortunately, sheep can't tell…

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Ovine Progressive Pneumonia (OPP)

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Most shepherds have probably heard of OPP as it is one of the three diseases included in the biosecurity panels that many laboratories offer. The USDA Sheep 2001 study tested over 21,000 samples from 682 randomly selected flocks country wide to collect data on the prevalence of OPP. They found that 36.4% of flocks had one or more animals that tested positive and overall, 24.2% of the animals tested were positive for OPP. Only 1.2% of the producers suspected that their animals were infected with OPP. This data is from over 20 years ago but still relevant as it shows…

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Evaluating Online Sheep Experts

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With decreasing numbers of sheep extension agents, sheep research professors and small ruminant DVMs, our options for finding knowledgeable experts are becoming more limited. At the same time, the number of sheep "experts" on Facebook, YouTube and other social media is growing exponentially. Today, sheep producers are able to obtain "expert" advice from across the country or around the world in a matter of seconds. While advances in technology have shaped the way we communicate information, it has also led to a plethora of misinformation that is often presented as fact, either intentionally or unintentionally. So how do we navigate…

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Small Flock Pasture Management

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At weaning time, you will need your best pastures in tip top shape for your lambs to continue growing. Your free input resource must be managed throughout the late spring and summer. This can be challenging with limited equipment and modest grazing space. Rotational grazing techniques are helpful and can be complimented with proactive management. Early in the warmer seasons, cool season grasses and forbs are dominant and provide great forage. As the temperatures climb, the availability of palatable grasses and plants decline. Grasses can go to seed too quickly to graze your animals on them. Rain followed by hot daytime temperatures cause the grasses…

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Small Flock Weaning Considerations

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Weaning lambs on a small farm can be a challenging endeavor. Being limited on space and supplies, such as electric fencing, means careful planning must take place to manage the two groups separately. There are various ways to wean lambs off of their dams. The approach you choose may vary from year to year depending on the mix of ewe and ram lambs per dam, the ages of the lambs, changes in the size of the flock, available resources and even the weather.  Some folks choose to fence line wean by dividing the groups with fencing (preferably permanent) and moving…

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Shepherd to Shepherd: Producer Forum #2

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For our second producer forum we asked our four shepherds what data they collect besides that used for NSIP; how they manage their data; what software programs they use; and how they analyze and use their data to make selection decisions.  Michelle Canfield, Canfield Farms, Western Washington I use Ranch Manager for my day-to-day husbandry records. Mostly what I keep in here are records of medical treatments & other events; location of sheep (pasture vs barn); breeding & lambing records; and purchase & sale records. It supports functionality to track weights and financial data, but I don't use those features,…

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Preparations for Sale Season

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In this blog, EAPK member Becky Shultz of Prairie Lane Farm shares some tips and suggestions for preparing sheep for marketing and transport to sales.     Sale season is quickly approaching and we all begin to think about how to market and present our Katahdins. NSIP data has been submitted and we have selected our top individuals that will be the best prospects for other breeders. We like to choose animals with good EBVs and we also like them to prove themselves with their phenotypic performance.     Sheep consigned to summer sales will benefit from some advance preparation. We first check all…

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Scale Options for On-Farm Use

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A producer needs a way to weigh animals when they want to understand how well their lambs are growing, and when to take them to market. There are a variety of reasons to weigh animals, depending on what data you are collecting and what results you want to be able to achieve from it. Before we were involved in the National Sheep Improvement Program (NSIP), we just wanted to know weights between 30 & 150 pounds, as we only cared about how our lambs were growing between one and 12 months of age. We didn't weigh newborns or adults, as…

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