Trans-Tasman ‘lamb’ war breaks out | NEWS.com.au Business
Trans-Tasman ‘lamb’ war breaks out | NEWS.com.au Business
New Zealand and Australia really take their sheep raisin’ seriously!
Newsvine – More Farmers Raising Sheep Without Wool
Newsvine – More Farmers Raising Sheep Without Wool
NEW ALBANY — Low wool prices and high shearing costs have led many sheep farmers to add a special breed of woolless sheep to their flocks, raising fears that sheep shearing may become a lost art.
Albany farmer Jan Kostival bought a flock of woolless sheep last month with the intention of raising them to sell their meat. He was drawn to the Katahdin, a breed that grows hair instead of wool, when he learned they were hardy, self-sufficient and, best of all, didn’t require costly shearing every year.
“The Katahdin need little hay and little crop land,” Kostival said. “They can take care of themselves.”
Sheep farming nationwide is on a slight rise after declining significantly over the past decade, according to the American Sheep Industry Association. The sheep herd fell from about 8 million in 1997 to 6.1 million in 2004, then edged up to 6.2 million in 2007. Ohio ranks fourth in the nation for the number of sheep and lamb operations raising the animals primarily for meat and milk. In 2006, there were 3,300 sheep farms in the state, the association said.
And increasingly, Ohio sheep are going woolless.
Katahdin sheep, a popular breed of hair-shedding sheep, were first bred by geneticists more than 30 years ago in north-central Maine, according to the Katahdin Hair Sheep International Web site. There are 100 million hair sheep around the world, or about 10 percent of the world’s sheep population.
The decline in woolly sheep has hurt an industry already facing competition from synthetic fibers and the entry of China and other countries into the wool market. Many fear sheep shearing, once a lucrative business in Ohio, is becoming something of an anachronism.
Howard Strode, 83, of Chesterhill, was a sheep shearer for 69 years as part of a family tradition that began with his great-grandfather. As recently as 25 years ago, Strode said, he made a living off shearing, often banking about $100 per day. Strode passed along the practice to his son and grandson, but said shearing has become only part-time work at best.
There are just a few farms in the area that continue to raise woolly sheep, Strode said.
“The breeds have changed so much,” he said. “In the last few years they went for more meat and muscle and less emphasis on wool. It’s very discouraging.”
Here’s a picture of the Katahdin (pronounced [kuh-tah-dn]).
dnOctober Gone
I can’t believe that October is already gone. The time flies by so fast. Thanksgiving is just around the corner and Christmas won’t be far behind. I’m not looking forward to shopping. It wouldn’t be so bad if I knew what to get everyone…but I really don’t have any clue.
The first week of phase II of the diet didn’t show much change. I lost a bit of body fat, so at least I didn’t go backwards. I’m finding it really hard to eat. I just haven’t been hungry lately.
We’re down to 20 ewes with a few more people to come look at them. Although I’m sad to see them go, I’ll be glad when it’s done.
Lambing Season is Over
One other ewe had her lambs, twin boys, Thursday. Only one of them made it. We are past the point where they can have them, so I guess the other two didn’t breed.
The second softball practice is today. Hopefully it will be warmer than last week. And hopefully be more fun/productive.
Easter
It looks like we’re going to get our cold weather for Easter. I can only remember one Easter in my lifetime that was warm and sunny…and I was sick that year. My brother, Mom, Dad, Grandma and Grandpa hunted eggs in the back yard. I could see them from the couch, where I was stuck. The cold weather is also going to make the first practice of summer softball less pleasant. I’m kind of nervous, but Mom has talked to some of the girls and they seem excited, so that helps. I’ll be glad when we get past the shirt ordering business. There’s definitely a benefit to being assistant coach if only to avoid that mess.
The three ewes still haven’t had their lambs. I’d be worrying, but their eating and grazing habits haven’t changed, so I think the lambs are still alive. They are just waiting to get here. Probably sometime between Friday night and Sunday morning, when it’s raining/snowing and around freezing.
Baseball!
Baseball season is here. The first full day of MLB. My friend Reggie Willits made the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim team. He’s a backup outfielder. GO REGGIE!! I have two fantasy baseball teams this year. One on Yahoo and one on MLB.com. So far I’m seriously under-impressed with MLB.com’s.
There are still three more ewes that have to have their lambs within the next few days…or we have a problem. We have 21 live lambs. They all seem to be doing good. The bottle baby is starting to put on a little weight. She’s cute as a button (I’ve always wondered why people say that. Buttons aren’t all that cute.).
It’s time for Little League summer softball. I’m head coach this year. My brother’s going to assistant coach. My mom is taking care of all the paper and leg work. I’ll be glad when we get that part over with and can concentrate on softball. The focus is going to be on learning the fundamentals. I figure, if we get those down, winning will come on it’s own.
Saturday’s Are Nice
It’s not a workday and it’s not Sunday (where you have to worry about Monday, which is a workday). I spent the morning getting feed, cleaning out self-feeders and fixing fence. Every year I say I’m going to clean out the self-feeders (feeders where the lambs can go and eat their fill whenever they want) after we start individually feeding them and not wait until spring when we have a new lamb crop. And every year I fail to do it, so it’s always wet and moldy. Luckily we’ve figured out that a shop-vac will suck that stuff right outta there. It was really dusty this year. I had it from head to toe. Warning: The black widows and wasps are already out.
We’ve decided to bottle feed one of the lambs. The mom only has one working food source and the bigger girl seems to be cleaning it out before the little girl can get to it. She ate 1/4 of a bottle this morning and 1/2 tonight. She’s really too cute. She’s teeny-tiny and has a bleat that breaks your heart. It sounds a lot like a newborn baby when it’s really wailing.
I upgraded my Ubuntu to Feisty Fawn. It’s a beta version, but for what I’ve used it for so far today, it’s worked great. The best thing is I didn’t have to install any printer drivers or anything to get my printer to working. Yea!!
Happy Birthday Sydney!
It’s Been a While
I know it’s been a while since I posted, but that shows how truly boring I am.
We’ve had a few more lambs and lost a few. We have four ewes left to lamb, but I think that one of those isn’t bred.
I’ve been playing with Ubuntu; installing, reinstalling, tweaking. I did get MLB.tv/audio working…but then I broke something else and did a clean reinstall.
I always think of things I want to rant about/post on here when I’m away from a computer, and then when I get back to one I’ve either forgotten what I was going to post or it just seems silly when I think about it.
I want to say a belated happy birthday to my brother. I love ya little bro.
Update: Dad just called and we have two more lambs, a boy and a girl. So now we are down to three (or two if I’m correct).
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