Sheep Production

1. Sheep Production

2. President Woodrow Wilson grazed sheep on the White House lawn. The wool from the sheep was sold to raise money for the Red Cross during World War I. The flock included "Old Ike," a tobacco chewing ram

3. Dolly, the Famous Cloned Sheep  • Dolly -- the world’s first animal to be cloned from an adult cell -- became the most famous sheep in history after her birth was announced by the Roslin Institute in Scotland in 1997. Dolly was born July 5 1996 from three different mothers. Her genetic mother provided the DNA, a second ewe provided the egg into which the DNA was injected and a third carried the resulting cloned embryo and gave birth to Dolly. It took 276 attempts before the experiment was successful. The birth of Dolly was hailed as a scientific breakthrough. Dolly became a superstar and seemed to enjoy the constant human attention. • Dolly gave birth to six lambs. She was put down when she was six and a half years old, after developing a lung infection. Dolly’s health problems may have been a result of the fact that she was cloned from a six-year-old ewe. She also suffered from a form of arthritis. After her death, Dolly was stuffed and put on display in the Royal Museum of Scotland

4. Shrek • Renegade Sheep  • A renegade New Zealand sheep that managed to evade the shearers for six years finally had a haircut. Shrek, the Merino sheep, was shorn live on national television by top shearers David Fagan and Peter Casserley. The 10-year-old sheep had managed to roam freely on New Zealand's South Island for more than six years before being finally rounded up. Shrek's 27 kg (60 lbs.) fleece - enough to make 20 large men's suits - was auctioned off over the Internet for the benefit of Children's medical charities. Shrek 2 bested Shrek 1 by avoiding shearing for 7 years. His fleece, removed in April 2005, weighed 31 kg and measured three meters in length. Shrek 2 was approximately 11 years old

5. Ewe breeds • Moviestars  • Border Leicester sheep were featured in the 1995 hit movie, Babe, which tells the story of a sheep-herding pig. The movie required 970 animals, including 550 sheep. All scenes of sheep herding were real herds and the trained dogs who herd them. When the sheep appear to be attentively listening and keeping very still, both real and animatronic sheep were used. The ratio was one animatronic sheep for every three real sheep. The real sheep were trained to calmly remain on their marks. When the sheep walk in unison, real sheep were used and harnessed with a very thin material that was not visible on camera. These sheep had been trained in pre-production to respond so that when one was called, they all followed

6. The Toast of Botswana An unusual case of a goat-sheep hybrid was reported by veterinarians in Botswana in 2000. The animal was born naturally from the mating of a female goat (which is generally thought not possible) with a male sheep that were kept together. The hybrid had 57 chromosomes, intermediate between sheep (54) and goats (60), proving it was not a case of mistaken identity. Its features were halfway between sheep and goats. The hybrid had a very active libido, mounting both ewes and does when they were not in heat. This earned the hybrid the name "Bemya" or "Rapist." He was castrated when he was 10 months old because he was becoming a nuisance.

7. Scientific Classification • Kingdom Animalia • Phylum Chordata • Subphylum Vertebrata • Class Mammalia • Order Ungulata • Suborder Artiodactyla • Family Bovidae • Genus Ovis (sheep) Capra (goat) • Species aries (sheep) hires (goat)

8. In general: Sheep are- • Behaviorally, they are gregarious, precocial, defenseless • Flock together and prefer to be in groups, high degree of independence , are defenseless against predators • Very useful for meat, skins, milk and wool and were domesticated about 10,000 B.C.

9. Place of Sheep and Goat industry in US Agriculture • The purpose of the sheep and goats in the US is to take advantage of forage and roughage to produce milk, meat and fiber • Historically, sheep used as a part of the mixed farm in the eastern states and in large flocks that graze rangelands in the western US • In conjunction with cattle, sheep and goats allow for better use of forage resources

10. Place of Sheep and Goat industry in US Agriculture • When sheep and goats use the land with cattle they make better use of the resources because they graze slightly different forage • Sheep better able to select their diet than cattle and pick a better diet- • Goats like browse ( twigs and brush) do not compete with cattle • One doe or ewe can be added for each existing cow and no additional forage will be required • Goats and sheep can improve pastures & grazing resources because they eat many species, including weeds, that cattle leave behind • Goats used as brush cleaners • Why not combine sheep and cattle- sheep require more care and suffer greater predation losses than cattle

11. Place of Sheep and Goat industry in US Agriculture • Wool and mohair were subsidized by the federal govt. From 1954 to 1995 • Since the subsidized program ended, there has been a precipitous decline in sheep and Angora goat #s • Today, the Sheep industry has declined in US • Only .2% of the total US farm revenue from livestock and products • Gross U S annual income from sheep and goats is ~$500 million and decreasing • Only .4% of animal agriculture’s share of cash receipts • The US per capita consumption of lamb <1lb (boneless wt basis)

12. Place of Sheep and Goat industry in US Agriculture • The US sheep industry was once a mighty industry but those days are gone and not likely to return • ~ 69,000 sheep producers in the US today • Current status places it in the classification of a specialty industry • Most US sheep producers have small flocks and raise sheep as a secondary enterprise or hobby. • Most large producers are found in 17 western states where the bulk of the sheep are kept in large range flocks • Most small flocks and most sheep producers are found in states other than where most of the sheep are found

13. Producers Sheep distribution

15. Place of Sheep and Goat industry in in global Agriculture • Sheep and goats used extensively around the world for grass conversion • Great livestock choice for people in less-developed economies • Over 1.1billion head of sheep and 840 million goats in the world • They are the second and fourth most numerous agricultural animals in the world • Smaller size- five sheep or seven goats kept on the same amount of land as one cow • One sheep (goat) for every 5 (8) people in the world • 22(16) head of sheep (goats) per sq mile of world land surface – US has .34% of world’s goats and only .56% of world’s sheep

16. Three major segments of US sheep industry • 1. Range sheep production- • Pasture and dry range • Dry range offers few alternatives for productive use of land- cattle often compete as the enterprise that makes more $ with less fuss • Range production differs – wet or dry • If sheep are part of a diversified farm then meat production is more profitable than wool production • If forage conditions are poor then wool production is emphasized and meat production is a secondary product • In wet range, the nutrition is high enough for meat and wool production • Grazing flocks are referred to as stock sheep • Provide lamb production directly to slaughter and to feedlots • The value of wool has declined to the point that raising sheep for wool is rarely profitable thus most systems focus on meat production in the US • 2. Lamb feeding- 40 to 90lbs fed to market weight • in past finished on grass now finished on grain • 3. Purebred sector (very small)

17. History of sheep & their changes • Sheep and goats were domesticated about 10-8,000 BC (long before pigs) • Develop more wool and less hair • Color of wool & hair changed from brown to whites and blacks (domestication of animals affects color of wool) • From erect ear to lop ear • Horns were weaken or disappeared • Tail have less vertebrates • Today’s sheep have smaller brains

18. History of US Sheep production • Christopher Columbus brought sheep and goats to the West Indies (second voyage) in 1493 • Cortez brought them to Mexico in 1519 • English settlers brought them to the East Coast in 1609 when they settled in New England • As settlement of the continent proceeded, the grasslands became increasingly used as sheep producing areas • Sheep industry became located predominantly in the western US

19. History of US Sheep productionSheep and Lamb inventory

20. History of US Sheep production • From colonial period until early 1900’s- sheep were important for their wool production (slaughter was incidental) • Starting in late 1800’s- production of lambs for slaughter became increasingly important- production shifted to the western US • 1867- sheep inventory ~46.3 million • 1942- all time high #- 56.2 million • 1950- dropped to 30 million • 1970’s- down to 15 million • 2007- less than 10 million head

21. Reasons for declining sheep production: • Less demand for wool • Declining demand for lamb and relative high price of lamb relative to other meats • Increased difficulty in obtaining and keeping reliable herders to manage and care for range flocks • Increased competition for public-owned rangeland and increasing grazing fees

22. Reasons for declining sheep production: • Increasing problems of predators in many range and farm flock-producing states • Decreased government support – especially the demise of the wool support program • Farmer diversification into other enterprises • Seasonal nature of lamb production and consumption • Inadequate profit to keep producers producing.

23. Goats: • From colonial times, goats have been used in small #’s as meat and milk animals • Later, Angora goats became useful as fiber producers in the Southwest- especially Texas • USDA published its first annual goat survey in 2005 (prior to that no survey was done –except Angora-) • Since 2005, 3-5% annual increase with most growth related to the meat-type production • Much of the demand is due to growing immigrant and ethnic populations • Many states offered incentives to farmers who participated in the tobacco buyout program if they got into other forms of agriculture • Southeast is where the majority of tobacco is grown and has also seen the largest increases in goat numbers • Goat enterprises appeal to those who have a limited acces to land and want an animal enterprise

24. US Goat Inventory

25. WOOL

26. Leading wool producing countries • Australia • New Zealand • China • Uruguay • Argentina • South Africa • USA • UK

27. Definitions • Grease wool – directly from sheep, has not been scoured • Lanonlin – purified wool grease • Scouring – removal of grease and dirt • Shrinkage – what is left after removal of grease and dirt (want this to be minimal) • Grade, grading

28. Wool Grading • Blood •   The attributes of wool include fineness, length, crimp, color, strength, uniformity, and in grease wool, percentage of foreign material. Fineness is considered the most important. • Was based on the fraction of Merino blood in a particular breed • Has not been used since 1955

29. Wool Grading • Bradford Spin count • Hanks of yarn (hank = 560 yards) that can be spun from 1 pound of wool top • Get more hanks of yarn from finer wool • Now used in conjunction with micron measurements

30. Wool Grading • Micron system • 1 micron = 1/25,400 inch • Measured with a laser device • Given a micron count and information that gives information about the uniformity of the fleece. • Samples usually taken from the side and the britch (over the top hind leg)

32. Types of Sheep – body covering • Fine wool fine to ½ blood (Merino) • Medium wool 3/8 – ¼ blood • Long wool low ¼, common, course,strong, luster and braid, 12”/yr • Carpet wool lowest quality • types of wool