2011 Sustainable Sheep Farming

Ariel Dunn Hampshire College Division III Project 5/6/2011 2

Abstract

Sheep farming in the United States is a small industry that has more or less shrunk over time. In the early 1800s there were 7 million sheep in the U.S., numbers peaked in 1945 at 56 million, and declined back to 7 million by 2003. The recent small increase in the number of sheep raised in the US is mostly in the form of small or hobby farms. In this paper it is my goal to identify and discuss those areas that are pertinent to beginning my farm and why I am choosing specific options for each of the areas. The ultimate objective of this paper is to create a basic layout or “business plan” for the farm I want to start, by looking at the options and attempting to determine which option is best for me. This plan is not intended to be for the use of all farmers as each aspect of farming has its own options and the choice picked from each option will be different for each farmer. However, this paper can serve as an outline for other beginning farmers to understand what goes into the decision making process as well as help them identify some areas that should be considered for decision making that they may not have thought of. In the end, this paper is a personal project and the reader should be aware of this when considering why each decision is made.

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Table of Contents Abstract ...... 2 Table of Contents ...... 3 Purpose of This Paper ...... 4 Chapter 1: Why I Want to Raise Sheep ...... 5 Chapter 2: Which Breed Is Right For Me? ...... 11 Chapter 3: Feed Management ...... 26 Chapter 4: Locating My Farm ...... 44 Chapter 5: Marketing My Product ...... 53 Chapter 6: Other Animals on My Farm ...... 66 Chapter 7: Financial Outlook ...... 78 Chapter 8: Summary and Conclusions ...... 91 Works Cited ...... 94 Further Readings ...... 100

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Purpose of This Paper

Sheep farming in the United States is a small industry that has more or less shrunk over time. In recent years there has been a small increase in the number of sheep raised in the US, mostly in the form of small or hobby farms. My personal farming goals are to begin a relatively small sustainable sheep farm with the potential for some growth. I have no intention of raising a flock of thousands of ewes at any point. I intend to raise anywhere from 100 to 300 sheep at any given time as long as I can maintain the principles of environmentally and socially conscious farming.

In this paper it is my goal to identify and discuss those areas that are pertinent to beginning my farm and why I am choosing specific options for each of the areas. For example, the breed of sheep to be raised is an important first step for a farmer to decide in order to meet the goals of what product they want to sell, to determine breeding programs, and to foresee potential problems (e.g. some breeds have more difficulty lambing and therefore will require a closer watch during lambing season). For my own farm I plan to raise Suffolks and the chapter on breeds will include a discussion of their benefits as well as why I would prefer to raise them. It will also include a section on Hampshire sheep because they may be used for crossbreeding or could become a primary breed depending on how well each does in my own actual practice.

The ultimate objective of this paper is to create a basic layout or “business plan” for the farm I want to start, by looking at the options and attempting to determine which option is best for me. This plan is not intended to be for the use of all farmers as each aspect of farming has its own options and the choice picked from each option will be different for each farmer. For example each breed of sheep has its own advantages and disadvantages and the goals of the individual farmer will determine what those advantages and disadvantages are much of the time. However, this paper can serve as an outline for other beginning farmers to understand what goes into the decision making process as well as help them identify some areas that should be considered for decision making that they may not have thought of. In the end, this paper is a personal project and the reader should be aware of this when considering why each decision is made.

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Chapter 1: Why I Want To Raise Sheep

The way people eat has changed dramatically since we were hunter gatherers. We now have grocery stores that supply hundreds of different kinds of food products, many of which are the same thing only under a different brand name. Meat products are no different than any other product. Chicken is probably the most noticeable; where you can find the house brand sometimes for $0.99/lb, but the several available name brands for slightly more. Sometimes there is also a “natural” type, such as Nature’s Promise available, which tends to be even more expensive. The labelling on each of these products can be confusing and misleading. Just because Nature’s Promise animals were raised without antibiotics or hormones, does not mean it is all organic and one would be hard pressed to locate Nature’s Promise lamb (“Nature’s Promise Sample Product List” 2011). In general, the majority of meat products available in the super market are from animals given antibiotics and hormones and feed lot raised on corn, which probably never saw the light of day.

Many slaughterhouses have come under fire for their cruel treatment of downer cows (cows too sick or weak to stand on their own) and that is just within the cow industry; the same type of animal cruelty is likely to take place in all industries (“Obama Bans ‘Downer’ Cows From Food Supply 2009). Chickens are a popular point of concern with people; being raised in drawer-like structures, piled on top of each other, and having their beaks burned so they cannot peck each other, which also causes them difficulty eating. New Zealand is the most recent of four countries (Iceland, Norway, and Sweden as well) to make a controversial decision to essentially outlaw Kosher slaughter (Haaretz 2010). Under the rules of kosher slaughter, the animal must be fully conscious when it is slaughtered. New Zealand ruled that all animals slaughtered in the country must be stunned before slaughter; this ruling is based on research that says animals are still fully aware of what is happening for up to thirty seconds after their throats are slit. For many people this could be considered animal cruelty. This is simply a demonstration that the sense of what is right and wrong in raising animals is not always clear cut and therefore finding a “humane” way of slaughtering ends up being somewhat determined by the individual.

My own reasons for raising sheep to produce lamb stem from these two basic concepts: the idea that people should have available to them healthy food and that animals should be raised and killed in a humane way. For about five years I was a vegetarian, nearing the end of this (I have again been a meat eater for two years) is when I began to form my plan to start a sheep farm. Many people asked me why a vegetarian would ever want to raise meat. It took me a while to develop an answer to this question that I felt really covered what I believed. While I believe that vegetarianism is a valid option, I also understand that the whole world either will not be convinced to become 6

vegetarian or will not have access to the proper nutrition without meat in their diets. So those people who either choose to eat meat or have no choice except to eat meat should have the ability to eat meat that is both healthy for them and healthy for the animal.

For me, a healthy product for the consumer includes an animal that was raised and slaughtered in the way that I personally find to be the best. While my “best” way may contradict another person’s “best” way, they have the option to buy from another provider. I believe healthy, happy animals are raised on grass, they are given as few antibiotics as possible, and they are slaughtered in such a way as to cause as little stress and discomfort as possible. Each of these requirements poses their own problem.

Sheep are a ruminant animal, which means they are designed to eat grass, though many are fed grains. Grain feeding can cause serious health problems, such as bloat, which, if severe enough, can cause death; grass feeding leads to healthier animals. It also has significant effects on the flavour of the meat, which I will discuss more in Chapter 3. The need for antibiotics reflects the presence of disease on the farm, which should be controlled before it gets to the antibiotic level. The animals, if put out on grass and not confined to unsanitary areas, will be cleaner and less likely to be introduced to pathogens. Confined animals that are stocked at a high density tend also to be more stressed, which weakens the immune system, allowing the animal to get sick more easily and often.

A professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst told a story in his Animal Diseases class about his experience as a veterinarian. He got a call for a sick calf at a dairy farm. When he arrived he could tell the calf was near death. He did all he could, giving antibiotics for E. coli and an IV. He vaccinated the other living calves as well as the pregnant mothers. All of these cows were in the same small, dirty shed. By the end of the ordeal all the calves that had been alive when the first one got sick were dead, only the calves born after their mothers had been vaccinated lived. The farmers ended up losing a lot of money in antibiotic and vaccine treatment, as well as any profit that could have been made from the calves that died. A while later my teacher got another call from a different farm with the same problem. Only this time the calves were all out on grass. They quarantined the sick calf, vaccinated all the others and the still pregnant mothers. Only the calf that originally got sick died. This was a vivid example to me of how important it is to let animals live out on grass where they were intended to live.

The story also reflected another aspect of conventional farming that I want to avoid, which is feeding animals lots of antibiotics to prophylacticlly avoid disease. Giving too many antibiotics may contribute to antibiotic resistant strains of pathogens; one example of this is the now resistant, 7

highly deadly strain of E. coli which can crop up on vegetables commonly bought in stores causing highly publicised and feared outbreaks. Some of these pathogens can be picked up by humans, zoonotic diseases, and if they are antibiotic resistant, a person (not to mention the animal that passed it) is more likely to die from the infection. However, ruling out the use of antibiotics entirely may mean losing some or many animals if a pathogen does present itself to the animals ("Questions and Answers: Animal Antibiotics, Antimicrobial Resistance and Impact on Food Safety” 2011).

Slaughter is never pleasant, however humans are omnivores by nature and because no one is going to eat an animal alive, it must be killed by some means. For me personally, this means in a commercial setting the animal is stunned before its throat is slit. The stunning, typically done by electricity, is highly effective at rendering an animal insensible, which means it is totally unaware, for the entire length of time it takes the animal to bleed out. However, it must be done properly or it can cause considerable stress (Grandin and Regenstein 1994). Personally I believe that if the animal is rendered insensible, slitting the throat is a quick enough and effective enough means of slaughter to be considered humane. However, this method is typically difficult on a small-scale farm where stunning equipment is expensive and impractical to buy.

Completely severing the head of the animal does ensure that the animal will not be able to regain any sense of what is going on, but is difficult to do with large animals. This is most likely the way I will kill the chickens I also plan to have. It is quick and easy and the chicken is incapable of feeling anything once the head is severed and thereby deprived of blood and oxygen. I have used this method before and find that I am comfortable with its effects. With a larger animal, getting completely through the neck and spinal cord is much more difficult and would take a much longer time. My solution to this is most likely to shoot the animal in the back of the head. This is a fairly common practice for farmers who have to put an animal down. Assuming the gun is placed directly over the brain stem and the animal is held down, one shot will kill the animal instantly. This is my method of choice for slaughtering my sheep.

The type of slaughter that is carried out can have limitations on the market the meat is able to be sold to. Animals that are rendered insensible, but have the ability to return to consciousness, i.e. by electrical stunning, can be sold to Halal (term assigned to products permissible by Islamic law) markets, but not to kosher markets. Animals that are rendered insensible, but cannot come back from it, i.e. by mechanical or bolt stunning, cannot be sold to either Halal or Kosher markets. Kosher animals must be fully conscious at the time of slaughter. Halal meat must be killed by a Halal certified slaughterer and kosher meat likewise must be slaughtered by a kosher certified slaughterer. Because I personally do not feel comfortable with animals being slaughtered by slitting their throat 8

when they are fully conscious, I will be unable to sell to a kosher market. Kosher animals must be killed by throat slitting, they may not be shot. While I may have to restrict my markets, I feel I cannot compromise my beliefs on slaughter.

The other aspect of my desire to raise sheep for meat is my belief that people should have access to meat that is healthy for them to eat. Grass-fed animals have a much lower fat content than those raised on a grain diet. While people need some fat in their diet to live, there is an excessive amount in most peoples’ diets. Feeding animals antibiotics on a regular basis means that antibiotic resistance to those drugs is built up more quickly. While eating meat from animals that contribute to antibiotic resistance is not unhealthy in itself, it does support a system where zoonotic diseases are more likely to harm people. Hormones fed to animals to make them grow faster and produce more milk end up in the products from the animal, whether it be meat or milk, and these hormones are then passed on to the person eating the product. Access to healthy food is a major problem in this country. Organic and “natural” foods are more expensive and not always available, especially in poorer communities. This puts poorer communities at a double disadvantage; they not only do not have the food supplied to them, but the food is more expensive than unhealthy food, so they have to choose the cheaper, unhealthy option. This is not to say that I can make widely available cheap, healthy food. Rather, that I want to create a model for producing healthy food, that I hope other people can follow to make healthier food more common place.

The next logical question people ask is: Why sheep? Most people think of them as an unintelligent animal that simply produces wool, so how does one make any money? They make a good point. I have had to think about this a lot; how I justify why I want to raise sheep. It is true that it is a small market in the U.S. and I could be setting myself up for financial hardship in the future. Other animals, such as dogs, horses, cows, and chickens, have much more obvious roles in our society. Dog and horse breeders have a huge pet market to sell to, not to mention specialty breeding, such as police dogs and race horses. These are markets that have been around for a very long time and have the potential to make a lot of money. Cows make beef or milk, both of which are widely consumed within the U.S. and a single cow produces a lot more of both than several sheep will. Chicken is one of the most common meats eaten in the U.S. and the other side to it is egg production, again very common. Any one of these animals makes a lot of sense for someone to raise if what they want to do is raise animals. However, sheep have their benefits as well.

For me the biggest reason, though there are several, is simply that I like sheep. When I started thinking about farming I knew I wanted to raise animals and not vegetables. There was just something that seemed easier and since working on a vegetable farm I have found what it is for me, 9

I simply communicate better with animals. Next I had to decide what animal. Cows would have been a good choice, given how much they produce and how convenient of a market there is in the U.S. But I am not a big person and cows are large and somewhat intimidating. Their fencing needs to be high and strong or they tend to break through it for better looking grass. I wanted a smaller animal, but goats were less appealing because they again have a tendency to destroy fencing or simply slip through it. After spending the summer working in a type of petting zoo on a farm in my town I realized the animal I felt most comfortable with was the sheep. They are not so large as to be intimidating, but are large enough to pose their own challenge and I find them calming.

I also have a fondness for the products they create. I enjoy both lamb and mutton; something that comes in handy when figuring out what to do with an old sheep that has a poor quality of life and is not producing well anymore. While my primary goal for raising sheep is to make money from selling meat, I still have to deal with the wool I will have to shear every year. The breed of sheep I want to raise is not well known for wool production, but I hope to be able to use it to make clothing items for myself. However, if I find that this works well, I may try to sell some handmade wool products at farmers markets or craft shows. Finally, if I lose a lamb and end up with a mother with no young I would like to try producing some cheese.

Sheep are not typically considered very smart; however studies have shown that they do have a good level of intelligence. Sheep are not as smart as the pig, but are on par with cattle. They are capable of remembering at least fifty different sheep faces for up to two years (Kendrick, et al 2001). Sheep will also learn to respond to their own specific name. They can be trained to follow simple commands to lead, stand tied, allow grooming, pose, pull carts, and do tricks. They are considered stupid because they run at the slightest sign of danger and interact with humans very little. This is simply because of their prey nature and their instinct to survive (Weaver 2005 p.14-15).

Sheep have other beneficial qualities. They have the potential to create many products. They are not highly demanding, like dairy cattle which need to be milked twice a day, every day for much of the year. They are fairly hardy creatures which can put up with less than ideal conditions and still produce well. Also, they offer me the opportunity, because of their lesser demands on the farmer, to raise chickens as well. This benefits me two ways: it is an extra source of income and they clean up after the sheep, making the field a healthier place for the sheep to return to. Because I want to be a pasture farmer, I find the words of Gene Logsdon very pertinent:

Sheep are the easiest animal to raise commercially in a pasture farming system . . . They are very efficient foragers. A healthy human can lift them for examination or loading onto a 10

truck. Can’t do that with cows. And sheep can run almost year-round on the fields without risk of overly pugging the soil surface during thaw times (Logsdon 2004 p.90).

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Chapter 2: Which Breed Is Right For Me?

The biggest factor in deciding which breed of sheep to raise is what they are being raised for. Raising sheep for meat means choosing a breed that puts most of its energy into building muscle. There needs to be a good ratio of fat to muscle and the fat needs to be well distributed throughout the muscle. Raising a sheep for wool means that the sheep needs to produce a fleece of the quality desired by the people who will make a product from it. The wool required for producing clothing is different than the wool required to producing carpets. The final major market available for sheep farmers to produce for is the dairy/cheese market. Some specialty cheeses, such as Feta traditionally, are made from sheep’s milk. Sheep farmers hoping to produce for the dairy and/or cheese market need a breed of sheep that produces a large amount of milk and has a long milk- producing period after the lamb is born. There are of course other reasons for sheep farmers to pick a certain breed and I will discuss those, as well as the ones above, in more detail, with greatest reference given to Suffolk and Hampshire breeds as I am most interested in raising them.

The second thing a farmer must consider when choosing a breed is whether crossbreeding will be used or if a purebred is the better option. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Crossbreeds are sheep that are bred from two or more separate breeds of sheep, such as a Dorset X Romney, which had one Dorset and one Romney parent. Crossbreeding is generally used to improve some quality in the offspring. For example, a meat breed sire, such as a Suffolk, is often bred to a wool breed dam, such as Rambouillet, to produce a meaty lamb for meat market sale, while the dam can continue to produce a fine, saleable wool. Crossbreeding also can be used to take advantage of hybrid vigour for replacement sheep. Hybrid vigour is when the crossbred offspring are smarter and more vigorous than their parents; basically the young inherit the best qualities of the parents and not generally the worst (Wooster 2005 p.22). However, crossbreeding can cause problems of its own. If a large sire is crossed with a small breed dam, the offspring may be too large to be born without major difficulty. Also, crossbreeding crossbreds will be unpredictable. The hybrid vigour is only present in the first generation of crossbreeding, after that the product animal will be a mystery to the average farmer (Wooster 2005 p.23).

Purebreds on the other hand are highly predictable. They have been bred over many generations to produce specific qualities which that particular breed is known for. However, choosing a rare purebred can be hazardous because they may not adapt well to any particular environment. Often these rare breeds need very specific living conditions in order to thrive. While registered purebreds are guaranteed to hold the specific qualities of the breed and not have some genetics of another random breed, they can be more expensive to buy. Grade sheep are sheep that 12

are most likely to possess the traits of a purebred, but they do not have paperwork so there can be discrepancies (Wooster 2005 p.25). However, this may be a good choice for a beginning farmer because they will not have to worry about the expense of buying registered purebreds and will not have to register their own flock. In all, it is easier to start with a purebred, maybe easier still with grade sheep, than a crossbred. However, each farmer will have to decide for themselves. I hope to start my farm with Suffolks, in an area that I will have access to registered Suffolks.

HAMPSHIRE

Figure 1. Hampshire sheep (Dalton 2010).

The Hampshire breed gets its name from its place of origin, Hampshire England. In the nineteenth century Southdown rams and Wiltshire Horn and Berkshire Knot ewes were crossbred to create the breed, which became an official breed in 1889. Physical characteristics of this breed include no horns (also called polled), a black or dark-brown face with no wool (except some on the poll and cheeks, they are still considered an open faced breed), black or brown legs which are mostly free of wool, and a short fleece. The ewes tend to be 80-100 kg (180-220lb) and the rams are generally 100-120kg (220-264lb). The New Zealand Sheepbreeders’ Association classifies the Hampshire Breed as “Large, alert and active. Tight, well-set shoulders; wide flat loins. Wide, deep, well-developed hindquarters. Rapid growth rate with minimum fat,” (“Hampshire” 2011). The rams are often crossbred with ewes from other breeds to promote fast, efficient growth in the resulting offspring (Simmons 1989). They are a good meat breed, which is the primary purpose for my raising sheep, so they may be the best option for me if Suffolks do not work out, or in addition to, or even as a crossbreeding option to increase production in my flock, while introducing some new characteristics. Suffolk sheep however are still my most favoured breed.

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SUFFOLK

Figure 2. Suffolk sheep (““Trail Boss” Lansing 9-334”).

The Suffolk breed is a result of crossing the old Southdown breed rams with Norfolk Horned breed ewes, with the breed being recognized in 1810. The Suffolk breed held the good qualities of both breeds, while losing almost every one of the bad qualities of either. The Norfolk breed contributed fertility, hardiness and activity, while the Southdowns contributed excellent conformation (the combination of soundness, structure, balance, and specific breed characteristics). Physical characteristics of a well conformed Suffolk include: black head and legs with no wool, bright eyes, long neck, large chest, and belly covered in wool, with fine, soft, and pink skin. They should be active with lots of stamina and good balance. They are a good meat breed, being one of the heaviest breeds of sheep with both the rams and ewes often weighing well over 100kg (220lb). The New Zealand Sheepbreeders’ Association has created an acronym using the Suffolk breed name:

Superior meat conformation Unusually prolific Fast growing lambs Famous for lean meat Overfats eliminated Large in size Known to be highly profitable Superb muscling (“Suffolk” 2011)

The Suffolk breed is my favourite breed for several reasons. One, they are a highly efficient breed, which means that they convert feed into muscle without as much waste as some other breeds, which means less feed is wasted and therefore not as much needs to be grown or bought. They are a very well muscled and lean breed, which means the meat they produce is more highly desirable than a fatty breed’s meat will be. Their large size also means more overall meat produced which simply means more products available to be sold to increase profit. Highly prolific breeds produce more offspring, which means a greater number of lambs to sell or to choose to keep to increase flock size 14

and/or replace old or dying ewes. However, sources conflict on the longevity of the breed. While the New Zealand Sheepbreeders’ Association says Suffolks are noted for their long, active lives, Raising Sheep the Modern Way says their longevity does not compare well to other breeds. Perhaps this is based on weather conditions, feed, or is simply a genetic predisposition that differs between New Zealand and the U.S. I will have to see how Suffolks produce on my own land in order to determine whether they are profitable or if I have to introduce a new breed.

A chart shown in Raising Sheep the Modern Way compares breeds of sheep and gives them ratings of 1 to 5 (low to high) for each of twelve categories (Simmons 1989 p.42-43):

Feed Wool Out of Overall Ewe Ram Growth Effi- Muscl- Produc- Wool Season Ease of Milking Lon- Hardi- Breed Breed Size Size Rate ciency ing tion Grade Breeding Lambing Ability gevity ness Ranking Black-Faced Highlands 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 2.0 2.5 3.0 2.5 3.5 2.5 22nd Chevoit 2.0 1.8 2.3 2.7 2.0 1.7 3.0 2.0 4.0 2.0 3.0 3.8 23rd Columbia 4.8 4.8 3.3 3.5 3.5 4.2 4.0 2.4 3.3 3.5 3.0 3.4 3rd Corriedale 3.3 3.3 3.0 3.0 2.8 4.3 4.0 2.7 3.7 3.7 4.9 3.7 7th Cotswold 5.0 5.0 3.3 2.7 3.0 3.0 2.0 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.7 1.7 19th Debouillet 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.0 2.0 5.0 5.0 3.5 4.0 3.0 4.0 4.0 9th Dorset 3.0 3.3 3.3 3.3 3.3 2.0 3.0 4.3 4.0 4.0 3.0 3.0 10th Finnish Landrace 2.2 2.2 3.3 3.3 2.6 1.6 2.0 4.0 5.0 4.4 2.7 3.0 15th Hampshire 4.6 4.6 4.6 4.3 4.6 1.8 2.7 3.0 2.7 4.0 2.3 3.0 5th Karakul 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.5 2.5 2.5 3.0 2.0 24th Large Border Leicester 4.3 4.3 4.0 3.7 3.7 3.8 3.3 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 6th Lincoln 4.5 4.5 3.3 2.7 3.0 2.8 2.0 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.7 2.3 21st Merino 2.3 42.3 1.7 2.0 1.7 5.0 4.7 3.0 3.0 2.3 3.7 4.3 16th* Montadale 3.0 3.0 2.7 3.0 2.7 3.0 3.0 2.7 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 20th Oxford 4.0 4.0 4.0 3.3 3.7 2.7 2.7 2.3 3.0 2.7 2.7 3.0 11th Panama 4.3 4.3 3.7 3.0 3.7 3.7 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 8th Rambouillet 4.0 4.0 3.5 3.3 3.6 5.0 5.0 4.2 3.8 3.4 4.8 4.8 1st Romeldale 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 4.0 3.5 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 12th Romney 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.5 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 14th Ryeland 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 16th* Shropshire 3.5 3.8 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 2.3 3.3 3.0 3.3 3.0 13th Suffolk 5.0 5.0 4.8 4.8 5.0 1.0 2.0 3.3 4.0 4.4 1.6 2.5 4th Southdown 1.2 1.2 1.2 2.5 3.0 1.8 2.3 2.0 2.7 1.7 3.3 3.0 25th Targhee 4.3 4.3 3.8 4.0 3.5 4.5 4.7 3.0 4.3 3.8 4.0 4.3 2nd Tunis 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 2.5 2.5 3.0 3.5 3.5 3.0 3.0 16th* Table 1. Which breed is best? “The breeds were compared as to their potential value to a commercial sheepman – with a flock of 250 grade ewes – who was willing to crossbreed. The breeds were scored by seven sheep experts as follows: 5.0 – excellent; 4.9 – Good; 3.0 – Average; 2.0 – Unsatisfactory; and 1.0 – Poor” (Simmons 1989 p.42-43).

These ratings are totalled and the breed is given an overall rank. Out of twenty-five breeds compared, Suffolks rated number 4 and Hampshires were just one lower at number 5. Wool production/grade, longevity, and hardiness are the points where Suffolks and Hampshires do less well when compared to the top three breeds. Because wool production is not my priority in raising sheep, this score is of less importance to me. What is important to me is that Suffolks scored highest on ewe size, ram size, growth rate, feed efficiency, and muscling; i.e. all the categories most important to meat production. They also scored very high on ease of lambing, which becomes 15

important when deciding how much help the ewes will need when they lamb, and milking ability, which is important to being sure the lamb receives the nutrition it needs to grow to its potential. I will now go more in depth with some of the important qualities of sheep breeds that have brought me to decide on Suffolks as my number one choice and Hampshires as my alternative.

MEAT

The production of meat by the animal is determined by many factors which occur both on- farm and off-farm and are caused by both the animal and the environment. I will focus in this section on the effects caused by the animals, but give quick mention to as many factors as possible. On-farm factors include the level of nutrition, specific nutrients, climate, topography, day length, growth promotants, physiological state, and health. Nutrition is obviously important in affecting the growth of an animal because an undernourished or improperly nourished animal will be unable to gain weight and may have stunted growth overall. Climate affects the animal by determining how much the animal must work to stay warm or cool off; affecting the amount of energy the animal can spend on growth. Topography has a similar effect on growth: if the animal must expend large amounts of energy navigating the territory, then it cannot spend as much energy on growing. Day length also has an affect several growth factors; studies have shown that animals exposed to 16 hours of daylight are more efficient, grow faster, and are slightly less fat than animals exposed to only 8 hours of daylight (Purchase 2010). Growth promotants are given to animals to increase their production, but are not something that is used by all farmers and are not something I will consider using on my own farm. Physiological state and health combine in their effects; an unhealthy or unfit animal will not be able to obtain the food it needs to gain weight and will not produce to its potential.

Animal-caused factors that affect growth are: breed, sex/castration, and genetic line. Breeds of sheep with a higher mature weight will grow faster. They will also grow more efficiently because animals gain a higher percentage of fat compared to muscle the closer they are to reaching their mature weight. Therefore, at any given time they are a smaller percentage of their mature weight than a smaller breed and will be gaining less fat for that weight. Fat takes more energy to gain than muscle does, which means fat gain is less efficient than muscle gain. Therefore an animal that is gaining more muscle than fat will be more efficient than an animal gaining more fat in relation to muscle (Purchase 2010).

The castration status of an animal essentially re-determines the sex of the animal, which affects growth through hormones. Rams have a higher maintenance requirement which means they are less efficient at growing. The maintenance requirement of an animal in this case is the amount of 16

energy from feed they need to maintain their current level of function; in other words how much food it takes to keep them at a level of stasis, neither gaining nor losing weight. A higher maintenance requirement means more energy is needed just to keep the animal at a constant and even more energy is needed for a gain. Growth rate of sex/castration categories decreases in the order: ram, cryptorchid (male with un-descended testicles), short scrotum (the scrotum has been shortened to keep the testicles next to the body where they are too hot to produce effective sperm), wether (a castrated male), ewe, and finally spayed ewe. This is mostly due to the mature weight of the animal and the amount of fat the animal has, which increases in the reverse order (Purchase 2010).

Genetic line effects growth and meat production of animals in the same way that genetics affect the physical appearance of people. Some genetic lines will be predisposed to gain more fat than others and some will be predisposed to grow more muscle than others (117.325 2010 p.B18- B71). Suffolk sheep offer breed and genetic lines that produce fast growing, well-muscled animals, which have the potential to make more profit.

The Hampshire breed rates number five in Raising Sheep the Modern Way because of its superior meat producing qualities. They are known for their fast growing lambs, which as stated above, causes more efficiently growing lambs and therefore more potentially profitable lambs (Simmons 1989 p.22). Their specific breed produces a heavier carcass with less fat and of higher quality with a sweeter taste than many other breeds. According to the New Zealand Sheepbreeders’ Association, “testing in the United States has shown that the Hampshire puts on more weight than the Suffolk – an average of 1.4kg [3.1lb] extra weight each month.” The rating system in Raising Sheep the Modern Way rates Hampshire ewe size as 4.6 out of 5, ram size as 4.6, growth rate as 4.6, feed efficiency as 4.3, and muscling as 4.6 (Simmons 1989 p.42). This breed would be a good choice for a farmer looking to produce meat as their main source of income. However, on the same chart the Suffolk outperforms the Hampshire in all those categories.

The Suffolk breed rates number four on Raising Sheep the Modern Way’s chart purely because of its size and production qualities. Suffolks rate at 5 out of 5 for ewe size, ram size, and muscling, and 4.8 for both growth rate and feed efficiency. They also beat Hampshires for out of season breeding (which can increase profits through having lambs born at times when most farmers are not producing lambs), ease of lambing (important for a less stressful time during lambing season), and milking ability (important for ensuring lambs receive enough milk to reach their production potential) (Simmons 1989 p.42-43). Their meat has a much finer texture and comes from lambs that grow rapidly with more meat and less fat than many other breeds (Simmons 1989 p.39). 17

The New Zealand Sheepbreeders’ Association claims, “Suffolk cross lambs are ideally suited to today's trade requirements. They have an excellent lean meat ratio, large eye muscle, well-muscled legs, and succulent, well-textured meat.” The legs and the eye-muscle area are the areas of higher- end cuts which bring more profit. The Suffolk was crossbred with the Southdown to create the South Suffolk breed to improve the size and meat potential of the original Southdown (Dalton 2010). It is my hope that the Suffolks’ good qualities will be enough for me to make a profit, but I will remain open to introducing Hampshire stock if I find that the Suffolk is not working.

GRAZING ABILITY

The grazing ability of sheep is obviously important for farmers planning to raise their sheep on grass. Each breed of sheep is better suited to certain territories and this is generally based on where the breed was first developed. For example, the Barbados Blackbelly was first bred on the Island of Barbados and is best suited for hot, tropical-like climates; whereas the Icelandic sheep was developed in Iceland and has long, thick wool to keep it warm and would do poorly in a very warm environment. Not only does the area the breed was developed in effect the way the animal performs in the climate, it effects the animal’s grazing capability.

The Hampshire breed does not do well on rough or scanty pasture, but will do well enough to allow the lambs to be marketed off grass if given good pasture (Simmons 1989 p.22). Hampshire County England, where the breed was developed, is a mostly flat or rolling hill country with much grassland. The average temperature in the area is 10°C (50°F) and the average rainfall is 91cm (36in) per year, these weather conditions provide for plentiful grass ("Mean Temperature (C°) Annual Average 1971-2000" 2000 and "Rainfall Amount (mm) Annual Average 1971-2000" 2000). This would account for why the Hampshire breed is accustomed to good pasture and does not do as well on pasture of lesser quality.

Suffolks on the other hand are active grazers that are willing to travel far to find available pasture and can do well on dry range (Simmons 1989 p.39). The Norfolk breed, one half of the original cross to create the Suffolk, was bred in the upland regions of Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridge, England. These areas are very rugged and forage is sparse, which means the breed had to develop the ability to travel long distances to obtain the proper amount of food (“Suffolk” 2011). This means they can be raised in many diverse areas, which opens up opportunities for where I can have a farm. It also means that given pasture of high quality, where they do not have to travel too much they have the potential to perform even better. 18

The sheeps’ grazing ability will also determine the number of sheep any given piece of land can hold, this is called the stocking rate. Suffolk sheep can have a larger stocking rate on poorer pasture than Hampshire sheep. This is because Suffolks will perform better on poor pasture than Hampshires. With a pasture of poor quality a farmer may have to reduce the number of Hampshires, but the number of Suffolks can stay the same without compromising the product. While the Suffolk sheep stocked at a higher rate on poor pasture may not perform to the best of their ability, they should be able to forage well enough that they can perform well enough to achieve an acceptable market value; and the increased number of sheep should make up the difference in the slightly lower amount of product from each individual sheep.

However, there are other factors besides breed that will affect a sheep’s grazing ability; and these factors can combine with breed ability to create problems that cause a loss of product. The sheep’s age will affect its ability to graze by several means: average health decreases as the sheep gets older, joint and muscle aches increases with age, and sheep over four years old begin to wear down their permanent teeth that allow them to bite grass. The average health of a sheep will affect its ability to graze by determining how far the sheep can travel for food and how much energy the sheep can expend obtaining and processing food. A very healthy sheep will be able to travel as far as its breed allows it to and can expend as much energy as genetics predetermine on obtaining and digesting food. On the other hand, a sick animal will expend large amounts of energy fighting a disease that may also cause general fatigue and will therefore be unable to travel very far for food or have the energy to eat. Joint and muscle aches affect grazing ability simply by reducing the distance the sheep is able to travel to obtain food. By four years old the sheep has grown in all of its permanent incisors. After this point they begin to wear down the incisors until their gums must wear down in order to expose what is left of the teeth. When this happens the sheep will develop gaps between the teeth, all of which make it difficult for the sheep to graze properly and therefore obtain the nutrition it needs to produce effectively (Simmons 1989 p.4-5).

Grazing ability of sheep is an important factor to consider when a farmer is selecting a breed. If land has not been bought and the farmer wants a specific breed, they will have to buy land based on where that breed will do well. The reverse is also true: if the farmer already has land, they will need to choose a breed that can do well on that land. If the breed and the land do not match the farmer is possibly setting themselves up for less productive sheep.

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FLIGHT DISTANCE

Flight distance is how far a sheep runs away from a perceived threat; it also includes how far the sheep remains away from anything potentially threatening, which can include the farmer. This is important because a sheep with a very large flight distance will keep a large amount of space between themselves and the farmer at all times. When it comes to giving vaccines, checking on potential injuries/illnesses, helping with lambing, shearing, or anything else that requires getting close to the sheep, this can become a problem. Sheep with a very large flight distance may require dogs in order to corral them. Shorter flight distances make for easier maintenance. Flight distance can differ by breed, mostly based on what they have been selected for.

Figure 3. Flight distance (Grandin 1989).

The flight zone size is dependent on the tameness or wildness of the livestock and can be utilized to move animals to a desired location. However, extremely tame livestock are sometimes difficult to move because they have no flight zone; they must be moved with a feed bucket or halter. The flight zone of range cattle can be up to 50m (164ft), while feedlot cattle may have a 2-8m (6- 26ft) flight zone. The size of the flight zone can be diminished if the animals receive frequent, careful handling. The size of the enclosure has an effect on the size of the flight zone size: animals in a narrow alley have a smaller flight zone than animals confined in a wide alley. If a person enters the flight zone the sheep will move away and if the person gets too close, the animals will run away. In order to move the animal in a controlled manner, the handler moves on the edge of the flight zone (Grandin 1989).

Figure 4. Moving an animal using flight zone (Grandin 1989). 20

Breed has an influence on flight distance through development of the breed and its effect on anti-predatory behaviour. A study by Hansen et al (2001) analysed the differences in anti-predatory behaviour in the following breeds: Old Norwegian, Spælsheep, Norwegian fur, Suffolk, Steigar, and Dala. They were tested on responses to potential predators by determining reaction time, flight, defence, awareness, and flocking behaviour. This behaviour was then related to the size of the breeds. The light breed (L) was the Old Norwegian, the medium breeds (M) were Spælsheep and Norwegian fur, and the heavy breeds (H) were Suffolk, Steigar, and Dala. All breeds except the Old Norwegian have been selected over time for superior meat qualities.

Figure 5. Flight distance predatory response (Hansen et al 2001).

Flight distance was generally significantly greater for the light weight breed, while the medium and heavy breeds either did not differ significantly or fluctuated greatly. Another quality measured was recovery time, or time it took the sheep to recover from being exposed to the threatening stimulus.

Figure 6. Recovery time from predatory stimulus (Hansen et al 2001).

The heavier breeds were significantly quicker to recover from the threat than the light weight breeds. The results indicate that anti-predatory behaviours have been weakened through selection for production and economy traits (Hansen et al 2001). This indicates that Suffolks will be easier to handle because they are breed that has been heavily selected over generations, which has decreased their flight distance, and they are generally considered a calm breed (Grandin 1989). 21

Breeds that have been selected for meat often have black faces as well, because selecting for white wool was not necessary. White faced breeds have been found to be more gregarious than black faced breeds. This means they become more stressed when separated out, but are easier to drive because they remain more reliably as a group (Weaver 2005 p.50). Herding dogs are therefore much more effective with a group of highly gregarious, white faced sheep because the less gregarious, black faced sheep are more likely to scatter.

Flight distance is related to fears sheep have and these fears can be used to move sheep or decrease stress (if the fears are avoided). Sheep will move from dark to light easily, but not the other direction; their depth perception is not good, which makes light/dark situations scary. They will go from confined spaces to open spaces, into wind, and uphill easily as well. They prefer to not cross water and do not like narrow openings or slippery surfaces. Making sure to keep areas well lit, clean, free of dangling distractions (generally perceived as threats), and generally respecting sheep preferences makes for much easier moving and handling of sheep. Sheep also have long memories and will recall bad experiences in specific situations for a long time (Weaver 2005 p.51). It is important to use information about sheep behaviours to make for less stressful experiences.

MOTHERING ABILITY, EASE OF LAMBING, AND FERTILITY

Another important breed quality to be considered is the performance of the ewe as a mother. This includes what is called her mothering ability (basically taking care of her young), the ease with which she lambs, and her fertility (basically the number of lambs she produces with each pregnancy and how often she gets pregnant). All of these are important qualities to ensure the healthy, productive growth of their lambs.

A ewe’s mothering ability encompasses everything from her willingness to accept her young when they are born to her watching over them as they grow and making sure they are fed. The obvious importance of this is that a ewe that does not take care of her young leaves a lamb which must be taken care of by the farmer or dies. This usually ends up meaning the farmer must take much extra time to bottle feed a lamb. The lamb can be given access to a pail of milk so the farmer does not have to constantly be feeding it, but the lamb tends to begin overfeeding itself. In general the farmer will have to feed the lamb every four hours, then every six, and finally once or twice a day (Wooster 2005 p.141-144). Not only is this time consuming, but the milk replacer needed to feed the lamb is expensive. Most bottle lambs end up costing so much money in milk replacer and time that they end losing the farmer money. Sometimes another ewe can be fooled into taking care of a lamb 22

like this, but this can be a struggle and generally does not work. Ewes that abandon their young are often, and generally rightfully, culled because they are likely to continue doing it in the future.

Another reason ewes are often culled is their inability to lamb without difficulty. Ewes that require a lot of assistance when lambing also require a lot of time from the farmer. This means routine checking and assessing by the farmer, throughout the night for many nights in a row. While a farmer should be responsible for their flock and do checks on the sheep regularly during lambing season, as well as give assistance when needed, there is a limit to how much assistance should be given before the lamb loses its value. The chances that a lamb or ewe will die during the birth increase as the difficulty of birth increases, which either produces a small profit loss from the lamb or a much larger profit loss from the ewe being unable to produce more young. Breeds of sheep that lamb easily are able to be left for longer periods of time during lambing and are less likely to have losses; both of which can increase profits.

Finally the fertility of the ewe is highly related to genetics. The Booroola gene has been singled out as one that causes multiple eggs to be released. Ewes with a single copy of the Booroola gene tend to release 2-5 eggs per ovulation and those with two copies of the gene can release between 4 and 10 eggs per ovulation (117.352 2010 p.E26). While twins are desirable, anything more than that can cause more trouble than it is worth. The ewe will require much more feed and can easily get underweight which can lead to pregnancy toxaemia (also called twin-lamb disease, sleepy sickness, or ketosis). Pregnancy toxaemia occurs when the ewe is physically incapable of eating enough to keep up with the demand made by the foetus for minerals and glucose (117.352 2010 p.F63 and Coleby 2006 p.170). So while fertility is a good thing and twins are desirable from a point of view of increasing possible product, too much fertility can also be a bad thing. The other gene, called the Inverdale gene, which has been connected to fertility, can increase ovulation rates by 1 if the ewe has only one copy. However, if the ewe carries two copies of the gene they become infertile. So keeping the ewe flock with one gene would be highly beneficial to the farmer, but this requires some complicated management skills to avoid flock infertility (117.352 2010 p.E26). Fertility is a highly heritable trait through the mother’s side and therefore the farmer should select replacement ewes which were born twins and come from mothers which often produce twins and were twins themselves. When rating breeds for prolificacy Raising Sheep the Modern Way makes the point that improvement can easily be made by retaining only twin ewes and using rams that were also twins, an indication of how heritable this trait is (Simmons 1989 p.44).

When comparing Hampshires and Suffolks for these traits, Suffolks come out ahead. While Hampshire ewes produce good amounts of milk and are fairly prolific, they tend to have more 23

difficulty lambing (Simmons 1989 p.22). While Suffolk ewes also demonstrate good mothering ability and produce a good quantity of milk, they also have a fairly easy time lambing (Simmons 1989 p.39). A second chart in Raising Sheep the Modern Way does a ewe comparison looking at prolificacy and mothering ability.

Heave Weight Grazing Heat Mothering Breed When Fat (Lambs) Ability Tolerance Prolificacy Ability Temperament

Black-Faced Highlands 3.8 5.0 3.0 3.0 3.5 3.0 Chevoit 1.5 5.0 3.5 1.0 5.0 1.0 Columbia 5.0 4.2 4.5 3.5 4.0 3.8 Corriedale 3.5 4.0 4.5 3.0 3.2 3.6 Cotswold 5.0 1.5 2.5 3.5 2.5 3.0 Debouillet 3.0 4.5 5.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 Dorset 3.0 3.2 4.0 3.5 4.5 4.0 Finnish Landrace 3.5 3.0 3.0 5.0 4.5 2.5 Hampshire 4.5 3.8 4.0 3.2 4.5 4.0 Karakul 3.0 4.0 4.5 2.0 2.5 2.0 Large Border Leicester 4.8 2.8 3.0 3.5 2.5 3.0 Lincoln 5.0 2.0 3.0 3.5 3.0 4.0 Merino 1.5 5.0 5.0 1.0 2.0 1.0 Montadale 3.0 4.5 3.5 3.5 4.0 1.0 Oxford 4.0 3.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 Panama 5.0 4.2 4.5 3.2 3.5 3.5 Rambouillet 4.2 4.5 5.0 3.0 3.2 3.0 Romeldale 3.0 3.5 4.0 2.5 3.8 3.5 Romney 3.5 4.0 3.5 3.0 4.0 4.8 Ryeland 3.0 3.5 3.0 2.5 3.0 4.0 Shropshire 3.0 3.5 3.5 3.5 4.5 4.0 Suffolk 5.0 4.0 4.0 3.5 4.5 2.8 Southdown 1.5 1.0 1.0 2.5 4.5 5.0 Targhee 4.5 4.5 4.8 3.2 3.5 3.5 Tunis 3.0 3.5 5.0 4.0 4.0 3.0 Table 2. Breeds were compared on abilities with 5 being high and 1 being low in potential value to a sheepman (Simmons 1989 p.44)

Hampshires rate at 3.2 (with 5 being highest and 1 begin lowest) for prolificacy and 4.5 for mothering ability. Suffolk ewes rate at 3.5 for prolificacy and 4.5 for mothering ability. The two breeds come in quite close, but there is no rating for easy of lambing, which is an important characteristic to think about (Simmons 1989 p.44). The general consensus seems to be that Suffolks have fewer difficulties giving birth. All in all, the Suffolks have more appeal for me as a ewe breed.

WOOL

Wool can influence breed choice through everything from the purpose of raising sheep to how the sheep will perform reproductively. If the goal of the farmer is to raise sheep for wool then the farmer will be more concerned with the quality of the wool than the quality of the meat. Since I am more interested in raising sheep for meat than I am for wool, the quality of wool from the breed I choose is of less importance. However, I still have some interest in the quality of wool because I would like to make things for myself and possibly sell some wool products for extra income.

Wool quality is measured by seven characteristics: yield, fibre fineness, staple length, bulk, medullation, and lustre. Yield is the amount of clean wool content, that is, all the wool left over after 24

all contaminants (such as hay and dirt) and absorbed water has been removed; the higher the yield, the more products available and the higher the profits. Fibre fineness, also called mean fibre diameter, is measured in microns. Fineness is generally considered the most important characteristic in wool quality because it is the main determinant in whether the wool can be used for apparel or not (117.325 2010 p.C1-C2). The smaller the micron, the finer the fibre and the more useful it will be for creating apparel. For example, Merino, the most famous wool breed, has fibre micron measurements that are generally between 16 and 24, while Drysdale, a non-dual purpose, meat breed, has micron measurements of 35 to 47 (117.352 2010 p.C28). While Merino wool will be found in things like sweaters, Drysdale wool could really only end up in carpets. Staple length is measured in millimetres and is “the length of the longer fibres in a hand-prepared tuft or "staple" in its naturally crimped and wavy condition,” (“What is “Fibre Length” - Definition & Explanation” 2011). Generally a longer staple length is more useful because the fibres have more area to hold onto each other. Bulk is measured as the volume occupied by a certain weight of wool when pressed down by a specified weight. Medullation is the measurement of the amount of medullated fibres present in the wool (117.352 2010 p.C7-C9). A medullated fibre includes a medulla, which is the continuous cellular marrow inside the cortical layer in the fibre (“Fiber Testing Terminology”). Some medullation is desirable in carpet wools, but none is desirable in apparel wools. Medullated fibres also tend to be a chalky white colour and are generally coarser. Lustre is the glossy sheen on the surface of the fibres. Higher amounts of lustre make dying wool bright colours more easy, but these fibres are often more difficult to process because of their slipperiness (117.352 2010 p.9). Not all of these measurements are always used to classify and buy wool, but some do influence others and it is good to know as many of them about each breed when considering what to do with the wool.

The wool from the Hampshire breed of sheep is lightweight with fairly short fibres (Simmons 1989 p.22). The micron measurements are generally between 29 and 31 (Simmons 1989 p.215). Wool from Suffolks is also short and lightweight, with only marginally better micron measurements of 25 to 28 (Simmons 1989 p.39, 215). Neither breed shows much potential for producing wool products other than very coarse materials, such as carpets.

There are two pieces of significance related to the wool present on Hampshires and Suffolks: the location and colour of the wool on the sheep’s body. Wool present on the legs of the sheep is generally considered a disadvantage because it is time consuming to shear and is not of good enough quality to be included in the fleece. Hampshires have wool going slightly further down their legs than do Suffolks, but neither has very much. Since the wool is not worth much anyway, having less on the legs is a big advantage from the point of view of paying the shearer for time spent. Fleece 25

present on the face of the sheep has been linked with lowered fertility and less heavy lambs. Both Hampshires and Suffolks are considered “open-faced” breeds, meaning they have no wool on their faces. However, Hampshires do have some wool on their poll (the top of the head) and their cheeks. This may be why Suffolks are considered better mothers. Coloured wool is less desirable than white wool because it is less easy and predictable to dye. Both Hampshires and Suffolks have coloured wool present on their faces and legs. The fibres from these areas can get mixed in with their fleece making the value of the fleece as a whole decrease (Simmons 1989 p.9). However, the fleece is short enough in these areas that it is not sheared and is therefore less likely to be a problem. Overall however the Suffolk has less wool on the legs, so is less expensive to shear; has less wool on the face, so is more likely to raise more and heavier lambs; and has less black hair in sheared areas to mix in with the white wool and decrease its value.

As people move toward sustainable lifestyles, new ways of insulating houses have arisen, and one of the new methods is using wool as an insulator. It can either be installed as batts or be blown into wall cavities. It is non-flammable, holds up well over time without collapsing, and vermin do not like to nest in it. This makes it, while generally a rather expensive insulation, a highly desirable one as well (Coleby 2006 p.2). How I might be able to find a market for selling my wool as insulation, I am not sure. Most insulators have their methods and like to use familiar materials. However, I may be able to start an insulator in using wool as a new material if I can supply a constant source.

DAIRY/CHEESE

Raising sheep for dairy, which is generally converted to specialty cheeses, is not something that has been a large part of the sheep industry in the U.S.; in 1989 the U.S. was importing 20 million pounds of sheep cheese per year. Sheep’s milk is however highly productive in itself. While 100 pounds of cow’s milk will yield only 10 pounds of cheese, sheep’s milk is much higher is solids (19.30% for sheep compared to 12.01% for cows) and therefore yields 20 pounds of cheese per 100 pounds of milk (Simmons 1989 p.235). Specialty cheeses make higher profits on the market and they include Feta, Pecorino Romano, Roquefort, Ricotta, as well as others, with Feta being the traditional sheep’s cheese (Wooster 2005 p.21). If done properly sheep’s milk can bring in a nice extra bit of profit, as according to an analysis in Raising Sheep the Modern Way: “The University of Minnesota gave this example: Suppose you milk 100 ewes, for a total of 20,000 pounds of milk (200 pounds per ewe) worth about $.50 to $.60 per pound. This would total $10,000 to $12,000 from breeding stock you already own and care for and feed, anyway,” (Simmons 1989 p.236). 26

Milk produced by sheep has higher quantities of many minerals and vitamins than milk produced by either goats or cows. Below is a comparison of milk produced by these three animal types:

Sheep Goat Cow Whole Milk % Total Solids 18.3 11.2 12.1 Fat 6.7 3.9 3.5 Protein 5.6 2.9 3.4 Lactose 4.8 4.1 4.5 Calories/100g 102.0 77.0 73.0 Vitamins mg/l Riboflavin B2 4.3 1.4 2.2 Thiamine 1.2 0.5 0.5 Niacin B1 5.4 2.5 1.0 Pantothenic Acid 5.3 3.6 3.4 B6 0.7 0.6 0.6 Folic acid ug/l 0.5 0.06 0.5 B12 0.09 0.007 0.03 Biotin 5.0 4.0 1.7 Minerals mg/100g Calcium (Ca) 162-259 102-203 100-120 Phosphorous (P) 82-183 86-118 90-90 Sodium (Na) 41-132 35-65 56-60 Magnesium (Mg) 14-19 12-20 10-12 Zinc (Zn) 0.5-1.5 0.18-0.5 0.2-0.4 Iron (Fe) 0.02-0.01 0.01-0.1 0.02-0.06 Table 2. Sheep, Goat, and Cow milk nutrient comparison (Weaver 2005 p.112).

Sheep’s milk breaks down into smaller molecules, which makes it more digestible. This means that even with its higher lactose concentration, lactose intolerant people often have no problem digesting sheep’s milk and cheese (Weaver 2005 p.112). B vitamins (found in higher concentrations in sheep’s milk) support and increase metabolism, maintain healthy skin and muscle tone, enhance immune and nervous system function, and promote cell growth and division. Vitamins B6 (slightly higher from sheep) and B12 (considerable higher from sheep than goats and higher than cows) may help to reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer when eaten in food form. The same does not hold true for B6 and B12 eaten in vitamin supplement form (“Pancreatic cancer risk cut by B6, B12” 2007).

Typical breeds of sheep that are milked are Assaf, Lacaune, British Milksheep, and East Friesian; with Lacaune and East Friesian being the most common (Wooster 2005 p.21). The University of Minnesota did a research project comparing the milking abilities of purebred sheep. While Dorset ewes scored highest and had the greatest ability to adapt to being milked, Suffolk ewes still ranked second (Simmons 1989 p.235). While milking sheep is not my highest priority and has several drawbacks (less milk for the lamb, time spent milking, cost of milking equipment, and time to make the cheese), it does offer me the opportunity to bring in some extra money. However, if I really want to take advantage of the extra profit available from sheep’s cheese, I would most likely 27

have to choose another breed such as the East Friesian to produce enough milk to make my time worthwhile.

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Chapter 3: Feed Management

In this country most animals are raised on grain diets, which fatten them quickly. Corn and soybeans are highly subsidized, which makes them somewhat profitable to grow and creates a huge incentive to grow more and more every year. This in turn creates a great excess of corn; that which people cannot eat or process into other foods or export. The excess used to just be stored, but is now generally fed off to cows and other ruminants; in fact livestock consume about 47% of the soy and 60% of the corn grown in the U.S. (“the issues: Feed” 2011). The ruminant digestive system is designed to process grass. The bacteria present in the rumen are there specifically to break down the grass into proteins the animal can then absorb through another stomach, the abomasum (very much like the human stomach and sometimes called the “true stomach”) (Damron 2009 p.116-120). While the grain or soy diet has the advantages of quickly growing animals and being relatively cheap, there are more, and to me, more disturbing disadvantages.

Grain and soy are high in protein, which helps the animals to gain weight quickly, but it also causes more fat deposit because there is too much protein available to the animal which it cannot properly metabolize. These conventionally grown crops are generally grown using many pesticides which the animals eat. The pesticides are then stored in the fat of the animals and finally consumed by whomever or whatever eats the animal. “This exposure to pesticides increases people’s risk of developing cancer, and is also known to have long-term effects on our reproductive, nervous and immune systems,” (“the issues: Feed” 2011). In general, animals that are grain-fed produce meat, eggs, and dairy which are lower in omega-3 fatty acids than grass-fed animals (Purchas 2010 p.D9). Omega-3 fatty acids are beneficial to the hearts of healthy people, as well as those at high risk of or already have cardiovascular disease. They also have been shown to decrease risk of arrhythmias and triglyceride levels, to slow the growth rate of atherosclerotic plaque, and slightly lower blood pressure (“Fish and Omega-3 Fatty Acids” 2011). Products from grain-fed animals also tend to be lower in conjugated linoleic acid, which has been shown to fight cancer and cardiovascular disease (Purchas 2010 p.D9 and issues 2011). In an age where heart disease and cancer are the top two causes of death in the U.S. and diabetes is in the top ten, anything that can help improve human health is a great benefit (“Leading Causes of Death” 2009). Pasture-fed animals offer more of an opportunity for healthy eating.

Aside from the health benefits, meat from pasture-fed animals has what I would consider another advantage: a better flavour. However, this is a personal preference and of course not everyone will agree. A few years ago in a class I took, we did a taste test to determine milk preferences. We had three “flavour” choices: conventional, pasteurized, not local, and not organic, 29

Hood milk; ultra-pasteurized, organic, but not local, Stonyfield Farms milk; and sometimes organic, not ultra-pasteurized, and grass-fed, Our Family Farms milk. Because this was a class on sustainability in agriculture, everyone wanted to like the local, pasture-fed produced milk the best. However, most of the class voted for the conventional milk tasting the best and the pasture-fed ending up tasting the worst. After some debate, we came to the conclusion that everyone had voted for the “best” taste based on what they believed milk should taste like. Most of us grew up eating meat and drinking milk from animals raised on a grain diet. We have become accustomed to a specific way we think meat and milk should taste. When that taste changes, we often perceive it as bad; this is our body’s natural way of telling us something is off from normal, which could mean spoilage which could lead to food poisoning. Generally the reaction is not so dramatic that people think the meat or milk has actually spoiled, but they will associate it with an off taste and try to avoid it in the future.

Associations can have a very strong influence on our perceived flavour preferences of what is “good” and what is “bad.” I have been a big milk drinker my whole life and I have almost always had conventionally produced, generic milk. So I was one of those people who preferred the conventional Hood milk and rated the grass-fed milk at the bottom during the class taste test. However, when I arrived in New Zealand and bought my first gallon of milk, it did not occur to me that I might be in for a surprise. At first I could tell the milk just tasted different and I knew that it was a familiar different, but I could not figure out why I knew this strange flavour. Eventually it came to me, this milk tasted similar to the grass-fed milk I had tasted in class that one day. While here in the U.S. I buy 2% milk, with anything lower tasting like water and whole milk being slightly too creamy, I was buying 1.5% in New Zealand and having to get used to tasting like whole milk. Their milk has a creamier, sweeter taste to it. Because of my background in studying sustainable agriculture, I began associating this strange taste with the benefits of sustainability and the taste quickly grew on me. I found it a lot harder to switch back to conventional milk in the U.S. because I was linking the flavour with what I perceive as unsustainable and generally inhumane farming practices. Many people may be unwilling to buy a new product, such as grass-fed lamb, because they have become used to the way grain-fed lamb tastes and they perceive the difference as negative. However, if their perception of good and bad flavours can be changed through information provided about the benefits of grass-fed meat, they may be more willing to try.

In New Zealand lamb, and increasingly beef, are major exports. In the export year ending December 2009, sheep meat was the second largest export and beef meat was the fourth largest from New Zealand (“Exports and Imports” 2010). A major factor in keeping their economy running is 30

making sure their consumers like the way their meat tastes. This includes studying taste preferences in the hopes of opening new markets that are maybe not currently available because of the way the meat now tastes. In a study conducted in New Zealand and published in 2002, the effects of concentrate versus pasture diets on the perceived “pastoral” flavour of the meat produced were looked at. Four specific chemicals were found to have significant influence on the flavour of the meat: 3-methylindole was associated with “animal” odour/flavour; 4 methyphenol was associated with “pastoral” flavour; 4 heptenal was present in pasture fed animals; and branched-chain fatty acids which are found in higher numbers in concentrate fed animals (Young 2002).

The results of the different diets on flavour of the meat produced were: Pasture diets had more 3-methylindole (animal flavour) and the diet did not significantly affect 4-methylphenol (pastoral flavour). The meat was cooked and fed to judges who had been prepped to used specific words to describe specific flavours; they found that the “sheepmeat” flavour was the lowest in the lucerne diet (concentrate diet), the “barnyard” flavour was highest in concentrate diets, the “oily/fatty” flavour was highest in the lucerne diet, and the “sweet” flavour was highest in the pasture diet. One of their major conclusions focused on branched-chain fatty acids (BCFAs). Animals that are fed on concentrate diets have higher numbers of BCFAs; New Zealand consumers prefer meat with some BCFAs, while Japanese consumers prefer meat with no BCFAs. Finishing animals on concentrate diets increases the amount of BCFAs enough that the meat is no longer acceptable to either market (Young 2002).

However, in the U.S. we have eaten meat from animals raised on concentrate for so long that a higher presence of BCFAs may be more preferential to us and therefore feeding a grass diet may lower the amount of BCFAs enough to make the taste of the meat less acceptable to the consumer. The study also states that grass-fed ruminants have been known to develop a “pastoral” flavour, which is positively describe as “full-bodied” and negatively described as “off,” “animal-like,” or “grassy,” whereas grain finished ruminants tend to develop a “bland” flavour (Young 2002). It is this “bland” flavour that has stopped me from buying as much meat here in the U.S. as I did in New Zealand. I hope that through educating the people who will potentially buy my meat, I can teach them the benefits of pasture raised animals and their products so that the consumer is willing to take the time to adjust to a new flavour.

Personally I find the taste of grass-fed meat much preferable to that of grain-fed meat. There are many people, my father included, who cannot tell the difference. Most of the lamb sold in the major supermarkets, e.g. Stop & Shop, comes from Australia or New Zealand. While Australia does some grain feeding to its animals, the majority of the animals are pasture raised, and an even 31

higher percentage, effectively all, of New Zealand sheep are raised on grass. This means the meat supplied to the U.S. is typically from grass-fed animals. In theory, this should make marketing grass- fed lamb to Americans much easier. My goal is to make grass-fed lamb available to U.S. consumers from a local source. In order to do this, I need to plan my feeding management, which primarily consists of grass management.

I have often heard of farmers raising their animals on pasture as grass farmers. Managing the pasture is essential to providing feed for the animals. Incorrect management can leave the animals not just hungry for several days until more feed can be supplied, but all the way through until the next year when grass begins growing again. “Poor feeding of ewes results in reduced fertility, poor nursing ability, fewer multiple births, decreased wool production, a higher incidence of pregnancy disease, and reduced growth of lambs,” (Simmons 1989 p.67). High quality feed is most important to ewes in late pregnancy and lambs going for fall slaughter after a spring birth. Until late pregnancy, giving ewes high quality feed can lead to difficult lambing because of fat build-up in the ewe’s rump. Only in the last five to six weeks of pregnancy does the lamb begin to grow quickly enough to put a large demand on the ewe’s energy. Lambs need high quality feed in order to gain enough weight quickly enough to be at market weight after a summer on grass. Correct management of the pasture, and of feed in general, includes how many sheep can be raised on a given area, preventing bloat and toxaemia, providing minerals, identifying good pasture feeds and bad ones, rotational movement between pastures, and how to feed the animals throughout the winter.

NUMBER OF SHEEP

The number of sheep that can be raised on any given piece of land depends on the quality of the grass in the pasture and the amount of time the sheep are allowed to graze. Clearly a large group of sheep in a small area will overwhelm the resources in a short period of time. They may go so far as to eat everything down so low they end up killing it. All that will be left are the inedible plants and a lot of dirt. However, a small number of sheep in a large area can be a disaster as well. Sheep are preferential eaters, they will continue going back to the places where their favourite grasses are as they get grow to an edible height. If given enough space, the sheep can decide to only eat those plants that they like and this gives the other plants the opportunity to take over the pasture. Eventually there will be nothing left except the plants the sheep are unwilling or unable to eat (Wooster 2005 p.46). In general, if the pasture is of medium quality, four sheep per acre can graze happily and healthily for an extended period of time (Simmons 1989 p.45). More sheep can be 32

grazed on a smaller area as long as they are moved frequently enough to keep the grass no higher than 25.4cm (10in) and no shorter than 5.1cm (2in) (Wooster 2005 p.48-49).

The key factors that influence the number of sheep that can be grazed on a piece of land, or the stocking rate, are: soil type and fertility (rocky, sandy, wet, etc.), plant species (grass, clover, etc.), rainfall or irrigation, climate, landscape (hilly, flat, marsh, etc.), sex of sheep, and whether the pasture will be rotated or not (Simmons 1989 p.45). Each of these factors affects the growth of the pasture in different ways. The type of soil and fertility will determine what can grow there, which will determine its nutrient content and therefore available energy. The plant species may be high in protein or low in some minerals which will have an effect on the development of the sheep. The amount of rainfall will determine how quickly the grass will grow. Cool, wet conditions prompt the grass to grow more quickly, while hot, scorching conditions can entirely stop the growth of grass. Irrigation can help solve the lack of growth problem during dry times, but it is expensive and time consuming, especially with maintenance.

Climate can have many effects on pasture production, everything from rainfall to snowfall, wind to average amount of sun, and cloudiness to temperature has an effect on the growth potential of grass, which will influence the production potential of the sheep. Landscape influences the types of pastures that can grow; hilly terrain requires plants with tough, stable root systems, while marshy terrain will only be able to grow plants that perform well with high amounts of water. The sex of the sheep determines how much feed they will require to meet their maintenance and production requirements. Pregnant ewes nearing the end of their pregnancy (70% of lamb growth occurs in the last five to six weeks of pregnancy) will require much more food than non-pregnant ewes; therefore fewer pregnant ewes can be kept on the same size of land than non-pregnant ewes (Weaver 2005 p.76-77). Pasture rotation allows more sheep to be grazed on a smaller piece of land because they are moved quickly away before they can perform damage to the field. All of these factors need to be considered when determining how many sheep a pasture can hold.

BLOAT AND TOXAEMIA

Bloat is a serious condition that can cause death if it goes untreated. When ruminant animals are switched quickly from a poor quality diet to a high quality diet, their rumen does not have time to adjust to the change. The bacteria present in the rumen are unprepared to deal with the nutrient density of the high quality feed. One of two things can then happen. Either the food will begin to rot in the rumen, which then emits gas, which causes the rumen to expand until it crushes the lungs and the sheep dies of asphyxiation. Or a foam layer will build up in the rumen from the 33

bacteria and will plug up the oesophagus until it blocks the trachea and causes the animal to asphyxiate. There are several different methods for preventing bloat. Legumes can be a problem because they are a rich plant that animals are drawn to eat lots of. A good way to prevent bloat is to fill the animals up on hay before they are first turned out into a legume pasture. They will not have enough room in their rumen to fit a lot of legumes in. The first growth of alfalfa and red clover is lusher than later growth and causes more cases of bloat, especially when covered with dew. It is best turn animals out onto legumes that have been cut at least once and are dry (Logsdon 2004 p.95).

Toxaemia can occur if the diet is switched from a high quality feed to a low quality feed. The sheep attempt to adjust to the new diet by mobilizing their fat reserves. This overwhelms their livers and causes lethargy, listlessness, and stupefaction, eventually leading to death. In general, the rule is to switch diets slowly. Introducing a little more of the diet each day over an extended period of time, allowing for the sheep’s body to adjust to the new diet (Wooster 2005 p.76-77).

MINERALS

The minerals that are most important to and can cause the most problems for sheep are calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, chlorine, potassium, sodium, sulphur, cobalt, copper, iodine, iron, selenium, and zinc. Calcium is most important to young growing animals; they can develop leg problems if not given enough. Both phosphorus and magnesium are important for bone growth and digestion; however magnesium is the more likely of the two to be lacking. Potassium is generally quite available, but if it is present in too high of quantities it can lead to magnesium deficiency. Sodium requirements double during pregnancy and are necessary for nerve functions. Adding sulphur to the sheeps’ diet is generally only necessary when it is a low protein diet with a source of non-protein nitrogen. Cobalt is used by rumen bacteria to synthesize vitamin B12, which is critical to maintaining metabolism and digestion. A deficiency in copper can cause abnormalities of the brain and spinal cord, bone abnormalities, loss of pigmentation of black wool, and loss of crimp and tensile strength in wool; however the maximum and minimum levels of copper are close together and copper poisoning is easily done. Iodine is used to synthesize thyroxine for controlling the differentiation of cells and heat production; too much of it fed to the ewe during pregnancy can cause the lamb to be born with an enlarged thyroid, which can compromise their survival. Iron is used to form haemoglobin and a deficiency causes anaemia, which will reduce production by the animal. A lack of selenium in the diet can cause general “ill thrift,” white muscle disease (a degenerative muscle disease), embryo mortality, and reduced fleece weights (Schoenian “White” 2009). Finally a deficiency in zinc can cause the slowing of several body functions (117.352 2010 34

p.F12-F22). Keeping the right mineral balance for sheep, during all stages of life, is critical to proper development and performance.

There are two different ways to go about providing the proper amount of minerals for the sheep, either they can be provided through dietary supplements or the pasture can be amended. Amending the pasture requires soil testing and regular soil additions to attempt to find the right balance. This can be a long and expensive process and it does not always work out. The amendments can wash away before they are absorbed by the plants. Many times deficiencies can cause problems in the flock before they can be corrected by pasture amendment. Salt licks and mineral powders are a much more reliable and a much quicker way to solve flock deficiency problems. A salt lick is a block of salt and minerals that the sheep is allowed to lick freely; the sheep’s body is able to tell when it has enough of any one mineral and the sheep will stop licking the block. Powders are poured into a pail or tray and sheep are given free access to them (Wooster 2005 p.67-68). I prefer the salt lick because it is not as easily contaminated and does not need constant refilling. The key to providing this however is to ensure the minerals are designed for sheep. Many other mineral mixes have much more copper in them for cows or goats, but this high amount of copper can kill sheep. Minerals must be available, but they must be in the proper quantities as well.

GOOD PASTURES AND BAD

Sheep have preferences for what they want to eat and much of the time these preferences are for what is good for them, but it is still the farmer’s job to ensure that the pasture contains the right plants. Features that are desirable in a pasture are “high herbage production per ha, a seasonal pattern of production that matches requirements, longevity and freedom from frequent renewal, and easy management,” (117.352 2010 p.F26). A high herbage production allows a lot of plant material for the sheep to eat, especially during slower growing periods. If there is a high enough production then there will be excess that can be harvested for winter feed. Feed requirements change seasonally and the pasture should grow to reflect these changes. Full, lush pasture is somewhat necessary in the spring to turn ewes and their young lambs onto, but too lush a pasture can easily cause bloat. More and more pasture will be eaten by the lambs as they grow and they must have sufficient amounts available to meet their growth potential. Longevity and freedom from frequent renewal does not mean that the grass does not require time to re-grow between grazings, but that it does not need to be replanted every year. It will hold up with the same quality over many years. Easy management means that the pasture meets all these requirements and does not require lots of time to be spent by the farmer ensuring the health of the pasture. 35

One of the first steps to ensuring the pasture will be a quality that will allow the sheep to produce at their full potential is scanning the field and eliminating any potential poisonous plants or toxins. The biggest dangers to sheep in this country are rose family trees (cherry and serviceberry), nightshade plants (tomato, potato, eggplant, and peppers), buckwheat, beets, chard, lupine seeds, skunk cabbage, St. Johnswort, goldenrod, milkweed, rhubarb, and pigweed (Wooster 2005 p.52). None of these plants will outright kill a sheep if they eat just a little, but they can start to have negative effects as they are eaten in increasing quantity.

Toxins are usually produced by something found on the plants, but some can be produced by the plants themselves. The saprophytic fungus produces spores which create a toxin called sporidesmin, which can cause facial eczema. The toxin causes inflammation of the liver and bile ducts. The symptoms progress from listlessness, shaking, and scratching to transient diarrhoea, and inappetance to photosensitisation, and finally death. Ryegrass staggers is caused by Lolitrem B, which is a toxin produced by the endophytic fungus Neotyphodium lolii, which grows on some perennial ryegrasses. Lolitrem B works on the nervous system and muscles causing tremors, uncoordinated movements, and loss of appetite. Death is not typical, but the condition must be treated. Some forages, such as kale, new ryegrass, short rotation ryegrass, clover, turnips, and green oats, have high levels of nitrogen which can lead to nitrate poisoning. Nitrate is converted to nitrite in the rumen and absorbed into the bloodstream. Here the nitrite binds to haemoglobin and forms methemoglobin, which does not carry oxygen. This can cause acute death (117.352 2010 p.G3-G6). The best method the farmer has to deal with the potential effects of any of these plants or toxins is to regularly monitor the fields for signs of them and watch the sheep; they have a tendency to give signs when there is something wrong.

While there are plants that are dangerous for sheep to eat, there are also some plants that work much better to increase production in sheep. Massey University has compared pasture species to rank them according to their feeding value, which is the relative value of the feed in energy, digestion, and the end products of rumen digestion. White clover is the number one feed with a value of 100, all the others are ranked in relation to that; in descending order they are: lotus panicultus, lucerne, red clover, Italian ryegrass, short rotation ryegrass, perennial ryegrass, timothy, and browntop is the lowest at 43 (117.352 2010 p.F26). Many farmers like to seed their fields with clover every few years to keep a high percentage of the field a high quality, highly palatable forage.

While every farmer wants the best quality for their sheep in the hopes of getting the highest performance, sheep actually require some poorer quality feed. They will choose to eat some poor quality feed because their bodies require some extra fibrous roughage (Logsdon 2004 p.93). Within a 36

single pasture sheep will show preference in where they eat based on the nutrient density of the plants. First they will eat the best-tasting plants, such as bluegrass, white clover, or young timothy. They will graze poorer looking hillside grasses harder and faster than the more fertile looking bottomland. This is because the nutrient density is greater in slower-growing plants. “Sheep will gnaw down bluegrass and clover on the hillsides first, then the same plants on the better soil, then turn to ryegrass, fescue, orchard grass, and other coarser grasses. They will go back daily to the poor hillsides to nibble even dried-up bluegrass before filling up on the greener, coarse grasses available,” (Logsdon 2004 p.102). Once again, the sheep knows and eats what is best for it.

Figure 7. Sheep grazing in an alfalfa field (“Sheep in alfalfa field”).

Sheep also have taste preferences, which are influenced by several different factors, including what their mothers eat (during and after pregnancy), what other sheep are eating, and taste association. The mothers teach their young what to eat and lambs also pick up on social cues by watching what other sheep are eating. Taste preferences are also developed in utero. In my second year of college I took a class entitled Cognition and Behaviour of Domesticated Animals, during which I had the opportunity to carry out an experiment with Hampshire College’s sheep flock. This experiment was carried out by me and two of my classmates and looked at taste preference between three specific flavours: sweet (powdered sugar), sour (lemon juice), and spicy (cayenne pepper) (note that “spicy” is actually a sensation, not a taste). Grain was placed in pans and covered with one of the three flavours, with each pan in its own pen area (for a video of this experiment go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTMH7-fBBmA and see diagram below).

Figure 8. Sheep feeding experiment set up. 37

The sheep were then allowed into the experiment area and given freedom to eat whatever they wanted.

We came to several conclusions. First, the sheep all waited until the leader sheep (a ewe socially ranked the highest and generally followed) to begin eating first. This indicates a social hierarchy in relation to eating; the leader sheep must be allowed to eat first and the other sheep will trust what the leader decides. Second, the grain covered in powdered sugar was consistently the favourite and eaten the most rapidly and completely. This may come from a sweet flavour indicating high energy content, which is beneficial in the diet. Third, the lemon flavour seemed to have no effect on the sheep. This may be because of the small amount of lemon juice applied or because sour is not perceived as strongly by sheep. Fourth, the cayenne pepper was least liked and took the longest for the sheep to become accustomed to; though by the end of the experiment they were eating it all. And finally, the single male sheep was the boldest in trying the spicy food and appeared to like it the most.

There have been many studies conducted on feed preferences in livestock, because improving palatability means increasing the amount the animal wants to eat and therefore can increase the weight gained by the animal. A study conducted by Goatcher and Church (1970) looked at preference and rejection levels of plain water compared to water containing either acetic acid (sour) or quinine hydrochloride (bitter). They also compared preferences and rejections for sweet and salty tastes.

This study indicates that sheep are more tolerant of most flavours than many other species. However, sheep still have a fairly low tolerance for sour flavour, showing some rejection of water with acetic acid at levels of .02ml acid/100ml water (Goatcher and Church 1970). The results of this study reflect those of the study I conducted; showing that sweet is highly preferable, while sour is acceptable, but not necessarily desirable.

A study by Krueger et al in 1974 looked at the effects of impairing sheeps’ ability to smell, taste, see, and touch their feed. The results showed that sheep choose their feed mostly based on sight and taste. Mountain sorrel is a type of forb that is preferred because of its sour taste. Smell is secondary to taste in determining palatability, but sight also plays a significant role when other senses are impaired. This study also indicates a preference for sour tastes, which would explain why 38

the sheep in the study I performed did not seem to be deterred by the addition of lemon juice to their grain.

The difference between a good pasture and a bad one is also based on proper management to produce luscious, productive grass. An informal study was conducted by one of the writers for Small Farm Today after hearing about what some other farmers had done with their pastures. Ralph Voss had struggled to produce high quality pasture for his cows for some time, simply adding NPK (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium) mixtures to the soil. When he heard some other farmers had begun adding 7.6l (2gal) of raw milk per acre of pasture to produce an extra 544.3kg (1200lb) of grass in 45 days, he decided to try it for himself. Twenty-eight days after the application of raw milk to the field, there was an extra 317.5kg (700lb) of grass per acre than the area not sprayed with milk. It was also found that the area sprayed needed only 17.9kg of pressure/sq cm (100lb of pressure/sq in) to push a 71.1cm (28in) long rod into the ground, while the non-sprayed area needed 53.6kg of pressure/sq cm (300lb of pressure/sq in). Weeds were also reduced in the area with milk; either due to the grass performing so well it out-competed the weeds or because of the theory that weeds do not perform as well with good nutrient availability. Another important improvement was an increase in the brix (basically a measure of sugar or energy in the plant) level of the grass. A level of 10 is good, while 15 is excellent, and 20 is nearly unheard of in conventional pastures. While Voss had been getting low, single digit brix levels, after applying raw milk, he got a reading of 8 in his fescue pasture. By November the reading was up to 20. Other applications he used included: fish, molasses, sea salt, tea compost, and earthworm castings. All of these worked together to increase the productivity and quality of the pasture and they cost less than $15 per acre to apply (Voss 2011).

ROTATIONAL GRAZING

I have found one of the best arguments for rotational grazing in Living with Sheep:

As the name suggests, rotational grazing means rotating grazing between different pastures. Your goal is to mimic the sudden arrival and departure of the herd. When the herd is there, they eat almost everything – including stuff they don’t necessarily like too much, because they are crowded and food is scarce. But when they’re gone, the pasture has a chance to recover and grow back without being constantly nibbled. Done properly, rotational grazing will improve the quality of the pasture, the quantity of the forage, and the health and happiness of your sheep. You’ll have more sheep, bigger sheep, happier sheep (Wooster 2005 p.47). 39

The entire idea behind this is that herds in nature move to where food is plentiful, but once they have eaten their fill they move on to a new area that now looks better than where they are. They will not return again until the grass has had a chance to recover enough to look more appetizing than the surrounding areas. This way the animals get high quality feed and the grass is never overwhelmed to the point it does not grow back. “The time needed for a pasture to recover after . . . grazing depends on several factors, like fertility, soil, and moisture, but mostly on the degree of defoliation . . . The higher the percent removed, the longer the recovery or regrowth period,” (Macher 1999 p.71). Many farmers these days set up a field and allow the sheep to live in it full time. The constant walking back and forth and nibbling at grasses just as they begin to re-grow, causes the pasture to turn into more of a dirt lot with some rocks and tall, stalky weeds. Without proper management, even the most fertile, lush pastures can be ruined in a very short time.

There are different ways to implement effective rotational grazing, depending on how much time the farmer wants to invest in moving sheep around. The most time consuming method of rotational grazing is called intensively managed grazing. The advantage of this method is that it uses 80 to 85 percent of the available forage, while standard rotation methods use only 35 to 40 percent of the available forage (Macher 1999 p.72). The general idea behind this method is: in the first few days after grazing, pasture grass grows very little as it gathers energy from its roots to begin re- growth. Once growth begins, the grass grows very rapidly for several weeks until its maturity is reached, when it begins to grow more slowly due to putting energy into reproduction and seeds. Having the sheep graze only during the steep, middle part of the growth curve, the amount and quality of the pasture will be maximized (Wooster 2005 p.48). In a situation where intensive management will be used, the fencing will be changed either every 12 hours or every 24 hours. Flexible fencing is used to define the area to allow the sheep to graze. Every twelve hours the fencing is moved to allow the sheep to graze a new area, continue grazing some of the old area, and cut them off from the first grazed area.

Figure 9. Intensive management grazing pattern.

In this depiction the shaded area indicates where the sheep are allowed to graze, with the areas cordoned off by flexible, electric fencing. This can also be done every 24 hours if the area to graze is slightly larger. However, the whole process is highly time consuming and may not be worth it. 40

A somewhat less effective, though much less time consuming, method is to rotate the sheep in a pattern that allows the grass sufficient time to recover between grazings. The amount of available forage consumed increases as the rotation time, or time the animals spend in any given paddock, decreases. The five day rule of this type of grazing states that sheep should not be allowed to graze on space for more than five days. If it takes longer than five days to graze all the grass down to 5.1cm (2in), the space allotted is too big (Wooster 2005 p.50). It depends on the grass type and the weather conditions how fast the grass will grow back to its required 20.3cm (8in) before the sheep can return, but it generally takes several weeks (Simmons 1989 p.46). However, there are many variations on patterns for rotational grazing, depending on specific situations. Below is an illustration of a pattern suggested by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Figure 10. Rotational grazing set up (Food 2011).

In this situation, there are four paddocks to be rotated. Each paddock is grazed for seven days and given a rest period of 22 days. Some people would still consider this management intensive grazing, though it requires much less work than moving the animals every 12 or 24 hours. For my own farm I will have to find the rotation that works best for my land. This may change both from year to year and from month to month. In times when the grass will grow back slowly the pasture will need a longer rest period and I may be forced to graze one area for longer than is ideal. However, with excess rain and cooler temperatures I may end up with too much pasture to properly manage, in which case I have the option of harvesting the grass to use as winter feed.

WINTER FEED

The downside to pasture feeding in much of the United States is that there are significant parts of the year when the grass is covered by snow or grows so slowly that it almost will not recover, even if given long periods of rest, until the spring. In order to solve this problem the farmer has to find some way to feed the animals throughout the winter. There is always the option of grain feeding, which is relatively cheap, but this somewhat negates the purpose of pasture feeding for the 41

rest of the year. Hay, which can be made from any pasture that is allowed to grow to the point just before seeding, is a good alternative. The areas of the U.S. that do not receive snow at any time during the year (during a typical year) are generally too warm for many breeds of sheep. The cooler states provide a better environment for sheep, but generate the need for winter feed. Hay can come from many pasture types and at different times of the year, both of which affect the level of nutrition. With lower levels of nutrition, the sheep will require more to eat to meet their demands.

When the hay is cut determines what the hay is called and how much nutrition it contains. First-cut hay is the first cut of a field in the year. If the first cut is taken in the early spring, it will be full of tender grass blades, which do have some quality nutrition. If the first cut is taken much later, closer to the start of winter, it will be tough and filled with stems and seeds. This hay is low in nutritive value. Second-cut hay is generally fairly uniform and is mostly tender re-growth, which is high in nutritive value. There are sometimes also third or fourth-cuts of hay, but while they are generally uniform, they also tend to be of poor quality because the field has been robbed of much of its nutrition for the first two cuts. Also, by the time third and fourth cuts are taken the grass is slowing down greatly in growth and by the time it is at a height to harvest, it will contain tough blades and many seeds.

Colour is another important factor in determining the nutritive value of hay. Green coloured hay is higher in protein, while brown hay has usually lost much of its nutritive value (Wooster 2005 p.54-55). Colour is often related to which cut the hay is, with second-cut being greener, while later cuts are browner.

Figure 11. Square hay bale colour demonstration (“Square Bales”).

Alfalfa should be a dark green; however, if it was treated with propionic acid (a preservative) it will be a lime green. The outside of a hay bale will be bleached if exposed to sun, but the inside should remain a good green colour. If the hay was baled before fully drying it may have white dust, blemishes, or black spots accompanied by a musty smell. When the hay is yellow on the inside of the bale, it was bleached in the field, meaning it was left out to long before baling. This hay will be low in nutrient value (Weaver 2005 p.43-44). It is important to truly inspect all hay before purchase to be sure of its quality. 42

Pasture type will also determine the feeding value of the hay. Legumes are highest in nitrogen during early bloom. This stage of growth produces the highest quality hay when harvested. Yield will go up if the legumes are allowed to grow for a longer period of time, but their quality as a feed decreases (Macher 1999 p.71). Alfalfa hay contains nine essential vitamins and is especially high in Vitamin A, which can be lacking in winter pastures. Protein content can be anywhere from 12 to 20 percent, depending on when it is cut and it has high quantities of calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, and potassium. “Alfalfa got its name from an Arabic word meaning ‘best fodder,’ which is most appropriate,” (Simmons 1989 p.74). This is a good feed for sheep during the summer as well, so if many of the pastures contain alfalfa the farmer can simply harvest what the sheep do not get a chance to eat during the pasture rotations and use it for winter feed.

Overall “the feeding value of hay depends on the nutritive value of the grass at the time it was cut and the losses that occur during the period when it is drying,” (117.352 2010 p.F33). If improperly stored, microbes can produce changes that reduce the palatability of the hay and sometimes produce toxins. Generally there is a 20% loss of dry matter when pasture is turned into hay and it will be about 4% less digestible than the original grass (117.352 2010 p.F33). While it is important to make hay from a nutritious source, the haymaking and storing process has just as much of an effect on the nutritive value of the hay when it is fed to the sheep.

MY IMPLEMENTATIONS

While I may know where I want to start with pasture feeding, it will take experimenting and time to find what works best for my land and sheep; however I will always have to be prepared for what works well one year not working well in another year with different weather patterns. I will start off with no more than four sheep to an acre, with a rotation of the sheep twice per week. This slightly differs from the five day rotation rule, but following a schedule where sheep are rotated every Monday and Thursday will be easier at the start than trying to remember which day I am supposed to move them (Wooster 2005 p.50). I plan to walk my fields at least every other day looking for anything that might be wrong, but also checking for any poisonous plants or invading weeds that may take over the field. I also plan to broadcast clover and possibly alfalfa seed in my fields to increase their nutritive value. I want enough paddocks that I can rotate my sheep every 3-4 days and allow two weeks of rest between re-grazing, with a few extra paddocks I can send the sheep into if the grass has a slow growth period or than can be harvested for hay. This number of paddocks will have to be determined by the size of my land and the number of sheep I have. I plan to feed my sheep hay throughout the winter so that they are always grass fed. Bloat becomes more of a problem when switching from grass to grain diets, than with grass to hay (and vice versa) diets, but 43

I will still take a week to fully switch their diet to avoid any potential problems. Hopefully my rotational grazing plan will be able to keep my pastures healthy as well as my sheep.

44

Chapter 4: Locating My Farm

Picking a place to locate my farm is both decided by many factors and decides many factors. Some of these are interchangeable, e.g. the breed of sheep either determines the location (if a specific breed is desired) or is determined by the location (if a specific location is desired). However, there can also be a middle ground; while the breed of sheep may only be good for a certain type of climate, there may be many locations with that climate and any of them can be chosen depending on personal preference. Other factors that influence or are influenced by location include market, slaughter laws, parasite control, and feed management (including which crops/grasses will grow where, additions the pasture requires, and how long winter feeding takes place).

For the purposes of this paper I have selected one area that I want to farm in to get a better understanding of how choosing one location will affect my opportunities. I already know I want to raise sheep for meat, which broadens the areas I can farm in. Sheep that are bred to produce wool tend to need cooler environments because of the amount of wool they produce. They can easily overheat. Meat breeds on the other hand are able to live in many different environments. Some are hair breeds, meaning they grow hair instead of wool, so they do not need to be sheared and can live in warm environments. Suffolk sheep are my top choice because of their superior meat producing characteristics. Suffolks will do well in a wide range of environments and pasture qualities, so I am somewhat free to choose where I want to farm on a more personal level of preference for area. Colorado has drawn me for several years as a place to visit and possibly live. The environment is conducive to raising sheep, as the number of sheep farms already there prove. Since I have chosen the area I want to be in, I am free to research the climate and topography (environment), current number of sheep, population density and ethnic distribution, and slaughter laws.

GEOGRAPHY AND ENVIRONMENT

Colorado has a unique geography, which provides favourable conditions for pastured or ranged animals. It is the only state in the U.S. that is entirely above 1,000m (3,281ft) in elevation. While nearly half of the state is covered by the Rocky Mountains, the other half is called the Colorado Eastern Plains of the High Plains and is virtually flat; however this area is still at elevations ranging from 1,010 to 2,000m (3,315 to 6,562ft) (“Colorado” 2008). The plains are entirely grasslands, which make them good for pasture raising animals, while the foothills also offer good grazing opportunities. The montane, subalpine, and alpine regions however are mostly trees and have very little grasses available for animals to eat (“Colorado’s Elevational Lifezones”). The Eastern Plains are the area I will focus on as this is the area I would choose to start my farm in Colorado. 45

Figure 12. Elevational lifezones of Colorado (“Colorado’s Elevational Lifezones”).

The Rocky Mountains partially protect the plains area from prevailing storms; however extreme weather is a common occurrence. In the summer and spring, thunderstorms become common east of the Continental Divide, causing Colorado to be one of the leading states in deaths due to lightning strike. Because pasture raised sheep are constantly out in the open, lightning strike can be a real danger and solid shelter must be provided. Heavy snow in the mountains that is followed by warm, dry periods cause rivers to swell with melted snow, which can flood the plains. Severe thunderstorms and heavy snows provide most of the precipitation for the area (“Colorado” 2008). When thinking about where I wanted to start my farm, average yearly snowfall was a major consideration because when there is snow on the ground the sheep need a replacement feed for the lack of pasture.

Figure 13. Average annual snowfall in country and Colorado ("Annual Mean Total Snowfall").

The area of Colorado I am interested in is the North-Northeast part of the plains. Ideally within the darker purple zone of snow which averages 61.2-91.4cm (24.1-36in) of snow per year. Compared to a large amount of the Northeast and Northwest of the U.S. this is not all that much. The Eastern Plains are also prone to tornadoes, though they are not as common as in some of the 46

Midwestern states to the east (“Colorado” 2008). The Eastern Plains have a semi-arid, continental climate, with low humidity and moderately low precipitation (they are prone to droughts), about 25.4 to 38.1cm (10 to 15in) annually (“Colorado” 2008). On average 12.7 to 25.4cm (5 to 10in) fall in the spring through summer and 0 to 5.1cm (0 to 2in) fall in the winter (Macher 1999 p.34). Sometimes low pressures in the winter bring the right conditions for heavy snows, but winters generally tend to be dry and cold. This area is typically known for its plentiful sunshine and cool, clear nights (“Colorado” 2008).

PARASITES AND DISEASE

There are far too many possible parasites and diseases sheep can contract for me to cover in this paper alone. Many books have been written on diagnosing and treating sheep illnesses (for some suggestions see Further Resources at the end of this paper). However, I will give a brief description of what I expect to see on my farm and how I want to handle it. As with everything else, trial and error will be the most effective method of finding a proper solution to problems that arise.

The environment of Colorado, with its combination of year round low humidity/precipitation and cooler winters with dry sunshine in the summer, offers the perfect situation for keeping foot rot to a minimum. Foot rot is an infectious, contagious disease which can cause severe lameness and decreased flock production resulting in economic loss. It is caused by an interaction of two anaerobic bacteria, Bacteroides nodosus and Fusobacterium necrophorum (a normal bacteria found in the ruminant digestive tract). Wet weather combined with temperatures between 4.4 and 21.1°C (40 and 70°F) cause F. necrophorum to interact with Corynebacterium pyogenes, causing foot scald, a skin infection between the toes. This allows B. nodosus to invade, producing the condition “foot rot.” This condition can be eradicated, but it takes a lot of time and dedication and it is better to prevent it than deal with it when it occurs (Whittier and Umberger 2009).

Whittier and Umberger of Virginia Tech have five basic principles to preventing foot rot. First, sheep bought in from other flocks should always be checked for the presence of foot rot, both in the sheep being bought and in its flock. Second, animals that may have commingled with infected sheep at auction/sale yards/livestock markets should also be avoided. Third, facilities where infected sheep may have been within two weeks should not be used. Four, always transport animals in fully cleaned and disinfected vehicles. And fifth, trim and treat the feet of any new sheep and monitor their condition while keeping them isolated for 30 days (Whittier and Umberger 2009).

If prevention fails and foot rot appears on the farm, there are ways to treat and eventually eradicate its presence. Regular foot trimming reduces the amount of places bacteria can 47

contaminate the hoof as well as removing already infected hoof and exposing the bacteria to oxygen. Footbaths/Footsoaks are the next step. Two common solutions used are zinc sulphate (10% solution), which is generally the most effective and least toxic, and copper sulphate (10% solution), which is toxic if consumed. Dry zinc sulphate is another option as is zinc sulphate as an oral therapy; the dry chemical is only good for prevention, while the oral one may be helpful for prevention and treatment. Penicillin and streptomycin combined can be injected into the animal, but is generally more expensive and cannot be used in animals for slaughter within a certain time frame (dependent on local regulations). Topical medications include zinc sulphate, copper sulphate, copper sulphate in pine tar, oxytetracycline solution in alcohol, and penicillin in alcohol; these all are helpful in controlling an existing problem. There is also a vaccination for B. nodosus, but they can be from 60- 80% effective and damaging to the skin/wool at the injection site (Whittier and Umberger 2009).

The warm, humid weather of the southern states also provides an ideal environment for sheep worms and parasites, while the drier western regions and the cold northern regions do not cause as much of a problem. “Rain is the main cause of worm problems in sheep and goats, particularly when combined with warm temperatures,” (Macher 1999 p.80). The Easter Plains area of Colorado also offers a less hospitable environment for internal worms and parasites. However, even in an advantageous environment such as this, including a parasite management program is still important. Some good principles are: 1. Do not feed hay off the ground and be sure to collect and discard soiled hay. 2. Do not overgraze pastures; animals should be moved every 7 to 10 days with the pasture being mowed down to 5.1cm (2in) and allowed exposure to sunlight for three to four weeks. This will kill most parasites. 3. Avoid overcrowding which increases the chances of one sheep ingesting another sheep’s parasites as well as increasing stress on the sheep. 4. Use de-worming medicine, also called anthelmintics, wisely. This means only using anthelmintics when the sheeps’ faecal matter has tested positive for parasites. Finally 5, avoid malnutrition. Sheep are better able to cope with parasites if their nutritional needs have been met (Van Metre 2010).

The major part of my disease and parasite control plan is to include chickens on my farm, but other methods will be used as well. Chickens will be discussed in more detail in Chapter 6: Other Animals. Essentially they are put on the pasture following the sheep where they pick through the sheep manure and pasture, eating all the bugs (including parasites) they find. This leaves the pasture clean to return the sheep to upon the next rotation. Prevention is my next most valuable means of parasite and disease control. I will quarantine any new animals for thirty days upon their arrival to my farm to allow any diseases or parasites they may have to present themselves. This keeps anything from easily passing to the existing flock. Any animals that are obviously sick when I go to 48

purchase new animals will not be considered for my flock. I would like to avoid brining disease in as much as possible; this includes not introducing sick animals as well as checking all equipment, including vehicles, which may have come into contact with sick animals.

If disease or parasites do present themselves I will have to find a way to deal with it. Rotational grazing and the use of chickens are helpful, but some things need other methods to be correct. For example, foot rot cannot be eliminated without treating the hooves of the sheep. In this case I will trim the feet and use a bath of zinc oxide. I do not want to use copper sulphate because it can be toxic to the sheep and even if it does not kill the animal, it will remain in its body for the life of the animal. Vaccines can be useful and generally do not contribute to resistance, so I am open to using them. However, I do not want to vaccinate my animals more than necessary. This will mean asking local farmers which diseases are most common in the area and considering vaccines for only those. Antibiotics are another category entirely. They are generally abused in factory farm situations, which can contribute to resistance in zoonotic diseases. I plan to use antibiotics only with clearly sick animals where the use of antibiotics will save the life of the animal. This will not allow me to be certified organic, but I feel saving the life of an animal is worth the use of antibiotics and the loss of certification.

CURRENT SHEEP STATISTICS

Currently there are slightly over one billion sheep in the world, with production increasing in some countries and declining in others. China has the most sheep, but Australia and New Zealand dominate the world lamb and wool markets. The United States however is a net importer of both lamb and wool. In the early 1800s there were 7 million sheep in the U.S., numbers peaked in 1945 at 56 million, and declined back to 7 million by 2003. Since then sheep numbers have declined, very slightly, to just under 6 million in 2009 and the industry has changed emphasis from wool to meat. However, compared to other livestock production in the U.S., the sheep industry is very small, accounting for less than 1% of the total livestock industry (sheep101.info 2011).

In 2007 the Census of Agriculture counted 84,134 sheep farms in the United States. Small producers (less than 100 sheep) own the majority of sheep operations, but only 17% of the sheep, while large sheep operations own 80% of the sheep. These large operations are generally located in the Western U.S. Sheep on these farms are usually raised under range conditions, where flocks of 1,000 or more ewes and their lambs graze unfenced pastures. Public lands can be grazed by these operations, generally for a fee, or they can be grazed on privately owned land. Colorado has the fourth largest number of sheep in the U.S., following Texas (870,000 head), California (660,000 49

head), and Wyoming (420,000 head), with 410,000 sheep and is the most concentrated lamb feeding area. “While the U.S. sheep industry is still dominated by small numbers of large operations, these operations continue to decline for various reasons. At the same time, small flocks are increasing,” (sheep101.info 2011). It is my hope that being surrounded by large range flocks where the meat is brought to major slaughter houses and shipped out across the country, my small farm will be able to attract the market of people who want to know where their meat is coming from.

POPULATION DENSITY AND ETHNIC POPULATION

Two-thirds of Colorado’s population lives along the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains in the Denver-Aurora-Boulder area, with a 2008 population of 2,927,911 and a 2007 state population of 4,861,515. This area is considered more liberal than much of the state when it comes to environmental concerns; since this is the community typically interested in sustainable agriculture it is a good location for marketing my product. The plains, just east of this area, are sparsely settled, which means more room for farming. Assuming the farm is close enough to the major metropolitan region, this makes an ideal position for pasture raising lamb to sell in a dense population location with liberal (hopefully sustainable) views (“Colorado” 2008).

Figure 14. Colorado population densities (“Colorado” 2008).

Ideally I will locate my farm in one of slightly darker green areas indication a population density of 1-10 per sq mi that is just east of the orange and red zones indicating much higher population densities; hopefully within 50 miles to make driving into the cities feasible financially and sustainably.

Certain ethnic and religious groups offer better marketing opportunities. According to the 2000 census, the largest ancestry groups in Colorado are German (22%), Irish (12.2%), and English 50

(12 %) (“Colorado” 2008). It also has one of the highest proportions of Hispanic citizens in any U.S. state; with over 19% in 2006 (sheep101.info 2011). Denver specifically has large Scandinavian, Slavic, and Hispanic communities, while the highest percentages of Germans are located nearby in the High Plains. These ethnic groups have traditionally eaten more lamb, and usually more mutton, than white Americans. Marketing to these communities has the potential to greatly increase my sales opportunities (“Colorado” 2008). While the average American does not eat much lamb, it is a traditional part of the Muslim diet, as well as a significant part of the Easter meal for Greek Orthodox. There is a surprisingly high number of Muslims in Colorado as compared to other states; this derived from the number of Muslim centres in Colorado and the idea that more centres means a greater need from a larger population.

Figure 15. U.S. Muslim centre distribution ("Distribution of Muslims Centers in the U.S.").

An recent increase in demand for lightweight lambs by the ethnic trade, primarily Halal (Muslim), has brought about an increase in feed and feeder lamb prices causing the lamb feed lot industry to struggle (sheep101.info 2011). This creates a good opportunity for small farms that are more easily able to cater to the specific needs of this market.

SLAUGHTER LAWS

Finding slaughter laws has turned out to be somewhat of a struggle. The general rule is “animals that are slaughtered for their owner’s personal use are exempt from U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspection,” all other meat must be inspected (Wooster 2005 p.206). Non- inspected meat is only for consumption by the farmer, their family, and their personal, non-paying guests. It therefore seems impossible to do on-farm slaughter of animals. However, there are two 51

ways around it. One, the customer buys the whole, live animal (money paid in advance of slaughter with a waiver claiming the specific animal purchased), the animal is then slaughtered on-site and butchered either on the farm or at a butcher’s shop. The customer can then either pick the meat up from the butcher or from the farmer. The legality of this comes from the idea that once the live animal is bought it belongs to the buyer and the buyer is able to slaughter their animal any way they see fit. The second option is to use a USDA certified butcher. In this method the customer can give the money before or after slaughter and can buy whole, half, quarter, or cuts because the meat is certified. However, this method is typically more expensive because the inspector needs to be paid as well (Wooster 2005 p.206). Once again though, these rules are dependent on specific state regulations. Some states say that the producer cannot slaughter the animal for a customer, the customer must slaughter the animal themselves and the animal must be sold prior to slaughter. Some states do not even allow on-farm slaughter by the customer. Technically there is no law that a person cannot slaughter their own livestock, so at the very least a customer can buy the live animal, take it home, and kill and butcher it themselves.

There are many ethnic and religious groups that prefer to do their own slaughter to see that it is performed according to their cultural or religious beliefs. Not allowing on-farm slaughter can be considered a form of discrimination, but it is up to the farmer if they are willing to take the risk of prosecution if they think they can win the argument of discrimination. “USDA allows the on-farm slaughter of poultry for resale, but not livestock. Eligible poultry producers may process up to 20,000 chickens for resale to the public, but not a single sheep or lamb can be processed for resale to the public,” (sheep101.info 2011). In general, finding slaughter laws for sheep is quite difficult because the majority of livestock are slaughtered at a certified abattoir.

However, the Colorado-Nebraska area has seen the recent introduction of the USDA certified Mobile Meat Processing unit. This is a trailer, hitched to a regular tractor-trailer truck engine and brought from farm to farm to perform slaughtering and butchering of larger livestock animals (e.g. cattle, sheep, and goats). The unit contains a killing area, storage/cooling area, and packaging area (Mobile Meat Processing 2010). The capacity is 10 cows, 24 hogs, or 40 sheep per day; while a slaughter house can offer a lot more in capacity, a small farm operation will not require a huge capacity. The unit can store up to 6,000lb of meat, which means it can be used for two days (or 80 sheep before it needs to unload and resupply) ("USDA Inspected Mobile Processing of Large Animals For Small Scale Producers"). This offers the opportunity for on-farm slaughter that is USDA certified (Mobile Meat Processing 2010). 52

All in all, Colorado offers the right geographical, climatic, ethnic, and religious area, along with opportunities for desirable slaughter and processing for me to begin a sheep farm. While I may be surrounded by large numbers of sheep, my own goals and methods should give me an advantage over the conventional farms. On-farm slaughtering may take me a while to provide because of its legal difficulties, but I believe I will find a way to manage it. This is an area where I should be able to meet all of my financial and personal farming goals.

53

Chapter 5: Marketing My Product

In the United States lamb is consumed at a rate of less than .45 kg (1 lb) per person, as compared to beef 30.45kg (67lbs)/person/year, chicken 41.18kg (90.6lbs)/person/year, and pork 21.81kg (48lbs)/person/year (“Factors Affecting U.S. Beef Consumption” 2005, “U.S. PER CAPITA CHICKEN CONSUMPTION” 2011, and “2010 U.S. pork & beef consumption decline” 2011). This means marketing will probably be my most challenging task when starting my farm. Because of my methods, i.e. small-scale pasture farming without antibiotics (as much as possible) and on-farm slaughter the goal, I am both limiting and expanding my potential consumer group.

In order to make a profit I need to find good marketing methods that will draw the consumer base I want. Part of that consumer base is an ethnic/religious market, so I will have to make product available to them at certain times, e.g. lambs at Easter for the Greek Orthodox community; as well as determining times when prices are higher in general and perhaps orienting my schedule to be prepared for those times. I also will need to find profitable ways to actually sell my product, e.g. farmers markets or Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs). Selling at farmers markets will influence my marketing times because most farmers markets only go through the late spring to early fall, my product will have to be available and in good condition for those market times. I will consider diversification of products to keep income coming in throughout the year and not becoming dependent on any one product in case that market fails one year. Diversification can include value added products, i.e. sausage instead of lamb chops, but I will consider them separately. Finally I will look at the market for mutton. This is an even smaller market than for lamb, but hopefully there are some ways that I can open up a local market.

CONSUMER GROUP

My practice of small-scale, pasture raised, antibiotic free farming with on-farm slaughter, decreases and increases my prospective consumer group. Most major, and sometimes smaller, grocery stores will not buy meat from a small producer unless that producer is positive they can supply a constant amount of meat, year round. This means I am limiting myself to very small, local stores, individual people, and possibly some restaurants as my consumer base. On-farm slaughter limits my market even more; in this case I can only sell to individual people willing to pay in advance of seeing the meat product when the animal is still alive.

On the other hand, by practicing sustainable methods, i.e. pasture feeding and limiting antibiotic use, and offering a local, wholesome product, I open my market to people who are interested in buying these products. This is a growing market in the U.S. as more and more people 54

begin to distrust industrial agriculture and desire to buy local. In general, these people, as well as traditional lamb consumers, are in the higher-income group of the general population. These consumers also have a preference for leaner meat, so the lambs must not be overly fat prior to slaughter (Simmons 1989 p.230-231).

Marketing to religious and ethnic groups will also be important for me. “The ‘average’ American does not [sic] consume much lamb; however, lamb holds a significant meaning in the observances of many religions . . . Lamb is the preferred meat for many Christian, Jewish, and Muslim holidays,” (sheep101.info 2011). The largest consumers of lamb in the U.S. are Muslims, Greek Orthodox Christians, and Hispanics. This demand is generally inelastic, meaning it is constant and necessary and therefore not sensitive to price changes (sheep101.info 2011). In these cases I may be able to post information about my lambs for sale in areas these people visit often, e.g. one of the Muslim centres. Greek Orthodox churches are a good way to reach this community around Easter. Because of the dates of Easter, the lambs available for sale either have to be born in the first half of January and raised quickly or born in the fall and raised on winter feed or milk fed to the appropriate size. “The size preferred in the Northeast is about [15.9 to 18.1kg] 35 to 40 pounds liveweight; in the West the ideal size is a little larger,” (Simmons 1989 p.231). Typically for cooler climates lambing is planned in March when the weather starts to turn and pasture will be available when the lambs can begin eating it, so marketing to the Orthodox community will take some special planning.

MARKETING TERMS

Marketing terms are used to separate meat into various categories. This can include categories by age, by quality characteristics, as well as characteristics of how the meat animal was raised. Some of the sheep/lamb industry marketing terms follow as defined by Sheep101:

Lamb – “Lamb is the meat from a sheep that is less than one year of age.”

Mutton – “Mutton is the meat from a sheep that is older than one year.”

Yearling Mutton – Yearling mutton comes from a sheep between 1 and 2 years of age.

Grade – “Yield grade standards estimate the percentage of closely trimmed, boneless retail cuts from the leg, loin, rib, and shoulder. They are based on the amount of external fat in the carcass. The grades are 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, with 5 being the fattest. Most lambs grade 2 or 3. In the commodity market, yield grade 1s, 4s, and 5s are usually 55

discriminated in price.” “Quality grades indicate the palatability and eating characteristics of the lamb. The grades are Prime, Choice, Good, and Utility.”

Feeder lambs – “Feeder lambs are light-weight lambs [27.3 to 40.9 kg] (60 to 90 lbs.) that are usually sold to feed lots for further finishing.”

Carcass sections – Retail cuts

Abattoir – “Abattoir is the French word for a slaughterhouse or meat processor.”

Hot house lamb – Either early January born lambs or fall lambs, born out-of-season and raised indoors, sold at Easter (Simmons 1989 p.231).

“In the past several years, USDA has legally defined organic, grassfed, and naturally-raised. In order to use these labels, the program standards must be followed. Third-party certification is available for various animal welfare, humane handling, and agricultural sustainability claims,” (sheep101.info 2011). The regulations to qualify for these labels are defined by Susan Schoenian in "Marketing claims for sheep and goat products:"

USDA Organic: Animals need to be raised organically from late-gestation through slaughter. Their food and bedding must be organic. Pastures must be pesticide and commercial fertilizer free. The animals cannot be treated with antibiotics, ionophores, anthelmintics, or growth promotants. Vaccines however are allowed. Ruminant livestock must have access to the outside and pasture. The abattoir must also be certified organic.

USDA Grassfed: The animal must be fed grass and/or forage for its lifetime, with the exception of milk prior to weaning. The animals cannot be fed grain or grain by-products. However, the standards do not forbid the use of growth promotants or antibiotics.

USDA Naturally-Raised: The naturally-raised marketing claim prohibits antibiotic use, use of growth promotants, and the feeding of animal by-products. However, it allows ionophores, anthelmintics, and vaccines. 56

Certified Humane Raised and Handled®: The use of growth promotants and antibiotics is prohibited. The animals must be free to move and shelter is requisite on pasture. The standards also stipulate how slaughter should be carried out to minimize pain and stress.

Animal Welfare Approved®: This has the most restrictive standards. Lambs are not allowed to be docked. A sheep’s diet must be 70% roughage. Ewes must be 18 months of age before they have their first lamb and the lamb must be weaned before 90 days of age.

MARKETING TIMES

Marketing times are either determined by when the farmer desires to have product to sell, which can be based on when prices or demand are highest, or by when the product is ready to sell. If the farmer wants to sell at a specific time, they will have to be sure their product is ready then, which will determine lambing times and therefore breeding times. For example: the Easter market. Easter falls on the first Sunday after the date of the first full moon occurring on or after March 21 (Guralnik 1968 p.456). This means lamb for Easter purchases will be occuring from mid-March on. However, sales can happen as early as there is a live animal to sell if the animal will be slaughtered on-site. In order to have the lamb ready by the end of March for slaughter it must have been born no later than early January (to get to size in time) and no earlier than April of the previous year (or it will be older than a year and therefore not lamb). This market prefers a younger, more tender lamb and will often buy a lamb born in the fall and raised on winter feed and milk (Simmons 1989 p.231).

In order to have a lamb born in the fall, breeding must happen five months prior. This poses a problem as sheep are seasonal breeders and only go into heat when day length is shortening, so breeding anytime before the summer solstice (June 21 when day and night length are equal and day length shortens thereafter) is unlikely to be successful (117.352 2010 section E). The good news is that lambs only gestate for five months, so in order to have a lamb born by early January, the mother can be bred as late as August 1st. This leaves December through August (all months where day length is increasing from December 21st) open for breeding; with some special breeding techniques that cause sudden ovulation in ewes, a good percentage of ewes can be bred. Another option for the famer is to have two flocks. One that lambs for the Easter market and the other that lambs in the spring for the fall market. This spreads the potential income, but also increases the work for the farmer. Through this example it is possible to see how many factors influence, and are influenced by, each desired outcome.

The typical breeding, lambing, and selling pattern in the U.S. is to breed ewes in the fall, have them lamb in the spring (around March), and then sell the lambs off in early fall. This means 57

the market is saturated during the late summer and early fall with market weight lambs. For those wanting very young, tender lambs, the summer months also have a large supply because the lambs were just born in the spring. However, the market is still there, but far less saturated between November and January. This means market prices are higher and a greater profit can be made. “In fact, with low-cost pasture farming, I have waited until January or later to sell lambs and more than made up in price the extra pasture and hay I fed,” (Logsdon 2004 p.102). Following market patterns like this and making product available during market shortages is a good way to increase profits.

Specific holidays for religious groups are good times to sell lamb; these include Western (Roman) and Eastern (Greek Orthodox) Easter and Christmas, Jewish Passover, and Muslim Ramadan, Eid-al-Fitr, and Eid-al-Adha. Each market is only available during certain dates and has specific requirements the meat must meet:

Observance Dates 2005-2007 Lamb Requirements Christmas Always December 25 Fat, freshly weaned, milk fed, 30-45 lb, not more than 3 months old Eid-al-Adha January 21,2005 Fairly lean, unblemished lamb (in some circles weather are unacceptable, January 10,2006 as are docked tails) under one year of age and around 60-80lb December 31,2007 Western Easter (Roman) March 27, 2005 Fat, freshly weaned, milk fed, 30-45 lb, not more than 3 months old April 16, 2006 April 6, 2007 Eastern Easter (Greek Orthodox) May 1, 2005 Fat, freshly weaned, milk fed, 30-45 lb, not more than 3 months old April 23, 2006 April 23, 2007 Passover April 24-May 1, 2005 Freshly weaned, milk fed, 30-45 lb, not more than 3 months old April 13-20, 2006 March 16-April 2, 2007 Start of Ramadan October 4, 2005 Under one year of age, fairly lean, around 60-80 lb September 24, 2006 September 24, 2007 Id-al-Fitr November 3, 2005 Under one year of age, fairly lean, around 60-80 lb October 24, 2006 October 24, 2007 Table 3. Lamb for religious observances, dates for Muslim market are subject to the sighting of the moon and therefore variable (Weaver 2005 p.109).

Many of these dates are easily attainable if breeding is planned accordingly, however specific religious requirements must also be met. In order to sell at Passover to the Jewish community, not only do weight and feeding requirements have to be met, but slaughter requirements as well. Kosher slaughter must meet the following requirements: the animal must have no disease or flaws in the organs at the time of slaughter, the blood must be drained rapidly and completely, and the person who slaughters must be certified. “The method of slaughter is a quick, deep stroke across the throat with a perfectly sharp blade with no nicks or unevenness,” (“Kosher Slaughter” 2007).

While some believe this method is painless, quick, and humane, I find personal problems with it. The animal is completely aware until just before it finishes bleeding out, which can be quite some time. Because the vocal cords are cut, the animal cannot make sounds of distress, so it can be 58

difficult to tell if the animal is suffering. Sometimes it takes only 5 seconds for the animal to go into a hypoxic spasm with sensibility appearing to be lost, but it can easily take 60 seconds as well. Calm animals seem to have fewer or no spasms, so keeping animals calm can make this a more humane method. If the head holder is not designed properly or does not fit properly the wound will close over after the knife passes through and the animal will show considerable stress. While many animals lose consciousness after 10 to 15 seconds, there are some animals that remain conscious for over a minute. Furthermore, the stroke used to slit the throat has an impact on the sensibility of the animal. With a slow, slightly indecisive stroke “approximately 30% of the calves . . . had a righting reflex and retained the ability to walk to up to 30 seconds,” (Grandin and Regenstein 1994). The norm may be for animals to lose consciousness fairly quickly, with sheep showing to be more reliable than cattle, but the possibility of having the rare animal that suffers is more of a risk than I am comfortable taking (Grandin and Regenstein 1994).

Any nicks found in the blade after the animal is killed means the meat cannot be certified Kosher, which means it is wasted. This happens because the animal is direct marketed and must be sold alive, so once killed, if it is not kosher, the buyer will no longer accept it and another buyer cannot be found before the meat goes bad. Finally, the person who slaughters the animal must be certified, which means I cannot kill the animal myself (because I am not Jewish and therefore cannot be certified). This increases the price of the meat because I would have to pay a certified slaughterer.

I could also not sell to the Eid-al-Adha market if the consumer did not want an undocked animal. Docking is the process of removing the tail from the animal, typically done by placing a tight rubber band around the tail that cuts off circulation and causes the tail to fall off (the most painless way), but can be done by chopping the tail off as well. This is done to keep manure from building up around the rump of the animal, which is a major attraction for flies and is the leading cause of fly strike in sheep. I also plan to castrate my male sheep (a wether is a castrated male sheep) so that they cannot mate with their mothers or sisters if kept together until about six months of age. Un- castrated males often are less acceptable to many markets because people expect them to taste more strongly. Also, un-castrated animals are not allowed to be sold to the general population through conventional methods. I would be taking a risk to not castrate some animals that I may be able to sell to a small market, when castrating them keeps them open to a much larger market.

While having my lambs ready for religious holidays opens my available market and can increase my profits (as these animals are generally purchased for higher, out-of-season prices), The specific religious regulations may restrict me too much and make it impractical to sell to these 59

markets. I will have to evaluate the specific situation I find myself in and make calls on a case by case basis.

DIRECT MARKETING vs. TRADITIONAL

Traditional methods of marketing lamb include (according to sheep101.info):

Commodity marketing: This includes selling lambs to an order buyer, broker, dealer, or feed lot; at livestock auctions, buying station; through a co-op or marketing pool; or to an abattoir. Commodity marketing is selling a generic product where personal identity is generally lost. This favours large, commercial, low-cost producers, in close proximity to terminal markets, which is where lambs are bought for immediate slaughter.

Public livestock auctions: This is the most common method for selling lambs. The advantages are that it is convenient, always available, and payment is guaranteed and prompt. However, the disadvantages are that the price is not known ahead of time and can fluctuate widely, and there are fees to pay (sales commission, yardage, and insurance). The lambs marketed at sale barns tend to undergo significant stress.

Dealers, brokers, and order buyers: Selling directly to a dealer, broker, or order buyer has several advantages: no auction barn fees, the prices are negotiated before hand, and the lambs are sometimes picked up directly from the farm.

Marketing alliances and co-ops: Marketing alliances or co-ops are groups of producers working together. Typically, a co-op contracts a slaughterer and sells whole carcasses or cuts to retail outlets. They also establish standards for the type of lambs they are willing purchase.

Traditional marketing has three problems for me: The animals may be sold for someone else to raise (e.g. feeder lamb) and I have will have no say in how they are taken care of after that or slaughtered; the animals could be sold directly to a slaughter house, but these places typically do not slaughter in what I consider a humane way and it is highly stressful for the animal; the whole exchange is very impersonal so that the customer never knows who the farmer is or how the animals was raised. One of my major goals for starting a farm is to let the customer know where their food is coming from so they can make an informed decision and eat healthily. By selling to a slaughter house or feed lot, I lose the connection to my customer and they do not learn about healthier, more humane ways to raise animals.

Direct marketing is when the product is sold directly to the customer, e.g. over the internet, selling wholesale to restraints/retail outlets, at farmers’ markets, or through a CSA. Through this 60

method a larger share of the consumer's dollar goes to the producer, thus the income potential is substantially higher. However, costs (processing, transportation, etc.) are much higher. This method favours small-scale producers and those close to large population centres. “Many experts feel that direct marketing is the only way for small-scale producers to compete with larger producers, due to the economies of scale,” (sheep101.info). Because I want to slaughter on-farm, my best methods of sale will probably be farmers’ markets and a CSA. Selling to grocery stores also means selling wholesale, which is less profitable than selling retail (Macher 1999 p.138). I could easily expand to include internet sales, but typically getting meat across states lines is difficult enough, without adding on-farm slaughter. However, I also want my product to be one that is local and not using large amounts of fossil fuel to transport, which means internet sales would have to be limited to only those people within a close area anyway.

In order to sell through a farmers’ market I will either have to have some meat that is USDA inspected to sell to the general public or simply supply my meat at the farmers’ market to people who have already purchased it. A farmers’ market may be a good way for me to get people familiar with my product as an idea and a place for people to place orders. The advantage of a farmers’ market is that there are a lot of people in one place and it is easier to sell small quantities of a product to a lot of people than a large quantity to one person (Macher 1999 p.131). However, it is difficult to sell a product in advance when people do not know what they are getting. A solution to this would be to have my lambs traditionally slaughtered for the first couple of years until people were used to my product and would agree to purchase in advance. With at least a small customer base, I can have recommendations for other people who have not had a chance to try my product. The disadvantage to selling through a farmers’ market is the cost; this includes booth fees, labour, transportation, and time. It is important to be sure the product is priced correctly in order to turn a profit (Macher 1999 p.131).

Figure 16. Red dots indicate farmers’ markets (“Find A Market” 2011). 61

There are seventy-five farmers’ markets registered on the Colorado Farmers Market Association website, thirty-two of which are located near enough to the area I want to establish myself that I could sell at them (“Find A Market” 2011). Most of these offer a seasonal market that goes through the summer months, sometimes including the spring and fall. However, there are two markets that operate well over 200 days of the year and one that goes throughout the winter. By utilizing several markets I can cover more of the year. For example, there is a market in Fort Collins that goes from April 17th to September 30th and then another one that goes from November 6th to March 6th. By going to both of these markets I can make my product available year round. Most of these markets happen on a Saturday and I can obviously only be in one place at a time. In order to go to more places I will have to consider hiring another person who can go for me, which is an added cost. However, there are many available markets for me to go between in order to make my product more widely available.

I would also like to start a CSA. There are two ways for me to draw a customer base. One is through the farmers’ market approach, which will inform the public about my CSA and then they can become members. This should offer them the opportunity to pick up meat all year round, rather than just during the farmers’ market season. The other approach is by partnering with a vegetable CSA. By marketing though another CSA, I give myself access to an existing customer base of people who already know how the CSA functions so are less difficult to convince to buy a meat CSA share. It also allows the people to go to one place to get their meat and vegetables, and possibly eggs and milk depending on how many people partner their products, which means the customers can do a one-stop-shop.

A huge advantage of CSA for me is the close connection between the famer and the customer (Macher 1999 p.106). In this system the customer takes on a certain amount of the risk of the farming endeavour. Because the customer pays in advance and is guaranteed simply a percentage of the farm output, if something goes wrong (e.g. a large predator attack that kills many animals), the farmer still has the money and the customer still receives product, but they receive less product than if nothing goes wrong. “By receiving the yearly fees up front, the farmer avoids borrowing money and paying interest, and has a paid market before he or she plants anything [or buys/breeds animals]. The customers know how and where their food is grown, and receive fresh produce [or meat] at a good price. Customers will also get a good lesson in the vagaries of weather!” (Macher 1999 p.132). Letting the customer be aware of everything that goes into raising and slaughtering an animal humanely is an incredibly important part of why I want to farm and a CSA 62

offers me a great opportunity to pass on this information as well as receive input from the customers.

There is an online registry of Colorado CSAs, while the list is not inclusive of every Colorado CSA, it does give me an idea of where the CSAs are located. I have put together a map that shows where the registered CSAs are located:

Figure 17. Red dots indicate CSAs (“Colorado CSA’s” 2010).

The red dots indicate where CSAs are located throughout the state. Clearly the number of CSAs is highest where the biggest cities are. However, there is only one listed CSA that sells lamb (in Gunnison, CO, far from where I want to locate) and only two that sell poultry (one in Gill, CO and one in Fort Collins, CO, both somewhat close to where I want to be), which is something I also want to offer from my farm (“Colorado CSA’s” 2010). This means I can locate my CSA close to any of these areas and still have a good customer base. Somewhere near Boulder or Denver will probably offer me the best opportunity because of the local demographic. Locating in this area also gives me more opportunity to partner with an existing vegetable CSA.

DIVERSIFICATION

Diversification of products is essential to making a small farm sustainable. Small farms tend to sell to niche markets, which tend to be small and short lived. In order to be sustainable, the small farm must continue to bring in an income, which means diversifying to keep a new product available 63

in case the niche market changes. Another good reason to diversify is to increase income from a single source:

If you raise small amounts of different produce, it will be easier to sell. For instance, selling 25 pounds of artichokes to a customer is difficult. But you might be able to sell that customer 3 pounds of artichokes, 10 pounds of tomatoes, a 6-poound roast from your Dexter cattle, two dozen eggs, and 5 pounds of apples, (Macher 1999 p.123-124).

For me diversification will mean selling more than just lamb. This means I can branch out into selling wool, possibly specialty cheeses, and mutton from my sheep. I also want to include chickens on my farm as part of a parasite management program (I will talk more about chickens in my “Other Animals” chapter), so poultry will be another source of income. I am looking into llamas as guard animals (I will also talk more about them later) and the use of their fibre as a source of income. Instead of simply selling lamb, which is a single product and leaves me vulnerable if the market for lamb collapses, I will expand to having up to six products and the chances that the market for all six products will collapse at once is very slim.

Chickens are an easy animal to raise. They are bought in already alive and raised on pasture following the sheep and reach market weight in about 8 weeks (the broiler variety). Especially considering the high rate of consumption of chicken in the U.S., this is a highly sustainable market and increasing the number of chickens I raise will be quite easy since they are only alive for about 8 weeks. If the demand for chicken increases and the demand for lamb decreases, I can easily decrease the number of lambs I raise and increase the number of chickens.

Wool does not have a big market in the U.S., but there are ways to make it more desirable for sale. Keeping black fibres from getting into white wool means that the wool dyes easier and more uniformly, so being sure to shear properly will increase my wool’s value. Since the wool that will be produced by my sheep is not of high quality and I do not have plans to have a large number of sheep, I will most likely only be able to sell my wool to a small market or individuals, rather than to a wool shed. I can also diversify selling my wool in several different ways to expand this submarket. Selling to hand-spinners means I will not have to spin the wool into yarn myself. I simply have to have the sheep sheared and bundle the wool in quantities people are willing to buy. I can spin the wool myself or bundle it and alert local places teaching spinning or knitting about my product; this way people who are currently looking to make something from wool will be aware of a location they can purchase it from (Simmons 1989 p.241). I can also look into selling my wool to insulators to expand their available insulating materials to something more sustainable. 64

Overall, diversifying will make my farm less susceptible to profit loss from changing market demands. Through this method I can expand my customer base. Perhaps by telling one person I sell wool, they will come to my farm to purchase some and notice I also sell lamb, mutton, chickens, and llama fibre. They may want to purchase some of all or a couple of these items which increases my profit.

VALUE ADDED

Value added products are another way to increase profits. Value added products are “when a raw commodity is changed in a way that makes it more convenient to market and gives it a longer marketing life,” e.g. sausage or yarn instead of a whole lamb or just sheared and bundled wool (Macher 1999 p.19). Value added products from meat include cuts, sausage, meat sticks, and prepared meals. Fibre value added products can be yarn, clothing, felt, small figures, stuffed animals, etc. (Macher 1999 p.126). Tanned sheep skins are another value added product, as are specialty cheeses. These products bring higher prices because they require more time from the farmer to produce them or more cost to have them produced by someone else. They are more convenient for the consumer, so the consumer is willing to pay more to not have to do the work themselves. E.g. a customer is willing to pay more for prepared yarn than for simple wool because they can immediately use it to knit something rather than having to prepare and spin the wool before they can knit that same end product.

Value added products are processed products and processing has several advantages in its self. It makes the product easier to store, e.g. it is easier to store a package of sausage or several cuts of meat than a whole lamb. Convenience for the customer is highly increased, e.g. a piece of lamb without a bone is easier to cook and eat than having to take the bone out. Processing also increases the longevity of the product. Freezing is a form of processing and frozen meat can last for up to 6 months without losing quality, whereas refrigerated meat can only last for a few weeks. While there are no permits required for selling processed products like yarn and sheepskins, products like sausage and meat cuts require USDA inspection. This means they must be sent to someone who is USDA certified to prepare them or money must be spent to create an on-site, USDA certified processing area (Macher 1999 p.127). Processed meat products are most likely something I will have to have done off-farm if I want to sell them because of the USDA red tape.

While it is not strictly a value added product, selling organic can add quite a bit of value to the meat that I sell. Because raising animals organically costs more (organic feed is typically much more expensive than conventional) and has a lower potential for keeping healthy animals, the meat 65

that is sold can, and has to, cost more. Organic costs more for several reasons. One, fewer people do it so there is less of a supply, this means that organic feed is more difficult to find and the people who produce it can charge more and the demand is still there so purchasers must pay the price. Organic means certification and certification can become very expensive; someone has to come out to the farm and ensure that the standards are being met. There is a higher risk of disease in organically raised animals and a higher potential for death from disease because antibiotics cannot be used. This means that fewer animals are likely to be produced and therefore the farmer has to charge more for the meat to make up for the lost animals.

Small farms have less disease problems than big farms because there are fewer animals and they have more space. Big farms tend to have to feed medication to the animals regularly in order to prevent disease, which is forbidden by organic standards (Simmons 1989 p.229). Rotational grazing also reduces the incidence of disease because the animals are not forced to graze over where other sheep that may be infected have grazed. Adding chickens into the mix that eat sheep parasites decreases the risk of disease even more. Both of these things are more difficult for big farms to do. Certified, organically raised lamb is not something I will pursue at first, I may look into it in the future, but the costs of certification make it less appealing to me.

MUTTON

Selling mutton is another way to increase my profits, but mutton has a somewhat negative reputation in this country. There are several ways to make mutton more appealing to the average customer. Mutton has a very high level of digestibility; this means that for people with digestive difficulties, mutton is a good way for them to eat meat without encountering as many problems. A new Australian technique has reduced the strong sheep taste of mutton. Feeding a sheep for forty days on a diet of cotton seed and sunflower seed alters the cooking smell and flavour of the meat enough to make a seven year old sheep taste remarkably like lamb. Making it into sausage also seems to reduce the negative flavours of mutton and increase its acceptability (Simmons 1989 p.231). By making mutton more appealing to customers and informing them of how it has been changed to make it less “sheepy” I can increase my profit potential by adding another product I am able to sell. I personally like the taste of mutton, especially in stew, so at the very least I can eat it myself, decreasing my need to buy in meat for myself. Supplying recipes is another good way to increase sales of both lamb and mutton.

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Chapter 6: Other Animals on My Farm

There are two other animals that I want to raise on my farm in addition to sheep. I want to raise chickens both for parasite management in my sheep and as a second meat product for extra income. I also want to have llamas to use as a guard animal for my sheep, which I can also use for their fibre as a source of extra income. The idea is to diversify my product opportunities, as well as use sustainable methods to keep my farm producing well.

CHICKENS

Chicken breeds can be broken down into eight categories: Laying, meat, dual-purpose, ornamental, endangered, bantams, and feather. The laying breeds lay large numbers of eggs, are small, begin laying at 5 months, and do not brood (care for chicks) (Damerow 1995 p. 5). The meat breeds grow quickly; they weigh 2.3kg (5lb) by 8 weeks, and have a large amount of breast meat (Damerow 1995 p.8). Dual-purpose breeds are generally large-bodied, are hardy, tend to lay brown- shelled eggs, and have an instinct to brood (Damerow 1995 p.9). Ornamental chickens are kept for aesthetic reasons and shows (Damerow 1995 p.11). Endangered breeds are those that were not bred because they did not exhibit profitable characteristics and are now raised for conservation (Damerow 1995 p.13-15). Bantams are miniature chickens that are good for keeping in small spaces; they are mostly kept as pets or for show (Damerow 1995 p.15-16). Feather chickens are kept for their colourful feathers that are used in fishing flies, jewellery, decorations, hats, and clothing (Damerow 1995 p.18).

For my purposes I want to raise meat birds. I do not want the extra work of collecting eggs or having to feed the chickens year round. With a meat breed I can raise them only during the months when I have my sheep out on pasture; I do not have to keep them through the winter. They only need to be on the farm for 8 weeks at a time, so they are not a long term commitment, which means if I cannot find a market for them I have not invested a huge amount of money into the endeavour.

Meat breeds are broken down into three categories: broilers, fryers, and roasters. Both the broilers and fryers are generally slaughtered at 1.6 to 2.3kg (3 ½ to 5lbs), while the roasters are slaughtered at 2.7 to 3.6kg (6 to 8lb). “The more quickly a bird grows to butchering weight, the tenderer it is and the cheaper it is to raise,” (Damerow 1995 p.8). The meat breeds have been bred to grow most of their meat in the breast area, which is where most consumers like their meat to come from. I have worked with broilers and roasters before and like broilers the best. They grow 67

quickly, but to not get to the size of roasters. Because I will be charging more for my birds than the grocery store, having smaller birds means the price tag does not look that alarming to customers.

My friend Fiona Harrar owned a farm in Vermont where she raised broilers and was charging $2.27/kg ($5/lb) for her chickens. This means a 2.3kg (5lb) bird costs $25, which many people do not want to pay. Since roasters are 2.7 to 3.6kg (6 to 8lb) when slaughtered, they would end up being $30 to $40, which is even more difficult for people to want to spend. Commercial meat birds also eat about .9kg (2lb) of food per .45kg (1lb) of weight gained, while layers eat three to five times as much for the same weight gain (Damerow 1995 p.8). This makes meat breeds much more efficient and I will not have to spend as much on supplemental feed.

Most meat breeds came from a cross of the Cornish breed with an American breed, e.g. New Hampshire and Plymouth Rock. Some breeds are Brahma, Cochin, and Cornish, while the Jersey Giant is the largest (Damerow 1995 p.8-9). The Cornish, White Rock cross is the most common broiler breed. “The males of this cross can reach around [2kg] 4.5 pounds by 6 weeks and [4.3kg] 9.5 pounds by 11 weeks, on average . . . The females grow a bit slower; at about [1.1kg] 2.5 pounds (5 weeks) they are marketed as Cornish Game Hens,” (“Broilers”).

Figure 18. Broiler chickens (“Selecting Meat Chickens” 2010).

Broilers have been bred to both grow faster and grow more meat in the breast area than laying hens. Below is a picture comparing a laying hen (left) with a broiler hen (right).

Figure 19. Laying hen vs. broiler hen (“Chickens Movin' On Out” 2007). 68

They are both three weeks old, but the broiler is clearly larger and the legs are thicker, making it difficult for the broiler to walk. If the broiler is kept alive much past its typical eight week cut off, it will become harder and harder for it to manoeuvre its body, making it cruel to keep it alive to reach higher weights. There are other disadvantages to raising broiler chickens. They can eat themselves to death if their feed is not monitored, as overeating causes their bodies to grow so fast they overload their heart. If they get heavy enough they will lay down to eat and sometimes not get up to drink water. The chick mortality rate is high and about a 15% loss, due to stress before slaughter, can be expected (“Selecting Meat Chickens” 2010). However, if the chickens are slaughtered before they become too heavy, the advantages of the broilers (rapid growth, meat in more desirable areas, and low input) outweigh the disadvantages.

Chickens can be ordered online through many different companies. Since I want to keep my production as local as possible I have found one place in Colorado that sells chicks. Larry's Poultry Equipment & Hatchery in Brush, CO (right in the area I want to locate) sells fast and slow, red, white, or black broilers. While some places will offer sexed chicks (so you can get all female or male or an exact number of each), Larry’s only offers standard run sexing (random). When they are sold in bulk their price is discounted. Buying 25 to 50 chicks costs $79.25, 50 to 100 chicks costs $122.50, and 100 or more costs $199 ("rare egglayers broilers").

Generally chicks are mailed at one day after hatching and arrive quickly to the farm. Until they are twenty days old they have a difficult time regulating their temperature, which means they need to be kept warm. Heating lamps can be used, keeping the temperature at 35°C (95°F) to start and then reducing the temperature by 3°C (5°F) each week until the chicks are at room temperature. In the winter this can take about 8 to 12 weeks, while it takes about 6 to 8 weeks in the spring. If the temperature is reduced more quickly, the chicks will feather out more quickly. However, chicks that are too cold will huddle together and can develop diarrhoea. Chicks whose body temperature reaches 47°C (117°F) will die. Chicks need at least 25.4 sq cm (10 sq in) of space each until 2 weeks old and then their space should be increased by 25.4 sq cm (10 sq in) every 2 weeks (Damerow 1995 p.224-226). This means chicks will have to be raised indoors for the first twenty days of life, until they can be put out on pasture. Housing will have to be provided, but because the housing can be used over and over, the broilers produced will pay it off quickly.

As my sheep will be pasture raised, so will my chickens. This is often called range production. There are two types of range production, range confinement and free range. In range confinement, the chickens are kept in a building, but the building is portable, kept on pasture, and moved daily. The advantage to this is decreased feed costs, but the disadvantage is time spent moving the 69

confinement building. At first the birds will be small enough that they can be moved just once a day, however, as they grow they will deposit more droppings and so will need to be more frequently in order to keep pasture available. Joel Salatin is perhaps one of the most famous figures in sustainable agriculture. On his farm up to 100 broilers are range confined per 300x360x60cm (10x12x2ft) pen. The chickens are moved daily, which requires 450 sq m (5,000 sq ft) of pasture per pen per 40 day growing period (Damerow 1995 p.70-71).

Figure 20. A chicken tractor (“Tractors”).

This is a very simple example of what is called a “chicken tractor.” These are used in range confinement situations. The chickens are able to be under shelter or exposed to the elements, while always being able to access grass. However, the birds are not able to graze outside of it, which makes it quite predator proof. They are typically easy to move, easy to build, and can be built smaller or larger depending on how many chickens it needs to house.

Free range is very similar except that the chickens are allowed to come and go freely from their shelter. Below is an example of a free range set-up. The chickens are housed in their shelter throughout the night to protect from predators. They are allowed to go in and out during the day as they please and the electric fencing keeps them from wandering off and predators walking up.

Figure 21. Portable chicken housing for free range chickens (Mighty Food Farm). 70

The extra movement this method allows birds makes their meat darker, firmer, and arguably more flavourful. However, the birds take longer to reach market weight, about 13 weeks instead of 8 and the meat is sometimes disliked because of extra toughness. There is less labour involved in this method because the chickens only need to be moved every few days (at Mighty Food Farm they are moved Wednesday and Sunday, but they are layers not broilers) instead of every day or twice a day with confinement. At least 1,000 sq m (¼ acre) are needed per 100 birds (Damerow 1995 p.71).

For my farm I want a combination method, where the chickens are locked in their shelter for the night to keep predator losses down. They will be allowed to roam more freely during the day, but not given 1,000sq m/bird, instead I want them kept close together to force them to eat all the parasites in the area they can find (as this will help keep my sheep healthy) as well as giving them some supplemental grain feed. I saw this method used on Fiona Harrar’s farm and her birds still weighed an average of 2.5kg (5.5lb) by 8 weeks.

Chickens are not herbivores, they are omnivores and so many people have the misconception that they cannot be raised on grass. They are not ruminants; their stomach works much like a human’s and they are therefore unable to digest grass. They will however perform extremely well on pasture for the following reasons, especially if they are allowed to graze after another animal species:

Because chickens are good scavengers, they are next to perfect for pasture farming. They will eat many kinds of weed seeds; their tidbit brains somehow know that these seeds pack more nutrition than domestic grains. Livestock droppings are dessert to chickens. First they will eat some of the half-digested grain and grass in the manure. They will scratch an old, dried scat apart and eat the worms and bugs under it. Chickens, as well as ducks and geese, consume fly eggs and larvae in the droppings and also larvae of livestock internal parasites (Logsdon 2004 p.140).

There are many differing opinions about how much extra feed pasture raised chickens will need. Logsdon argues that if they follow other animals and are given enough space to graze freely, they will need almost no supplemental feed (Logsdon 2004 p.140). Simmons however, argues that pasture raising will cause the chickens to gain weight more slowly and so they can be fed up to 360g (3/4lb) of scratch per twenty-four birds. Scratch is any grain fed to chickens and promotes their foraging for food. Chickens will graze plants down as well as pack them down from walking. The birds should be let in when the grass is 12.7cm (5in) tall and taken out when the grass it 2.54cm (1in) tall (Simmons 1989 p.54). In general the chickens should be put on pasture about three days after 71

sheep have grazed. This gives the grass a chance to recover slightly and the parasites time to grow to edible size for the chickens.

The most common and destructive sheep parasites include flies, lice, and ticks (external) and roundworms, tapeworms, lungworms, and liver flukes (internal). Occasionally meningeal (brain) worms can cause a significant problem. Of the internal parasites, roundworms are the absolute most common as they are almost always found to a low degree in all sheep. Chickens can be effectively used to control both internal and external parasites in sheep by eating them. Flies, lice, and ticks are generally big enough that a chicken can simply pick them from the ground; however, they are small and often stay with the sheep, so chickens are less effective at controlling them. When a sheep has lice it will scratch on any available surface, destroying the wool in that location. Flies can cause what is called “fly-strike,” most common near the rump where manure cakes. Flies lay eggs in the area and maggots hatch out, the maggots secrete an enzyme that liquefies the flesh of the sheep so they can eat it until they grow big enough to drop off and become flies themselves. Other flies leave maggots in the nasal cavities of the sheep causing breathing difficulties. Ticks cause permanent damage to the skin of the sheep where they bite, which can decrease the value of the pelt or make it unsellable. Chickens are most effective at controlling internal parasites. Worm larvae spend their time using snails as their host. These snails are consumed by the sheep while grazing and end up in the digestive system of the sheep, where they cause decreased production (Weaver 2005 p.61-66). Chickens happily eat the snails, which are a great source of protein for them. Once the larvae are eaten in the snail by the chickens, they no longer pose a threat to the sheep.

I will also supply some extra scratch feed to my chickens. Most likely the feed will not be certified organic because of the extra expense and because I will not be certifying my meat, the extra cost cannot be made up in marketing an “organic” product. However, I will only purchase feed that is grown with organic principles; it simply does not have to be certified.

Another benefit to pasture raising chickens is the fertilizing benefit of their manure. Each hen produces about 20.4kg (45lb) of manure per year or .4kg/bird/week (.8lb/bird/week). The average fertilizer values of wet, sticky, caked chicken manure: nitrogen content is 1.5% of weight, phosphate is 1% of weight, and potash is .5% of weight. Chickens produce a good minimum weight and value of fertilizer to be applied to pasture per year (Damerow 1995 p.248-249). So by grazing chickens, the quality of the pasture is improved, parasites are removed for other animals, and the grass level is maintained without machinery. 72

Slaughter regulations for poultry differ quite a bit from other livestock regulations. The federal government has created inspection requirements that enable small-scale producers to avoid inspection. Assuming that six conditions are met, poultry producers can slaughter and/or process 20,000 or fewer birds in each calendar year. These conditions are:

1. They do not slaughter or process poultry products at a facility used for slaughtering or processing poultry by any other person. 2. The poultry are sound and healthy before slaughtering. 3. The poultry are slaughtered, handled, and otherwise processed under sanitary conditions, practices and procedures. The resulting poultry products must be sound, clean, and fit for human food when distributed. 4. The poultry products are distributed with a label that includes the producer’s name, the producer’s address, and the statement “Exempted-P.L. 90-492.” The poultry products must not be misbranded in any way. 5. The poultry products may be distributed only in the state in which the poultry are raised and processed. 6. In the current calendar year the poultry producer or distributor may not engage in the business of buying or selling any poultry products other than those described in this exemption.

Poultry products produced that meet these requirements can be distributed by the producer directly to household consumers, restaurants, hotels, and boarding houses (for use in their dining rooms). The federal Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and state regulatory agencies may examine processing facilities to ensure compliance. The FSIS or state agency can suspend or terminate a facility’s exemption and give penalties to violators. “Sanitary conditions,” is defined in the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 9 Code of Federal Regulations Part 416. These regulations cover the grounds of the processing facility, construction of the facility, equipment and utensils used, and employee hygiene. Generally, the regulations require that:

1. The operation must have a pest management program in place. 2. Buildings must be kept in good repair and be of sufficient size to allow processing, handling, and storage of the product so that adulteration does not occur. 3. Walls of the buildings must be built of durable materials impervious to moisture and cleaned/sanitized as necessary. 4. Lighting must be of good quality and sufficient intensity to ensure sanitary conditions are maintained. 73

5. Rooms where edible product is processed, handled, or stored must be separate and distinct from rooms where inedible product is processed, handled, or stored. 6. Ventilation must be adequate. 7. Plumbing must be installed to carry sufficient water to areas throughout the operation, carry sewage and liquid disposable waste from the establishment, and prevent adulteration of products. 8. Floor drainage must be adequate. 9. Sewage disposal must be sufficient to prevent backup of sewage into areas where the product is processed, handled or stored 10. An adequate supply of running water must be maintained. 11. Dressing rooms, lavatories and toilets must be sufficient in number and conveniently located but separate from rooms in which product is processed, stored, or handled. 12. Equipment and utensils must be sufficient for their purpose 13. Employees must maintain cleanliness, appropriate attire and disease control activities. 14. Each operation is required to adopt written standard operating procedures that will ensure sanitary conditions exist at the operation and keep records that will reflect that the operation follows its standard operating procedures.

Poultry processing in Colorado is regulated by the state Department of Agriculture (CDA). The small- scale processors who are exempt from federal inspection are also exempt from inspection by the CDA, but processors are required to have their facilities licensed by CDA (Hipp 2001). My operation will likely fall under these requirements and I will be able to slaughter 20,000 birds on-site per year for sale to customers without having them need to buy the birds in advance. This will be a good opportunity for farmers’ markets where I can gain a customer base to market my lamb to, which will have to be purchased in advance of slaughter and butchering.

Overall, raising chickens has many ways to improve my farm. The quality of the pasture will be improved through their manure and it will be safer for sheep to return to because of fewer parasites. The chickens will offer me another source of food that I do not have to purchase elsewhere. They have a very low economic input and start up costs. They are extremely efficient at producing meat. They only take 8 weeks to raise and do not require huge time commitments. They also serve to diversify my farm and the products produced, which increases my economic stability.

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LLAMAS

Llamas are part of the camelid family. They were bred over thousands of years in South America by the Incas and, along with alpacas, are the only members of the camelid family to be successfully domesticated. Today the concern about foot-and-mouth disease keeps the U.S. from importing animals from Peru and Bolivia in a timely manner (there is a total of 150 days in quarantine), while importing from countries without foot-and-mouth disease still takes 30 days (Birutta 1997 p.5-6). Llamas are not broken down into breed types; instead they are simply separated by coat colour. While llamas and alpacas are cousins and extremely similar, alpacas are not good guard animals and actually require guarding themselves, which is sometimes provided by llamas (“Llamas as Guardians for Chickens”). Llamas make good guard animals for many reasons.

Figure 22. Llama guarding a sheep flock (Franklin 1994).

Feral dogs, crows, foxes, coyotes, and wolves all pose a threat to sheep flocks (Coleby 2006 p.85). Coyotes are the biggest threat, causing approximately 60.5% of the total predator loss. In range situations in the west, lamb losses due to predation can be as high as 26% and 8% in adults (Dohner 2007 p.2-3). This can cause significant economic loss over time if it is not stopped. Losses due to predation in 1987 cost farmers $83 million. That loss has gone down to $16.5 million in 1999. This is because many sheep producers have begun using flock guardians, such as dogs, donkeys, and llamas (Weaver 2007 p.47).

Llamas make good guards because they are territorial and have a natural dislike of canines. “When a llama is removed from his llama ‘family group,’ and following a proper introduction to and bonding with the new livestock species, the llama takes over as protector and leader in this new family group . . . and establishes exclusive territory for his charges,” (Birutta 1997 p.276).

Figure 23. Annual sheep loss to predation (Franklin 1994). 75

One llama can guard anywhere from 1 to 2,100 sheep (Franklin 1994). While a single llama can guard many sheep and sees the flock as its family, I plan to have at least two llamas as I have witnessed a type of depression in a llama kept alone with a flock of sheep. Because of their intelligence, llamas can distinguish between a possible and imminent threat, only becoming aggressive if a predator advances on its “family group” (Birutta 1997 p.276). Typical responses of guard llamas include (depending on the specific situation and the threat it poses): alert attention, alarm call, walk or run towards the predator, chase the predator, kick or paw at the predator, herd the sheep, or position itself between the flock and the predator (Franklin 1994). A good guard llama is gelded (castrated) between 18 months and 2 years of age, is territorial, and is accustomed to livestock.

Other animals, typically the dog and donkey, have been, and still are, used as guard animals. Dogs are good for fenced pastures and open range, while llamas and donkeys do best with fenced pastures less than 300 acres in size. Dogs also appear more effective against mountain lions and bears than llamas and donkeys which sometimes appear afraid. Donkeys are generally considered the least effective with llamas being in the middle and dogs being the best. On the other hand llamas and donkeys are generally less prone to accidental death, have long lives, do not need special foods, do not need to be raised with sheep, and are less susceptible to traps, M-44s, and toxic collars (Andelt 2002).

While all are effective at warding off predators, there are several reasons why llamas are a better choice. Llamas are tall, which means they are imposing and can easily see over the flock to keep an eye on things (Birutta 1997 p.281). However, if they have a strong bond with their flock, they can be fenced with the same 1.2m (4ft) fencing the sheep are kept in with (Birutta 1997 p.71). While dogs may require up to three years to bond with their flock, llamas bond quite quickly, sometimes in a few days, and are less likely to harass their charges. Donkeys may roughhouse with their charges and end up hurting the flock (Birutta 1997 p.281). Llamas are gentle enough to be kept around lambs and even chickens, to guard these highly defenceless animals (“Llamas as Guardians for Chickens”). Dogs are effective for an average of 2 years, while llamas can last up to 15 years. Donkeys will lose interest in their flock within 4 years. Llamas have been known to help speed the bonding between lamb and ewe, by pushing the lamb toward its mother. They will also not chew on fencing, barns, or gates like donkeys, so will cost less in repairs. Llamas also do not require any special feeding; they eat the same as the sheep. In a pasture situation this means buying in less feed (Birutta 1997 p.281). 76

Table 4. Guard animal characteristic comparison (Franklin 1994).

This comparison of expense between dogs and llamas as guard animals is a good example of the benefits of using a llama instead of a dog. While the cost difference would be less between a donkey and a llama, because the donkey will graze, the problems a donkey can cause (such as trampling lambs) outweigh their benefits as a guard animal. Llamas are also highly disease resistant, which keeps vet bills much lower for them (Birutta 1997 p.15).

When raised on pasture with a flock of sheep that it has a good bond with, the llama does not require anything more than the sheep do. In cold weather the llama will simply lie down in the most sheltered spot, the same way a sheep will, but if they are given shelter they will utilize it (Birutta 1997 p.69). They are not picky eaters and will happily graze pasture with their sheep flock (Birutta 1997 p.15). However, while alfalfa hay is good for sheep, it can cause obesity in llamas. Oat hay is the best choice for cold weather feeding to llamas (Birutta 1997 p.51). Since I only plan to feed hay in the winter time when snow covers the ground, I could simply keep the llama separated by a small fence from the sheep. It will be important to keep the sheep next to and within sight of the llama so it does not become concerned, and therefore stressed, about its flock. The problem with pasture raising llamas is the large number of plants that are poisonous to them: black cherry, black locust, black mustard, nightshade, boxwood, bracken fern, buttercup, rhododendron, groundsel (Ragwort), henbane, horse nettle, milkweed, mountain laurel, oak, Ohio buckeye and yellow buckeye, poison hemlock, rattlebox, sheep laurel, skunk cabbage, staggerbrush, St. John’s Wort, water hemlock, and wild lupine (Birutta 1997 p.64-67). The equipment required for sheep and llamas can be interchanged for fencing, toenail clipping, and shearing (Birutta 1997 p.81-83). This means that using a llama will not mean a lot of separate equipment, feed, or costs in general.

Llamas have another benefit as well, they produce fibre which can be sheared and utilized the same way a sheep’s wool can. In many cases, llama fibre is actually called wool (though it is 77

medullated and therefore technically hair) and it can be mixed with sheep’s wool. A good mix is 80% llama fibre and 20% sheeps wool, which gives the resulting fibre good elasticity (Birutta 1997 p.246). In the 1990s, the interest in llama fibre grew and llamas began to be bred for fibre to be used in handspinning, felting, and crafts. When llama fibre is mixed with sheeps wool, it adds lustre and sheen. It also does not shrink, is lightweight and warm, and a huge bonus: is hypoallergenic. Sheep produce large quantities of lanolin, which many people are allergic to. Llamas produce little to no lanolin and their fibre can be washed clean enough to not cause an allergic reaction (Birutta 1997 p.13). I can easily mix my sheeps wool and llama fibre, or keep it separate, and sell the resulting product to customers for some extra money.

Llamas will provide good protection for my sheep, are easy to maintain, and can provide extra income. Predation can be a real problem and simply the presence of a llama will often deter a predator. And if that does not work, llamas will turn aggressive if they perceive an imminent threat. Because of their gentle nature, they are safe to keep around my sheep at all times, even during lambing season, which is when their presence is critical. They can eat the same feed as the sheep they guard, which means they will not cost a lot extra in feed the way a dog would. Their fibre, while not traditionally considered useful, is of high enough quality to produce a fine product. Their mere presence on the farm may even deter predators enough that my chickens will also be safer. Using llamas as a guard is a sustainable and cost effective method of predator control.

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Chapter 7: Financial Outlook

The financial prospects for my farming endeavour are probably the most difficult factor to predict. So many things will determine how much money I will need to have upfront and how much money I can expect to make in the short and long term. In this chapter I will look at current examples of prices for equipment, land, and animals. I will also look existing CSAs and their prices for lamb. I hope to be able to put together a realistic idea of many of the costs and profits I can expect to have from my farm.

COSTS

The first thing to be considered is capital. How much money is it going to take to start off? Will the farm begin with debt and have to be paid off? Some good questions to ask are listed in Making Your Small Farm Profitable:

1. Do I have any savings? 2. How much am I willing to risk on this new farming project? 3. How much can I borrow – and how much am I willing to borrow? 4. Can I rent land with or without the option to buy later to maximize my limited capital? Should I rent or should I buy? 5. Do neighbours or nearby equipment dealers have machinery I can rent, rather than buy? 6. Can I buy a cheap “fixer-upper” and use my knowledge and time to multiply some sweat into cash? (Macher 1999 p.20).

One of the biggest costs when starting a farm is the land. A farm can be started from empty land or from a pre-existing farm. Buying a plot of land with nothing on it is usually the more expensive choice because all of the buildings (including the house for the famer) have to be put in place. This does offer the advantage of allowing the farmer to set up the land any way they desire. On the other hand, the expense of repairs to an existing farm may be as much as putting in all new buildings. A fairly-well-maintained, pre-existing farm is generally the best financial choice. Using ColoProperty.com I looked at properties with at least a house currently on them and 30-plus acres of land. Most of these were already farms, but I narrowed the search to only include land that was open and un-forested. Prices ranged from $275,000 to $600,000 with only three listings in the area I am interested in locating. The cheaper property in this case is cheaper because the house is quite small. The deciding factor for me will be the other buildings available for use with sheep and the quality of the pasture. I will also want to consider what kind of animals may have been there before and if they may have had diseases that could be spread to my sheep. 79

In terms of land affordability and the best options for acquiring land, there are several things to think about. In Stockman Grass Farmer an analysis on failing farms was done in relation to property expenses. In none of the cases was the high upfront cost of property a reason for failed farms. The yearly costs of equipment, maintenance, etc. were the culprits. Renting property works essentially like producing a new yearly cost. It works out that buying property outright, or having a good mortgage deal on what may be an expensive property, is a very good investment (Nation 2011).

Another significant start-up cost will be equipment. Basic equipment includes: fencing, ear tags and applicator, breeding harness and marking crayons, “O” rings and expander, toenail trimmer, milk replacer, hay feeder, and water trough. I looked at an online sheep supply website, Premier1Supplies.com, to find pricing for these pieces of equipment:

Fencing: I have experience using ElectroNet fencing. The type I think would work best is ElectroNet® 9/35/12 Electric Netting. This fence has 9 horizontal twines (8 of which are conductive), is .9m (35in) tall, and has PVC posts every 3.8m (12.5ft) It is expected to last for 10 grazing seasons. This costs $2.16/m ($.66/ft) with a single spike on the posts or $2.39/m ($.73/ft) for a double spike. The double spike is more stable and will better hold the sheep.

Ear tags and applicator: Ear tags are used to identify sheep. They stay in the ear of the sheep its whole life. It can help to link a lamb and its mother, track who has been vaccinated, identify which animals have had which sicknesses, etc. An applicator must also be bought in order to put the tag in the sheep’s ear. Tags cost anywhere from $1.50 to $8.50 each. The applicator costs $11.

Breeding harness and marking crayons: A breeding harness is used on a ram to identify which females he has mated. A marker crayon is inserted into the harness, when the ram mounts the ewe the crayon leaves a mark. Different colours will identify ewes mated at different times. The newest colour can be used to estimate when that ewe will lamb. 80

However, a simple mark does not guarantee that the ewe is pregnant. The harness costs $15 and each crayon costs $3.15.

“O” rings and expander: “O” rings are used for docking (removing the tail) and castration of lambs. The ring is expanded, using an expander, and slid over the tail or scrotum and released. The ring squeezes the arteries, cutting off the blood supply which causes the tail or scrotum to fall off after 10-20 days. These are relatively painless procedures where the benefits outweigh the harm. 100 rings cost $1.35 and the applicator costs $6.75.

Toenail trimmer: Trimming toenails occurs once or twice a year. It should also be done if the sheep shows signs of limping and/or the toenail appears damage. Untrimmed hooves can cause lameness and infection. Foot rot also needs to be cut away to keep it from spreading and destroying the hoof. A generic toenail trimmer for small hooves costs $21; replacement blades cost $12.25 for a set.

Milk replacer: Milk replacer is good to keep in stock in case a ewe abandons her lamb. While it would be nice to ensure all lambs are accepted by their mothers or have an orphaned lamb be taken on by another mother, this is not always possible. Milk replacer will ensure the lamb gets the nutrition it needs while it develops its rumen. This costs $17 for an 8lb bag or $47 for a 25lb bag. It contains: Crude Protein, min....23.00% Selenium, min...... 0.3 ppm Crude Fat, min...... 30.00% Vitamin A, min....20,000 IU/lb Crude Fibre, max...... 0.20% Vitamin D3, min....5,000 IU/lb Calcium, min...... 0.45% Vitamin E, min...... 50 IU/lb Phosphorus, min...... 0.60% Hay feeder: A hay feeder is used throughout the winter months when there is not enough grass on the ground to feed the sheep. There are many different styles, I prefer one that is 81

above the sheep so that they do not step in the feed and contaminate it. A double sided feeder costs $25.

Water trough: A basic water trough is necessary to ensure that water is supplied to sheep at all times. Sheep do not need very much water to do well; they get most of it from their feed. However, there is significantly less water in hay and in hot parts of the year sheep may require extra water. The PortaTrough3 is difficult for animals to tip over, has a rounded bottom they do not like to step in, and is rubber so that it will not break if frozen. It costs $37.

None of these are onetime costs, but some items will last a long time before they need to be replaced. The fencing, ear tag applicator, breeding harness, “O” ring applicator, toenail clipper, hay feeder, and water trough are all things that will last for more than one season. If treated well many of these items will last for many years. Depending on how many lambs are born and the percentage that are male, the “O” rings bought in a package of 100 can last for one season, more than one, or less than one. Ear tags are another thing that needs to be bought every year. Milk replacer can last for a while, but will expire and so needs to be replaced, even if there is some left. All told to get one of each (not including fencing, including 50 of the cheapest ear tags, two marking crayons – which will cover two heat cycles, i.e. the length of the breeding season – , and the 8lb bag of milk replacer) it will cost $214.05 (“Sheep Supplies” 2011). The amount of fencing required will depend on the specific piece of land and how the sheep will need to be arranged on it.

Other expenses are much more difficult to estimate, but will need to be considered when I am in the area and can find local suppliers. Prices for these change throughout the year, from person to person, and are dependent on many other factors. These things include land/property taxes as well as other yearly fees. Buying in ewes to start the flock will cost something, but this is a highly variable expense. The land size I actually get to purchase will determine how large of a flock I can at least start out with. Rams either need to be bought in regularly to keep genetics from crossing or they need to be rented yearly. It is much easier to rent a ram every year because it does not have to be fed, it cannot be kept alone, and it will try its hardest to get to the ewes if they are in heat. 82

Renting however will cost more than buying a ram, because the good ones are in high demand during the fall when most people breed their sheep. It is best to bring in sheep from local areas because they have most likely been exposed to the same diseases. This means that finding prices is difficult because I do not have a specific enough area to look at. Vaccination is allowed by USDA organic standards and does not contribute to antibiotic resistance. However, vaccination does cost something every year for the new lambs and for updating the ewe flock. I plan to only vaccinate for those things that are an extreme threat in my area and will cause the most production loss. Vaccines can cost anywhere from $6 to $40 depending on what they are for, where they come from, and what form they are in. Along with vaccines, syringes and needles must be bought regularly.

Supplements and winter feed is another consideration for yearly costs. Fiona Harrar used to own Hidden Pasture Farm in Pownal, VT; she now manages a sheep dairy in upstate New York. She sent me some of her financial information. Their cost of free choice mineral, Fertell Organic Graziers Choice, was $550/year. The organic choice is the more expensive option, but does guarantee no artificial additives or antibiotics. Hay cost her upwards of $4000 for the winter for 50 sheep. However, she got a deal from her neighbour for $2.25/bale and estimates it would have been around $4/bale if bought elsewhere. Hay was fed in 15.9kg (35lb) bales at about 2.3 to 2.7kg/head/day (5 to 6lb/head/day); that means about 7bales/day and 1,778bales/year of hay was fed out. So at $4/bale it would have cost more like $7112. This is most likely the highest cost per year I will have to expect.

One method is to grow hay on my own land, which would mean less yearly cost. However, this requires capital upfront to purchase the equipment, which includes a tractor, bale mover (optional), bale wrapper (optional and generally only for large round bales to turn the hay into silage), conditioner (optional, helps with even drying), baler, and hay rake. Costs are estimated for these pieces of equipment by the University of Illinois.

The equipment I am used to and would therefore purchase would be a pull-type mower/conditioner (conditioner simply because it is automatically assumed in this analysis) and rake (wheeled). This 83

would cost $22.60/acre, plus the cost of the tractor. Tractors, used and new, can cost anywhere from $4,000 to $50,000 depending on make, supplier, and age. The cost of producing hay can be further broken down into costs per bale: a 50lb square bale cost $0.48; a 1,000lb square bale costs $7.88; and a 1,000lb round bale costs $9.62 (“Machinery Cost Estimates: Forage Field Operations” 2008). Allan Nation is the editor of The Stockman Grass Farmer magazine, has written eight books on agriculture, and grew up on a cattle ranch. In his experience it takes a flock or herd of 350 head or more before making hay on farm is more economical than buying it in (Nation 2011).

There are many yearly costs to be expected, but estimating how much they will actually be is very difficult. There is lambing and vaccinating equipment to renew every year. There are licenses and permits (for animals and slaughter), ram rental, vet bills, feed (though not if I grow my own, but unpredicted extra may need to be bought in), labour (if I hire in someone to help or take over during a vacation), transportation (buying new vehicles, maintaining vehicles, wear and tear, and fuel), taxes, farmers’ markets booth space, advertising fees, slaughtering materials and packaging, and repairs to machinery, buildings, fencing, and other equipment (Macher 1999 p.142-143). However, given the prices for things I have found so far, it will easily cost over $1,000, but most likely not over $3,000 (not including feed) a year to maintain the basics of the farm.

PROFITS

There are many factors that influence profit, including farm costs, but also product demand, disease outbreak, advertising, market pricing, and available product. Desired profit also has an influence. Product pricing is the key to all of this. I must price my product correctly or consumers will not buy it or I will not make a profit from it.

Desired profit can help to price the product by determining the desired profit margin on the individual product. This is part of setting financial goals. Below is an example of how to set and carry out a financial goal:

We will use 5-year averages for budgets with a cash flow of 120 percent. Say you are selling fresh brown eggs to neighbours, market customers, and a local restaurant. If your expenses are averaging $100 per week . . . then according to your goal, your projected revenues should be $120 per week (120 percent of $100). The extra $20 is your profit, to apply to living expenses, savings, farm upgrades, and so on (Macher 1999 p.105).

To apply this to each individual product, the expense per product must be found. So, say each carton of eggs costs $3.57 to produce ($100 costs/week divided by 7 days divided by 4 cartons per day). Each carton would have to be sold for $4.28 in order to meet the $120 per week income and the $20 84

per week profit. Accurate record keeping is essential to knowing expenses and determining price to break even and then price to make a profit. Records are not as accurate at first as they will be after many years, so the farmer has a greater chance of short-changing them self (Macher 1999 p.142). Starting out with cheap prices that undercut other vendors at a farmers’ market makes the other vendors angry and makes the customers always expect this price. Products need to be priced fairly for everyone.

A good way to fairly price products is to look at other people selling the same product in the general area. Good questions to answer are “What are similar products selling for at farmers’ markets? in grocery stores? at nearby roadside stands? Is your product different – perhaps of more quality, all natural, or an heirloom variety? If so, price it accordingly,” (Macher 1999 p.143). In order to think about pricing my product I did a search for lamb CSA prices. It was difficult to find ones in the Colorado area, so I expanded my search to include any CSAs selling lamb I could find. This still gives me a good idea of the prices my product can bring.

Localharvest.org sells a grass-fed lamb CSA share for $150 for 7 deliveries over 20 weeks in the spring and summer that includes: 1 leg of lamb, 1 rack of lamb, 2 packages lamb kabobs, 2 packages loin chops, 1 package ground lamb, 1 package lamb shanks, and 1 package riblets. The meat comes from family owned Flying Mule Farm in Auburn, CA which also produces summer and fall vegetables and sustainable forest products. Their lamb is free of antibiotics and added hormones. They use livestock guardian dogs to protect their sheep from coyotes, mountain lions and other dogs ("Grass-fed Lamb CSA Share" 2010).

JC Nyman Farms in Picton, Ontario offers lamb as part of a meat CSA that also offers beef, pork, and chicken. The animals are fed their natural food (pesticide free grass and 50% home grown grain for foul), are allowed to range freely, and bred in their natural season. However, they are not organic; this is because if an animal does get sick, rather than slaughter it or let the animal suffer, they choose to use antibiotics (“Meat CSA” 2011). This is a philosophy I believe in and would like to use with my own flock. Their pricing is as follows:

Table 5. Share and per pound CSA pricing (“Meat CSA” 2011). 85

TurkeyTrail Farm offers fall and winter CSA shares of pork, lamb, goat, duck, chicken, mushrooms, leafy greens, and cut flowers to Butte County, CA. They are located in Yankee Hill, CA. They market their products as featuring “heirloom breeds of poultry, and pork along side exciting treats like Grass-Fed Lamb, Mushroom-Fed Broiler Chickens and Medicinal Mushrooms.” A full share is $120 per month, with a three-month minimum, for a total of $360. Pork, lamb, and goat are $17.60/kg ($8/lb) and chicken is $9.90/kg ($4.50/lb) (“TurkeyTrail Farm CSA” 2011).

Peaceful Pastures is located in Hickman, TN and offers meat CSA shares along with other retail products such as wool. Their sheep are 100% grass-fed Lincoln Longwools, known for high quality meats and luminous fleeces.

Figure 24. Lincoln Longwool sheep from Peaceful Pastures farm.

A full share is 6 months and includes monthly instalments of 9.1-10kg (20-22lb) of meat and a handmade bath and body product for $650. Each share includes grass-fed beef, lamb, goat, and whole chickens. However, lamb and goat are a small part of the operation so they are not a large part of the CSA. CSA subscribers save 15-20% off retail pricing, receiving meat for $11/kg ($5.00/lb) with no sales tax or delivery fee. Retail prices for their meat range from $3.28 to $23.08/kg ($1.49 to $10.49/lb). Lamb can also be purchased as the whole animal, which is custom cut. In addition, they sell fleeces, roving and yarns made from their sheeps wool. All fleeces are professionally sheared and are all sold by the pound, as a whole fleece, raw and unwashed ("Peaceful Pastures All Natural, Humanely Raised Meats" 2011).

“Located in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, GrassRoots Meats provides all natural grass-finished beef and lamb, as well as free-range chicken, raised without added hormones or antibiotics.” GrassRoots Meats is not a CSA, but non-CSAs still help me to decide how to price my product, especially for farmers’ markets or if I sell retail. Their free range chickens are raised by a partner producer in Western Colorado. They offer four lamb packages for purchase. The Sheepherder’s Choice package includes 5kg (11lb) of rib chops, loin chops, boneless leg, and leg steaks for $139 ($27.79/kg or $12.63/lb). The Zacate Lamb Package is their economical package and includes 8.6kg (19lb) of meat in sirloin chops, ground lamb, shanks, kabob/stew meat, ribs, and soup/neck bones for $139 ($16.19/kg or $7.36/lb). The Basque Sampler includes 5.7kg (12.5lb) in rib chops, loin chops, 86

sirloin chops, ground lamb, kabob/stew meat, boneless leg, and leg shanks for $149 ($26.22/kg or $11.92/lb). They also offer custom packages which include any cuts the customer wants and can be mixed with beef cuts; prices vary. Lamb can also be bought in wholes or halves of the animal. A whole has approximately 18.1kg (40lb) of meat for $360; it comes in cuts and contains rib chops, loin chops, sirloin chops, leg steaks, boneless leg, stew/kabob meat, ground, shanks, ribs, liver, hear, kidney, and neck bones. Haves are $20.88/kg ($9.49/lb) totalling $189 and contain 9.1kg (20lb) of meat in rib chops, loin chops, sirloin chops, leg steaks, boneless leg, stew/kabob meat, ground, shanks, ribs, liver, heart, kidney, and neck bones. They also offer lamb cuts priced as follows: Loin Chops, Rack Lamb, and Rib Chops – $37.38/kg ($16.99/lb), Sirloin Chops – $30.78/kg ($13.99/lb), Boneless Leg and Leg Steaks – $24.18/kg ($10.99/lb), Kabob/Stew – $26.38/kg ($11.99/lb), Ground – $19.78/kg ($8.99/lb) ("Grass fed beef, lamb and free range chicken" 2010).

CSAs typically offer their members discounts. This can be a discounted price over the retail price or a discount by buying a share early. This makes the customer feel good, like they are getting a deal, which they are. But it also helps the farmer by getting the money further in advance. Offering discounts over retail prices also keeps CSA members coming back to buy a share rather than retail. This is guaranteed income, since the money is paid in advance, whereas retail sales vary greatly and may not occur at all. Members of Peaceful Pastures receive a 15-20% discount off retail prices depending on what package or cut they purchase ("Peaceful Pastures All Natural, Humanely Raised Meats" 2011).

Jodar Farms in Fort Collins, CO is a CSA that sells chicken, eggs, duck, turkey, and pork. They offer discounts to people buying shares early: by signing up and paying in full before January 15th members get a 15% discount, by February 15th they get a 10% discount, and after February 15th will still receive a 5% discount on the total price. They have two marketing styles: Classic Model and Market Model. The Classic Model means the customer signs up for 4, 5, 6, or more chickens per month and receives just that. In the Market Model, customers pay an amount of money and come to the farmers’ market to “purchase” products each week until they have “bought" as much as they paid for ("Jodar Farms 2011 Member Guidebook"). Their pricing for each model, with and without discounts is as follows:

Table 6. CSA price scheme 1 ("Jodar Farms 2011 Member Guidebook"). 87

Table 7. CSA price scheme 2 ("Jodar Farms 2011 Member Guidebook").

Looking at these five lamb CSAs some pricing figures can be determined. Prices range from $7.68/kg ($3.49/lb) to $37.38/kg ($16.99/lb) and average $18.46/kg ($8.39/lb). Lower prices are for less valuable cuts, such as kidney, liver, and neck bones. Median prices are for slightly better cuts, such as ribs, shank, and ground lamb. Chops, roasts, steaks, and legs are the high end cuts and cost the most. More people want the high end cuts, which puts them in higher demand, and therefore the price can be, and has to be, higher. Lower end cuts must be priced low so that customers are tempted to buy them. The other type of meat I want to sell on my farm is from chickens. Prices range from $7.15/kg ($3.25/lb) to $24.18/kg ($10.99/lb) depending on cut, with the average price being $12.87/kg ($5.85/lb). Lower prices go to bone in cuts, but there is great variety in price; in general wings and legs cost less than breast, especially boneless and skinless breast. This is because of the amount of work that goes into preparing these cuts. Whole birds sell for $6.60 to $13.20 per kilogram ($3 to $6 per pound). It is easiest to sell whole chickens and requires much less work on the part of the producer. However, cuts can bring in higher revenue. Most likely I will be selling whole birds as my main focus is lamb and I will have enough to do with my time trying to sell product and maintain my farm. Fiona Harrar sold her chickens whole through Mighty Food Farm’s CSA at $11/kg ($5/lb), but if they had been certified organic they would have had to be $22/kg ($10/lb) (because of the extra cost of organic certified feed). Which means a 2kg (4.4lb) chicken would cost $22; the organic version of the same chicken would cost $44. Most consumers will not pay $44 for a single, 2kg (4.4lb) chicken, which is one reason I do not want to be certified organic. Wool is another product I can look to sell from my sheep (as well as my llamas). Wool can be sold greasy (unwashed fleece), clean as unprocessed fleece, processed into yarn, made into craft projects (such as hats or scarves), as batting to fill quilts, in sheepskin format, and as insulation. One greasy fleece for sale on eBay is .45kg (1lb) and costs $16.99 ("Raw unprocessed Suffolk wool fleece /creamy white 1 lb” 2011). Many of the other places I have come across are selling a single, whole, un-cleaned fleece for a flat rate of $10 (“Wool” and Barton 2011).Cleaned, dyed, and carded wool can bring as much as $.18/g ($5.00/oz) (“Wool”). Suffolk wool yarn sells online for anywhere from 88

$5.99 to $26.99 for 110g, mostly depending on colour, on average costing $9.99/110g (“Suffolk Wool Yarn”). One retailer of wool batts from Suffolk X Dorset sheep charges from $33.99 for a mini-lap size to $105.99 to a king size batt. They also sell sheepskins for a flat rate of $99/skin (“Wool Products” 2008). Interest in sheepskins has been on the increase, both with and without the wool still intact. Blank pelts cost from $75 to $85 depending on their size from one producer in West Texas, whose pelts are processed in New York. Without the wool, the pelts can be embroidered (another opening market) with a price of $155 or painted at a cost of $260 per pelt (Barton 2011). Sheep Wool Insulation sells to Ireland, the UK, the USA, Canada, and Japan. They have various products available; unfortunately their US site has been down for some time, so I have used the UK site. They offer two types of thermal insulation in the UK: 380mm (15in) and 570mm (23in) wide batts. The 380mm (15in) wide batts also come either 100mm (4in) thick and 6m (20ft) long or 150mm (6in) thick and 5m (16ft) long. The thinner, longer version of this costs £59.71 ($96.48USD). The thicker, shorter version costs £74.73 ($120.75USD). The 570mm (23in) wide batts come in the same two sizes and cost £59.71 ($96.48USD) for the thinner, longer batt and £74.73 ($120.75USD) for the thicker, shorter batt (“Thermal Insulation”). Overall the U.S. sheep markets are on the increase. An article by Dennis Webb in The Daily Sentinel looks at the rising domestic demand that is increasing sheep product prices. Wal-Mart Supercenters (not a place I am looking to sell to, but it reflects the consumer increase in locally produced products) publicized their decision to sell solely American lamb for the 2011-12 season. However, 30% of all domestic lamb is now marketed through smaller, non-traditional outlets (such as local meat shops and individuals buying from farmers). Most of the revenues from sheep are from lamb sales, but there are near-record prices for wool, which can total $15 or $20 per ewe. The American military is the biggest reason for the growth in wool prices; they buy 100% domestic wool for uniforms, blankets, socks and base layers. Sheepskin prices are also nearing record levels, adding another $10 or $15 to a lamb’s value (due to demand for use in footwear). Colorado specifically has some opening markets that make it a good place for a sheep farmer to be. Whole Foods Market approached Tony Theos of Meeker, CO about buying his Colorado-grown, non-antibiotic fed, and hormone free lambs. By the second year of sales, Whole Foods had bought out his entire supply. The store’s decision was consumer driven as consumers asked why there was so much Colorado lamb, but none of it in the stores (Webb 2011). Macher has created budget and profit projections by compiling information from university, government, and private sectors for various livestock enterprises. They look at labour as well as profit to help future farmers pick the best balance of labour and income and decide which type of 89

livestock they will raise. The budgets are estimates as feed costs can vary widely from place to place as can stock supply and machinery cost and supply. The budgets do not include taxes, start-up depreciation, and interest. They are also not designed for alternative markets or value added products, where typically the profit will be higher. The costs of labour, hired or otherwise, are not subtracted from the total profit. I will look at the budgets created for broiler chickens, sheep (it includes wool), and meat type sheep. Chickens, broilers 1000 chicks, 10% mortality, 8-9 weeks to market 900 chicks after mortality x 4lbs = 3,600lbs. Income 3600 lbs. x $2 $7,200.00 Expenses Feed: 10,800 lbs. (3 lbs. per lb. sold) @ $0.14 $1,512.00 Other var. costs $1,000.00 Net profit $4,688.00 Labour 500 hours (Macher 1999 p. 171)

Sheep One ewe spring lamb born March, April, and May Lambs 150% lamb crop, 20% replacements Income 1.50 x 120 lbs. X $0.80 $144.00 150 lbs. cull ewe x $0.20 = 30 lbs. x $0.20 $6.00 Wool: 10 lbs. x $1.50 (added-value wool) $15.00 Gross income: $165.00 Expenses Feed 500 lbs. hay x $.50/lb $25.00 Grain 100 lbs. ewe and lamb x $.035/lb $3.50 Fair pasture .75 acres $11.25 Wormers, salt, minerals $5.00 Other var. costs $30.00 Net profit $90.25 Labour 6 hours (Macher 1999 p. 175)

Sheep, meat type One ewe spring lamb born March, April, May, 20% replacements Uses other variable from above sheep example Income Lambs 1.75 lamb crop x 120 x $0.70 $147.00 Expenses 150 x .20 = 30 lbs. x $0.20 $6.00 Feed $44.75 Other var. costs $30.00 Net profit $66.25 Labour 6 hours (Macher 1999 p. 175)

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The net profit from chickens in this example is nearly 52 times greater than from sheep and nearly 71 times greater than from meat sheep. This is because sheep need to be on the farm for a much longer time, they cost more to buy in, they are worth less per pound (remember this is conventional market), they are less efficient at gaining weight, and eat more per animal. However, they require far less labour than chickens. By selling directly to the consumer I hope to be able to sell a whole lamb for around $19.8/kg ($9/lb). This would increase the income to $1890 and therefore my net profit to $1809.25 (Macher 1999 p.171 and 175). By selling directly to my customers, producing value added products, and selling products from multiple animals (sheep, chickens, and llamas) I open up my markets and give myself more opportunities to make a profit. I will have to attend farmers’ markets in the place I decide to live in order to get a better idea of how much people are charging for lamb. I will also look in local and chain stores to see their prices to get a better idea of how much I can and should charge. I have the potential to make a good amount of profit from my various sources, if I market and advertise correctly. I will be able to keep my expenses down by buying in little or no feed, rotating my animals to keep them healthy, which will decrease my vet and medication expenses. I can add value to my product by finding ways to sell cuts, as well as processing wool. While farming sheep may not be the way to riches, it is a way to make a living if done properly.

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Chapter 8: Summary and Conclusions

The intention of this paper was to look at sheep breeds, feed management, marketing, location, other animals, and finances and decide what would work for me to meet my personal farming goals. I wanted to create a basic layout for my farming practices in order to be prepared when the time comes for me start my farm. My goals in farming are to produce a sustainable product from humanely raised animals and make a healthy product available to my local community. All of the variables I have considered as each chapter have an influence on my ability to create the type of product I want.

I have picked Suffolks as my ideal breed because of their ability to quickly produce meat. Their wool is not of the highest quality, but can still be used for a product. Suffolks are highly efficient at production and therefore do not cost as much relatively to raise in order to get the same amount of product from another animal. Hampshires are a second breed choice, which I may choose to introduce. I can do this by either simply starting a new herd or by breeding them in. This breed is slightly less good at producing meat and has a slightly lower wool quality. However, both breeds have good mothering and milking abilities. Because they are both black faced breeds, neither is likely to be easier to handle in terms of flight distance. Suffolks do have the upper hand in grazing ability, which helps make them more efficient, but also means I could raise them on less ideal land than Hampshires. In the end, I simply have to see how the breed I choose performs on the land I have.

The performance of my sheep will also be determined by my pasture management practices. Pasture feeding animals produces meat with higher amounts of omega-3 fatty acids, which benefits the heat of the person eating the meat, and more conjugated linoleic acids, which help fight cancer and cardiovascular disease. Pasture feeding animals also produces new flavour in the meat, which many people find more appealing. Proper pasture management includes several factors. The correct number of sheep for the size of the land must be calculated, with the base number being 4 to an acre. Bloat and toxaemia must be avoided by carefully adjusting the sheep from one diet to another. Other health problems can be prevented by supplying the proper minerals to the sheep, typically in the form of a salt lick, specifically mixed for sheep. The sheep must also be encouraged to eat by providing high quality, desirable pasture forage species. However, some low quality roughage is also necessary for proper digestion. In order to make all of this work and keep the pasture healthy, the sheep must be rotated on a schedule that allows the grass to recover between grazings, but also forces the sheep to eat as much of the pasture as possible. I will have to use this knowledge, along with experimentation, to design a proper rotational system for my farm. 92

The location I chose to look at this for this paper offers an ideal situation for pasture raising animals. The geography and climate of Colorado offer a lot of grass and little moisture. This lack of moisture helps to reduce the occurrence of foot rot and internal parasites, both of which reduce production by the sheep. The number of sheep currently being raised in Colorado also proves the quality of the land for the purpose of raising sheep. While this large, concentrated number of sheep may appear to be a deterrent, these sheep are typically conventionally raised and I believe my sustainable methods will open up a new, niche market for myself. With the large population, highly concentrated near my desired farm location, I have access to more potential customers. The ethnic diversity of this area also offers better market opportunities as these cultures often have specific meat requirements conventionally farmers are either unable or unwilling to meet. The same basic slaughter laws also apply in Colorado as the rest of the country. This means it will be difficult to slaughter my sheep on my own farm, but it is possible if I can first establish a solid customer base. The North-eastern corner of Colorado offers very good opportunities for creating a solid customer base as well as raising healthy, pasture fed sheep.

Marketing strategies will be important for me to create this customer base. Colorado has a fairly large ethnic community as well as religious community, both of which require specific lamb products for many of their holidays. I will have to plan my breeding and lambing times in order to have lambs available to market to these communities. By using direct marketing rather than traditional methods I increase my profit margin as well as make a good connection with my customers. Being able to talk to my customers and inform them of my practices is a very important part of my farming endeavour. I can also provide value added products, such as sausage and yarn to increase my market and profit potential. Diversification is another important marketing strategy I plan to utilize. I will do this by offering mutton, wool, llama fibre, and chicken. By combining various marketing strategies I ensure myself a solid starting point for bringing in money as well as protecting myself from specific product market crashes.

Other animals on my farm are not only a way to bring in extra money; they also serve the purpose of creating a sustainable environment. Chickens act as parasite management for the sheep, while llamas serve as protectors. Rather than having to de-worm my sheep on a regular basis, and thereby contribute to parasite resistance to worming medication, I can simply let chickens graze. This is a sustainable method of parasite control that allows for the production of another meat product on my farm. While electric fencing will be used to somewhat control predators, llamas offer further protection. Llamas also eat the same feed as the sheep and require the same equipment, 93

while offering fibre as an extra source of income. The idea is to diversify my product opportunities, as well as use sustainable methods to keep my farm producing well.

It has been argued that a farm cannot be sustainable if it is not profitable. In this case, I can utilize as many sustainable farming methods as I want, but if I cannot make a profit, I cannot keep the farm going, which is the exact opposite of sustainability. In order to be profitable I need to record and manage my yearly costs. There are many yearly costs, such as lambing and vaccinating equipment, licenses and permits, ram rental, vet bills, feed, labour, transportation, farmers’ markets booth space, advertising fees, repairs, etc. While it is difficult to really determine how much the farm will cost to run each year, a rough estimate is somewhere between $1,000 and $3,000 (not including feed) a year. Profits will mostly depend on my pricing. After looking at five lamb CSAs I have found that lamb meat prices average $18.46/kg ($8.39/lb). Chicken meat prices range average of $12.87/kg ($5.85/lb). Fleeces often cost $10 for a single, whole, un-cleaned fleece. I have the potential to make a good profit from my various sources, if I market and advertise correctly. I will keep costs down by buying in little or no feed and rotating my animals to keep them healthy, which will decrease my vet and medication expenses. Sustainable practices will be used to ensure a profitable farm, which increases the farms sustainability.

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Further Readings

Sheep

Adams, D.B., G.N. Hinch, and J.J. Lynch. The Behaviour of Sheep: Biological Principles and Implications for Production. Australia, New Zealand, UK: C.A.B. International/CSIRO Publications, 1992. Information on the behaviours of sheep from a biological point of view on the behaviours of grazing, social and organizational, reproduction, the lamb, and welfare of sheep.

Burns, Deborah, Sarah Guare, and Dale Perkins, eds. Storey’s Barn Guide to Raising Sheep. Pownal, VT: Storey Publishing LLC., 2006. A quick, useful guide for those starting and continuing to raise sheep; it includes information on feeding, breeding, castrating, lambing, wool, and record keeping.

Hasheider, Philip. How to Raise Sheep. Voyageur Press, 2009. With information on everything from particular breeds to feed requirements, fencing and general care, showing and breeding and marketing, the merits of various breeds, and different farming methods: organic, sustainable, and conventional.

Parker, Ron. The Sheep Book: A Handbook for the Modern Shepherd. Revised and updated ed. Athens, OH: Swallow Press/Ohio University Press, 2001. This book includes advice from a farmer on day to day practices with updates on medications, reproductive technology, new sheep breeds, and the sheep dairy industry.

Simmons, Paula. Raising Sheep the Modern Way. Rev. ed. Pownal, VT: Storey Communications, Inc., 1989. This is considered the small-scale sheep raiser's bible; it includes information on: breeding, pregnancy management, handling of lambs, medications, vaccines, and using guard dogs.

Weaver, Sue. Sheep: Small-Scale Sheep Keeping For Pleasure and Profit. Irvine, CA: Bow Tie Press, 2005. Weaver covers everything from choosing the right sheep breed to sheep disposition and behaviour, sheep housing, nutritional needs, shearing & selling fleece, hoof trimming, delivering lambs, common sheep diseases and how to vaccinate your sheep.

Wooster, Chuck. Living with Sheep: Everything You Need to Know to Raise Your Own Flock. Guilford, CT: Lyons Press, 2005. This is a good, though not incredibly in-depth, book on becoming a sheep farmer.

Chickens

Damerow, Gail. The Chicken Health Handbook. Garden Way Publishing/Storey Communications, Inc., 1994. This book is the best guide to chicken health. It contains practical charts to help pinpoint common symptoms, causes of disease, and treatments/remedies for nearly any ailment.

Damerow, Gail. A Guide to Raising Chickens. Pownal, VT: Storey Communications, Inc., 1995. This is a book with expert advice on selecting breeds, caring for chicks, producing eggs, raising broilers, feeding, and troubleshooting.

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Salatin, Joel. Pastured Poultry Profits. Polyface, 1993. Salatin gives a step-by-step guide to his innovative method of raising meat chickens on pasture. Salatin lays out the butchering method as well.

Guard Animals

Birutta, Gale. A Guide to Raising Llamas. Pownal, VT: Storey Communications, Inc., 1997. This comprehensive guide will give you the expert advice you need, including tips on: Buying your first llama; breeding, birthing, and herd management; health care, feeding, and facilities; behaviour and training; using llamas as guardians and for expedition; and marketing llama fleece and organic manure.

Dohner, Janet. Livestock Guardians: Using Dogs, Donkeys, and Llamas to Protect Your Herd. North Adams, MA: Storey Publishing, 2007. This is a comprehensive guide for farmers struggling to reduce predation of livestock. Dohner helps owners understand livestock protection through careful selection of the right guardian animal, proper guardian livestock bonding, dedicated training, and ongoing problem-solving.

Health

Coleby, Pat. Natural Sheep Care. Austin, TX: Acres U.S.A., 2006. This book includes detailed coverage of breeds, wool/meat production, feeding requirements, land management, health problems, and worms (as parasites).

Elliot, Mark and Tony Pinkus. Homeopathy: The Shepherd’s Guide. Ainsworths Homoeopathic Pharmacy, 1993. 32-page British paperback on sheep homeopathic remedies; available in North America from Whole Health Now, http://www.wholehealthnow.com.

Lawson, Laura. Lamb Problems: Detecting, Diagnosing, Treating. Rev. Ed. LDF Publications, 1996. This book uses diagnostic check sheets, symptom flowcharts, text, and illustrations to help the reader diagnose and treat problems with breeding and caring for sheep and lambs.

Feed Management

Church, D.C., and W.G. Pond. Basic Animal Nutrition and Feeding. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1995. This has information on nutrient metabolism and the formulation of diets. The authors also go on to discuss animals' role in ecological balance, environmental stability, sustainable agriculture, and food production.

Jurgens, Marshall. Animal Feeding and Nutrition. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt Publishing, 1996. This is a reference book to verify nutritional content from many feeds, brief explanations of principles, and the outlining of necessary elements of all feeds.

Morrison, Frank B. Feeds and Feeding. Ithaca, NY: The Morrison Publishing Company, 1950. This is the classic book on the topic of feeding for livestock, but may be out of print.

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Wool

Fournier, Jane and Nola Fournier. In Sheep’s Clothing: A Handspinner’s Guide to Wool. Interweave Press, 2001. Describes fleece qualities of 94 sheep breeds along with pictures of the fleeces. It also includes information on selecting quality fleeces, cleaning wool, preparing wool, and spinning.

Magazines/Journals

Small Farm Today. This is a bimonthly periodical with general farming information.

Small Scale Farming

Dmerow, Gail, ed. Barnyard in your backyard: a beginner's guide to raising chickens, ducks, geese, rabbits, goats, sheep, and cows. North Adams, MA: Storey Books, 2002. Damerow covers such topics as the pros and cons of keeping farm animals, manure, describes breeds, and discusses animal personality, feeding, housing, and routine care.

Ekarius, Carol. Small-Scale Livestock Farming: A Grass-Based Approach for Health, Sustainability, and Profit. Pownal, VT: Storey Communications, 1999. Carol Ekarius' natural, organic approach to livestock management produces healthier animals, reduces feed and health care costs, and maximizes profit. It includes case studies of successful farmers and nitty-gritty details of every facet of livestock farming.

Logsdon, Gene. All Flesh Is Grass: The Pleasures and Promises of Pasture Farming. Athens, OH: Swallow Press/Ohio University Press, 2004. Review: "All Flesh is Grass explains the immense benefits of taking our livestock out of the feedlots and raising them in a natural setting on their native diets. It's all there: the history, the politics, the practices, and the passion."—Jo Robinson, creator of www.eatwild.com

Macher, Ron. Making Your Small Farm Profitable. Canada: Storey Publishing, 1999. This practical, step-by-step guide to operating a small farm examines 20 alternative farming enterprises. It teaches how to target niche markets and sustain a farm's biological and economic health.

Rogak, Lisa. The Complete Country Business Guide: Everything You Need to Know to Become a Rural Entrepreneur. Grafton, New Hampshire: Williams Hill Publishing, 1999. This book shows how to choose the right business, buy an existing business, start from scratch, find markets, network, and deal with rural government.

Schwenke, Karl. Successful Small-Scale Farming: An Organic Approach. North Adams, MA: Storey Publishing, 1991. Schwenke covers a wide range of proven techniques and practical advice, including: organic soil science, machinery, the best cash and specialty crops, niche marketing, haying, fencing, and useful calculations.

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Farming Ethics

Coats, C. David. Old MacDonald's Factory Farm: The Myth of the Traditional Farm and the Shocking Truth About Animal Suffering in Today's Agribusiness. Crossroad Publishing Company, 1991. Coats tells stories of veal production and chicken factories. He discusses genetic engineering, environmental effects, transportation of live animals and the ethics of factory farming.

Mason, Jim. Animal factories. New York: Crown Publishers, 1980. Learn more about livestock factories and the animal industry in the United States as Mason looks inside the world of modern factory farming and the reality behind your dinner.

Schell, Orville. Modern Meat. Vintage, 1985. Critique of the modern meat industry.

For Fun on Farming

Dun, Kathryn. Beautiful Sheep: Portraits of Champion Breeds. New York: Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Press, 2008. Contains beautifully composed portraits of the most famous sheep breeds as well as a small highlight of their characteristics; this is not intended as informative, simply visual aesthetic.

Hudson, W.H. A Shepherd’s Life. Linden Publishing, 2004. This is the story of a shepherd, Caleb Bawcombe, in the south-central English county of Wiltshire before the turn of the 20th century.

Katz, Jon. The dogs of Bedlam Farm: an adventure with sixteen sheep, three dogs, two donkeys, and me. New York: Villard Books, 2004. Katz recounts the year he trained his border collies and faced lambing season during an extremely harsh northern New York winter.

Stevens, Kathy. Where The Blind Horse Sings: Love and Healing At An Animal Sanctuary. Skyhorse Publishing, 2009. Written by the found of Catskill Animal Sanctuary, this book chronicles the beginning of the farm and the animals it has saved; including a story on a crazed ram herding llamas.