NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665
August 31, 2000
Crossbreeding of traditional breeds of sheep and "hair sheep" at North Dakota State University has produced vigorous lambs that gain well and have good meat-producing characteristics.
"The early results are very promising," says Roger Haugen, NDSU Extension sheep specialist.
The lambs are the first offspring of a cross between NDSU's traditional Hampshire and Columbia breeding lines and two breeds of hair sheep, so named because they grow and shed a coat of hair rather than wool, which must be sheared.
The sheep will be on display at NDSU’s Ekre Ranch Field Day near Walcott on Sunday, Sept. 17. The event begins at 2 p.m.
Research with the sheep is intended to help the region’s sheep producers stay competitive in a changing sheep market.
"Fifteen years ago, a third of sheep producers' revenue came from wool. Today it often costs producers more to have their sheep sheared than they'll receive from the wool," Haugen says.
That change was prompted by changes in the market, trade policy and by the elimination of federal incentive program for wool. Today, producers have shifted their focus from producing wool to producing meat, Haugen says. They are looking for a way to cut costs and integrate sheep production with other farm enterprises such as cattle or crops.
At the same time, farmers with off-farm employment are looking to sheep to boost income and cattle producers are adding sheep to help combat leafy spurge, a weed that sheep will eat but cattle will not. "We have a lot of producers with no sheep experience," notes Bert Moore, an NDSU sheep researcher. "They want to produce sheep with a minimal input of effort and knowledge."
Hair sheep such as the Katahdin and Wiltshire Horn breeds being studied at NDSU may be a partial solution. NDSU purchased three rams from a Florida producer -- one of each breed and a crossbred.
Katahdin sheep are hardy, adaptable, low-maintenance sheep that are resistant to parasites and have good potential for out-of-season lambing. The breed was developed in Maine. Wiltshire Horn sheep originated in England and are known for their ability to do well in hot and cold conditions and to produce vigorous lambs. They are resistant to external parasites and foot rot.
This spring, ewes from NDSU’s commercial flock at the Ekre Ranch bred to the Katahdin ram had a 195 percent lamb crop with no death loss. Ewes bred to the Wiltshire Horn ram had a 182 percent lamb crop with a 12.5 percent death loss. Ewes bred to Hampshire or Columbia rams had a 167 percent lamb crop with a 22 percent death loss.
"The lambs showed a tremendous amount of vigor," Moore says. "They were up and eating almost right away."
Haugen notes that a 10 to 12 percent death loss is normal among sheep producers. "We typically expect a higher loss in our flock because of the amount of handling that occurs with a research flock," he says.
Available information suggests that both breeds of sheep are smaller and grow more slowly than traditional breeds. The NDSU researchers expect those traits to be a challenge, but the early cross-breeding results are promising. Growth rates and carcass quality were comparable to traditional breeds, Moore says.
"This is only the first year of data," Moore cautions. "We will continue to analyze their growth and efficiency."
In addition, researchers will be integrating the hair-sheep crosses into fall lambing studies. "Reports are that the Kahtadin especially have a lot of out-of-season lambing ability," Moore said. Because reproductive cycles in sheep are triggered by day length, most lambs are born in the spring. That means there are distinct seasonal supply surges with corresponding price declines. The ability to market lamb out of that cycle would be a marketing edge for the region’s producers.
Previous research suggests that three generations of crossbreeding may be required to transfer the no-wool characteristic to conventional sheep breeds. The NDSU researchers will test that premise. They hope that crossbreeding will emphasize the profitable traits of all the breeds involved.
Although researchers won't be able to make firm recommendations for three to four years, the results look promising so far. "We haven’t lost anything on these sheep in terms of the economics to producers," Haugen says.
Additional research at NDSU will be conducted by meat scientist Paul Berg who will evaluate carcass characteristics to determine meat yield and eating quality. Reproductive physiologist Dale Redmer will study the use of artificial insemination. And embryologist Anna Grazul-Bilska will study the use of embryo transfer techniques. If hair sheep could be profitable for the region’s producers, artificial insemination and embryo transfers could help producers gain faster access to the breeding animals.
NDSU is also cooperating with university and USDA researchers in Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Nebraska, Virginia and the Virgin Islands on research involving hair sheep.
"The cooperation allows us to cover all of our bases in investigating the production capability of these sheep," Moore says. "We’ll tailor our portion of the research to our region. What works here may not work in Arkansas, but what they learn there may help us refine what we do here."
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Sources: Roger Haugen, (701) 231-7645, Bert Moore, (701) 231-7651
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629