Sheep and Goat production Exam 1

why were sheep more historically important than now

meat, wool, milk etc

wool made them very important but dependence for wool has changed since being replaced by synthetic fibers

synthetic fibers versus wool

wool has contaminants such as grease, dirt, grass, burrs but synthetic does not

synthetic are all same length diameter and strength and are also more cost effective

what gave birth to synthetic fibers

petroleum industry by products so it led to sheep industry decline, sheep numbers are constant

goat numbers

increasing specifically meat goats, angora mohair goats used for fibers so was affected by wool/mohair decline so numbers dropped

now meat goat increasing while angora decreasing

what has really changed in the industry

fiber producing breeds versus meat producing breeds

texas

largest wool producing state in the country

not enough sheep in the US to support the demand so still import wool from Australia and New Zealand

until when was wool profitable with a high demand

after world war two

wool act of 1954

give producer incentive to produce fibers, give guarantee total price for your wool

tax on imported wool and mohair was used to fund the program

clinton and wool act of 1954

clinton did away w incentive program in a 3 year phase out because synthetic fiber invention began decline of wool sheep. after no program severe decline in sheep and goat numbers. angora industry almost died out

in some communities deer for hunting replaced goat

doing away w program just accelerated what would have already happened but result was painful fir 10-15 years

first sex class of goat got rid of in angora goats

whether goats

nanny goats were next but they used them to breed to boer meat goats

if not 100% angora no mohair value

now there is small but profitable sustainable population of angora

what type of goat has seen an increase

meat goats steadily increasing spanish and boer goats

sheep increase and decrease

increase in hair sheep decrease in wool sheep

main driving force is consumer which has allowed hair sheep and meat goats to find their place

what increased the demand for goat and lamb

ethnic consumers

could be religious or geographic bc of lack of land, soil, resources to raise beef. sheep and goat can eat brush which is better suited for geographically challenged countries

ethnic consumer want smaller sheep with tail and testicles

religious sacrificial lamb is unadultered and makes a premium

what 2 things make sheep and goat less attractive than cattle

fencing and predators

questions to ask when selecting a sheep breed as a producer

what is application? limitations? where used successfully?

alot of breeds we dont need because others do it better

choosing sheep breeds

environment- hot, dry, wet etc (goat more limited than sheep)

what trying to produce?- if fiber what kind? volume length weight of wool or would wool be in the way? wool can be a liability do you have a shearer or somewhere to market the wool?

what trying to sell- feedyard or ethnic consumer? milk or cheese? show animals? wool or mohair?

range flock sheep

way of raising that is going away because based on large land mass and self sufficient sheep that can handle production situations. low input. fits western US, 100s or 1000s of sheep manged this way. given water and maybe some supplemental feed

farm flock sheep

most today. smaller land mass. more intensive management, higher level of land and care for these animals but costs more to produce so must be more productive to be profitable so use productive breeds

show lambs/goats

great earning potential so can pay more on the animal. good commercial vs good show sheep is 2 diff directions

fine wool sheep

successful is range flock and quality wool

historically most important bc of wool but numbers dropping because wool less important

only breeds that generate high quality wool

fineness of wool means fiber diameter, spinning count is how much yarn from 1 pound so higher spinning count means more yarn. fine wool make more and softer yarn, have high spinning count 62s and higher

10-15 lbs per year of wool 50% yield finer fleece has lower yield

3-5 inches of longer fiber more valuable

tremendous variation in size. range flock low input ewe is 125-130 pounds so she wont produce fast growing efficient lambs for feedlot

medium wool sheep

cross fine and long wool sheep, wool quality variability

finex long wool cross

white open face

improve length+weight of fine wool

all polled

long wool sheep

irrelevant mostly in US

from great britian

grow alot of wool 8-12 inches

some big or little

all polled and all white

meat breeds typically

grow fast, get big, used alot in crossing, black faced mostly

hait sheep

tropically adapted and shed wool

dairy sheep

fewer sheep, fewer breeds, smallest component of industry

fine wool sheep advantages

out of season breeding, fall born lambs may be more valuable because less lambs hitting the market.

gregarious so stick together in flock

adaptable

white wool

wool quality and quantity

good foragers

longevity= more lambs per ewe so need to generate less replacement animals

tough and sturdy

can sell ewe versus retaining as replacement

fine wool bucks tougher and more durable so more breeding seasons

fine wool sheep disadvantages

slower growth rate

lighter muscled so decreases carcass value

wool blindness and body wrinkles

not good in high rainfall

size disadvantage in market lambs

lower lambing percentage bc not feasible to have twins and raise them in range flock

horns close to head, maggots in wool in wet season or horns impeding head

most complicated to select because so much potential for negative traits

merino

aka delaine

most important wool producing in the world (australia, china, new zealand, they are okay w lower lamb weights)

finest wool

not as many in US bc of growth and lamb potential

horned or polled

from spain

rambouillet

established from merino in france

most popular in texas and southwest, better for US markets

larger and faster growing than merino

horned or polled

Debouillet

developed in new mexico

rambouilletxmerino

based on size and staple length

long wool advantages

- size

- crossing capability

- long staple

- heavy fleece

- good milkers/mothers

long wool disadvantages

coarse long heavy wool

price per lb lower

light muscled and fatter carcass

lincoln sheep

biggest sheep w longest staple (12 inch)

15-25 lbs of fleece

use this breed to improve others to capitalize on sheep size and fiber length

cotswold

not very good breed, little

coarse fleece in many colors so dont need to be dyed

best for hand spinning yarn(lincoln also used)

least impact of all long wool

market this wool in internet to find niche consumer

leicester sheep

used in europe for crossing w black face to get "mule" ewe to breed with blackface ram

not important in US

romney

shorter fiber length than other long wool, closer to fine wool in length/grade

do well in high rainfall, open wool and genetic resistance to foot rot

advantages of medium wool sheep

large and have heavy fleece

good under range conditions

disadvantages of medium wool

-too big for some environments

-carcass could use improvement

columbia sheep

pink nose

lincoln ramxcolumbia ewe

most used in US established in wyoming

5-7 inch 15 lb fleece

value in wool

too big for texas or new mexico

Corriedale sheep

lincoln ramx merino ewe

black nose/hooves

smaller than columbia with better wool

new zealand started

polled

Targhee

ramboullet ramx columbia ewe so 3/4 rambouillet 1/4 lincoln

developed in idaho at experiment station

not as big as columbia

useful range sheep

fine wool

growing breed, beating columbia

polled

panama

rambouillet ramx lincoln ewe

reciprocal cross of columbia

adaptable in range conditions

fairly useful

small numbers

meat breeds

grow faster with higher slaughter weight, muscular

more milk and prolific expect them to have more twins and triplets

wool is liability costs more to get rid of

av show lamb producer is okay w bad mom/milk if can generate quality lambs

alot have black fiber bc black faced so degrades wool value

less flocking instinct harder to manage not as compliant

most from great britian

also called mutton or sire breeds

meat breed advantages

- good carcasses

- size

- prolific

- milking ability

- convert at higher rate

fat in the lamb industry

does not penalize carcass for being too fat, no advantage if more than 2/10 inch back fat

meat breed disadvantages

-black fiber

-little flocking instinct

-wool blindness

-lambing problems (heavy lambs)

-wool liability

Suffolk and Hampshire

barely any pure of each bc crossed alot

2 most important meat breeds

suffolk was 1 25 years ago but now the hampshire

tables turned bc suffolk has higher rates scrapie and spider lamb

hampshire wool goes over head and to the knees

shropshire

basically smaller hampshire

more face cover

potential wool blindness

fairly irrelevant

dorset

white meat breed advantageous bc if crossed w fine wool lamb is still white

breeds out of season and has high repro rate

milk well

both sexes horned or polled

oxford

hampshire x cotswold

long heavy fleece

irrelevant

southdown

oldest of english breeds

alot trace back down to southdown

small didnt fit commercial industry of US

repro is good

quality carcass and grow fast to end weight (still too small)

relevant commercially for ethnic consumer

cheviot

old breed

scotland

durable, tough, cold wet rigid environment

small

northeast some midwest

montadale

columbia x cheviot

(so 1/4 ramboillet 1/4 lincoln and half cheviot)

not very relevant

midwest

texel

holland

small

new, 80s

important in europe bc good carcass

too small in US

not good at much breeds

not good muscle or wool

dont grow fast

maternal side, prolific can be good

finnsheep

worst in muscularity

4-6 lambs and raise them

good milk

light muscle, slow grow

resiliant and tough

small, frail

from finland

bad wool

polypay

- 1/4 Rambouillet X 1/4 Dorset X 1/4 Finn X 1/4 Targhee (ramboiullet x columbia)

- True composite sheep

- White & polled

- Decent sheep

- Wool has value

-really good females

boorola merino

highly inbred

not great as true merino or rambouillet

trace back to one ewe

single gene effect( F gene for fertility means prolific)

highly reproductive

romanov

terrible wool ( mix of hair and wool)

dark

prolific and tough

excellent lamb survival

uses for wool

clothes, fabrics, yarn, felt, carpets, insulation, rug pads, baseballs, tennis balls

top 5 wool producing nations

-Australia

-China

-New Zealand

-Argentina

-Iran

top producing wool states

texas

california

wyoming

colorado

utah

av fleece is 7.4 lbs

wool warehouses

nearly all wool in US marketed this way, abt 20 in texas

wool pool

A collection point for wool from many producers who combine their wool for marketing

direct marketing of wool

Direct marketing of wool can include selling wool at farmers markets, online, or on-farm. Direct marketing can be labor intensive and expensive, but it can also help build a loyal customer base

processing of wool steps

shearing

scouring

carding

combing

shearing wool

needs a shearer, 63% done during april, may and june

removes fleece from sheep

scouring wool

removing impurities and grease from wool

"washing the wool"

carding wool

disentangles and separates scoured fibers

pass through system of wire rollers to straighten and remove any remaining vegetable matter

combing wool

arranges fibers in a parallel configuration

removes noilage (noilage is a measure of how much wool is lost or deemed unusable during the combing stage, which aims to create a uniform, parallel fiber strand for worsted yarn production)

major processors in the US

Burlington, Pendleton, and Forstmann

US mills must purchase wool from new zealand and australia to fulfill needs

largest wool buyers

china and hong kong

use 20% of worlds clip

apparel wool

generally smaller in diameter

most of wool in US

2 manufacturing systems of apparel wool

Worsted System Uses wool that has not been previously processed Example: men’s suits

Woolen System Uses wool that has not been previously processed as well as short fiber-by-products(noils), recycled yarn Example: blankets, overcoats, women’s suits

value determining characteristics

weight

yield

staple length

av fiber diameter

others:

character

uniformity

yield

% of clean wool fibers

varries greatly based on breed, handling, soil type, amount or type of range cover

finer wool is

lower yielding

coarser wool is

higher yielding

average fiber diameter

Important in Determining Overall Quality and Value

coarser decreases price

3 major wool grading systems

american blood system

spinning count

micron diameter system

american blood system

-Derived from the fine wool of the Merino and Rambouillet breeds

-Fine, 1/2 Blood, 3/8 Blood, 1/4 Blood, Low 1/4, Common and Braid

spinning count

number of hanks (560 yards) that can be spun from 1lb of the wool top (wool that has been sheared and scoured and carded and combed)

micron diameter

newest and most accurate

micron is 1/25,400 of an inch, lower the micron count, the softer and finer the wool

fine wool

64+

1/2 blood

60-62

3/8 blood

56-58

1/4 blood

50-54

low 1/4 blood

46-48

common and braid

below 44s

average staple length

length of fibers determines which system may be used to spin the fibers into yarn.

3 categorized wool classes: staple, french combing, clothing

tender wool and breaks

- greatest contributing factor to waste

- associated with environment, nutrition and disease

breaks

staples that pull apart very easily in a specific position at every location within a fleece

Character of wool

subjective

color, crimp, condition (soft or harsh)

purity:

Freedom from black or brown fibers, kemp, and hair

Will discount the total price of the fleece

Kemp is hollow white fibers that will not accept dye

uniformity

variation in grade and length within 1 fleece

variation in diff areas

diff areas of sheep body and wool length

Shoulder –longer and finer than average

Side/Back – long and average fineness

Britch – longer and coarser than average

Belly – short and fine

belly wool excessive amount causes fleeces to be highly variable and is discouraged against by commercial wool producers

hair sheep

more important now than ever before

no shearing

parasite resistance

hot humid environments, high rainfall, heat resistance

- have alot of grass but cant usually house sheep bc of parasites

- these are tropical sheep so physiologically deal w them, may have to deworm some but not nearly as much

sheep type ethnic consumers prefer

low in put, low labor

leather- don't have traditional pelts but can use pelts as leather

management is easier no castration or docking (for ethnic consumer)

a lot of people transfer to these from cattle bc of land mass

pretty prolific, pretty good repro rate, breed out of season, good mothers

tough and durable

some lacking muscle and growth rate

how to avoid issue of hair sheep lacking muscle and growth rate

market to ethnic consumer straight off the ewe at a light weight avoid these issues and is satisfactory for ethnic consumer

dont go overboard trying to selectively breed for other traits bc could lose ones that make them good

barbados black belly

from barbados

polled

tough breed, one of toughest and most durable but replaced by other hair sheep

better than barbados growth wise, muscle etc.

barbados

black belly became these wanted to put horns on them to hunt

done by crossing w rambouillet and mouflon

st croix

shed

from parasite infested virgin islands

white

good moms and prolific

can breed back while lactating, rare unpredictable in other species/ breeds but st croix doesnt have a lactation anestrus (means could have multiple lamb crops per year, maximize production)

fine boned and light muscled