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West Virginia Sheep Industry Shows Signs of Life Institutions: West Virginia University College of Agriculture, Forestry and Consumer Sciences (Divisions of Animal and Veterinary Science, Plant and Soil Science, and Resource Management), WVU Extension Service, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Wildlife Services Investigators: College of Agriculture, Forestry and Consumer Sciences: Keith Inskeep, Paul Lewis, Deborah Marsh, Dennis Smith; WVU Extension: Tom McConnell, Ed Rayburn; USDA Wildlife Services: William Bonwell Disciplines: Animal Science, Plant Science, Soil Science, Agricultural Economics WVU Extension County Agents: David Workman (Hardy), James Pritchard (Pocohontas), David Snively (Randolph), Brad Smith (Grant), David Seymour (Pendleton), William Shockey (Preston), David Davis (Mineral) Report Authors: Keith Inskeep, Deborah Marsh and Paul Lewis In 1942, there were nearly 50 million sheep in the United
States, and about a million of those were in West Virginia. Since that time, numbers have
declined continually. Today there are only about 5.16 million
breeding age sheep in the U.S., with about 31,000 of those in West Virginia. With
decreasing numbers and increasing coyote predation in the last decade, many people in West
Virginia have written off the sheep industry as a component of economic development. But a
few young farmers and some observant faculty members at WVU disagreed with that message.
These farmers and scientists saw opportunities to take advantage of higher prices for
lambs born out of season, ways to market specialty products from sheep, or ways to utilize
their land more Faculty members in the West Virginia Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station and WVU Extension have seen an opportunity to transfer and test technologies developed from targeted Experiment Station research over the last 30 years to the sheep industry. They have begun to assist sheep producers in several counties with techniques in breeding ewes out of season, forage management, marketing, and management systems, in association with the efforts in predator control. Funding from the West Virginia State Legislature has allowed creation of the West Virginia Sheep Management Project, with headquarters in Franklin, W.Va. Franklin is located in Pendleton County, which has more sheep than any other county in the state. The project provides expert advice, studies new management methods, and collects data on sheep farms in a seven-county area in the Potomac Highlands of eastern West Virginia. The West Virginia Sheep Improvement Project is now well established and functional, with Deborah Marsh as project director, Georgette Plaugher as research assistant, Dee Singh as graduate research assistant in agricultural economics, and Marlon Knights as graduate research assistant in reproductive physiology. County extension agents, other faculty, and graduate and undergraduate students also participate in project activities. Enrolling and Assisting Cooperators The project currently reaches 820 producers and allied industry workers with its quarterly newsletter, News Ewe Can Use. The project has 23 full cooperators, has reached 48 producers with some cooperator services, and has conducted several meetings for producers, including a workshop on nutritional management at the Clinton Hedrick Center in Riverton, W.Va., that drew 70 producers from farms in West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Maryland. Five area clinics were conducted in 1999 to offer breeding soundness examinations of rams before the breeding season. The project staff has established liaison with purebred sheep producers in the state and is working with the West Virginia Shepherds’ Federation to keep producers informed about state and national issues and opportunities that impact their operations. They also provide support for 4-H and FFA youth activities with sheep. The project’s newsletters, workshops, clinics, and presentations given at local sheep producer meetings and other organized gatherings have generated a great deal of interest and enthusiasm in areas beyond the seven major sheep producing counties targeted by the project. Sheep producers both within and outside of the principal project area have expressed genuine appreciation that there is a project dedicated to sheep producers and to sheep production in West Virginia. The project staff has prepared a West Virginia Sheep Management Calendar and Management Handbook, based on the biological cycle and annual production cycle of the ewe. It covers such topics as out-of-season breeding and synchronization of estrus, breeding soundness examinations, vaccination programs, nutrition and body condition scoring, pregnancy testing for nutritional management, parasite management, foot rot control, and lambing management. The project staff is developing a record book that will complement WVU’s farm record and day journal, which many of the project’s cooperators are using to track income and expenses, to determine unit costs of production, and to identify areas where costs can be brought under better control. The record book also will complement a quality assurance program for West Virginia sheep producers. Such a program will help to ensure safe, wholesome products for consumers, enhance marketing opportunities, and promote the well-being of sheep. A West Virginia Sheep Management Project web-site is under construction. Predator Control The coyote control program, operated by USDA Wildlife Services and directed by William Bonwell, removed 147 coyotes in Fiscal Year 1999 (0ctober 1998 to September 1999) compared to 89 in Fiscal Year 1998, indicating that the predator threat has not subsided. However, losses of sheep to coyotes on cooperating farms in the project totaled 26 head in 1999 compared to 48 head in 1998. In fall-lambing flocks, losses were calculated at 2.4% in 1998 and 2.9% in 1999, compared to 4.4 and 6.2%, respectively in spring-lambing flocks. Thus fall lambing appears to help reduce predator losses. Research Activities with Out-of-Season Breeding During the first year of the project, 1998, techniques to allow out-of-season breeding were emphasized. Results of out-of-season breeding trials in that year encouraged more farmers to enroll in the project as cooperators and participate in the out-of-season breeding in the spring and early summer of 1999. Data from fall lambing in 1999 indicate that success was equal or improved on most farms in the second year compared to the first. Based on preliminary analyses of costs and returns published in the project newsletter, profitability from fall lambing in the first year essentially was equal to that from spring lambing. As replacement ewes born in fall are saved in the flocks and as nutritional costs are controlled, profitability can be expected to increase. Cooperators are enthusiastic about the project and have made extra efforts to help with project activities, including sharing labor, purchasing extra rams, and requesting information on new strategies for expansion of sheep enterprises. Graduate student Marlon Knights has led the effort to compare methods for out-of-season breeding and for synchronization of estrus during the fall breeding season. These efforts have been supported by InterAg, a small company in New Zealand, and Pharmacia and Upjohn, Inc., as well as a grant from the USDA and Food and Drug Administration, under NRSP-7, a program to help obtain approval of new management products for minor species. Pregnancy and lambing rates were very high to first service in ewes bred at synchronized estrus in the fall. A five-day treatment with progesterone in combination with injection of prostaglandin at withdrawal of progesterone appears very promising. Data have been summarized from seven farms on lambing from spring breeding in 1999. With over 250 ewes per group treated with progesterone, means were 76% in estrus, with an ovulation rate of 1.95 and a conception rate of 66.5% for a pregnancy rate of 42% to the first service period and 1.55 lambs born per ewe lambing. Control ewes (n = 125) did not lamb to the first service period. After opportunities for two services, overall pregnancy rates and numbers of ewes lambing totaled 70% for treated ewes and 61.4% for control ewes. In 1998, late embryonic and fetal losses (after pregnancy diagnosis) were fewer than for ewes bred in the spring and summer and are a limiting factor that requires further study. Even with the success rates obtained in out-of-season breeding, it is necessary to breed those ewes that do not conceive out-of-season during the regular fall season to improve overall profitability. Marketing In response to the need to increase and improve marketing options and opportunities for sheep producers in West Virginia, the project staff is working to develop a coordinated state-graded marketing program for feeder and slaughter lambs as well as for mature sheep suitable for slaughter. Co-mingled lots of feeder and slaughter lambs can create larger more uniform offerings and make lambs more attractive to both local buyers and to feeders and packers located outside of the region. Project personnel also are evaluating the feasibility and use of forward deliverable contracts for West Virginia feeder/slaughter lambs to decrease risk exposure for farmers and to facilitate enterprise planning, budgeting and analysis. There has been interest in and requests for a mechanism to get carcass information back to producers to be used for genetic selection and evaluation. In the coming year, a lamb carcass information system should be available nationally. The project staff will work with producers to facilitate obtaining carcass information on their lambs. Educational programs will be held in conjunction with these new marketing initiatives. Forage and Nutritional Management Feed costs make up the greatest proportion of annual ewe costs and of the cost to produce a pound of lamb. In sheep production, green plants are the primary raw material inputs needed to produce saleable commodities, lamb and wool. Thus grazing and pasture management are key to cost control and profitability in sheep production. Pasture management is an area in which producers can and want to do a better job and need information and guidance for planning. Pasture management workshops will be emphasized in the year 2000, with an eye to maximizing returns and being well prepared for such emergency situations as the 1999 drought. The cost data obtained from flocks using out-of-season breeding compared to conventional fall breeding during the first year of the project showed increased feed costs for the lambs from out-of-season breeding and a wide variation from farm to farm in the amounts of hay fed per ewe. Reproductive Services Both interest in and demand for reproductive services are on the increase among cooperators and other producers. The project staff will conduct more clinics for breeding soundness exams in 2000. An additional ultrasound machine has been purchased to expand the pregnancy testing service. Ultrasound pregnancy testing can be a valuable management tool since early identification of non-pregnant ewes can reduce feed costs and other expenses associated with non-productive females. Staging gestation and identifying single versus multiple bearing ewes allows them to be fed to meet their specific nutritional needs, which not only controls feed costs, but also helps prevent problems and expenses associated with pregnancy toxemia. Plans for New and Expanded Activities The greatest need for expanding project activities is in the area of communications and producer education. For example, during the gathering of economic data, it became apparent that some producers overfeed and that feed is being wasted. Additional workshops and individual consulting on nutritional management will be offered. Workshops on parasite management, foot rot and other health issues will also be conducted. Flyers announcing these workshops will be sent to producers and to agricultural agency workers to maximize participation. Summary The West Virginia Sheep Management Project is meeting a need and is providing research, information, assistance, and services to sheep producers in West Virginia. The stage is set for the expansion of the sheep industry, as technology developed in part through Experiment Station research is being transferred to sheep producers and is being put to work on West Virginia farms. This transfer of technology is helping sheep producers realize both increased production efficiencies and increased economic efficiency in their operations. For more information on the West Virginia Sheep Management Project, contact your County Extension Agent or Project Director Debi Marsh at 304-358-3660. |
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effectively by raising sheep. They approached researchers
in the West Virginia Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station for advice on several
aspects of sheep management and marketing, either directly or through their WVU Extension
County Agents. They also have asked for and received assistance with predator control. The
West Virginia State Legislature has provided support through the West Virginia Department
of Agriculture, so that USDA Wildlife Services can implement
practices to control and deter predators on sheep farms.