Needs for USA Sheep Industry Extension/Education & Research Jim Morgan Fayetteville Arkansas Katahdin NSIP Breeder’s Group – Data Coordinator Direct Meat Marketing NSIP Board President Contributing Editor – The Shepherd magazine Registered Katahdin Breeder

Parasites  Parasite Resistant Genetics  Management –Southern Consortium for Small Ruminant Parasite Control –  Excellent Work – Integrating Immunology, Population Genetics of worms, Nutrition, Ecology ………  Providing New Tools – FAMACHA, Sericea Lespedeza ……..  Preaching Selective Deworming

DrenchRite Anthelmintic Tests for 35 Farms/Ranches in the USA ( ) % with benzimidazole resistance % with levasole resistance % with avermectin resistance Southern Sheep 100 % 33 % 75 % Southern Goat 100 % 33 % 90 % Northern Goat 100 % 33 % 20 %

National Sheep Improvement Program  Need a strong buy in from the Academic, Research & Extension Communities  Excellent Product –New traits  Ewe Productivity Trait (lbs lamb weaned/ewe lambing  Targhee Financial EPD Index –In development  Accelerated Lambing EPD  FEC-EPD  Carcass traits – Lean Growth EPD

NSIP II  Need Support – USDA-ARS is a great option –Impact all 50 states –Multiple species  Boer Goats  Alpacas  Kiko Goats in 2007 –Minimal Investment  $50,000 - $100,000  $100,000 would allow –Faster development of new traits –Improved Education – Prevent the train wrecks that have occurred in other species. “BALANCED SELECTION”

Easy-Care Low Energy Meat Production  Meat production in the USA will be drastically different in 25 years. Energy costs and access to grain.  Corn & Soybean Production is shifting overseas. –More need for information on forage-based meat production  Use small ruminants to help manage landscape & pests –If paid for the services, then value received for meat can be more competitive on the global market  Low labor costs to compete with the global market –Ewe Productivity Trait (EPT-EPD) – Identify genetics of ewes that are in tune with their environment and management (% weaned EPD as well as pounds)

Hair Sheep Leather  Estimated 500,000 raw skins a year are imported from Africa into the USA (Dr Dennis Shelley – Texas Tech Leather Institute) –Disease risk –Berry Amendment –$4-$20 value/lamb –Fighter Pilot Helmets, Apparel, Upholstery –Golf gloves  Why Hair Sheep Leather –Softness of wool sheep leather & strength of goat/cattle (hair leathers)

Hair Sheep Leather - II  Preliminary Studies at TTU –50% Rambouillet x 25% Dorper x 25% St Croix had too many genetic defects –25% Rambouillet x 37.5% Dorper x 37.5% St Croix was acceptable  Dr Maurice Shelton cites earlier work –Hair is dominant –90% of the secondary wool follicle is lost in the first cross with a tropical hair sheep

Hair Sheep Leather - IIII  Future Work –Repeated? –Environment x genotype interactions  Season of harvest  Age  Environmental temperature – ND versus FL? –Breed – Does a Suffolk cross have the same number of defects in the leather as a Rambouillet cross?  Result –Commercial shedding ewes – Can they have significant shedding wool or do they need to be what KHSI calls a AA coat? –What coat type can a terminal sire on shedding ewes have for cross-bred lamb production  Charles Parker has asked, “Will the value for leather skin returned to the producer be the third lamb from a hair sheep ewe?” (2 x $20 = $40 profit)

Terminal Hair Sire  Does the industry need a terminal hair sire? –By definition, it doesn’t matter if it is hair or wool since all lambs would be slaughtered. –Take away some of the impetus for Dorper and Katahdin breeders to produce pound ewes –Leather – may need it –Markets for hair sheep meat – e.g. Major marketing coops  150+ members in SW VA – ewes  50 member – ewes centered in OK

Diseases Diseases  Know more about financial implications of the following diseases. Should seedstock producers be providing OPP or Johne’s free animals? –Johne’s –OPP – Maedni-Visna Virus  Different strains of the virus?  Difference in individual animal or breed resistances  Management – Seems like Northern flocks that lamb in the barn have major management & financial impacts  Mastitis –Survey – Why do some flocks experience 15-20% incidence? Major effect on ewe longevity. –Are their breed differences?  Scrapie – Need a 6 yr protocol for exporting genetics rather than the current 5 yr protocol for SFCP.  Gene Markers for Foot Rot Resistance – Do the NZ researchers have the whole story?

Lamb-Mutton Taste & Nutrition  Personal Anecdotes – I can market 3-5 year old hair sheep mutton next to lamb at our Farmer’s Market. Leftovers are not issues. –Susan Duckett has found that there are differences in fatty acid composition when hair sheep are compared to wool lambs. –Current research supports minimal breed differences in lamb prepared under standard conditions. –May need to try methods more typical of kitchens – leftovers  Document nutritional differences, if any in lambs raised on forage and grain.

Extension  25% of my time for the Katahdin breed association is extension.  Budget cutting has eliminated both sheep research & extension