Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
selenium supplementation that is above the legal limits available in commer-
cial mineral supplements. Check with your local veterinarian or Extension
agent.
Feeding in the Last Four or Five Weeks before Lambing
By the fourth month of pregnancy, ewes need about four times more water
than they did before pregnancy. And since 70 percent of the growth of unborn
lambs takes place in this last 5-to-6-week period, the feed must have adequate
calories and nutritional balance to support that growth.
During the last month of gestation, the fetus becomes so large that it dis-
places much of the space previously occupied by the rumen. This necessitates
giving feed that is higher in protein and energy, as the ewes have trouble
Profi t school and group. We were still doing some farming, raising small grains
and hay, but the more we learned and the more we shifted our thinking, the
more we realized that the farming end of things wasn't profi ting us.”
Today Richard's operation has made a big turnaround. He has cut his fl ock
to 600 hair sheep, thus eliminating the need to shear and deal with wool. His
sheep are certifi ed organic, and he sells lamb, born on irrigated paddocks in late
spring-early summer, through his own branded label at farmers' markets, local
health food stores, regional restaurants, and over the Web. In addition they pur-
chase another 600 feeder lambs and grass fi nish those as well.
“The changes lowered both our costs and our labor and increased profi ts,”
he told me.
Sheep are grazers by nature, and Richard Parry's success comes from his rec-
ognition of that fact and his ability to develop a system that mimics nature while
recognizing that the product is the focus: “We are in the meat business now,” he
said. “We were in the ranching business, but it wasn't working. Our kids have
grown and have moved back to the ranch, so to get the volume of income, we
had to redefi ne our business strategy. In traditional ranching, we would have
had to come up with thousands more acres. Instead, we switched gears to focus
on marketing branded meat. We aren't afraid to buy some of the lambs, and we
added cattle and goats. The changes have increased our profi ts and support mul-
tiple families.”
