Sheep Industry News April 2025

Learning to Lamb…Without Lambs T hings were quiet – a little too quiet, in fact – as students arrived for the Wyoming Wool Growers Association Lamb ing School on Feb. 28 in Burns, Wyo. As it turns out, not a to be more efficient and productive. We’re probably as prepared as we can be from just listening to people tell us about lambing. I don’t think we’ll be fully prepared until we actually do it ourselves. But we’ve asked a lot of questions to get ready.”

single lamb hit the ground during the six-hour school. Fortunately, WWGA Executive Director Alison Crane, Ph.D., has degrees in animal science, ruminant nutrition and reproductive physiology. The former extension specialist also oversees a fam ily sheep operation with her husband, Weston Borcher, in Powell, Wyo., and was able to educate and entertain a dozen or so students in a classroom setting that also included a barn tour. “Sometimes things don’t go the way you planned. We thought we were going to have a batch of ewes lambing so that we could do a very hands-on, intensive workshop kind of deal,” Crane said. “Didn’t happen. The sheep didn’t cooperate. So, we transitioned this into more information to do the best we could with videos and talking through different scenarios. It’s my comfort zone.” While most members of the Wyoming Wool Growers are veteran sheep producers that often have multiple generations of experience at their disposal, the association has seen an influx of young and/or new producers. “I think a lot of state associations are trying to build these begin ner producer programs because we’re seeing a lot of interest in the industry,” Crane said, acknowledging that programs like this one are more common in states that cater to small and farm flocks. “Wheth er it’s through the bred ewe sale or the ram sale, we have some in experienced producers that are really looking for some educational opportunities. We still have a very experienced membership base, but you also have them wanting to pass that knowledge along. In Wyoming, we have a lot of people moving in and we welcome them to join the sheep industry. We are seeing more inexperienced and new producers, especially on the hair sheep side of things. “I think lambing can be one of those really scary times that you’re very excited, but your first wreck can talk you out of the sheep industry. And it’s costly. Just being able to provide an opportunity that allows them to see how to avoid some of the easier wrecks – or at least fix them – is valuable.” Several of the students on hand drove up from Colorado, but Grady Folot and Josi Behrle are WWGA members who fall into the group of new producers in need of education. The young couple jumped in with both feet when they bought a flock of 165 head at a dispersal sale in Newell, S.D., last fall. They connected with Borcher Sheep Company when they needed rams to turn in with the flock, and now they are preparing for their very first lambing season. “We were looking to start something and cattle were a little out of our ballpark,” Behrle said. “Sheep seem to make money faster, and

As you’re reading this, lambing might very well have commenced on the couple’s place, and chances are they’re calling a handful of producers they’ve met for guidance. “Every sheep person we’ve met has been great,” said Behrle. “We can sit there and talk with them for hours about everything, and they’re just wonderful. Alison and her husband have been a great resource for us. They said if we needed anything to just give them a call. And we might…maybe a lot.” A hands-on experience certainly would have helped the first time producers, but they were thankful for the variety of informa tion provided during the school, which looked at different issues they might encounter during lambing, as well as disease and nutri tion issues that all producers should be aware of as they head into the lambing season. For instance, the three main causes of newborn lamb death are: starvation/hypothermia, pneumonia and difficult birth. The class also discussed procedures for tubing a newborn lamb, which might be necessary if the lamb is unable to nurse within the first few hours of life. It can also be necessary if the ewe isn’t producing enough milk. With the lamb’s head in a natural position, insert the tube in the side of the lamb’s mouth, following the roof of the mouth down into

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