Sheep Industry News August 2021

Katahdin, Targhee Breeds Always Embraced Technology

S heep genetics USA traveled virtually to Katahdin breeder Lynn Fahrmeier of Wellington, Mo., and to Jack McRae’s Targhee ranch near Jordan, Mont., to discuss why those two breeds were early adopters of new genetic technology. SGUSA: Katahdins and Targhees are both fairly recently devel oped composite breeds, especially when we compare them to our traditional British and European breeds. How was your breed developed? LYNN: The development of the breed began in the late 1950s with the importation of a small number of haired sheep from the Caribbean by Michael Piel of Maine. The Piel Farm had several thousand sheep at the time and Piel felt that “progress in selec tion for traits important to the production of meat would be greatly enhanced by the elimination of wool as a major factor for selection.” His goal was to combine the hair coat, prolificacy and hardi ness of the Virgin Island sheep with the meat conformation and rate of growth of wool breeds. He began to experiment with crosses between the hair sheep and various British breeds, especially Suffolk. After almost 20 years of crossing the resulting hybrids “in every conceivable combination” and selecting the individuals with the desired combination of traits, Piel eventually collected a flock of ewes he called Katahdins, named after Mt. Katahdin in Maine. During the mid-1970s, the Wiltshire Horn – a shedding breed from England – was incorporated into the flock to add size and improve carcass quality. From this original flock, new breeders have been able to ex pand the number of Katahdin sheep in North America and many other countries, and select carefully for hair coat, carcass quality and reproductive efficiency. In 1986, a breeder’s organization – Katahdin Hair Sheep International – was formed. JACK: The Targhee breed was developed by the U.S. Sheep Experiment Station at Dubois, Idaho. Starting in 1926, the sta tion crossed their crossbred Rambouillet, Corriedale and Lincoln ewes to Rambouillet rams. The offspring were then crossed on each other to develop a breed with high-quality apparel wool and good carcass, which would thrive in rugged conditions. The final result is approximately three-quarters fine wool and one-quarter long wool blood. SGUSA: Lynn, Katahdins currently register more sheep than any other breed in the United States. What is the reason for their current popularity? LYNN: The Katahdin breed is riding the wave of three major trends shaping the American sheep industry.

1. Hair. Unless a flock is clipping high-quality wool in large quantities, it is hard to pay for the clipping and shipping of raw wool. This is even more of a problem in smaller Eastern flocks. With a shedding hair coat, the producers save time and shearing expenses. 2. Nontraditional markets. While there are Katahdins that can compete successfully in the traditional lamb markets, it is very easy to produce a plump, healthy looking lamb that weighs 60 to 75 pounds that is weaned right off the ewe. These lambs bring a premium in the nontraditional lamb market. 3. Easy doing. With many new, first-generation farmers look ing to raise smaller animals, Katahdins fit right into the mix. Noted as maternal and easy lambing, good Katahdin ewes can lamb twins and triplets on pasture unassisted. Couple that with proven parasite resistance and no shearing, Katahdins are a per fect breed for couples that work in town. SGUSA: Jack, Targhees have led the way with their early involvement with Estimated Breeding Values and the National Sheep Improvement Program. How did that come about? JACK: The right people at the right time. The early sheep faculty from Montana State University – J.L. Van Horn and Jim Drummond – had laid the foundation with their talks on the importance of performance testing based on individual ratios. Later, MSU Sheep Extension Specialist Rodney Kott guided us into the world of Expected Progeny Differences. It speaks well of their relationship with the industry that commercial buyers expected such information from the seedstock producers. John C. Paugh, Jr. – a Targhee breeder – was involved in the early formation of a genetic-based program for sheep improve ment that became NSIP. It seemed that no matter if it was the National Wool Growers, Targhee meetings, Montana Wool Growers or your local sheep meeting, John was there to explain the concept of BLUP and to promote the need for this program. John was the first chairman of NSIP. Chase T. Hibbard was the Targhee association president at this time and also promoted the need for the program. The third major promoter of the program was Judy Scanlan, a Targhee breeder from New Hampshire and later from Oregon. Judy did not have a pedestal to speak from in those early days, but was the most dedicated person we had for promoting the need for and advantages of Expected Progeny Differences. Targhees – while small in numbers as a registered breed – are large in numbers as a commercial sheep breed in the West. Most of the large sheep operations are also cattle producers, and they

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