Sheep Industry News January 2022

Meet The Exec. Board

Lisa Weeks, Virginia Region II

As a first-generation sheep producer, Lisa Weeks had some concerns about how well she might fit in as a member of the ASI Executive Board. But her dedication to education and a data-driven mindset that have guided her family's Katahdin operation for 30 years allow her to bring an analytical approach to the position. As the hair sheep population continues to grow, Weeks is well suited to represent ASI's Region II.

WE CURRENTLY RAISE A 50-EWE FLOCK OF KATAHDINS on about 33 acres in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. We were introduced to the breed through a 1990 article in Sheep maga zine highlighting Laura Callan (now Fortmeyer) and her work at Heifer Project International in Arkansas managing their flock of Katahdins. The fact that they were a shedding breed and didn’t require shearing was a high degree of interest because Larry was recuperating in the hospital from an eye injury from the shortest

ance for Production Katahdins, a new regional group that started in 2020 for the purpose of quantifying, educating and promoting like-minded producers. The board has worked hard to create fact sheets, NSIP concepts, blogs and a quarterly newsletter that are easy to read and understand for all producers enrolled in NSIP, not necessarily just Katahdins. I have always believed in the mis sion of ASI. Regardless of breed, the American sheep industry has a bright future in the landscape of American agriculture.

career as a shearer in history. Because the breed was relatively new, it was quite a challenge finding breeding stock to purchase. We purchased a ram from Laura and four ewes from Henry Liccardel lo in New Jersey. And we’ve never looked back. WE WERE VERY GREEN AND KNEW NOTH ING when we started, but we still enjoy learn ing something new every day. It has been quite a journey as we both worked off the farm and raised two daughters, Lexi, 24 and Laryn, 20. It must not have been too bad as we're still in it to day. We wanted to concentrate on improving our flock through genetics. Since I am a very analyti cally minded person, I am always intrigued with how things work. We enrolled our flock in the National Sheep Improvement Program in 2001. Today, our focus is on offering animals with high parasite resistance, maintaining the maternal traits that make the breed so functional, and improving growth. THERE ARE MORE AND MORE HAIR SHEEP in this part of the country every day. Sadly, larger farms are being sold and often broken into small er acreages. There might be a silver lining though. Because sheep don’t require as much acreage, they are often in demand by people wanting to stay in touch with agriculture, especially retirees.

Virginia's Lisa Weeks is a first generation sheep producer, but brings 30 years of experience to the ASI Executive Board as the Region II director.

I'M ALSO ON THE BOARD of the Eastern Alli

This is a series of articles spotlighting members of ASI’s Executive Board.

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