Sheep Industry News June 2025

JR Howard, right, talks with New Mexico sheep producer Beau Boles during the ALB Targeted Grazing Workshop in Texas in May.

manage and now we’ve developed sheep that we don’t have to manage, if that makes sense,” JR said. “Parasite resistance is a big thing for us. Our survivability rates have gone way up in the last two years just because we’re breeding the right kind of sheep. “There’s a balance there. We can’t go all in on parasite resis tance, so we do look for balanced numbers on NSIP. We want to balance a good, quality carcass to sell with parasite resis tance. There’s some push and pull on that, but you can come out somewhere in the middle.” Not that selling lambs is a primary concern for Texas Solar Sheep. The company needs all of the sheep it can get at this point, so all of the ewe lambs are kept back and find homes on solar sites after weaning. The ram lambs usually go to the sale barn. Usually. “We got short on sheep last year and even kept a bunch of those ram lambs and ran them all the way until January, when we sold them at 105 to 110 pounds. That’s not typical, but we were short on mouths. It worked out pretty well for us, we just had to manage them a little differently keeping them around that long. Usually, when they get to 65 or 70 pounds, they’re gone.” With new sites on the horizon, JR is still in search of more sheep. He’ll wean 2,000 or more ewe lambs this year and not a single one will leave the operation. He’s looking to buy another 2,000-3,000 head between now and the fall, if he can find ewes that fit his program. The goal is to not only fulfill his contracts, but to develop a significant breeding program that can pro duce a large amount of replacement ewes for others grazing

solar sites in wet areas. “I think if you look at where the increases in sheep demand are in the industry, it’s all areas like this that are tougher to manage from the parasite side,” JR said. “Once we turn the corner and have enough of our own ewes, we want to be able to offer these lambs to other people who need them like we do.” OPPORTUNITIES ABOUND In addition to getting paid to graze his sheep, JR has started an extensive haying program at many of the solar sites. Last year, he cut more than 1,000 bales on solar sites and plans to double or triple that amount in 2025. Some of it goes to feed his sheep in the winter. Some gets sold to area livestock producers. In at least one instance, he allowed a local hay pro ducer to cut it for him and take the hay for free. “They did all the work and made all the profit, but it meant less work for me,” JR said. “Partnerships like that are good for everyone.” And so is solar grazing. “I still think solar is the best opportunity in my lifetime for the sheep industry, especially to expand in areas we’re not in now or haven’t been in for decades,” JR said. “There’s a lot of opportunity for acres, and especially acres that are less impacted by drought than places in the west. There hasn’t been a better opportunity for widespread growth in the sheep in dustry than what we’re doing right here. We need to capitalize where we can and do it right, and we’ll have this opportunity for a long time to come.”

20 • Sheep Industry News • sheepusa.org