Sheep Industry News May 2024

to leave this part of the world here shortly. We wanted to have the school here while there are still thousands of sheep in this valley.” The lush, green pastures that left even mature ewes stand ing belly deep in grass were certainly a draw for several of the school’s attendees. “The fact that Reed was putting it on, and it was going to be a lot about grazing operations that are completely pasture based is a big part of why I’m here,” said shearer and sheep producer Michael Estes. “This is my busy time of year as a shearer, but I wanted to see producers who are running mostly on pasture here. I wanted to see how a bigger producer is do ing it and what the economy of scale is like and how it works.” While Estes’ small mixed flock – Shetlands he’s crossbreed ing to add size – is mostly a pasture operation, the dry condi tions of his place in central Oregon present different challenges on a daily basis. “If I get 11 inches of rain a year, I’m lucky,” he said. “We did have a really wet winter by our standards, so we should get to grow some grass this year. My goal in the next three years is to get up to 200 ewes.” Kylie Jones traveled from Indiana to attend the school and said the rye grass fields of Western Oregon are a bit different from the rye grass she’s used to back home. “It’s six inches at its biggest growth,” she said. “Seeing the sheep on the rye is just so cool to me. It’s amazing to see how fat these girls can get grazing on it.” University of Wyoming graduate student Dylan Laverell said the Willamette Valley is a place he’s longed to visit in recent years. “It’s always good to go somewhere and see green grass,” he said. “Belly-high grass isn’t something we can relate to in Wyoming.”

Like Estes, Trish McRae traveled in from the eastern side of the Pacific Northwest (in Washington State), and often shared the vast difference producers in Eastern Oregon and Washing ton face when compared to the lush fields in the western halves of those states. “It’s fun to see sheep up to their bellies in green grass be cause we just don’t ever see that,” she said despite the fact that she’s only five to six hours northeast of where the school took place. “People were really surprised at what Eastern Washing ton looks like when we were passing phones around and look ing at photos of our operations. They just assumed the whole state is a high rainfall area, and it really isn’t.” Ethan Hanneman and Dan Gutzman of Pendleton Woolen Mills visited with students on the state of the wool industry and the company's investment in new equipment for the future.

While green grass was the star of the week, every producer in attendance found something besides the awe-inspiring views to take back to their own operations. As a shearer, Estes was also excited to hear Anderson’s presentation on pelletizing wool. “I shear a lot of small flocks and have people begging me to take their wool,” he said. “I have access to a ton of wool, a lot of which would be great for making into pellets.” Fifth-generation rancher Kelton Olsen was attending the school for the second straight year, and left town with some practical knowledge that will be put to use back in Utah.

Oregon's Martin Dally demonstrated artificial insemination on a handful of sheep while students were able to observe the procedure on a nearby monitor.

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