Sheep Industry News October 2024

he said, adding that metrics to consider might include: average pounds of lamb weaned per ewe exposed; average weaning weight for singles versus twins; ewe weaning as a percentage of her body weight, etc. Stewart encouraged producers to take a look at their breakeven point for weaning percentage and annual ewe costs. For instance, if you're weaning 130 percent at 80 pounds and your annual ewe costs are $140, then you need to be selling lamb at $1.35 per pound to break even, ac cording to his calculations. "Many don't go through this exercise on a yearly basis like they should," he said, adding that producers need to get to a point with their data where they can "implement deliberate decision making" when it comes to their flocks. TARGHEES LEAD THE WAY IN MONTANA Sellers in Montana seemed happy at the 99th Annual Montana Ram Sale, which sold 260 rams for a total of $396,600 – or $1,525 per head. The sale puts a special emphasis on providing data to buyers, including everything from micron count to National Sheep Improvement Pro gram data to scrapie codon. This instills a bit of added confidence that buyers are purchasing the rams they need to fit their particular breeding goals. "I'm really pleased with the way the sale has gone," said Sam Ort mann of Wolf Point, Mont., who also serves as president of the Montana Wool Growers Association. "I've been selling here for 37 years. When I started, we picked our bucks on Saturday afternoon because we didn't have data. Now, we have data on every ram here: ribeye, wool informa tion, it's all there. It wasn't there when I started. It makes the sheep bet ter. It takes some time, but you have to believe in the numbers. "We're almost to the end, and the sale has held up. We haven't run out of buyers yet. I'm thankful for the opportunity to sell and to be here with everyone. That's one of the most enjoyable parts is being around all the people." More than 60 percent of the rams sold were Targhee sheep. The sale averaged $1,765 per head for the 170 Targhees. The high-selling ram was consigned by Ortmann, and sold for $7,500 to Turner Sheep Com pany in Wyoming. Two other Targhee lots sold for $7,000 per head. Looking at the other breeds, 48 Rambouillet rams sold for an average of $1,233. Helle Rambouillet in Dillon, Mont., had the top selling lot with a pen of two that sold for $2,100 each to Peter Wirtzfeld of North Dakota. The sale included 39 head of Suffolk and Suffolk/Hampshire crosses that sold for an average of $924 per head. Dawe Suffolks of Big Timber, Mont., topped the blackface portion of the sale with a ram that sold for

$2,700 to Mike Hoggan of Valier, Mont. And three South African Meat Merinos sold for an average of $400 per head, with the high seller top ping out at $600. The night before the ram sale, Miles City hosted the 11th Annual Montana Ewe Sale. A total of 478 ewes were sold for an overall average of $354 per head. The sale grossed $169,155. Blackface ewes led the way in the sale with an average of $650 per head, while the whiteface ewes sold for $351 per head. RAMBOUILLETS FRONT & CENTER IN WYOMING The 96th Annual Wyoming Ram Sale sold 252 (of 311 consigned) rams for an average of $999 per head and a total of $251,625. Rambouil lets accounted for more than a third of the sheep that changed hands in the sale as 92 sold for an average of $1,060 per head. There were, however, 59 rams that didn't sell and 28 of them were Rambouillets. "We've never had that many Rambouillets get passed out," said Tracy (Hageman) Dilts of Hageman Sisters. "That's a little discouraging to me, but the intent of this sale has always been a range ram sale, so we as sell ers need to keep that in mind." Hageman Sisters has been a regular at the sale for more than 40 years and Tracy's (and sister Tiffany's) dad served as manager of the sale for much of that time. "We're all getting older and have a lot of demand on our time, so every year we talk about what can we eliminate that takes a lot of time, and we usually talk about this sale. But we're the Hageman Sisters and this is our identity. It's horribly sad to even think about not doing this, especially on sale day. So we decide to keep doing it and look at other things we can take off our plates. For us, I was very happy with the sale today, but it did seem a little volatile for some of the producers." While sellers aren't required to provide data on their rams for the sale catalog as they do in Montana, the sale included three certified rams – all Rambouillet – that provided index information. Those rams sold for a higher average at $2,067 per ram. Other breeds and their results from the sale included:

• Targhee Yearlings: 53 sold at $1,037 per head. • Targhee Fall Lambs: 5 sold at $510 per head. • Targhee-SAMM Yearlings: 3 sold at $700 per head. • Columbia Lambs: 4 sold at $450 per head. • Hampshire Yearlings: 4 sold at $850 per head. • Suffolk/Hampshire Yearlings: 20 sold at $805 per head. • Suffolk/Hampshire Lambs: 30 sold at $1,035 per head.

• Suffolk Yearlings: 29 sold at $1,017 per head. • Katahdin Lambs: 2 sold at $300 per head.

Photos on Opposite Page (clockwise from top): A panel of value-added wool product producers discussed the opportunities and challenges in developing American-made wool products during an educational session at the Montana Ram Sale in Miles City, Mont. The panel included moderator Brent Roeder of Montana State University, Ben Hostetler of Mountain Meadow Wool, Evan Helle of Duckworth and Wade Kopren of Fishhook Socks. The University of Wyoming's Dr. Whit Stewart offered a presentation on genetic improvement in your flock at the Wyo ming Ram Sale in Douglas, Wyo. Longtime Targhee producer Jack McRae watches over one of his rams during the Montana Ram Sale. While the Montana Ram Sale was heavy on Targhee rams, it also included Suffolk, Suffolk/Hampshire crosses, Rambouillet and South African Meat Merino rams.

12 • Sheep Industry News • sheepusa.org