Sheep Industry News October 2023

Wisconsin Festival Offers Variety to Large Crowds

T hey could have used a few good Border Collies from the stock dog competition for crowd control over at the Coun try Store’s two buildings during the 2023 Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival the second weekend in September. A herding dog or two would have come in handy in pushing the masses past the 100-plus vendors on hand at the Jefferson County Fair Park in Jefferson, Wis. Packed with everything from raw fleeces to finished yarn to sheep-inspired trinkets and sheep milk cheeses, the Country Store drew huge crowds of fiber enthusiasts to a festival that offered something for everyone. The festival is organized by the Wisconsin Sheep Breeders Co operative – ASI’s state sheep association in Wisconsin. In addition to the opportunity to purchase anything they could possibly need, the festival offered nearly 100 Wonders of Wool classes for those interested in fiber arts. At the same time, it was a celebration of the state’s storied sheep industry, with a producer education workshop, a commercial carcass competition, a fleece show and sale, and the chance to show live animals. Winners in the state’s Make It With Wool Competition were crowned and American Lamb Board Lambassador Nick Forrest put on multiple lamb cooking demonstrations. “Sometimes, I’m not sure how we got here,” said Bob Black, chairman of the festival. “But here we are. Our 94 classes are 82 percent filled, so that’s a record for us. There really is something for everyone here.” PEN OF THREE While it hasn’t generated as much interest as the fiber classes, the festival offers commercial sheep producers the opportunity to participate in a Pen of Three Carcass Competition. Producers enter three lambs, who are weighed and judged on their live appearance and the consistency of the pen as a whole. Following the weekend festival, the lambs are processed at the meat lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The carcasses are then

judged, as well. Awards are offered for both the live and carcass judging aspects of the competition. But finishing first isn’t really the goal of the Pen of Three. “Win or lose doesn’t matter at all,” said Ralph Giorno of White water, Wis. He entered a pen of three Hampshire-cross lambs and has been a participant in the competition nearly every year it’s been conducted. “I want to know the statistics on my lambs. What size is the loin eye? Are they fatty or lean? “I’ve been surprised at the results – both good and bad – several times. In some instances, I had some lambs that I didn’t think were all that great that ended up pretty nice when they were processed. And I’ve had some that I thought were super lambs that didn’t have as big a loin eye as I thought they would. You just never know for sure until they’re hanging on the rail.” Suffolk producer Lisa Paskey organizes and competes in the competition, entering lambs she raises with her brother and mother. She says the competition offers a valuable tool for produc ers who choose to take advantage of it. “We’re so lucky to be just down the road from Madison and the meat lab,” she added. “The data they collect and share with us is a great resource. It’s good information, but it’s only as valuable as what we’re doing with it. This is a real reflection of our breeding programs.” Paskey said she has the information gleaned from every year of the competition and hopes to find a way to pull it all together for the betterment of the state’s entire sheep industry. Until then, it’s up to the individual producers who enter to implement changes based on the data into their own programs. Crystal Retzlaff’s pen of Texels took top honors in the live judg ing, which was performed by veteran livestock judge Samantha Piper. “The Texels were consistent through and through and more than market ready,” Piper said, adding that judging such a competition is different from her usual sheep judging process. “For me, I priori

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