HHowever, zero percentages will always remain at zero.

Highlights of NAHMS - Sheep 2001: Part I
In 2001, the USDA=s National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) conducted a study designed to provide study participants and the industry with information on the U.S. sheep flock (operations with 1 or more sheep). The study addressed specific information gaps identified through meetings with industry representatives and a producer survey.

Demographics and management
. The majority of herded/open range (69.5%) and fenced range (55.8) operators reported being in the sheep business 21 years or longer, while only 36.5% of farm-flock reported being in the sheep business for that length of time.

. Nearly three-quarters (73.6%) of operations expected to have either the same amount or more sheep in 2006. This expectation was similar across all regions (ranging from 66.7% to 78.3%); all flock types (ranging from 70.6% to 80.2%); and all operation sizes (ranging from 70.3% to 79.5%).

. Use of computers increased with size of operation. Overall, very few operations (10.2%) used computerized records.

. Overall, 27.4% of operations used some form of flock identification. The use of flock identification declined as the size of flock decreased. The majority (84.7%) of operations with 1,000 or more sheep used at least one flock identification method, compared to 21.1% of operations with 1 to 24 sheep. In November 2001, new identification requirements became effective for sheep that change ownership and /or enter interstate commerce. This data provides a baseline observation of sheep identification practices prior to the new requirements.

. Burial was the most common method of carcass disposal in the Pacific (52.2%), Central (60.2%), and Eastern (64.7%) regions. Operations in the West Central region left carcasses for scavengers most commonly (47.1%).

Reproduction Management
. Flushing was used as a reproductive management in 46.3% of operations.

. Overall, 92.4% of operations that bred ewes in 2000 used natural breeding methods by utilizing rams present on the operation. Only 1.3% used artificial insemination (AI).

. Only 12.1% of all operations used out-of-season breeding during 2000. This was relatively consistent from region to region.

. Few operations (5.3%) reported using 1 ram with 40 or more ewes, although such ratios were reported in 28.0% of operations with 1,000 or more sheep.

. When selecting a ram for breeding, visual appearance (71.5% of operations) and meat production (61.4% of operations) were the two characteristics cited most frequently as very important to producers.

Lambing management
. The average length of the lambing season for all operations was 55.8 days, which varied little across flock types.

. Overall, 77.2% of lambs born during 2000 were born in February, March, April, and May. Only 8.7% of all lambs were born during October through December. Over half of all operations had lambs born in February and March.

. Half of operations (50.3%) had lambs born in a barn or shed, and nearly one-third of operations (30.8%) had lambs born in individual lambing pens.

Death Loss
. Five percent of adult sheep in range and farm flocks either died or were lost in 2000. Predators, lambing problems, and old age accounted for over half (51.2%) of the losses.

. Only 2.2% of lambs placed in feedlots during 2000 either died or were lost. Respiratory problems accounted for 39.3% and digestive problems 28.3% of the losses.

Health management
. The top-3 information sources rated >very important= by producers were: veterinarians, private practitioners, or consultants (39.1%); other sheep producers (30.7%); and shearers (29.3%).

. Only 33.9% of range and farm flock operations that added sheep or lambs in 2000 quarantined any new arrivals. Overall, only 16.4% of new arrivals were quarantined.

. The following were performed on added sheep or lambs prior to arrival or at the operation: deworming (75.2%); vaccination (61.8%); and shearing (55.9%). Few operations performed Ovine Progressive Pneumonia (OPP) testing (6.3%) or Johne=s testing (3.4%) either before or after the animals arrived at the operations. A larger percentage of operations performed medicated footbaths, deworming, and external parasite treatments after the animals arrived at the operation.

. Nearly half (46.1%) of all operations consulted a veterinarian during 2000. Disease diagnosis, disease prevention, and lambing problems were the top reasons given for veterinary consultation.

. Only 2.3% of operations reported shearing the youngest sheep first, while 4.1% reported shearing purposely from the oldest to the youngest sheep. More than half the operations (59.7%) reported that shears were never disinfected between sheep.

ASI Street Address the Same, But City Name Has Changed
The American Sheep Industry Association is sporting a new city name -- Centennial -- in its mailing address. (The office's street number is the same, but the name of the city has changed from 'Englewood' to 'Centennial.' So for the record, the correct ASI address is 6911 S. Yosemite St.; Centennial, CO 80112-1414.

Hettinger Ram Sale - September 18
The 27th Hettinger State Ram Sale will be held at 12:00 Noon (MDT) on September 18 at the Adams County Fair Building in Hettinger, North Dakota. If you have ewes (purebred or commercial) you would like to consign, contact Tim Faller. Phone numbers: 701-567-4324 (office); 701-567-2360 (home); 701-567-3030 (cell).

Articles for the October Newsletter
The next newsletter will be published the end of September for October 1 delivery. I invite anyone to submit articles to be included. I will need them by the middle of September. Thank you! Roger Haugen, Extension Sheep Specialist, Hultz Hall, NDSU, Fargo, ND 58105. Phone: 231-7645; Fax: 231-7590; Email: rohaugen@ndsuext.nodak.edu

Lamb and Wool Payments Total Nearly $76 million
As of June 7, 2002, $75.9 million has been paid out directly to lamb producers, feeders and packers during the 18 months through the Lamb Meat Adjustment Assistance Package (LMAAP) and Wool Market Loss Assistance program. The American Sheep Industry Association and state sheep associations secured these assistance payment programs. The third year of payments through LMAAP ends July 31, 2002, and the fourth year of payments begins Aug. 1, 2002. For payment application forms and more information, contact your local Farm Service Agency office.

Following is a listing by state of combined wool and lamb direct payments to producers made through June 7.

State totals more than $1 million: California $5.6; Colorado $6.3; Idaho $4.8; Iowa $3.3; Kansas $1.1; Minnesota $2.1; Montana $5.5; Nebraska $1; New Mexico $2.3; North Dakota $1.3; Ohio $1.3; Oregon $3.0; South Dakota $5.7; Texas $10.9; Utah $5.7; Wyoming $6.3.

State totals less than $1 million: Alabama $38K; Alaska $2K; Arizona $730K; Arkansas $55K; Connecticut $27K; Delaware $6K; Florida $5K; Georgia $48K; Hawaii $2K; Illinois $737K; Indiana $524K; Kentucky $192K; Louisiana $8K; Maine $89K; Maryland $111K; Massachusetts $76K; Michigan $790K; Missouri $656K; Nevada $831K; New Hampshire $35K; New Jersey $31K; New York $541K; North Carolina $89K; Oklahoma $452K; Pennsylvania $486K; Rhode Island $8K; South Carolina $8K; Tennessee $81K; Vermont $126K; Virginia $423K; Washington $566K; West Virginia $295K; Wisconsin $793K.

Educational Information by Roger G. Haugen, NDSU Extension Sheep Specialist
Feeding Straw
With drought conditions in some parts of the state, straw may have to be utilized more than in the past. Straw is a good alternative in rations for sheep if properly supplemented with an energy source like grain and added minerals and vitamins.

Differences in feeding value do exist among the straws. Oats is the most palatable and nutritious; barley straw is second and wheat straw has the lowest nutritional value of the main grains. Millet straw is more palatable and higher in energy and protein. Flax straw is lower in feed value than all the others because of its lower digestibility.

Nutrient Contents of Straws
-------------------------------------------------
DM TDN   NEm  CP ADF   Ca         P
STRAW   %  % Mcal/lb%  %    %     %
-------------------------------------------------
--------100% Dry Matter Basis -------
Barley 90.0 43 0.38 4.1 52 0.37 0.11
Flax 87.0 37 0.36 4.3 56 0.63 0.06
Millet 86.0 51 0.47 7.0 45 0.44 0.12
Oat 90.0 47 0.45 4.5 50 0.27 0.10
Rye 88.0 41 0.40 3.6 53 0.22 0.08
Soybean 88.0 42 0.44 5.2 55 1.59 0.06
Wheat 90.0 43 0.40 3.6 52 0.19 0.09
-------------------------------------------------

Straw one year old could also be considered a feed source. It usually is slightly more digestible and palatable than fresh straw. Rust-infested straw or straw from smut-infested fields apparently present no specific toxicant or irritant to ruminant animals. Nitrate accumulation will not be a factor in grains that have matured adequately to produce ripe seed.

The total time required to digest roughages in the ruminant digestive tract varies from about two to six days, with the digesting, fermenting forage releasing nutrients while the forage remains in the digestive tract. Virtually all the fibrous components of forage that can be digested by the sheep must be digested in the rumen and reticulum by ruminal microbes, explaining why lower quality roughages must spend more time in the forepart of the digestive tract. This is why "rumen fill" becomes a major factor in determining upper limits of how much lower quality roughages sheep can consume.

Higher quality roughages digest more rapidly and move through the tract much faster than low quality roughages, such as straw. Because roughage requires at least three days or more to digest completely, it becomes possible to feed only good quality forages one or two days, then feed only straw or poor roughage on alternate days or on third days.

Critical nutrients (digestible protein and minerals) from higher quality forages are being gradually released from good quality forages to supplement and stimulate the microbial digestion of straw eaten on a different day.

Except for millet straw, the amount of digestible protein provided by straws is essentially zero. Straw should be assumed to provide no digestible or useable protein to the ration.

Reviewing the basic feed requirements of ewes shows alternative feeding programs using straw can be made. A 150-pound ewe needs 3.5 pounds of feed per day during the first 15 weeks of gestation, 4.5 pounds during the last four to six weeks of gestation and 6-7 pounds per day during lactation. Naturally heavier ewes require more feed. If straw is available, it will make the ration considerably cheaper and still meet the ewe requirements. Suggested daily rations with straw are:

     Gestation           Gestation
First 15 weeks   Last 4 - 6 weeks  Lactation
--------------------------------------------------------------------
   1.5 lbs hay           2 lbs hay       2 lbs hay
   1.5 lbs straw      1.5 lbs straw   1.5 lbs straw
   0.5 lb grain            1 lb grain     3.5 lbs grain

Ideally, hay and straw should be mixed together with the grain to improve consumption of straw. However, if a grinder-mixer is not available, the hay and grain can be fed daily and straw free-choice. If you do not prefer to feed the straw free-choice and rather feed it on a daily basis, feed the straw in the morning and hay in the evening. This should help force the ewes to eat the straw more readily during the day when they are most active.

CAUTION: Ewe lambs that are bred to lamb as lambs may not respond as well as the older ewes to feeding straws.

CAUTION: Excessive over-dependence on straw for a large proportion of the ration, in combination with inadequate good quality feed and inadequate daily intake of total ration digestible protein, can result in stomach impaction and death. This can happen even when straw is ground. Impaction is most likely to occur after extended periods of 10 days or more of bitter cold weather and in older ruminants that likely are losing some teeth or timid, shy animals low in the social or pecking order.

Low quality grass hay or prairie hay, usually very late cut, can cause the same stomach impaction problem when not adequately supplemented with high quality feedstuffs providing adequate digestible protein.

Dakota Lamb Growers Cooperative
An important milestone has been achieved since our last newsletter. We are currently marketing all of the various cuts from every lamb that is slaughtered. There are no cuts going into storage. This took longer than our CEO Dave Merwin and the board of directors wanted (but not necessarily longer than any start-up cooperative would have taken). I'm glad the DLGC has reached this milestone. We still have to increase the number of lambs slaughtered to increase our profitability. Other new markets are out there waiting for us, but getting into them takes time. We have been working with some of these potential customers for up to 2 years. We are very close to getting into these new markets. That=s good news for shareholders of the DLGC.

Calendar of Events:
August 1-3: Open Sheep Shows at SD State Fair
August 8: SDSU Replacement Ewe Sale at Brookings, SD (Dr. Jeff Held at 605-688-5433)
September 18: State Ram Sale in Hettinger
December 6: NDLWPA Ewe Sale
December 6-7: Annual Sheep Convention in Mandan
December 6-8: North Star Classic Livestock Show & Sale at Winter Shows Building in Valley City

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