Thursday, January 13, 2011

"Gone With the Fleece"


Photo: Tharren was able to get outside and capture the shearing process, though it appears he used one of the cameras from "The Wizard of Oz".

The sheep have been shorn! Well, at least some of them have. Last week Dave Miller of Riverside, IA came down and sheared 29 sheep in about 2 hours. Mike and Carl collected and weighed the wool, and it turns out the ewes lost over 200 lbs! (The ewes should try out for The Biggest Loser.) I bet you're thinking we're crazy, shearing the ewes of their warm coats in the middle of winter, they'll get cold! There is still enough wool on them to keep them warm.

Photo: "A little off the top." This ewe was kind enough to pose for Tharren while it was being sheared.

The ewes are also pregnant and the removal of their excess wool will enable the lambing process to run a little smoother. The lack of wool will encourage the ewes to go inside to have their lambs. After all, we don't want the lambs first life experience to involve waking up in a snowdrift, that would be awfully traumatizing. The ewes will also be cleaner during and after the birthing process and their lambs will be able to find their first meal much easier without all that wool in the way.

Photo: Mike and Carl thought they could pull the wool over Mr. Miller's eyes by hiding Carl in the wool bag and adding his weight to the total wool collected (not true: they're just compacting the wool so more fits into the bag).

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Winter Sheep Day and other Updates

I thought I would provide an update of the current “happenings” at Premier. Once again catalog season is here, but this season we’re working on the Spring Fence Catalog. Jody and Kerrie are putting together the layout, then Stan and I fill blank spaces with copy. Tharren is busy taking last minute photos (we keep sending the poor guy out into the cold for pictures of insulators). But it's coming together slowly but surely, look for the new catalog in your mailbox the third week of March


Photo: Some lambs that were born a few days after Thanksgiving.

Photo: More Thanksgiving lambs enjoying their time under a roof and out of the snow.
Premier will be hosting a Winter Sheep Day the first weekend of February. Topics covered will be: Addressing High Feeding Costs, High Moisture Bale Feeding (Baleage), Lambing Time Tips for Indoor and Pasture System Operations, Ration Options Using Corn Co-Products, Lamb Marketing Impact of the Sale of Iowa Lamb to Superior Farms. Speakers will be Stan Potratz of Premier, Dan Morrical from Iowa State University, and Byron Leu from Iowa State University Extension. There will also be an opportunity to tour some of Premier's lambing barns.
The event will be held on Feb. 5, from 10:00am to 3:00pm. There is a registration fee of $5 per person or $10 per family. Lunch will be provided by Premier. Please RSVP to Joe jputnam@premier1supplies.com or Cheyenne cmiller@premier1supplies.com. You can also call 1-800-282-6631 to register. Hope to see you there!

Photo: Premier's copywriter showing off his shepherding abilities.