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President's Message March 2008 We’re in the middle of lambing season for the year, with all the thrills & disappointments that come with the job. Being a good shepherd means not only growing the best possible sheep, but constantly learning how to do things better. Every shepherd experiences losses, both preventable and unpreventable. This year was no different. While we fully expected to have a 100% success rate, we’ve had our share of losses. Our first loss of the year was a pregnant-with-twins cashmere doe. In a snow storm, while I was in Utah and Deb was manning the farm, coyotes came & dragged the doe over the fence (all 4” of it above the snow-line) and into the woods. Deb struggled thru waist deep snow at night, on snow-shoes and skis, with a gun in one arm and a flashlight in the other. Neither she nor the dogs could rescue the doe. Remains were found the next day along with a deer carcass. $1800 lost to coyotes. The sheep were moved closer to the barn & new flood lights installed. Our next disappointment came in the form of 8 little black babies. Yes, totally black lambs coming from Jacob & Moorit sheep. Apparently the 5 month old black Romney ram lamb was still a mama’s boy by day and a ladies man by night. So now instead of $300 Jacob babies or $600 Moorits, we have $150 “Natural Colored Fiber Animals”. Mitt Romney & Obama, twin rams from a Romney ewe, can at least can be registered as Romney. An expensive lesson on weaning sooner and separating those ram lambs FAST! Two weeks ago I cleaned out the barn and thinking only that straw was more expensive than shavings, I put down 4 bags of shavings for the lambing pens. Shavings + fleece do not make a pretty product. And they do NOT just brush out, as Deb so gently (NOT!) informed me that night. Again, a financial loss that Deb will probably never let me forget. Last week saw the start of our remaining Jacob lambing. Despite a rough year lambing so far, each new trip to the barn in the morning is full of hope & excitement. Will there be new lambs? Will they be perfect? What will they look like? Will they be ewes (so far we have 14 boys and 2 girls)? Will they be healthy? Will I have to tube them/pull them/ warm them/ bury them? Or will I get a text message from Deb during the day – “Got something good in the barn!”? or a frantic call “Come home NOW--- I’ve got a lamb in crisis!” Yes, lambing season is full of ups & downs, but there is nothing in the world better than watching a little flock of lambs run and jump and play in the feeble sun of Maine in March. THIS is why we are shepherds--- this feeling of renewal, of saving a lamb or ewe, a feeling of hope & joy & a job well done. I know we’ve done the best we could, and we’ re already saying “NEXT year will be even better….” Brandon Woolley Brandon Woolley -MSBA President |
| For any MSBA related matters, or if you just want to talk sheep, please contact any of your MSBA board members. President - Brandon Woolley - 207-838-5383~e-mail Vice President - Philip Webster 207-852-6340 lmweb@gwi.net Treasurer - Richard Brzozwski - 207-780-4205~ email Secretary - Jo Pierce 207-625-8330~ e-mail Mary Burr - 207-587-4068 - e-mail Tom Coollidge - 207-353 -6785 - e-mail Brant Miller - 207-666-3270 - e-mail Bob Peterson 207-564-2596 - email Producer & Website: Kelly Corbett -207-442-7298 - e-mail Romney - Romney Ridge Farm |
| Sheep Facts An official American baseball contains 150 yards of wool yarn. |
| The Maine Sheep Breeders Association 2007 www.mainesheepbreedersassociation.org Augusta, Maine E-mail, questions, suggestions or ideas. |
| Dorset - Blue Ribbon Farm |
