Sheep are the right choice for me and furthermore, I think sheep are a good choice for many farmers that just don't know it yet.
Marlene Williams - Kentucky
Flock Talk
With lamb and wool prices at an all-time high, sheep producers agree it is an exciting time to be in the business—and they want others to join them in growing the nation's sheep population to meet increasing consumer demand for their products.
That message was echoed by California sheep producers who gathered at a sheep ranch in Rio Vista last week as part of a national media blitz hosted by the American Sheep Industry Association to promote its "Let's Grow" initiative. The event allowed ranchers to share their success stories and what some of them are doing to expand their flocks.
"My main problem is lack of inventory, which I never dreamed," said Lesanne Jacobsen, who runs a purebred seed stock operation in Merced County and has recently started selling lamb at farmers markets. "My husband and son—the pessimists in our operation—thought that (the business) wouldn't go. And now we're fighting over who gets the lamb."
Mark Powell, who along with his wife, Jenny, hosted the event, said his 180 acre farm in Watertown uses 60 to 70 acres for sheep, and that Agricultural Enhancement dollars from the state helped his farm make the switch to sheep.
At the Johnson County farm where he began raising sheep as a 4-Her in 1945, Stan Poe is participating in a revival of the lamb.
He and his son have built a new sheep barn and are adding 100 ewes to their 400-head flock, already one of the largest east of the Mississippi River.