Snow? What Snow!

Where have all the snowflakes gone, long time melting.......OK, I'll calm down.  Seriously though, what's up with the weather.  For those of you who have not gone through the last several months here in New England, pay attention!  (Well, except those in the Southwest in the midst of an epic drought and those to the north of Texas with the massive floods, and California......,well just because it is California.)  I guess we aren't alone with strange weather.

November began with our monthly producers meeting held this month in Holden at the Senior's Center and hosted by Gordon and Barbara MacPhee.  The turnout was a bit disappointing, however, given that several of those who were there left their farms with still no power; it makes sense that several of our producers were bowing to a stronger priority.  Our speakers were Dr. William Smith, Vet in Charge USDA out of Sutton, MA and Dr. Loraine O'Connor who is our singular Massachusetts State Vet. The two reviewed the Scrapie Eradication program and answered many really good questions from the members in attendance.  I was pleased to hear them stress the requirement and necessity for using ear-tags to ensure our animals are traceable.   Also discussed was the realization that the magic "RR" rating does not seem to mean the sheep are not going to be impacted by Scrapie, but rather it might well only suggest that the animal will not show the classic symptoms of the disease right up to their demise from the disease.  Another good topic brought up through questions concerned the requirement to inoculate our animals for Rabies. The point was made that it is required that we do protect our livestock and the public exposed to them, while it is not required that a Vet do the inoculation.  The suggestion is to work with your own Vet and see if you can establish a relationship that allows your doing the inoculation and providing the documentation that will satisfy the Vet and give them the confidence required to sign a health paper.  It was a "not to be missed" program.  We should reschedule them next year.

Kudos to the New England Sheep and Wool Growers and The Eastern States Expo staff for all of their work in and around The Fiber Festival of New England.    I recall being told that it takes at least 3 years to change buying habits and establish new venues and therefore we did sign up to be back in 2012.  The dates for next year are November 3-4, mark your calendars.  Our heartfelt thanks goes out to all of you who stopped by our booths in all of the Festivals.  Your endorsement of our efforts here at Greenwood Hill Farm take us into the winter season with energy and commitment to be back again next year. This event could eventually be a place for our producer associations to advertise and gain membership as well as financial support.........so we need to be involved in helping make it a go!

I attended the annual meeting of the Worcester County Conservation Commission on the 10th of November.  The guest speaker that evening was Representative McGovern who is a new member of the House Agricultural Committee.  Mr. McGovern voiced some dismay at the current process of using a super committee meeting in secret to find budget cuts in all programs.  As a member of the Ag Comm, he and the other members are on the outside looking in.  Actually, there hasn't been a budget passed in the last several years with everyone sitting at the table in the public eye, so I am not sure what the complaint is.  I do agree with him that the big agriculture lobby money is out in the western part of the country and there is some likelihood that they are going to marginalize support for we small producers.  You can trust me when I say that I am not sure if I can prevent that, however I do have a seat at the sheep industry table and they are hearing from me.  I will keep everyone as up to date as I can about what is going on with the Farm Bill and other issues of interest.  If you have questions, let me know.....I will ask them!

Next up, TURKEY and STUFFING!

Witiches, Gobblins and Breeding Sheep.......and rain!

As the end of the month approaches, the Halloween decorations are out, there are pumpkins everywhere and the breeding groups are all set with rams in with the ewes.  Somebody remind me in four months to get ready for lambing please.

The Big-E is over, Topsfield and Harrisburg are in the books, Louisville is just around the corner and we are off and running towards finishing up breeding for spring lambs.  I know, a lot of you finished some time ago, but us "old timers" don't like being in the barn that much in January.

For those of you who do not follow the Big-E results, you should go to thebige.com and under the agriculture drop down, find show results.  You will see the pictures of a lot of our members.  We are raising a good bunch of award winning stock here in Massachusetts. 

It is time to plan for attending the 2012 ASI convention in Scottsdale, AZ in January.  If you have never attended the annual convention, you are missing out on a great learning opportunity.  The schedule of events is crammed full of seminars, presentations and discussions about our sheep and their care.  You will have the opportunity to meet producers from all over the country and find out how they approach their profession and also find out how curious they are about how we approach the same issues.  My experience in the ASI organization is that while they have always known that our management challenges are different, they never really understood how to help us solve them.  The schedule should be posted on the ASI web site at sheepusa.org very soon. Come join us in Scottsdale!

Time to Meet

As Andrea and her sister clean and prepare the house for our first meeting of the season, I am sitting updating my blog.  I know, you want my job!  Today started early as I delivered a Merino Ram to one of our producers for breeding and promptly buried my truck and trailer in the mud.  It will remain there until it drys out this weekend!  Our schedule for this evening is a question and answer session with a Vet from Buck Hill Vets in Spencer, MA.  Bring your questions.

Tomorrow morning its "road trip" time as we are taking off for Harrisburg to attend the annual Merino Association meeting be held in conjunction with the Keystone International Livestock Exposition.  The Merino breeders have debated how to build interest, or at least stop the loss of interest, in our breed and I have a far out idea to pitch.  I'll let you know if it works.  If you have never attended KILE you should give a go sometime.  It is a very large farm animal exposition held in the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex just off I-81 in Harrisburg.  I enjoy the Draft Horse hitches, swine and sheep shows, but there is much more to see.  Unlike the Big-E, you do not have to wend your way around 125,000 of your closed friends to see things, however, there are a lot of "halls" to wend your way through.  From Massachusetts, you can visit Bucks County Fur Products in Quakertown, PA and a large Cabella's in Hamburg, PA enroute.  We always visit Dietrich's Meats in Krumville, PA just off I-78 on the way home.

I am sure most of you have already taken care of breeding, but I am just starting.  Lambed last year in March for the first time ever and found it to my liking.  If the current weather pattern persists, we are due for DEEP snow this winter.   Better that than the deep mud we have now.  Anybody want to invest with me in running a pipe to Texas for a place to sump pump some of our extra water?

Hope you all enjoyed the meeting tonight.


 

Here Comes Fall

I had better update this blog before I miss summer completely. This has been one busy summer. We started out with the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival and it just got busier. June gave us a bit of time to look at the old farm house and decide it needed a new roof, new windows and some paint! A trip south to Georgia to be with our oldest as he took command of the Brigade at Fort Steward took up the later part of the month and Andrea stopped off in Virgina to help our daughter and son-in-law with their four girls as Jenn had rotator cuff surgery.

After celebrating Independence Day, I was off to Indianapolis for an ASI Ex Board meeting. This year's ASI budget was approved and prepared for mailing for the states approval...hope you voted! After that meeting I could be found in Wyoming visiting mom and making a few trout die.....tasted great! The 20th of August brought a large group of guests as we celebrated several August birthdays.

Aaron Loux put together a very successful Wool Pool and I am hearing from a lot of you that you were happy with the wool prices. Thanks Aaron!

Did you hear that we have two winners of significant national competitions among us?  Abigale Rasys entered the National Joann Fabrics contest and her "Prom Dress" took a second out of a couple of thousand entries.  Anna Charest  took part in the National Pendelton Wool Challenge and was the runnerup to the national winner.  Way to go Ladies!!!!

Next up are the fall fairs; wool festivals and breeding.....more on all of that next time.

It's Festival Season

Hardly time to take a deep breath around here lately.  Andrea and I were in DC for the ASI Legislative session 2-4 May.  The trip is focused on making sure things that matter to the sheep industry are being heard by our legislators in Washington.  After a briefing to ensure we were all on the same page on Monday evening, we were hosted for dinner at the New Zealand Embassy.  Tuesday started with an all morning session at the Department of Agriculture and a review of their programs from staff.  There were lots of questions and great answers.  That afternoon we started our visits to the House and Senate which continued into Wednesday.  The final event was the Sheep Industry hosted Lamb Barbeque at the Old Dominion Boat House in Alexandria, VA.


Thursday found us en-route to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival for the 38th annual edition of that large event.  My take on the weekend was that the combination of the economy and fuel costs held the line on the crowd.  Most vendors reported sales off a bit, however, keep in mind that Maryland is one of the biggest Festivals and usually sets the standard for sales for the year.

Returning home on Monday the 8th we had only four days to reload and get off to the New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival.  Saturday there was perfect and the crowd and sales were ahead of the norm.  Unfortunately, Sunday was nearly a total rain-out for most everyone.  Andrea's booth was busy all day on Saturday and her location helped keep customers close at hand during Sunday's deluge.  I was privileged to give a talk on Merinos and Fine Wools on both days and hopefully answered all questions well. 

Next up:  Massachusetts Sheep and Woolcraft Fair on Saturday and Sunday of the Memorial Day weekend.  Don't forget those who made the ultimate sacrifice on Memorial Day!

Massachusetts Ag Day on Beacon Hill

Ag Day was easily one of the best ever for those of us in the sheep business.  Our President, Gordon MacPhee was the master of ceremonies and managed to work in a mention of our Federation, the Worcester County Association and the Baaay State Blanket program.  The Governor, Deval Patrick, was in attendance and paid some special attention to our blanket and we managed to get one of our small samples and a brochure in his hands.  We also sold a couple of blankets at the event.  The Lamb sliders being served in the Hall of Flags were popular and all of the legislators and staff on hand that day enjoyed themselves.  Great job Gordon!

Spring has sprung and all of the excuses I had for waiting to get started are no longer valid.  We are working to get pastures growing, mending fences and watching as the lambs discover how much space they have to run, jump and learn to head butt! We are getting lots of calls for an Easter lamb and/or legs for the holiday along with the occasional request for things not asked for before......pickled tongue comes to mind.

The last Saturday of April marks the start of the "Festival" circuit with the annual "Sheep Shearing Day" at Gore Place in Waltham, MA.  The massive Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival is the next weekend and corresponds to the Mother's Day weekend this year which will surely add to the size of the crowd.  The following weekend is the New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival at the  Hopkinton State Fairgrounds in Contoocook, NH, and then on Memorial Day weekend, the Massachusetts Sheep and Wool Festival in Cummington, MA rounds out the month of May.  If you have never been to any of these events, you should go if even only to see all of the talented people out there with new ideas for our wonderful wool fiber.  Speaking of our wool, Barbara really needs to know if you are going to participate in the blanket program this year.  We are looking at some promising marketing efforts to help sell them, try to stick with us! 

Those of you who have been attending our meetings, will recall that I have mentioned on several occasions the effort by certain groups to remove all grazing on federal lands in the west.  Western federal lands are akin to MDC and other protected usage lands controlled by the Commonwealth and local governments here in the east.  As an example, more than 70% of the state of Nevada is owned by the Federal government.  For as long as there have been livestock operations in that part of the country, federal land has been used, under permit, for grazing.  In a case involving the Payette Mountains in Idaho and the grazing of domestic and the possible mingling of wild Big Horn Sheep, a federal Judge has ruled that a large part of these grazing permits are placing the Big Horn sheep in danger from domestic sheep diseases.  One sheep family in Idaho whom I know personally is now downsizing nearly 40% of their operation to meet the ruling.  Oh, and that is 40% of nearly 8000 head of fine wool sheep.  It has been clear to me for some time that the agenda here has little to do with the Big Horn sheep and all to do with removing all domestic grazing from federal lands.  The end result meets the organizers goals of reducing the meat intake for the American public but does not account for the starvation of the rest of the world when we no longer are able to help feed them.  Enough said!  Get outside and enjoy the sun, you know, that warm bright orb in the sky!

The 2011-2012 Meeting Schedule

Last night we had our Annual Program Planning Meeting for the Worcester County Sheep Producers here at Greenwood Hill Farm.  The night began with our usual expansive potluck supper complete with great desserts.  The business meeting covered a review of the Blanket Program and the news was not good.  We currently have only half of the wool pledged that will be required to do another blanket for next year.  Those present voted to give two more weeks to the effort to bring in more pledges and then our Blanket Chairpersons will make a decision to move on or cancel the program for this year.  I should add that there was some discussion about some new and exciting venues for selling our blankets and we decided to pursue them with "vigor".  One opportunity is a new indoor farmers market at the Prudential Tower in Boston.  Now we're talking!

The Association also voted to send $100 to the Harris Family Farm in Peter Harris' name in accordance with the family's request.  

Doug Gillespie, the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Farm Bureau, presented an overview of key legislative initiatives on Beacon Hill and encouraged all of us to attend "Ag Day" this coming Thursday 7 April.

Discussions around next year's program were energetic and several new ideas were brought forward.  Work began this morning getting speakers signed up.  We hope to have an "open mic with a Vet" night in October in conjunction with a "new membership drive" to open the year.  We also are trying to schedule a Federal Vet and USDA rep to speak to us on the need to remain vigilant on the Scrapie front.  We are planning a workshop on wool products and how to make them complete with spinning, knitting, composting, etc; presentations.  Also on the docket is a processor demonstration on cutting up a lamb, a lamb tasting asking each attendee to bring in a cut of lamb from their flock and doing a taste comparison.  I wanted to name it the Great American Suffolk Putdown, but Gordon objected...grin....  We also are trying to schedule someone from ASI to come talk to us about Wool Grading; and we added a June meeting predicated on there being a Blanket Program that will adjourn to the barn to help skirt, weigh and bag wool for the program.  All of this and our Christmas Party at the Kerns and a planning meeting.  Mark your calendars for the first Tuesday evening of each month from Oct 2011 to June 2012.

For those of you who are hosting one of these meetings, please support Barbara in getting any information she requires to her so she can publish the meeting schedule as soon as possible.  There are some very good opportunities to publicize our organization coming up next month and we can take better advantage of them with a printed meeting brochure.

April 5th here at Greenwood Hill Farm

We are fast approaching the end of our meeting schedule for this year.  Tomorrow night we have our planning meeting for next year and need your ideas for scheduling programs of interest to our members.  If you leave it to a few to come up with ideas, we will have just that.......only a few ideas.  Make your plans to come to the farm and be a part of the planning session.  Doug Gillespie from the Farm Bureau will also join us to update us on several issues on Beacon Hill impacting our Sheep Producers.

I am saddened to inform you of the passing of one of our fellow producers.  Peter Harris died this last Friday, April 1st, after a long battle with his health.  Peter and his family have been a long time advocate for the sheep industry and has exhibited his sheep far and wide in New England and all the way to the North American International show in Louisville, KY.  His wife, Judy and family were with him at the time he left to join his maker.  The funeral will be in Ludlow, MA and we will have details at the meeting tomorrow.

March Meeting for 2011 is in the books!

Here's a question; does anyone remember why we delayed our March get together until the second Tuesday of the month.  Several of us do remember that we did make that choice but none of us could say why last night.

Our Guest Speaker was John Buffington from North Dighton, MA.  John spoke about marketing from the farm.  He highlighted several things for us to consider.  The first was to develop a business Strategy.  Then to identify your product line, followed by resolving to maintain a "consistency"  in our products.  If it is lamb shanks, don't substitute a Merino Shank into your Tunis Shank product line.......be consistent.  John then led us through the thought process along the way to pricing and holding the price.  What is the product, what markets are you after, where does your product fit in that market and can you differentiate your product to command higher pricing. When John finished, everyone seemed to have learned something to help in their own marketing efforts.  Hats off to John Buffington!

Our Baaay State Blanket ladies are concerned that we may not have enough participation to make a go of it this year. Barbara Haberlin is going to poll the membership so make sure you answer the questions promptly.  We need more producers who will continue to participate.

The April meeting is here at Greenwood Hill Farm and is our annual planning meeting.  We hope to have the Farm Bureau folks here as well and it will a busy night.  Make sure you come with some suggestions for next year's meetings.

Don't forget Nancy Miniter and her questionnaire; her May program is to bring all of that information together in an updated Resource Manual for each of us.  If you need a copy of her questions, let her know and she can send you another.

Be sure to check out the "Resource" page on the web site.  I am in the process of soliciting a fee from businesses whom choose to support our efforts in accordance with the fee schedule at the top of that page.  Businesses on the page who do not desire to be listed will be removed.  If you have a firm you do farm related business with that is not on the list let me know and we will try to get them on-board.  When I am done, I will be reminding all of us to use these suppliers as they are the ones who are supporting our Sheep and Wool production. 

Lamb and Wool prices are at an all time high.  It's great to be a Shepherd!

Welcome to my corner! I hope to provide all of our sheep producers with the latest news about our industry sprinkled, of course, with my personal insight about what is happening, why it is happening and what I think we need to do.

In addition, as a member of the Executive Board of the American Sheep Industry Association (ASI), hopefully I can provide you with the background to what issues are being addressed and regretfully those which are not.

The annual ASI convention was held in Reno, NV; 18-22 January. The ASI convention has changed quite a bit from what some of the old timers would remember. Gone is the acrimony between all of the divergent groups and here is a convention of collegues. The Wool Growers, Lamb Board, Lamb Feeders, the new American Shearers Council, and a host of other groups; now gather to focus on the challenges of today's markets.