Industry Issues This page...
Scrapie AlertPoodled Lambs, Tail Docking, and Louisville articles
(Comment
Form at bottom of page)
"SCRAPIE
ALERT" By
Rachael Schumaker (3-29-01)
ATTENTION: Show lamb breeders. If you
don’t know what RR, QR or QQ (and NN, NS, and SS) is all about trust
me, you’d better find out soon. Lots of people know what these letters
mean but the real story is what these letters could mean to the future
of the sheep industry and your bottom line!
As many of you know, I (Rachael) work
for Merial, the largest pharmaceutical company in the world. Recently, I
had the opportunity to attend the National Cattlemen’s Meeting in San
Antonio, Texas. With-out-a-doubt, the most talked about subject was
“Mad-Cow Disease” and how the U.S. cattle industry needs to prepare
for the influx of information (both good and bad) coming into our
country. The cattle industry in the US is critical to the global
economy…the sheep industry in this country is not!
“Mad
Cow and BSE” tops the news stories in foreign countries and daily
reaches the pinnacle of attention by US new media. It is just a matter
of time until Scrapie is the word on every producer’s tong. (This
INDUSTRY ISSUE is about Mad Cow/BSE and Scrapie, not Hoof and Mouth
Disease).
As you begin to research BSE, one will find that
the probability of BSE becoming a problem in the United States is small.
However, perception is reality. And the perception is that sheep
with scrapie can lead to cattle being diagnosed with BSE. Animals in the
US are not to be fed ruminant by-products however there grows a concern
that rendering plants and feed manufactures are not taking the necessary
steps to stop ruminant to ruminant contamination. (Scrapie and the link
to BSE is very technical, I’d like to have you go to the University of
Illinois web sight for more information—w3.aces.uiuc.edu/ansci/bse/).
Scrapie
is a reportable disease. If breeders don’t step up and start testing,
the government could start mandating such tests or begin
eradication of entire flocks. Also, on the horizon could be limited or
restricted interstate transit of sheep because of scrapie.
Our
advice…start testing and purchasing sheep that have been tested for
Scrapie (and Spider). Many high-dollar sheep being sold today will be
gone in 3-4 years? What about if the government comes into eradicate
your whole flock because of a suspected scrapie case? Not a very good
return on investment—is it?
We
look at scrapie and spider as real problem from the true production and
dollar investment standpoint. Our sheep (as are yours) are an investment
as well as an income source. We can’t afford to raise sheep that will
be deceased in 3-4 years (the time period scrapie infested sheep will
live). How could we in good conscience sell sheep to YOU knowing they
were going to not live or were going to pass a predisposition to scrapie
to your future lamb crops? And why would anyone want to have spiders
born into the operation? Those lambs in-utero will take nutrients from a
healthy lamb, they detract from the lamb crop quality plus they die!
Every dead lamb costs us money.
One BIG misconception about Scrapie and
especially Spider prone animals is many people believe that these sheep
are not as “good” as sheep that carry these genes. Take a look at
our show wethers; take a look at our stud ram pictures and our ewe
flock. These sheep are as “good” as any sheep in the country.
PERIOD. In fact, they may be better because they offer other benefits to
an operation including outstanding production…how about the ability to
produce marketable babies as well be productive sheep for years to come!
So, how do you begin cleaning up your
flock? First, test the rams that have been used in your program. Then
(based on your numbers) either begin testing brood ewes and/or the most
recent lamb crop. Next, purchase rams that are RR/NN. This is the
fastest way to change or improve the “condition” of your flock
because all of the lambs will carry a dominant R and N. We suggest you
make a four block grid to better understand how to breed sheep that are
scrapie and spider resistant. In the example below, a RR ram bred to a
QQ ewe yields 100% QR lambs. This same grid can be made with any
combinations of letters.
R
R
O
QR
QR
O
QR
QR
The testing process is relatively
simple, a veterinarian or producer pulls blood from the animals and
sends into a lab (either WI or CO). The test for Scrapie and Spider was
$30-$32 per head. The results were sent back in about two weeks.
We welcome your comments and questions
regarding our INDUSTRY ISSUES (others are also on-line) and our sheep!
Thanks for letting us share this with you.
“SLICK-SHEARED,
POODLED LAMBS”
By Roland Schumaker
Years
ago, I heard Bradley Johnson say, “the wether industry is trying to
make slick sheared lambs look like sheep that were poodled.” I agree
with this statement to this very day.
What does this mean? In the days of old, the lambs were shown with
poodled wool on their hindquarters because it was necessary to use butt
wool to balance up the depth of body found in the sheep. The poodled
lambs, yes, were lacking in butt muscle in some cases, but the sheep had
production type characteristics that have somehow been lost in today’s
show-ring environment. Sheep that were shown in the 80’s, were
straight made, correct; good hipped and had big tops but had more depth
of front and rib. The lambs grew better and had a lot less health
problems than lambs today. The lambs of the late 90’s and 2000 are
tight in the heart; high-flanked; thin hided; lighter boned with
structural defects. These lambs are hard feeders that stress easily and
are sick most of the time.
So what can we learn from all of this? What are we suggesting…that we
need to go back to slick shearing? No. We are totally in favor of
showing lambs slick sheared, make no mistake. But, we also believe that
we need to look back to the lambs of the 80’s for answers to the
problems that exist today.
Let’s compare the show cattle business to the wether business. The
show cattle arena is a competitive place to be because people still
value traits that make the cattle industry strong. It makes no
difference if you look at the cow/calf industry or the purebred industry
the criteria for excellence is still the same. Every producer regardless
of the type of operation prizes the production characteristics of
cattle. These same characteristics are also prized in the showring.
Heifers and cows are judged on their EPD’s, structurally soundness,
ADG’s, and many other production based characteristics. And, just look
at the emphasis being placed on calving-ease bulls these days.
Have you ever seen a small framed; high-flanked; fined-boned; parrot
mouthed heifer/steer win a show? NO-NO-NOSo why do we see this in the wether classes? At major shows none
the less. Chosen by“qualified”
judges? Even worse is when that same lamb is shown in August but born in
October!
So,
what should lambs of the 2000’s be? They should get back to the basics
of the 80’s that featured poodled butts, without the poodle. Lambs
need to have chest capacity, width in the chest floor; broader/thicker
tops, better hip junctions (a real downfall in the business today),
squarer/broader pin bones/hips, better butts along with correct, big
bones. No-high flanks, no flat ribs, no broken tops, no bad loin
hook-ups; no drooping rumps, no fine-bones, no parrots, no prolapses and
no lambs less than 120 lb. lambs winning shows. What happened to ideal
market weights? Or even worse than that…a ewe lamb with these negative
traits winning! Oh yes, and while I’m lining up my requests, make
‘em white…instead of black.
You’re
probably asking, why does any of this matter when we are showing wethers?
Well, every wether has a mother. And the purpose for a female is
long-lived production. Wethers are just one cut ahead of a ram and
people don’t always make the right choices when making that “cut”.
And how many rams are sold that have obviously poor characteristics for
the industry. People trying to raise sound production sheep know that
taking care of poor-production oriented sheep is suicide.
The other reason this change lambs is necessary is because the lambs
should be based on more market-quality characteristics. As a rule, you
don’t find great loin eyes, leg scores and carcass weights from lambs
in decade 2000 (certainly there are some exceptions). One reason for
this is that these shows aren’t terminal and don’t pay premiums for
carcass qualities. Most shows today are judged on appearance and
politics. What does that make our industry? Pretty but Shallow? There
are sheep with substance in the ring but they are usually down the line
in third or fourth. Or maybe farther down the line.
In conclusion, when we look at other livestock industries we see that
the wether business has room for improvement. We can make the lambs of
the 2000’s look more like the lambs of the 80’s without butt wool!
And we can make the necessary improvements if breeders, buyers and
judges make an effort to make our industry more production based both in
the show ring and in the barn come January. Please read our other
INDUSTRY ISSUES. We welcome your comments and questions regarding our
opinions and operation
"Tail
Docking —
Am I a KNUCKLE too LONG?"
OK,
OK… someone help me. I’m definitely a KNUCKLE too LONG, a KNUCKLE
too SHORT, or a KNUCKLEHEAD or something. Can
someone tell me where this tail docking “stuff” is coming from and
what is the purpose …I have a few problems with all of this
hype.
Who is out here saying that wether sheep need to have tails? I haven’t
talked to a breeder yet who says yes bring on the KNUCKLES! Two, three,
four or more--we love the idea. Is this some university type out there
trying to justify their job? Do packers really care about prolapses? Are
spectators at shows driving this? Animal rights activists? Who? I’m
confused.
First, the question of prolapses, anyone who has breed sheep knows that
this is a function of genetics primarily. Sure, other factors like
feeding programs, condition, exercise (too much/not enough), feeding on
ramps etc. all can impact prolapses but most lambs are genetically
predisposed. When I’m told this is the main reason for the longer
tails, I ask if there is any research to support that longer tails yield
less prolapses. (Yes, from a practical stance there may be some logic
behind this theory). Is there research that suggests genetic connections
to prolapse? Why aren’t we looking at the problem rather than just
mandating a solution?
If spectators or animal rights activitists are driving this, I’d be
surprised. We don’t fight the crowd coming through the barns at IL
State Fair. We don’t have lines of people paying admission to get into
Louisville? The NFR every year packs in thousands of spectators who pay
(BIG BUCKS) to watch animals get wrestled, tied, poked, whipped and
pulled for BIG money. And, if people don’t like the fact that we dock
too short, what does it matter if it is short or long? At Schumaker Show
Lambs, we do leave ewe lambs docks slightly longer. This is really
because we breed all of our ewe lambs for January and February lambs and
expect them to be productive females for years to come. We also breed
with rams that don’t typically throw prolapses. Sure, once in while,
we will have one but we don’t have many.
Can someone from CA who has been dealing with all of this “stuff”
send back an explanation? Because out here in IL, I‘m one KNUCKLE too
LONG, one KNUCKLE too SHORT or just a plain KNUCKLEHEAD!
"Should
changes be made in the Louisville Wether Show?"
Roland
and I go to the North American Livestock Show each year and we come home
shaking our heads thinking there must be a
better way. Everyone has different reasons for attending this
show but everyone goes because it is one of the elite wether show in the
United States.Our reasons
are purely selfish--we go to see friends, to promote our business, and
have a judge evaluate our livestock. This last reason is where the
problems begin.
When you go to Louisville for the wether weekend, it becomes obvious
that the wether show generates a huge amount of
interest and enthusiasm for the industry. Exhibitors of all ages,
from all over the country come to this show. There
is one thing missing from this chaotic whirlwind weekend—FUN.
Yes, for those kids that love showing lambs…it is fun. However, we
believe with a few simple changes, this show could be a lot more fun and
more beneficial for the kids that put in hours of hard work to get to
this caliber of show.We
have given this a great deal of discussion (it is one the things Roland
and I do best) and we would like to make a few suggestions. We welcome
your comments on these ideas below.
Currently the wether show is “stuffed” into
a very long day on Sunday. These comments are not directed toward
Clint Cummings or judges of the past. Any man (and hopefully soon, any
woman) who sorts the lambs at Louisville certainly earns their money,
whether you agree with their choices or not. I can only imagine the
sheer exhaustion that a judge must feel when the 10-14 hour long day is
over considering the number and quality of animals at this show.And how do the kids that work all year for a shot at placing well
in Louisville feel when they get one walk around the ring and one handle
from the evaluator. The problem is this show is
too long and not kid-friendly. So what possible changes could be
made to improve the whole wether weekend experience?Here are a few thoughts on the subject:
1)Have an associate
judge that assists the primary judge. This system works very
successfully at major cattle events.
2)How about splitting the
show into 1 ½-2 days? Show minor breeds and Suffolks on Saturday
and the Hampshires and Crossbreds on Sunday. The junior breeding sheep
barely filled the ring on Saturday, can’t the wether use part of the
ring? A similar system works successfully in at the Indiana State Fair.
3)Have two co-judges
that work together judging two classes at the same time. Allow
the primary judge to choose the co-judge to ensure some level of
consistency.The ring at
Louisville is large but only half of it is being used…check-in for the
next class could very easily be done outside the ring.
4)How about a pre-sift
similar to Houston? Or limiting the number of lambs per exhibitor like
the Royal did this year?
5)Should kids that come to
Louisville expect to be placed if they are not in the top 12-15 lambs
per class?
6)What happened to
showmanship? All the
other major shows in the country have showmanship classes, so why not
Louisville? Some kids live for this important portion of the showing
experience and it is overlooked in the current system. How about Friday
evening?
7)I wondered if the staff
at the North American has done any research to seek the opinions of
exhibitors and parents to find out what people want from this wether
weekend? We think research of this type is needed to make this weekend
less exhausting and more enjoyable for exhibitors and spectators.
8)Oh yes…and how about
some FUN…how about a dance Friday or Saturday night for the
kids…a pizza party…a team activity in the show ring (I remember one
of my favorite Louisville moments of playing football in the green
sawdust!)…An organized scavenger hunt… or a judging/skillathon
contest? Let’s give everyone an opportunity to be successful.
9)Are changes necessary,
what do you think? Give us your
feedback in the Comment Form below.
The wether
show is one of the largest parts of this exciting weekend. I’m hopeful
that you’ll respond with constructive comments and suggestions
(and please include your name and interest in the show) that we can pass
along to the management of the North American. Let’s work together to
keep the enthusiasm and vitality in the premier wether show in the
country.
Thanks for stopping into this feature on schumakershowlambs.com.
Come again soon for another editorial.
Comment Form
Mailing Address
Roland and Rachael Schumaker
RR #2 Box 97
Heyworth, IL61745
Phone Number (toll free)
1-877-SHW-LMBS 1-877-( 749-5627 )
