2024 Review

2024 brought a lot of challenges/opportunities in our efforts to raise Romneys that will thrive on grass-feeding,  with grain only for ewes pre- and post-natally and no grain or pellets for lambs at any stage.  In mid-2023,  we had decided to breed for lambs born in March and April 2024 rather than Feb and March, wanting to experiment with weaning them on pasture with their dams. Early lambing went well.  Thirty ewes gave birth,  with 1.55 lambs weaned per ewe exposed.   Weaning on pasture worked.  Coccidiosis with the protozoan Eimeria, a perennial problem for us, had more impact in 2024 then most previous years, because the lambs, for the first time in years,  had not been creep-fed with pellets containing a coccidiostat. Our lambs who stayed here, even after intensive treatment for Eimeria and drenching against GI worms, did not gain fast on summer pasture.  Call 2024 a trial year, the first step in a changeover to [nearly] all grass we expect will take several more.

During this year we planted a dozen more 2-3 year old trees in the Main park, ramping up the silvopasture project.  Cameron spread stockpiled barn litter on much of the Main park.  An NRCS staff member did an inventory of pasture quality, greatly appreciated.  Soil qualities ranked high; we will benefit by more diversity of desirable species and a higher proportion of legumes. Good objective. My own composite sample of forage from the Main park done in September had a RFV (Relative Feed Value) comparable to alfalfa.  Some years in the past have been higher.

We sold grass-fed lambs to several places to be grown out.  Sales of breeding stock are described in the “Buyers last few years” page.  All the breeding stock lamb sales were of recessively-colored sheep — three rams and a ewe.