I like lamb on the grill, I like lamb in the oven, I like lamb in the skillet. My only issue is finding it other than in the Spring. My local locker is starting to carry it a little more. I am hopeful it will be year round soon.
I bought a big lamb roast for Easter... And I actually think I prefer ground lamb patties overall. When I fry ground lamb patties, the entire house smell wonderfully and it tastes deliciously when served with a Greek style tzatziki.
I'm convinced that in Missouri the parasite resistant hair-sheep is the way to go. However, in a less parasite friendly place like New England, it is hard to ignore the faster growth rate of some of the better woolly breeds. As a secondary factor, some of the Southern England breeds are less likely to eat the bark of trees. A useful trait if you are grazing orchards.
The Southdown/Baby Doll sheep I grazed for the vineyard I was working for are stout wide bodies and easy to take care ofm after we got new rams and went to May lambing along with daily moves and no deworming etc. they improved so much. And lambed on thier own with almost no illnesses. Did have to trim some hooves twice a year yet no grain or any supplements. Shearing is a pain yet the wool is loved by spinners.. I'm in SE Washington State. Dry climate with irrigation. The hair sheep around here do very well.
We’ve definitely got a lot of parasite pressure in New England. I raise hair sheep, but am interested in my mentors texel landrace. The biggest draw for woolies for me is hardiness. A common late winter day for us might be 34 and raining followed by high winds and 13 at night. Hair sheep don’t thrive in that kind of weather, but I’ve had wool sheep out that hunkered down and looked fine. I really don’t understand why folks always site no shearing as this massive money saving thing. I help on shearing day and it’s a lot of fun and goes fast. It costs an extra $4 a head per year, and is more then made up for by the larger lambs and higher prices wool sheep bring. Plus the skins are more marketable. If I was starting again knowing what I know now I might not chose hair sheep.
Well I will tell you, our Minnesota winters are brutal! Our hair sheep make it through just fine. And yes no shearing is a big deal, we have no wool market, and shearers are in short supply. I'm not going to pay someone $5 a head to shear wool so I can have a big pile of it to dispose of. Time is the most valuable commodity, I don't have that kind of time. The handful of wool sheep we have, take up at least half a day to get up and shear. Our operation is all about low inputs and animal performance. That being said, people have to decide for themselves what kind of animals and what kind of management suits there environment, it's all about context.
Hi George! Just started following a few months ago after seeing your video w Greg. Do you use Timeless fiberglass fence posts? How do they perform in MN? We are in VT.
Timeless posts are made of plastic, not fiber glass. The gold up great, I have my 80 acre farm perimeter fence built with them. I recently ran over a post with my bobcat while it was in the teens, just sprang back up after the track got off of it. They are best posts you can get!
@@georgeheller2281 he was treating you as a peer. I felt things flowed very well. Had the topic been soil health and cover crops maybe things would have been a little different? I only wish the video had been longer. Maybe some time try to schedule one with more time etc
How do you get to interview all these high end guys? I saw Ray and Gabe Brown speak at a conference locally here about 5 years ago. That's what really got me thinking of how we were doing things around here. I still like my wool sheep. The wool adds value to our business.
I have been blessed to meet up with these guys. If wool works good for you then stick with that, all about context. I hope you can make it down in September. Also, I know that Greg Judy will be doing a few schools up in Canada this summer, you should try to make it to one of those.
What is happening in September? I did hear Greg talking about going to Edmonton this summer. The thing is that going to Edmonton is about the same distance as Missouri. It's in Canada but not very local.
