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!ANNUAL MEETING OF THE GULF COAST SHEEP
BREEDERS ASSOCIATION SET! The Thirteenth Annual Meeting of the Gulf Coast Sheep
Breeders |
Greetings from the Heart of Dixie:
From the President:
Greetings from the land of the Dixs(Dixieland)
and the Heart of Dixie(Alabama)...
It is hard to believe that it is time for
another Annual Meeting. This is the Thirteenth Annual Meeting and will be
held on the Bennett Farm in Jamesport on Saturday October 20th. See
information given elsewhere in this Newsletter. Jamesport is in the heart
of Missouri Mennonite/Amish country and there are a number of other similar
groups in the area. It is not unusual to se a horse drawn buggy on the raod,
however some of the groups permit ownership of automobiles as well. You
might want to visit the local grocer where many staples are sold in bulk -
how often do you see fifty pound bags of flour or sugar at your local
store? You can see the Bennett flock of Gulf Coast Sheep which are being
selected for milking qualities as well as parasite resistance. There might
be an opportunity to taste some naturally sweet sheep butter, maybe cheese,
or raw sheep milk or sheep buttermilk. Maybe bread or cake made with
products from sheep milk. Get to see and feel Bennett Farm blankets made
with Gulf Coast Sheep wool. You might even stay in a Menneonite/Amish inn.
The one we stayed in when we were there had wonderful handmade quilts for
wall decorations. Even if you don't do any of these things, to experience
the hospitality of the entire Bennett family will make your trip
worthwhile. Don't miss this.
Early this week I had the opportunity to meet
and visit with Jonathan Failor of Historic Brattonsville in South Carolina.
He brought a ewe lamb from their flock of Aaron Honeycutt Holt line Gulf
Coast sheep and picked up a ram lamb from my Robert & Vivian Lamb Holt
line. We had a pleasant and interesting conversation about the sheep, his
work with them, as well as his work at Historic Brattonsville. He is the
lone farmer, planning, planting, cultivating and harvesting crops that
include corn, cotton and hay on this seven hundred acre 1760 style living
history farm. Much of the work is done with the assistance of a pair of
horses (I think he said Belgians) but Jonathan is also well aquainted with a
garden hoe. He tends the animals that include, in addition to the Gulf
Coast Sheep and horses, Devon cattle, Ossabaw hogs and Dominique chickens.
Sheep shearing is done by using hand shears. These shears are not to be
confused with what I consider hand shearing, my hand held Oster electric
shears. He has started a flock of Red Dorking chickens and will be working
to increase the size of the flock. As we talked about plows he said that he
had been using a steel beam plow but had collected enough parts to build a
wood beam plow which he had begun to assemble prior to leaving for Alabama.
Jonathan said that they might be in the position to host one of our annual
meetings in the future. Stay tuned.
I recently obtained a copy of Sheep Husbandry
(the complete title is more than two dozen words so I'll use this shortened
version) published in 1860 and written by Henry S. Randall. I have searched
for this book ever since I purchased the August 1891 issue of American
Agriculturist magazine in which there was an article entitled "A Neglected
Race of Sheep" (reprinted in the Volume 11 Issue 4 October-November-December
2006 GCSBA Newsletter). In this article a reference was made to "the theme
of Randall and more recent writers". I will share bits and pieces from this
book with you beginning with this issue of the newsletter and be sure to
look for more in the future.
Until next time...
David
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ASI HI-LITES
A high tech device has been developed that measures fleece in microns, and can be used at shearing time to sort out the best wool. High-grade wool is now bringing $2.40 - 2.60 per pound. The device is called an Optical Fiber Diameter Analyzer. In South Australia in the town of Karoonda, there is a big concrete ram, called of course the "Big Ram of Karoonda". It was built to recognize the importance of the sheep industry to the community. In May 2003, Canada reported a single case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in a cow. Thus the U.S. placed a temporary ban on the importation of all live ruminants such as cattle, sheep, goats, cervids, etc., ruminants meat, and meat products. According to ASI, the impact for the sheep industry should be minimal, since only a small number of sheep and sheep products cross the border from Canada. Burn victims could soon benefit from a trial using bandages made of wool, which have the ability to slowly release medication, control temperature, and absorb moisture form around wounds. Wool has some unique properties in that it is a natural fiber and appears to be more compatible with human skin.
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