ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED NON-PROFIT US POSTAGE
SUMMER 2011
PAID
7811 Consolidated School Rd., Edgerton, WI 53534 • www.wisbc.com
PERMIT NO. 203 EAU CLAIRE, WI
A PUBLICATION OF THE WISCONSIN SHEEP BREEDERS COOPERATIVE
VOLUME 23, NUMBER 3
WISCONSIN SHEEP & WOOL FESTIVAL CELEBRATES TEN YEARS!
Pasture Walks and Clinics Prove Popular In an encouraging cooperative effort, several agencies recently combined their educational resources to provide producers the opportunity to visit two successful sheep grazing operations and at the same time get a wealth of practical management tips in a hands-on workshop setting. UW Cooperative Extension Small Ruminant Specialist Claire Mikolayunas provided the hands-on segment for both programs, while the pasture walks were hosted by Town & Country Resource Conservation & Development and specialists Kirsten Jurcek and Mike Gehl, with support from Peg Reedy, Walworth County UW Extension and Laura Paine, Grazing & Organic Agriculture Specialist with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection. Additional support came from the Dodge & Columbia Grazing Network, Columbia County Land & Water Conservation, Racine & Kenosha Counties UW Extension and University of Wisconsin-Madison Agricultural Engineering Department. The first pasture walk and clinic took place at A-Z Farm, just south of Madison, where
Over forty people attended a recent clinic on small ruminant parasites and a pasture walk at the Warren and Ellen O’brion Farm near Rio. Claire Mikolayunas, UWEX Small Ruminant Specialist is shown discussing parasites common to sheep and goats and methods for their control. Irish Acres is home to a flock of 130 registered Polypays and a herd of Scottish Highland cattle. Ray and Alice Antoniewicz have built a successful rotational grazing program for their flock of sixty crossbred ewes. While A-Z Farm may be better known for its pioneering efforts in agritourism, the Antoniewicz Family is also heavily invested in direct marketing of both lamb and wool, as well as sales of breeding stock and feeder lambs. The A-Z flock rotationally grazes 34 acres of managed pasture covering ten paddocks. The Antoniewiczs use a combination of woven
netting and permanent electric high-tensile wire for perimeter and divider fencing, along with temporary fencing that is reset to keep the flock moving through the system. Water is supplied through a permanent feeder line that follows a center access lane, with take-offs strategically placed for filling tanks. Following the pasture walk and dinner, the group focused on hoof care as Claire Mikolayunas See Pasture Walk on Page 3
A cooperative effort between UW Extension and Town & Country RC&D brought out an enthusiastic group of producers to a hoof trimming clinic and pasture walk at A-Z Farm near Oregon on June 27. The Antoniewicz Family is a pioneer in agri-tourism, but also direct markets lamb and wool, as well as selling breeding stock and feeder lambs from a flock of sixty crossbred ewes.
See you in Jefferson? The 2011 Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival marks a milestone anniversary for the growing event, with over 600 head of sheep expected, along with lots of youthful exhibitors. This Photo Contest entry titled "Dressed In Her Sunday Best" was submitted last year by Lynn Crooks, of Lancaster, WI. and entered in the Kids & Sheep category.
NCWGA Brings National Show to Jefferson As a destination for sheep and fiber enthusiasts from across the country, the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival will not only celebrate its tenth anniversary this year, but will for the second time in its brief history, host a national show. The Natural Colored Wool Growers Association will bring its main event to Jefferson the weekend of September 9-11, adding both a sheep and fleece division to a growing roster of Festival shows. According to its website, the Natural Colored Wool Growers Association (NCWGA) grew from a grassroots effort and “the recognition of a need for an association to stress the development of quality colored sheep and wool.” While the appearance of colored sheep
at shows around the country is now a given, it wasn’t that long ago that colored wool was the bane of the industry and colored genetics frowned upon by many breed organizations. By 1977, enthusiasm and interest had grown to the point that the NCWGA was established and colored sheep finally gained recognition. The association then began to unite breeders of colored sheep, as well as establish quality standards and a registry database. Today, the NCWGA counts more than 175 members across the US and Canada, with roughly twenty percent of that membership located in the Midwest. For purposes of representation, the association divides the country See NCWGA on Page 3