Oct2008Voice

October 2008

ShropShire

Voice

Contact Us! Phone/Fax: 937-374-3371 E-mail: SchoolhousShrops@aol.com

A New Lineage In The Making!

(Happy Retirement Bill & Linda!)

Schoolhouse Shropshires Buys S Bar S Ranch Flock

Jim & Denise Percival Xenia, Ohio

Schoolhouse Shropshires

Visit us on the web! www.SchoolhouseShropshires.com

Schoolhouse 08-0032 2nd Place Early Spring Ewe Lamb 2008 Ohio State Fair

The

r i a f f A y l i m a F

It’s a “Great Genetics Make The Difference”

Powerful brood ewes loaded with October babies!

Randy, Julie, Justin, Melissa, Olivia & Zachary Rife 2423 Clifton Road, Yellow Springs, OH 45387 Only 6 miles south of I-70 (Exit 54)

(937) 767-1871 Cell: (937) 603-0535 rifeflockmaster@dishmail.net

www.rifeshropshires.com

air 2008 Ohio State F

BARNES FARMS

Ph: (740) 494-2125, Fax: (740) 494-2913 5707 Mooney Road, Radnor, OH 43066 e-mail: troytongrn@acc-net.com web: www.barnesfarms.com

Volume 28, Issue 3

October 2008

~ The Shropshire Voice ~

Official Publication of The American Shropshire Registry Association Published in the interest of Shropshire Breeders each February, May and October

Becky Peterson, ASRA Secretary

Board of Directors American Shropshire Registry Association Mark McCabe – Pres. (2009)

5154 Nickelson Road

Prospect, OH 43342

(740) 494-2969

mamccabe51@hotmail.com Darrell Dockter – V. Pres. (2010)

19411 S. Carpenter Rd.

Snohomish, WA 98290

(425) 334-9130

dddockter@earthlink.net Re Call (2009)

964 Mohawk Trail

Shelburne, MA 01370

(413) 625-2436

doonyc@netscape.net Robert Dinsmore (2008)

5842 Broad Run Road

Jefferson, MD 21755

(301) 371-4483

cod-cnh@fred.net Cody Hiemke (2010)

2324 Webster St., Apt. B

Berkeley, CA 94705-1970

(Family flock is in Wisconsin)

(415) 302-8025

cjhiemke@hotmail.com Norbert Jackson (2008)

4125 W. State Route 28

Alexandria, IN 46001

(765) 754-7057

njackson@macdermid.com Robert Johnson (2009)

569 State Highway

Marshfield, MO 65706

(417) 859-4452

rokajo6@centurytel.net

Rinda Maddox, Voice Publisher

Roger Snyder (2008)

2537 U.S. Hwy. 67

Monmouth, IL 61462

(309) 734-4446

cmsnyder@farmland.com Ralph Lovely (2008)

292 Cold Stream Farm Rd.

Madisonville, TN 37354

Cell: (865)-604-5747

(423) 442-7076 Randy Rife (2008)

2423 Clifton Road

Yellow Springs, OH 45387

(937) 767-1871

julia.rife@wright.edu Tim Roberts (2009)

27954 Pennsylvania Ave.

Washington, OK 73093

(405) 485-9255

RobertsSheepCo@cs.com Carol Rueber (2009)

24632 210th Street

Sumner, IA 50674

(563) 578-8663

ruebershrops@yahoo.com Bill Seals (2008)

2360 B Shafer

Morgan Hill, CA 95037

(408) 779-1789

sbarssheep@cs.com Brad Slutz (2010)

1144 Oxford Circle

Sycamore, IL 60178

(815) 899-0366

bslutz@1stfarmcredit.com Sandy Cross(2008)

198 Shaws Mill Road

Gorham, ME 04038-2233

207-839-8717 _______

scross@covenanyr.fairpoint.net Page

Contact us American Shropshire Registry Association

The American Shropshire Registry Association office is now running in full capacity. All registrations and payments are to be made through that office.

ASRA Office Hours: Monday-Thursday 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. EST Monday & Thursday evenings 8-11 p.m. EST

Shropshire Voice Advertising Rates

Full Page..................................... $100 Half Page....................................... $60 Quarter Page.................................. $35 Front Cover (Full Color)............. $325 Other 3 Covers (Full Color)........ $250 Each Photo.................................... $10 Spot color•..................................... $35 Booster Club................................. $20 Full Page in Voice and four Months on Web site..................... $200 Breeder’s Directory (3 Voice issues and 12 months on the website....... $30 Add your website link........... $20 Spot color is publisher’s choice.

Voice Deadlines

February Voice...............Jan. 15 May Voice....................March 15 October Voice................. Sept. 1 Steve & Rinda Maddox

Voice Advertising Manager

(217) 288-9365 or (217) 288-9493

P.O. Box 475, Sidell, IL 61876

shropshirevoice@thesidellreporter.com

_______ Page

The secretary will be near the office at most other times and will return calls as soon possible. She will make the best effort to process registrations and transfers within a day or two of receipt.

Contact her at: American Shropshire Registry Association

Becky Peterson, Secretary

41 Bell Rd.

Leyden MA 01337

Phone/Fax –(413) 624-9652

Shropsec@hotmail.com

Shropshire Voice & Website

If you need to place an ad or news item in the Shropshire Voice, or on the website, shropshires.org., contact Rinda Maddox, Voice Publisher/Web Coordinator or her husband, Steven Maddox, advertising manager.

Steven and Rinda Maddox

P.O. Box 475

Sidell, IL 61876

shropshirevoice@

thesidellreporter.com

(217) 288-9365 (office)

(217) 288-9493 (home)

Junior Activities

For questions on any of the junior events for the Shropshire Association, contact Mark McCabe or Tim Roberts.

Mark McCabe

5154 Nickelson Road

Prospect, OH 43342

(740) 494-2969

Mamccabe51@hotmail.com Tim Roberts 27954 Pennsylvania Ave. Washington, OK 73093 (405) 485-9255 RobertsSheepCo@cs.com

From the President One of the Shropshire events I am most passionate about is our Futurity Program. This is the seventh year and it has grown every year. This year we had 92 ewe lambs nominated with 24 of those being shown for points. This is also the most ewe lambs being shown and will be the largest pay out for these lambs with $1840 distributed to the winning ewe lambs.

Only points from five shows will count with the Junior NAILE show points counting double and these placings will break ties. The Shropshire breeders that consign ewe lambs to the Classic, Spectacular and Sedalia have made the Futurity program work and grow.

The 2008 state fair circuit has seen Shropshires as the largest number at quite a few fairs this season. At the

Ohio and Indiana fairs for the second straight year, the Shropshire breed had the largest junior and open shows.

At the Missouri State Fair, the Shropshire breed also had the largest open show.

This November 20th, the National Shropshire Show is in Louisville. The open show is on Thursday morning at 8 a.m. The Annual Meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.

2009 will mark the 125th Anniversary of our Shropshire breed in the USA. The committee for this event has been working and planning so watch The Voice and website for updates on special events making the milestone for the Shropshire breed. Especially plan to be in Louisville at the 2009 NAILE to be part of this grand celebration.

125th Anniversary Show in 2009 Submitted by Norbert Jackson Director, Indiana District The plans are moving forward for the American Shropshire Registry Association 125th anniversary show to be held in conjunction with the North American International Livestock Exposition in Louisville, Kentucky in 2009. The 125th Anniversary celebration will start with a Midwest Regional Show at the Indiana State Fair in August.

The Louisville event in November will start with junior activities followed by a National Junior Show. A 125th Anniversary Banquet and program planned for Sunday evening will be held for all our members. The National Shropshire 125th Anniversary Show will

conclude our anniversary celebration.

We plan to host a hospitality area for all our members and guests during the junior and open show days in the sheep barn.

Our first fund raiser for the 125th anniversary show was held at the Shropshire Spectacular this past June.

Several state association baskets and other Shropshire items where auctioned to start the fund raising. We plan to have a silent auction this year in Louisville to continue the fund raising.

All state Shropshire Associations can put a basket in the silent auction.

We hope all our Shropshire members will plan to attend this major event for our breed in 2009. _______ Page

From the Secretary The busy registration season is winding down now. As of August 28, 2168 Shropshire have been registered in 2008 and 8029 have been transferred.

The office has been running pretty smoothly.Work has been turned around in a day or two for the most part. Some work has been delayed while obtaining additional necessary information and there is occasionally confusion as to the current owner of mother ewes. These matters are usually resolved quickly by telephone or email.

We’ve covered some ground in getting the association back on its feet. The Non-Profit status has been reinstated.

The accounts are getting sorted out and an accounting system is in place. An accountant has been hired to shepherd the transition and incidentally, he enjoys reading the Voice.

There have been some long standing debits and credits and we hope to settle them by the end of the year. There is a bit of work to do yet but we anticipate having things pretty well in line by the beginning of 2009, the 125th Anniversary year.

One of the issues in the registration office is the constant request to change the names of the people in a registration membership. The Board of Directors has deemed it permissible to add or remove names from a membership, such as in the case of a marriage or the sometimes inevitable junior member leaving the sheep program. It does create a problem, though, in subsequent sheep registrations as the member name will appear different on the front _______ Page

of the more recent papers.A more common problem arises when an individual ASRA member within a family wishes to permanently transfer his or her animals to another family member. The normal transfer process must still occur in this case.The back of the paper must be filled out and the paper must be sent to the office to be recorded, signed and stamped.

In an effort to encourage members to consolidate their records in this case, the Board has recommended that this procedure can be done at a reduced rate. This does not apply, however, to the changing of ownership for the purposes of exhibiting the sheep at your local, county, state or higher level fairs. In this case, the normal transfer fee will be incurred. For more information, contact the secretary for the interpretation of these situations.

The summer here in Massachusetts has been very wet. Only in the past 14 days has there been any weather suitable for making hay.There were five nice days twice in June and then six weeks or more of rain and humidity. Mid-western breeders would call me about registrations and tell me how dry it has been there. I always offer to share the rain but can’t figure out how to get it to them.

I had the opportunity to travel to Illinois and Missouri for the first time. It has been a good show and sale year for our breed. Shropshires had the largest shows of all the breeds at more than one state fair. I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the Shropshire breeders. Everyone has been very kind, un-

derstanding and encouraging.

State fairs are ongoing.The reports of the Shropshire show have shown quality running deep in the classes. In several cases, Shropshires were the highest-numbered breed shown.

Preparations are underway for the 2009 125th Anniversary Celebration.

One of the activities this year has been to sell at auction a few of the remaining “First Hundred Years” Centennial History Book. One copy has been sent to

my office. It is loaded with information and history. My appreciation goes out to those who worked hard to assemble that material, especially Doug and Vivian Chambers. I understand a supplement to that book is in the works.

Again, I continue to meet good Shropshire folks in my travels. I’m beginning to be able to recognize callers by their voices. Everyone has been kind and understanding. I’m beginning to feel like part of the group!

LEGAL NOTICE Annual Meeting of the Members Official notice is hereby given to all members of the American Shropshire Registry Association, Inc. that the 2008 Annual Meeting of the Members will be held Wednesday, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. in Louisville.The purpose of said meeting is to hear and approve the reports of the President and Secretary/Treasurer to ratify the acts of the Board of Directors since the last annual meeting of the members; to act on any old or new business which may be brought before the meeting; and to elect directors for districts having directors whose terms expire in 2008.

Article VI, Section 2 of the By Laws allows for the direct election of a director for a district if that district has an active, recognized Shropshire association.

Directors whose terms will expire at this time are: Norbert Jackson – Indiana District Robert Dinsmore– PennsylvaniaSouth District (Alabama, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland,

Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.)

Roger Snyder – Illinois District Ralph Lovely – Pennsylvania-South District Randy Rife – Ohio District Bill Seals – West District (Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah.)

Sandy Cross – New York-New England District (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont.)

Each membership in the American Shropshire Registry Association, Inc. is entitled to one vote at the Annual Meeting of the Members. Such vote must be cast in person. Those members attending the Annual Meeting shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of transacting the business of the Association. All members are encouraged to attend and participate.

Becky Peterson, Secretary _______ Page

2008 National Shropshire Show to be held at NAILE The North American In­ternational Sheep Show will run from Nov. 1421 in Louisville, Ky. at the Kentucky Exposition Center. A host of event for Shropshire enthusiasts, young and old, is planned.

Other junior division events begin on Friday, Nov. 14 at 4 p.m. with both the market lamb showmanship and the lamb lead contest. The junior wether show begins at 8 a.m. on Saturday and will run all day. Allen Hybsha of Binger, Okla. will serve as judge for this contest.

The ASRA will sponsor a junior quiz bowl at 3 p.m. on Saturday.

Teams shall consist of three persons, one of which shall be under 14 years of age and also shall contain at least

one boy and at least one girl. Cash awards are as follows: $15 per team member for first place, $10 per team member for second place and $5 per team member for third place..

A pizza party and meeting for all youth to discuss future plans will follow the quiz bowl at approximately 4:30 p.m.

The National Junior Shropshire Breeding Sheep Show will be on Sunday, Nov. 16. Shropshires will be the first breed of the day and will be judged by Shawn Ramsey. The ASRA provides special awards to all of the class winners. The National Shropshire Show Open Division will be at 8 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 20.

These sheep will be judged by Jim

Old papers are needed Do you have a collection of old registration certificates, the kind on the small sized papers? Do you have many of the new, current style papers with generations of non-information?

Maybe we can help each other.

Those blank lines on the pedigrees are that way because their parents are not in the current database. They had been registered in an older system but not in the current method. Now it seems that the “ewe records” or the index card copies kept on ewes and their progeny by the past registry offices were lost, leaving us without a way to do research for extended _______ Page

pedigrees.

There is a way you can help. Gather together your older papers, especially the ones of ewes or rams that you know you have had progeny from.

Send the originals, or photo copies, to the secretary’s office. The individuals on the paper will be entered into the current database as a “non-restricted”, “non-billable” registration. It won’t cost you anything except the postage.

And eventually, we’ll be able to fill in the blanks. Extended pedigree research will be possible once again.

Papers can be mailed to: ASRA, 41 Bell Rd., Leyden MA 01337.

Brandt of Anna, Ohio.

Please note that the ASRA has added extra funding to both the junior division and the open division in 2008 and offers a total of $2806 for both shows. The yearling ewe class has been split for both shows as has the spring ewe lamb class which is now split by month of birth.

The Matching Funds program continues in 2008 but has been revised in order to fund the premiums provided. A fee of $10 per head and group class will be required from each exhibitor in the open show.

These fees will be payable to the ASRA prior to show day and should be sent to the secretary. These fees will be retained by the association in 2008.

In conjunction with the 2008 National Shropshire Show, the Annual Meet­ing of the Members of the American Shropshire Registry Association will also be held in Louisville. This meeting is scheduled for the evening before the open show. See the meeting notice on Page 5. For more information regarding the Shropshire shows or any other aspect of the Exposition, go to www. livestockexpo.org

Please Note...

Matching Funds Program required at ’08 NAILE In order to healthily maintain the increased support of the open and junior shows at NAILE, the ASRA is requiring participation in the Matching Funds Program. In addition to the normal entry fee paid to NAILE, open show exhibitors should remit $10 per head and group class to ASRA secretary Becky Peterson.

Payment of theses fees is required prior to show day, Nov. 20. Please note that these funds will be retained by the ASRA in order to fund the classes added this year. Thank you for your cooperation in this policy.

Tim Roberts & Family Registered Shropshire Sheep

405-314-3370

2007 National Show Champion Ewe and Reserve Champion Ram _______ Page

s

El bury

Mike & Karen Elsbury & Family

hropshires

5385E 500N Greenfield, IN 46140 (317) 326-4461

Championship Quality Elsbury’s “JakE” Grand Champion Ram at Indiana

Elsbury 1102 Grand Champion Ewe at Indiana and Junior Champion at Wisconsin Sold to (and shown by) Jaedyn Slutz at the Ohio Classic sale

THANKS

to all our buyers in 2008

Premier Breeder IN State Fair 1993-2008 Premier Exhibitor IN State Fair 1995-2008

To see additional pictures visit

_______ Page

ElsburyFarms.com

Board of Director’s Meeting Thursday June 19, 2008 Springfield, Illinois The meeting was called to order by President Mark McCabe at 7:01 p.m. in the Illinois Extension Building on the grounds of the Illinois State Fair.

The following board members were present: Mark McCabe, Darrell Dockter, Re Call, Sandy Cross, Cody Hiemke, Bob Johnson, Norbert Jackson, Randy Rife, Tim Roberts, Carol Rueber, Brad Slutz and Roger Snyder. Members Robert Dinsmore, Ralph Lovely and Bill Seals were not in attendance. Also present were Rinda and Steve Maddox representing the Voice. Becky Peterson attended as secretary.

Secretary’s report: The minutes of the last Board of Director’s conference call on March 30 were handed out and discussed briefly.

Bob Johnson moved, and Tim Roberts seconded, that the minutes be accepted as presented.

Mark read a list of guidelines for board meetings as a suggestion to the conduct of such a meeting.

Treasurer’s report: Becky handed out a report of the activities from Jan. 31 to June 17. The current checking account balance is $33534.34. Total income has been $30043.25. Total expense has been $31116.78. It was noted that there have been expenses that actually apply to 2007. Also noted that the expenses include office start-up and equipment purchase and the cost of an interim treasurer for 2007. The net loss over this time is $1073.53.

Becky asked about hiring an

accountant to handle the legal aspects of the finances of the association. Carol Rueber noted that there had been $500 in past budgets to cover such expenses.

Becky had spoken with her accountant about the possibility of his shepherding the ASRA through this financial transition and to look over the books periodically.

It was agreed to hire him for a fee of $25/hour. Mark noted that he had recently reinstated the non-profit incorporation status in Illinois and that the current registered agent is Rinda Maddox. When the By-law changes at the special meeting of the members (to be held the day after this meeting), Becky will be able to get the incorporation work done for Massachusetts and Illinois will dissolve.

There was no more treasury business and Randy Rife moved to accept the report as presented. Norm Jackson seconded.

Committee Reports 125th Anniversary - Norm Jackson This committee met by teleconference on June 8. The schedule for the 2009 125th Anniversary show was discussed.

We will petition NAILE for a Monday morning show. The committee is trying to append the last 25 years of history to the First 100 Years done by �

Quasqui what!

Did you know the name for a 125th year celebration is called a Quasquicentennial?

That is pronounced: kwos-kwi-sen-ten-ee-uhl _______ Page

Doug Chambers. There will be a hospitality booth at the show.

There should be regional shows next year also. Darrell Dockter’s group is planning a Northwest regional at Oregon State Fair. Norm Jackson has something in the works for Indiana.

Hopefully, one can be planned for the East Coast.

We will need a budget prepared to be approved at November’s meeting. Fund raising will be very important.There will some baskets to be auctioned at several sales,as well as some Centennial booklets.

The Logo Contest will hopefully produce some new artwork for the celebration. Darrell suggested getting some shirts and hats made up that we can sell to help the cause.

Budget – Re Call: Re and Becky have done some budget work but it is still incomplete as the records from last year were received when registry work picked up. Becky will have the 2007 and 2008 work all categorized by the Louisville meeting in November.

Youth – Tim Roberts: Tim spoke about a Leadership Contest of some sort for the youth. He would also like to prepare to have a junior board. It had been tried before. Directors should promote this in their areas and try to get a sense of what the youth need from the association. Many of the young people sit back and don’t speak up. Brad Slutz thinks that Rebecca Roberts might spearhead this effort.

Mark McCabe noted that there have been eight scholarship applications and the committee has narrowed it down to three. He will pass those on to the secretary to look at.

The futurity is progressing well with 55 ewe lambs nominated for 2008. _______ Page 10

Randy questioned whether the futurity nominations should be extended to other sales. There was some discussion but no motion for a change in the sales accepting nominations. The tattoos are not used anymore but lambs are recorded by their scrapie tag number.

Becky suggested tattooing a symbol in the ear instead of a number so that a lamb’s nomination in the futurity program can be verified.

Advertising (Voice) - Darrell Dockter: The Advertising Committee had reviewed the cost of the cover ads for the Voice and wants to consider reducing the price as they are hard to sell. The cost of producing the Voice was discussed. Approximately $3200 was generated in the sale of ads for the last issue. Production, including postage, was about $4200. Randy noted that there was about $2400 generated by the Breeder’s Index. Postage has risen and will continue to increase each year in May by the United States Postal Service.

The mailing list was discussed. Dale Blackburn had kept a list and the Iowa office had provided it last year. Rinda Maddox has been compiling one, also.

Becky supplied a list of people that had done any registry work in the past two years. It might be possible to reduce the mailing cost dramatically by using third class mail but it would take longer in transit. The books had been mailed by third class before but time was getting to be an issue so Dale had begun mailing first class. Becky had done some bulk mailing and had some suggestions. Rinda stressed the importance of maintaining a deadline for submitting material for the Voice and that would make a difference in the success of bulk mail.

Bob Johnson moved, and Cody Hiemke seconded, that the deadline for submission be adhered to and first class mail continued to be used. The Advertising Committee should look at the possibility of a general ad price increase for later issues. The upcoming issue (October) will remain as before.

The price of the front cover ad was suggested to be $350 and the back and inside covers will be priced at $250.This motion passed. The deadline for the next issue will be Sept. 1.

Performance – Cody Hiemke: Cody Hiemke presented some information on the National Sheep Improvement Association (NSIP). NSIP compiles and compares performance data of different breeds. He discussed two options. Option 1 would involve submitting data with other smallnumbered breeds at $3.25 per ewe.

Option 2 would submit Shropshire data separate from other breeds at a varied price, depending on the volume.

Cody recommends that the ASRA join NSIP as Option 1 and go to Option 2 if involvement grows. Cody would act as the data coordinator for ASRA. Bob Johnson moved with a second from Sandy Cross to support the concept of NSIP. Cody will get more detailed information together for the next Voice issue. This motion passed.

Cody also will be weighing sale entries at the National Sale and also measuring by ultrasound fat thickness and loin size of any sheep presented for measurement.

Old Business: Louisville requests and report: The secretary had submitted to NAILE a request to split the yearling ewe class in both the open and junior shows and

to add a third spring ewe lamb class in the open show. The NAILE Executive Board accepted the class additions but declined funding.

Becky had talked with several directors and submitted a premium scale to NAILE adding $430 to the open show and $155 to the junior show for a total of $585 funded by the ASRA, in addition to the $1977 supplied in 2007.

Some premiums have been reorganized to use the money more efficiently.

The Matching Funds Program was discussed. In the past, exhibitors were “required” to pay $10 per head and group class and were supposed to get it back if they did not receive a premium.

However, follow-up had not been done and funds were not collected or paid back. Becky had been instructed to bill for the 2007 extra entry fees and had gotten mixed results.

The total outstanding is approximately $800, enough to fund the additional premiums. After more discussion Sandy Cross moved and Darrell Dockter seconded that the American Shropshire Registry Association will retain the $10 matching funds fees. These will be used for supplemental funding for the added classes. The vote was unanimous. Brad Slutz then moved that collection of the funds be enforced prior to the show.

Randy Rife seconded this motion. This motion passed. Notice of this will be made on the website and also in the Voice.

NAILE Sale for 2009: Becky had requested of NAILE permission to hold a sale in 2009 in conjunction with the 125th Anniversary. The show was excited that we wanted to hold our celebration there. A fee would be charged but perhaps it could be shared with � _______ Page 11

another sale. Roger Snyder suggested that the sale be tabled until this November when more information would be available.

Photo Contest: The deadline for the 2008 contest is Sept. 15. So far, nothing has been received. All submissions should be sent to the secretary.

By Law Amendments: Office Location: A Special Meeting has been called for Friday at the Spectacular Sale to allow the members present to change the Bylaw to move the office to the residence of the secretary, ie. Massachusetts instead of Illinois.

Slick Shear Rule: Re Call moved to table the decision on the slick shearing.

Norm Jackson also distributed a letter from the Indiana Shropshire Breeders Association outlining their view on this issue. There was much discussion from both sides of the topic. Roger Snyder seconded the motion to table the discussion. The motion passed with three members opposed.

New Business: Membership Names and Family Transfers: Becky had been receiving requests to change membership names.

There was discussion about various situations. She was instructed to allow names to be added or removed from a membership name without incurring another membership fee. However, the Board is recommending that the ownership records of sheep be updated to reflect the member name change.

If there needs to be a transfer in this situation, it can be done at half price.

It should be noted that ownership transfers for the purpose of exhibition be done as usual at the full fee. Roger Snyder moved and Mark McCabe seconded to allow the secretary to use _______ Page 12

her discretion in allowing the reduced rate transfers. The motion passed.

Total By-law revision: Revisions need to be done for Louisville in November.

Cody Hiemke will chair the By-law Revision Committee. Norm Jackson will assist. Mark will also try to get some past presidents to help. By-law changes and amendments will be done according to By-law procedure.

Old debt and credits: There is approximately $5000 on the books as old debt and about the same as credits.

Becky is not sure if they are accurate.

It may be possible that some of these debts and credits belong to deceased members. She will try to get it sorted out by Louisville.

Notes for the Banner: Becky has asked for a little help in getting the breed notes done for each issue of the Banner. Mark offered to do the July issue. It would be nice if the members of the board could write for every other issue. Rinda also asked for human-sheep interest material for the Voice and website.

Website: Rinda has been asked to have a classified ad section. She and the webmaster, Amanda Rull, will work out the details and fee.

Promotional materials: Becky needs input on promotional items. Roger moved and Tim Roberts seconded to have Sandy Cross and Re Call work with her on that.

Adjournment: Roger Snyder moved and Cody Hiemke seconded to adjourn the meeting at 9:52 p.m. The next meeting of the Board of Directors will be Wed. Nov. 19, the night before the open Shropshire show in Louisville.

Respectfully submitted, Becky Peterson, Secretary

Shropshires to join National Sheep Improvement Program

By Cody Hiemke, Director Wisconsin-Michigan District At the June board meeting in Springfield, the American Shropshire Registry Association (ASRA) Board of Directors approved the breed’s inclusion into the National Sheep Improvement Program (NSIP).

NSIP is a program that allows purebred sheep and goat breeders to compare performance traits within an individual flock/herd and across the breed. The program evaluates particular production traits over generations to develop Expected Progeny Differences (EPDs). EPDs show the difference in genetic potential between individuals.

Specifically for Shropshires, NSIP will develop EPDs on all individuals within a flock for three maternal traits: (1) number of lambs born per ewe lambing, (2) maternal milk, and (3) Milk+Growth and two growth traits: (1) 60-day weight and (2) 120day weight.

To obtain an accurate evaluation of genetic merit for each trait, producers will record information on all ewes exposed for breeding and all lambs born in each production cycle.

Cross-flock linkages (connecting genetics from different flocks enrolled in NSIP) are a key to across-flock comparison. These linkages and the statistics used to compare performance across flocks reduce the effect that differing flock

management styles may have on performance.

The cost to have a flock evaluated with NSIP will be $3.25 per breeding ewe. Cody Hiemke, the WisconsinMichigan ASRA Director, will serve as the Shropshire data coordinator for NSIP. Production data from spring 2009 will need to be submitted to Cody in June. If data is not yet available for the recording production cycle (i.e. 120-day weights on March-born lambs), data can be submitted in the following production year. Cody will proof the data, compile it with all other Shropshires and forward the compiled document to NSIP. By entering NSIP, Shropshires will now join many major breeds that utilize EPDs: Columbia, Dorper, White Dorper, Dorset, Hampshire, Katahdin, Polypay, Rambouillet, Romney, Suffolk, and Targhee. Each of the participating flocks within these breeds is able to incorporate EPDs into their selection schemes and use them to advertise and sell breeding stock.

If you are interested in enrolling your Shropshire flock in NSIP, it is recommended you contact Cody prior to lambs starting to drop this winter at cjhiemke@hotmail.com or 415-302-8035. Cody will explain the production data that needs to be recorded, share the NSIP Data Entry Form, and answer any questions you might have. Additional information about NSIP can be found at www. nsip.org. _______ Page 13

Supreme Champion ewe

Wabaunsee and Lyon County Spring Shows

reServe Supreme Champion ewe Pottawatomie County Fair

Champion ShropShire market Lamb

All-American Junior Show

Congratulations to Monica on winning the Shropshire Top Gun at the All-American Junior Show.

See our show flock at the naiLe Junior Show!

Also breeders of Dorset, Suffolk and Hampshire club lambs and slick sheared breeding sheep.

Jeff, Kerri, Christine & Monica Ebert

10015 Flush Rd - St. George, KS 66535 (H) 785-494-2436 (C) 785-458-9174 Email: ebertj@wamego.net www.clublambpage.com/ebertvanhorn/index.htm _______ Page 14

Letters to the Editor Need help in defining breed standards I just wanted to share my appreciation of the Shropshire Voice. I am new to the breed and love feeling connected to other breeders through the articles in the Voice. As a new breeder however, I was hoping to express my view point some on the issues of the breed standards and the slick sheering regulations.

We started with the breed as a 4-H project and fell in love with it’s gentle manner, intelligence and easy to afford productivity. Our flock is resembling the more hardy frame, shorter, more muscular, short ears, wider muzzle, etc. When we started showing them at the local fairs we noticed the vast differences in appearance among the breed and became very confused.

We used the judging standards produced by this Association in making our choices when we bought our flock and then came to find out those standards were virtually ignored in the show ring. We were told by some judges that you just have to decide what “you” like and breed for that. At first I liked that idea, thinking the freedom in choice was fun, but then I realized how lost it made me feel! I don’t know what I like!

I supposed the efficiency of the breed and the heritage frame it carried was good, but any choice to preserve the heritage and maintain proficiency standards seemed to be losing in the show ring. This lead me to believe this idea of do whatever you choose

is not good for this breed. It is not fun as a new breeder to be left alone with little knowledge of what makes a Shrop a Shrop, and it will devastate the breed to leave so much up to a matter of opinion.

Can Shrop breeders unite and clearly define the breed standards and uphold them in the show ring? I am begging as a new breeder for help in this area, because I love the breed and don’t want to give it up due to the frustration of not knowing what to breed for.

A good place to start is by posting on the website what the judging standards are, what less desirable qualities would be... like black spots, long ears, etc. It is needed and appreciated. Personal preference can still be exhibited within these standards, it is not like I’m proposing we become slaves to the standards. But honestly, what is the point of competing if there is no clear cut goal to achieve, if anything goes?

And for the breeders who want the Shrop to look more like Hampshires or to be fitted like Romneys, can I just ask why they don’t just move to those breeds instead of trying to re-invent the Shropshire?

Why not preserve and uphold the breed for what it’s been deemed as, a heritage breed. I like the honesty behind the slick shearing. I understand the desire to want the breed to be acknowledge for it’s wool too, but I believe you can show the wool apart from the animal.

Anyway, I realize as a new breeder I probably have no right to be so straight forward about this issue and I might get laughed at and dismissed as a moron, but if I made even a little sense to some of you over my concerns then it’s worth it. I know I am not the only new Shropshire breeder who feels this way. I have to say I found it a little funny that we are searching for a new logo at a time when the breed is so � _______ Page 15

confused in this area. Maybe it should be the “anything goes breed” or “the indistinguishable breed” or “a breed of many opinions.” I wonder if that would attract new people to this breed?

Christopher Stedman Putnman, Conn.

Letters

Indiana votes in opposition of mandating slick shearing To the American Shropshire Association and all Board Members: The Indiana Shropshire Sheep Association held its annual meeting Sunday, May 18, 2008. During our meeting the topic of the Proposed Amendment to the By-laws to mandate that ALL fairs require Shropshire sheep to be slick shorn was thoroughly discussed. Included in our discussion was the fact that only 18 members voted in favor of this amendment.

Questions were then raised about the legality of this vote and exactly how many people who cast votes actually had a national membership and were eligible to vote. From our discussion among Indiana members who were present at the meeting in Wisconsin it was concluded that members voted at the National Meeting who were not national members.

A handful of Indiana Association members were present at this meeting; however, Indiana representative Norbert Jackson was unable to attend. As a result there was great concern expressed that our National By-laws could be changed at such a remote meeting with a vast majority of Shropshire breeders not present.

The purpose of this letter is not to _______ Page 16

place blame, but it must be admitted the National Meeting in Wisconsin simply got out of hand and contained many improprieties. The Indiana members who were not present at the National Meeting in Wisconsin, including Norbert Jackson, were shocked to learn exactly what happened at this meeting.

As a result of the air of uncertainty surrounding this National Meeting and the resulting concern and apprehension expressed in two letters (one from a member of the Board) of the May 2008 Shropshire Voice, we, as a state association, decided to vote on the Proposed Slick Shearing Amendment.

At our meeting we had a good turnout representing the Indiana Shropshire Association, and it is unlikely many of these members will be able to attend the National Meeting in Louisville, Ky. to vote on this amendment. The Indiana Shropshire Association UNANIMOUSLY voted in opposition of the amendment to mandate ALL fairs require Shropshires to be exhibited slick shorn.

As a result we believe that all state associations should be able to choose on their own how they wish Shropshires to be exhibited. The Indiana Shropshire Association has voted to exhibit our sheep slick shorn at our state fair, the key here is this is our choice and we have voted to exhibit this way. We believe this is the best approach and the National Board should not make mandates when the state associations can handle this decision.

If exhibitors and purchasers on the East Coast (or anywhere for that matter) want to purchase or exhibit a trimmed sheep they should be able to vote as an association and make their own choices.

Our association believes, and voted unanimously, that the National Board

should not mandate how Shropshire sheep are exhibited at local fairs and sales such as county fairs and local sales. However, our association did vote that the By-laws remain the same and the current set of rules remain in place, allowing the National Board to determine that national sales and shows be slick shorn.

Also, in light of the National Meeting in Wisconsin the Indiana Shropshire Association requests a copy of the current By-laws for our state association. We would also like to recommend the Board send a copy of the By-laws to all state associations.

The reason for this request is the confusion that stemmed from the Wisconsin National Meeting. A few of our questions that might be answered by a copy of the Bylaws included who can vote at a national meeting? What are the requirements to become a national member? It is one vote per family in memberships who have “and family” in the name? Also, what are the requirements to become a member of the Board of Directors? Must you actually live in the state you are representing? Must you have registered or own a Shropshire sheep?

The Indiana Association believes owning a copy of the National By-laws would allow our association to answer these questions our members have asked.

In conclusion, this letter states to the National Board of Directors that the Indiana Shropshire Association voted unanimously in opposition to the proposed amendment that ALL fairs require Shropshire sheep to be exhibited slick shorn. The Indiana Association also requests the National Board to provide it with a copy of the National By-laws, and any other information required to answer the aforementioned questions our state members had at our local meeting.

Respectfully, Indiana Shropshire Sheep Association

Letters Association needs to fund Shropshire divisions In response to Director Sandy Cross’s article in the Voice: Mr. Cross has proposed that the ASRA support both slick shorn and fitted Shrop classes at shows and fairs. This will not happen without funding from our association. I am a junior in the West and it would do a lot for promoting the breed out here if the Association were to fund a Shrop division at California State Fair or at the Grand National Rodeo, a National Show.

It is very difficult to show here, competing in “AOB” classes against fitted sheep and sheep that are difficult to compare to Shrops.

Additionally, I think that staying with our slick shorn standard is a good example to other non-wool breeds. The Southdown breed has developed into a much more desirable sheep at the packers, and there isn’t the disconnect between the sheep you show and the sheep you eat. The Suffolk breed is also looking to go slick shorn, which will be a difficult transition, since the trend is to make a sheep that can have its flaws hidden by fitting. A return to fitting may discourage other breeds from making the switch, which, so long as it is promoting breeding better sheep, can only be a good thing.

Thank you for hearing my thoughts on the matter, Sincerely, Sydney Johnson, Windsor, Calif.

West District _______ Page 17

The following article is reprinted at the request of the ASRA President. It originally ran in the May 2008 issue of the Shropshire Voice.

Is the baby being thrown out with the bath water?

By Sandy Cross Director New York-New England District I’ve agonized for a long time over the rather emotional topic of “Slick vs. Fitted” for the Shropshire breed.

I guess one of the advantages, or disadvantages depending on your perspective, of being 62 years of age and having

Visit www.sydell.com to: •See live video on goat and sheep equipment •Order on-line •Check monthly specials •See show schedule •Ask for catalog

_______ Page 18

registered Shrops since the late ’70s allows me to remember when wool was a valuable product and a definite factor in the judging of Shrops at local and regional fairs. I can remember with much regret when one of our Shrop yearling ewes lost a class at the “Big E” when she appeared to have too much black fiber.

I can remember when Shrops were promoted as a “dual purpose” breed, when meat and wool went hand-inhand through history. Sheep and wool seem synonymous.

I can remember discussing in history class (I taught school for 28 years) the reasons for cultures expanding their empires. Julius Caesar made note in the book Gaulic Wars that agricultural land in Gaul, present day France, would allow the Roman sheep flocks to prosper and the great Roman wool trade would prosper as well, i.e., Roman Toga.

So what am I trying to say without rambling on?

Can we as a breed association just ignore and disregard, figuratively and philosophically, wool not only in the show ring but also in the market place?

I know since wool incentives have gone away that wool has been less than profitable, but does that mean forever?

The Asian market is certainly making wool profitability more attractive.

I’ve looked at past directors’ meeting notes pertaining to this issue. Concerns have ranged over a variety of issues, including: • Expense of professionals to trim show flocks.

• Juniors will find it easier to slick shear.

• Confirmation faults are easily hidden when fitted.

• Shropshires will be set apart from Oxfords and Hampshires by slick shearing.

Personally, I’m aware from my children’s experiences that it’s not an easy experience to really fit a sheep well, but good things are not always easily learned at first. (Remember having to memorize the times tables in math?

Today you don’t have to memorize because of the use of calculators.)

I know professional fitters who will help juniors free of charge. Sarah Kuykendall helped my children.

Just because something is easier does not necessarily make it better.

Are Shropshires just a breed of sheep to be present in the show ring like a wether type? Can’t competent judges tell if rumps slope or shoulders need tightening even if Shrops are not slick sheared?

If an unethical exhibitor is going to put a Hampshire or Oxford in a Shropshire class, is a slick sheared sheep going to look any different?

Are our fairs at all levels only for the benefit and enjoyment of the breeder/ exhibitor?

A lot of great public relations take place on the trimming stand between moms and dads with their children asking questions about what they are doing. I know of many lambs sold and children getting into 4-H through those conversations.

Ask yourself which product looks better in the ring: a fitted or slick sheared Shropshire?

Finally, at the last Annual Meeting held in Wisconsin in 2007, 18 members voted what all Shropshire exhibitors

must do now at their local fairs.

Why not adopt a policy which will allow the different regions to decide whether they want slick sheared and/ or fitted classes?

Why not adopt a policy to support both fitted and slick shorn classes at all shows, fairs, etc? This will give association support to breeders of both frame sheep as well as wether-type sheep.

If all national shows sanctioned by the Shropshire Association required slick shearing, I don’t believe most people would object. But, local fairs like the Fryeburg Maine Fair (Maine State Fair) being forced to tell all Shropshire exhibitors that they must show slick sheared is a bit much.

Why not have a national vote either by mail or email by all Shropshire members?

It is obvious that the vast majority of the membership do not have the time available or can afford to attend a meeting half way across the country to participate in the decision making for the association.

Other than the exhibitors at NAILE there are very few other Shropshire breeders present. Conducting a membership vote on such an important bylaw change at the Annual Meeting to be held at the NAILE in 2008 is just not right. Will you be able to attend this fall?

If there is enough interest in at least having the option of showing slick sheared and/or fitted in local and regional shows, it might be worth while to petition the Association in writing for that variance.

Sandy Cross Northeast Director, American Shropshire Association _______ Page 19

Flock Reduction Sale 52 years raising Shropshires, it is time to reduce the workload.

Offering 34 brood ewes 1-year to 3-year olds, plus 12 ewe lambs.

We will retain 20 ewes, 4-year olds plus. All are sired by RR, NN rams, including Buckham, Kipp, Rife and V. Hoffman stud rams. This flock carries genetics that trace back to McKerrow, Hartzell, Newcomer and Washburn flocks. Priced to sell as a group or in lots of five head.

1st Wisconsin owned flock-Wisconsin State Fair 2008

Kipp Farms

James & Terri Kipp • W 4005 State Hwy. 98 Loyal, WI 54446 • (715) 255-8300 kipp.farms@hotmail.com

08 calendar

Nov. 14..............4 p.m. Junior Showmanship Contest at NAILE 4 p.m. Lead Contest at NAILE

Nov. 15..............8 a.m. Junior Wether Show at NAILE

Nov. 16..............National Shropshire Junior Show at NAILE.

3 p.m. Junior Quiz Bowl at NAILE. Pizza party follows.

Nov. 19..............7 p.m. Annual Meeting of the Members at NAILE

to be held at the fair grounds. Place to be announced.

Nov. 20..............8 a.m. NAILE Open Show.

Jan. 15..............DEADLINE for February issue of the Voice.

Have your shows and sales included in the calendar on both the website and in the Voice by contacting Rinda Maddox, shropshirevoice@thesidellreporter.com.

_______ Page 20

Look at the facts!

By Randy Rife Director Ohio District The Shropshire breed made the decision to slick shear after a trial year of 1996. Just before the start of this transition the junior show at Louisville was put on probation for lack of numbers and we were at risk of losing our breed show. Slick shearing is greatly responsible for the steady climb to the 130 head shows of the past two years.

Roger Snyder, one of the National Shropshire Board members from Illinois, cited at the June board meeting that all breeding sheep registries have lost annual registrations over the past 10 years. He stated that Suffolks were down the most, with an 85% drop. Southdowns were down the least at 10% and Shropshires were second least with a 12% drop.Why? Southdowns and Shropshires are the only two meat breeds to be slick shorn for the show ring. Seems like a no-brainer! Slick shearing is popular.

I visited on the phone with Tim Roberts, the Oklahoma Director. He had shown at Missouri where he said Shropshires had the largest show of any breed. He went on to share that he passed out two to three business cards each day while at Missouri to folks interested in Shropshires. The enthusiasm and participation by youth with Shropshires from the Pacific Northwest to Maryland, from Tennessee to Wisconsin, and in Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania and New York, where now, in show after show, year after year, Shropshires have the most numbers represented is deep rooted.

Consider the dedication of families in Maryland, Tennessee and elsewhere that

hauled their kids, with their Shropshires, way out to Sedalia this summer for the All-American. What a commitment!

Why has our breed experienced this vibrant turnaround? I feel the majority of the credit goes to “slick shearing.” Young folks feel they are competing on a level playing field and not against a professional trim job. Everyone can see the correctness, the quality and the true style and breed character when the wool is off. Size becomes less important. As a general rule, the bigger the animal, the more faults they have. Most of these problems can be hidden under a professional fit job.

The sheep in our breed have definitely improved. Young families see this and want to raise high quality, attractive, and low maintenance sheep. The last time the Illinois Shropshire Spectacular Sale allowed fitted sheep the champion ewe �

1300 S. Hwy 75 – P.O. Box 188 Pipestone, MN 56164

Call for a free catalog

Order or Catalog Only: (800) 658-2523 Information: (507) 825-4211 Fax: (507) 825-3140

_______ Page 21

sold to a young fellow for a considerable sum. He showed her at a major slick sheared show that fall and was 17th out of 18.What a disappointment for him and what an eye opener to many.

Shropshires now, after a dozen years of slick shearing, have become better sheep, and people want to raise them. When they go to their barn to feed or drive by their pasture and glance over at their sheep, they want to like what they see and to be proud of them. The modern Shropshires are truly something to be proud of.

I’m extremely disappointed that our new board member from Maine, Sandy Cross, who is against slick shearing, was not out and about the past several years to have personally witnessed our breed’s advancement. He needed to go further than the Freyburg Fair and the Big E where a handful of fitters are truly discouraging young families from becoming Shropshire breeders. The same scenario exists in the state of Illinois where the persistence of a few fitters has resulted in much less interest and participation from their state’s youth.

Consider the dismal numbers in this last summer’s Spectacular Junior Show.

The facts are out there…where Shropshires are slick shorn our breed is flourishing. Let us all rally as breeders to make slick shearing universal so that our outstanding futurity and scholarship programs might be expanded to support even more of our deserving youth.

I will be retiring from the Shropshire board after 18 years in November. During my tenure I have missed only one meeting and have fully witnessed the rejuvenation that slick shearing has brought to Shropshires. My passion for Shropshires has not and will not wane. My genuine enjoyment has been associating with the fantastic group of people that raise them! _______ Page 22

McCabe receives Shepherd’s Award

Mark McCabe receives the Shepherd’s Award at the 2008 Ohio State Fair from Greg Fogle, Assistant Superintendent of the fair. Greg created the award after observing how Mark is always there with his smile in the show ring helping the young people. “Everytime a sheep gets away from its young handler, Mark nabs the sheep right off,” Greg said. So he presented Mark with a shepherd’s hook for his “skills, expertise and efficiency!”

Mark is the current president of the American Shropshire Registry Association and has worked with the youth programs for several years. His reputation for helping the youth in the show ring far outreaches the Ohio State Fair.

Congratulations on this honored award, Mark!

Sheep Shows

They are foolish.

They are a lot of nonsense.

They ruin a lot of good sheep.

They take a lot of time and hard work.

They are necessary!

By Farrell M. Schultz Reprinted from the December 1963 edition of Sheep Breeder and Sheepman Magazine.

We might as well face the fact that without our shows the purebred sheep industry would be practically dead.

If you, as a purebred sheep breeder, were to eliminate all of your sales that were made directly or indirectly as a result of the shows, you would have lost the bulk of your better sales. A very few breeders could produce all of the rams necessary for commercial flocks and with the majority of the replacement ewes being furnished by western range crossbred ewes, the demand for purebred breeders would be small.

I have always been prone to criticize 4-H club boys and girls paying $40 to $50 for wether lambs when the odds are 50-to-1 that they will only get $20 to $25 for it at show time. Yet, where else could you spend such a small amount and get the fun, the experience, and training you get by fitting and showing the lamb? How many fathers have spent $15 to $25 or more taking his son to a ball game, a circus, fishing or camping and yet has anyone in the family gotten the thrill from any of these they get out of watching that boy or girl show his or her lamb at the fair?

When showing sheep, we are always trying to beat someone else. As people we like competition and competitive

games. If you don’t believe this, think of all the money that has been spent this fall on football. First – the cost of outfitting the teams in high school, college and professional. Second – the time and expense in training and conditioning the team. Third – the mount of money spent for admissions, it is estimated that each Ohio state home football game will gross over one quarter million dollars.

Add this all up and you will have figures that run into the billions of dollars.

So showing sheep is foolish? Just what does a football game prove?

Last season some of our shows required that the sheep be shorn, in a sense, I think the [idea] was good, simply from the standpoint that it reflects that the breeders are not hidebound by tradition and are willing to make changes in the hope of advancing and promoting the industry.

In fear of appearing to be getting old and set in my thinking, I do believe some of the reasons advanced for making this charge are a little silly. A good sheep judge will not make any more judging sheep with the wool on than judging them shorn. The criticism that fitting and trimming plays too large a part in the way the sheep place is also questionable. Not that fitting and trimming isn’t important, because a good fitter will win over a poor fitter nine times out of 10. However, maybe that’s the way it should be. I showed sheep for 14 years before I won a blue ribbon at the Ohio State Fair, largely because it took me that long to acquire the skill to properly fit and trim the sheep.

In the case of standard bred horses where speed alone is the measure of ability, how many times did you ever hear of a major race being won by a horse � _______ Page 23

uebeR RShropshires

that was not trained and driven by a top man who had years of experience?

Also by comparison, why shouldn’t skill and knowledge acquired by years of hard work and experience be of some value in winning sheep shows? I am afraid, if it were made too easy so that it was merely a matter of luck who the winner would be, then we would lose some of our competitive thrills and we might just as well roll dice or play cards.

It seems rather ironic that not too many years ago, at the Ohio State Fair, they were setting the show sheep on their rumps to examine the completeness of the wool covering in the flanks and on the inside of the legs. I can also remember when the more enterprising show men were sewing stockings made from pelts on the legs of their show sheep in order to have more complete

_______ Page 24

leg covering. This fad for wool covering undoubtedly led to the extreme face covering which became a handicap for some breeds of sheep.

So, I think we should be cautious that showing sheep sheared does not lead to the development of some undesirable characteristics which will cause difficulty in the future.

I definitely think sooner or later the show ring will be supplemented by carcass cut out values and by productive ability as a basis for selecting breeding stock. However, both of these methods of selection need a lot of research study and standardization before they can be relied upon to be used as a yardstick for determining the value of the animal. Even then, it is doubtful in my mind if these methods can ever replace the glamour, the excitement, the competitive thrills of the sheep shows.

Reserve Grand Champion ewe 2008 Shropshire Spectacular Consigned by Rueber Shrops, Sumner, IA Sold to Bishop & Bishop of New York.

Thank you to everyone that bought sheep from us either off the farm or at the sales this past year. If you are winning with them in the show ring, please let us know.

Carol & Aimee Rueber 24632 210th St., Sumner, IA 50674 • (563) 578-8663 ruebershrops@yahoo.com www.geocities.com/ruebershrops

Fund-raising baskets wanted for auctioning at 2008 NAILE Funds will benefit 125th Year Celebration Submitted by Karen Johnson The Committee for the American Shropshire Association’s 125th celebration in 2009 is encouraging exhibitors going to Louisville to help put together baskets to be auctioned off by silent auction. The proceeds will go to help pay for the show in Louisville in 2009.

Gather up items from your area or any theme idea. A beautiful basket from the Northwest Association was auctioned off in Springfield, Ill. in June. There were also baskets from Re Call and Becky Peterson reflecting the Northeast area; and Marie Gillett from Illinois and RoKaJo from Missouri.

You may be able to get businesses to donate but if you don’t, maybe they will give you a good deal on items to make up a basket. If you do not, think about this special event for 2009 and lend your support by putting together a basket. This has been very successful for the Suffolk Association and the Southdown Association.

“We all need to provide support for this show. It will be one for many of us to remember and very special for our

young exhibitors as they will see other shows such as this in years to come,” said Karen Johnson.

To celebrate the 100th year back in 1984, a yearbook was made and a few copies have sold in live auctions at sales this summer. There are just a few of these left and to be sold at events before the 2009 show. Matthew Anderson is working on one for Louisville in 2009. These will be sold at the show.

The committee also wants to put together a yearbook of current breeders.

Information wanted from each breeder is how your family got involved, your breeding program and your family involvement.

“The champions and such are covered in show results and are available in other publications. We hope to focus more on families and their involvement,” Karen Johnson said. “There are several flocks that are into third and fourth generations. Let’s emphasize this aspect of our breed. If you have pictures, that would be great as well.”

Photos will be scanned and it is hoped to have a slide presentation going in Louisville in 2009. If you have old photos, let Johnson know. Photos will be returned to you after they are scanned.

“We are excited about this event and want all of you to catch the spirit.

What an event!” Johnson said.

There will be more information coming to you as the committee progresses toward this history-making event. Jump on the bandwagon and support the association in this venture. _______ Page 25

2008 Shropshire Classic draws enthusiasm with 154 entries

By Becky Peterson ASRA Secretary Sale day dawned clear, warm and bright after two days of rain in Eaton, Ohio May 9 and 10, 2008. It was a great place for Shropshire sheep and their enthusiasts. One breeder quoted that it was the largest gathering of Shropshire sheep at a public auction since the mid- 1980s in Bloomington, Ill. One hundred fifty-four head were cataloged to sell. Judge Steve Myers of Rushsylvania, Ohio did an admirable job putting the entries in sale order

on Friday.

Prior to the sale on Saturday, the sheep were brought out by class and displayed for review in sale order.

Buyers had an excellent opportunity to look at the animals they were interested in. The Ohio Shropshire Breeders Association provided morning refreshments during the preview.

Directly after the sale preview, three yearling ewes purchased as Futurity lambs at the Classic in 2007 were shown in a “comeback class� judged by Bob Johnson of Missouri.

The winner of the class was Paxton

Buyers look over the lot of rams to be offered during the sale at the Classic in May. _______ Page 26

Wenger with her yearling ewe, S Bar S 638. This ewe placed third in the Shropshire Ewe Lamb Futurity last year. (See Paxton with her ewe) on page 44.

According to the preliminary sale report issued by Banner Sale Management, 130 head were sold at an average of $478.27 each. The champion ewe was a yearling consigned by Pennsylvania’s Rolling Hills Farm. She sold to Hallie Walker of Williamstown, Mass. for $1400. The reserve champion ewe, a January ewe lamb from Randy and Julie Rife of Ohio, sold for $1600 to Tyler of Tennessee.

The champion ram was a yearling consigned by High Life Farm. He sold to Avery Shropshires and Erik Mrozinski of Indiana for $3000.The reserve champion ram was a Mitchell Mrozin-

ski January ram lamb that sold to the Melvin Family of Mt. Sterling, Ohio for $700.

Prices held up well in the top end of the classes with the Early January Ewe Lamb Class posting a respectful preliminary average of $667.86 on 14 head. Thirty-five yearling ewes sold along with 11 fall ewe lambs, 14 early January ewe lambs, 13 late January ewe lambs, 23 February ewe lambs, 2 March ewe lambs. In the ram department, 9 yearling rams sold along with six fall ram lambs, 10 January ram lambs, six February ram lambs and one March ram lamb.

Fifty-six ewe lambs were nominated to the 2008 Shropshire Futurity. Hats off to the Futurity Committee for creating that enthusiasm amongst the consignors.

2008 Shropshire Spectacular

By Becky Peterson ASRA Secretary Springfield,Illinois provides an excellent venue for Shropshire sheep.The weather was good. The Illinois Shropshire

Breeders Association provided morning refreshments during the show and sale mornings. The junior show classes were interspersed with the sale sheep on Friday. Both shows were judged by Steve Reid of Houstonia, Missouri. �

Manufacturers of Quality Livestock Equipment Manufac “Always striving to improve”

LIVESTOCK EQUIPMENT 4141 South 25 West Trafalgar, IN 46181 Fax: (317) 736-4314 E-mail: mailto:townsendsales@franklinisp.net Web Address: townsendequipment.com

A full line of high quality sheep equipment…built to last!

Kenneth Townsend, Owner

(317) 736-4047 or toll free: (866) 736-4047 Phone:

_______ Page 27

Bob Johnson holds up a copy of the Shropshire Centennial book auctioned off.

According to the preliminary sale report issued by Banner Sale Management, 69 head went over the sale block on Saturday at an average of $457.25 per head. The grand champion ram was a yearling consigned by Tennessee’s Emily Trew. He sold to J.N Dirlam and Sons and Matt Dirlam of Indiana for $1300.

Buyers look over the sheep between each class of the show at the Spectacular. _______ Page 28

The reserve grand champion Ram, a, January ram lamb from Adams Shropshires of Illinois, sold for $1300 to Bishop and Bishops Shrops of New York.

The high-selling ram was a fall ram lamb from Rife’s Shropshires that sold for $1400 to SS Shrops of Iowa.

The grand champion ewe was a yearling consigned by Brockmann Shropshires of Illinois. She sold to Verduin’s Apple Hill Farm of New York for $900.The reserve grand champion ewe was Rueber’s yearling ewe that sold to Bishop & Bishop Shrops for $550. The high selling ewe was a Rife yearling ewe that sold for $1500 to Emily Washburn of New York.

Ten yearling ewes sold along with six fall ewe Lambs, 15 early spring ewe lambs, seven intermediate ewe lambs and seven late spring ewe lambs. In the ram department, five yearling rams sold along with four fall ram lambs, six early spring ram lambs and nine late spring ram lambs.

Jerry Pardus shows his lamb to potential bidders as he heads to the sale ring.

s

Ander on

hrops

Champion Ram 2007 Illinois State Fair

This ram sired the 1st Place Intermediate Ewe Lamb and 2nd Place Intermediate Ram Lamb at the 2008 Illinois State Fair.

Michael L. Anderson 346N 1600E, Paxton, IL 60957  (217) 379-3189 _______ Page 29

Shrops top numbers at Ohio Fair

By Becky Peterson ASRA Secretary The Shropshire breed boasted the largest numbers at the Ohio State Fair this past August with 103 junior show sheep and 150 open show sheep. The weather was pleasant without the sweltering heat of other years. ASRA secretary Becky Peterson flew to Columbus for her first Midwest state fair and was not disappointed.

Agriculture promotion was everywhere as it should be in spite of the now too common budget cuts. The sheep show featured excellent quality and it ran deep in many classes. The open show even received a visit from Ohio Senator Democrat Sherrod Brown. He arrived with his entourage in the middle of the one of the yearling ewe classes.

One of his aids was Joe Shultz, son of Bill Shultz. Senator Brown observed the show, spoke to the crowd and mingled with the exhibitors in the ring. Everyone

was pleased to know that he has an agricultural background. It generated lots of picture-taking and the ring was abuzz for a little while.

When the open show was said and done, High Life Farm had been presented with the C. Emil Hartzell Memorial Award for the Best Pen of Lambs. This exhibitor also won Champion Ram, Champion Ewe, the Flock Class and was Premier Exhibitor.

Open Shropshire Show Judged by Mike Stitzlein (Only top 5 listed. For full list go to shropshires.org)

Yearling Ram - 12 shown 1. Sean Bryant, Fredericktown, OH 2. John Melvin Family, Mt. Sterling, OH 3. Molly Creamer, Prospect, OH 4. Mark McCabe Family, Prospect, OH Fall Ram Lamb - 1 shown, 1. Morgan Johnson,Wooster, OH Early Spring Ram Lamb - 18 shown, 2. High Life Farm, McDermott, OH 3. John Melvin Family

Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown talks with exhibitors at the State Fair, from left, Mark McCabe, Janice McCabe, Jacob Fowler,Senator Sherrod Brown, Sara Nichols and Kelly Guthrie. _______ Page 30

The Best Two Head class at the Ohio State Fair for the Max Braynt Award.

4. Jordan Kaeck /Brandt, Anna, OH 5. Glenn & Joan High, Lexington, OH Late Spring Ram Lamb - 21 shown 1. High Life Farm 2. Jordan Kaeck /Brandt 3. Megan Hardesty, New Bremen, OH 4. High Life Farm 5. Sarah Nichols, Quaker City, OH Pair of Ram Lambs – 9 shown 1. High Life Farm 2. Jordan Kaeck /Brandt 3. Sarah Nichols, Quaker City, OH 4. Sean Bryant 5. John Melvin Family, Grand Champion Ram High Life Farm (Early Spring Ram Lamb) Grand Champion Ram John Melvin Family (Early Spring Ram Lamb) Early Yearling Ewe 1. Jordan Kaeck /Brandt 2. Glenn & Joan High 3. Sean Bryant 4. John Melvin Family 5. Molly Creamer Late Yearling Ewe – 16 shown 1. High Life Farm, 2. BWB Farms, Martinsville, OH 3. Sean Bryant 4. Isler Shropshires, Prospect, OH

5. Barnes Farms, Radnor, OH Pair of Yearling Ewes - 11 shown 1. Barnes Farms 2. Jordan Kaeck /Brandt, 3. Sean Bryant 4. High Life Farm 5. John Melvin Family Fall Ewe Lamb - 3 shown 1. High Life Farm 2. John Melvin Family

3. Megan Hardesty �

Jim Cessna and his granddaughter watch the Shropshire Show at the Ohio Fair. _______ Page 31

Early Spring Ewe Lamb – 9 shown 1. High Life Farm 2. Schoolhouse Shropshires, Xenia, OH 3. Jordan Kaeck /Brandt 4. Sean Bryant 5. Pence Farms, Tiffin, OH Intermediate Spring Ewe Lamb – 29 shown 1. Barnes Unlimited LLC, Ashley, OH 2. High Life Farm 3. Megan Hardesty 4. Mark McCabe Family 5. Mark McCabe Family Late Spring Ewe Lamb – 20 shown 1. High Life Farm 2. Jordan Kaeck/Brandt 3. Sean Bryant 4. Barnes Farms 5. Glenn &Joan High Pair of Ewe Lambs – 13 shown 1. High Life Farm 2. Sean Bryant 3. Jordan Kaeck/Brandt 4. Glenn & Joan High 5. Mark McCabe Family

Photo Album

_______ Page 32

Grand Champion Ewe High Life Farm (Early Spring Ewe Lamb) Reserve Grand Champion Ewe Jordan Kaeck (Early Yearling Ewe) Set of Twin Lambs - 7 shown, 1. High Life Farm 2. Barnes Unlimited LLC 3. Sean Bryant, 4. Schoolhouse Shropshires, 5. Glenn & Joan High Best Pen of 4 Lambs - 8 shown 1. High Life Farm, 2. Jordan Kaeck/Brandt 3. Sean Bryant 4. Glenn & Joan High 5. John Melvin Family Flock - 8 shown 1. High Life Farm, 2. Jordan Kaeck/Brandt Premier Exhibitor High Life Farm Max Bryant Award for the Best Pair Barnes Farms

Frank Lacko was 10 years old in 1957 when he posed behind the barns at the Cobleskill fairgrounds in Cobleskill, N.Y. for this photo. Elaine Jaycox says her father only raised sheep for a few years as a 4-H project and then it became a crop fair.

“The ironic thing is that my husband and I have recently moved back to his farm and I have moved my Shrops back into the barn and pasture where he had his shrops 50 years ago,” shares Elaine.

Thank You

Thank You Mike elSbury &You FaMily Thank Greenfield, IN PetersoN sheeP Thank You Arlington, MN Thank You MAry evANs

to our 2008 Shropshire Classic buyers:

West Mansfield, oh

Thank You

Thank You Thank You Molly Jo Woods, IL Thank You David Gordon, tN Thank You

to our 2008 buyers at the National shropshire sale at springfield, IL:

4th Place ewe lamb in a class of 29 at the 2008 Ohio State Fair.

Check out our website at www.mccabeshropshires.com

MARK, MARILYN, JANICE AND ANDREW McCABE 5154 Nickelson Road, Prospect, Ohio 43342 (740) 494-2969 Email: mamccabe51@hotmail.com

_______ Page 33

Shropshires on the fair circuit Illinois State Fair The Illinois State Fair Champion Ram was shown by Brianna Brockmann on her yearling ram. Cameron Snyder won reserve with an early junior lamb.

The two exchanged places in the ewe show with champion ewe being shown by Cameron Snyder on a yearling and Brianna Brockmann receiving the reserve on a yearling ewe.

Brianna Brockmann also won the Premiere Exhibitor award.

Indiana State Fair The champion ram at the Indiana State Fair was a yearling shown by Mike Elsbury and Family of Indiana.Tom Slutz of Illinois showed the reserve on an early spring ram lamb.

The champion ewe was a yearling shown by Jaedyn Slutz of Illinois. Reserve champion ewe was on a spring ewe lamb shown by Mike and Karen Elsbury.

Missouri State Fair Submitted by Karen Johnson The Shropshires were the largest breed show at the Missouri State Fair.

There were 86 head of Shrops shown.

Slick shearing has had a positive impact on this show. We were getting very low in numbers and that is certainly not the case today. Ron Guenter of Ohio was the judge of this show.

Champion Ram was a yearling shown

by Long Branch Ranch/Bartholomew of Missouri. Reserve champion ram in the open class was Tim Roberts of Oklahoma and reserve champion ewe was on a yearling shown by RoKaJo, Missouri.

_______ Page 34

Tim Roberts won champion ewe and reserve champion ewe in the open class, Missouri champion went to RoKaJo and JBJ Livestock had reserve.

RoKaJo also had First Place Missouri Flock and were Premier Exhibitor.

Ozark Empire Fair The quality of animals in this show was outstanding. The 13 yearling ewes were outstanding and anyone could have started a fantastic flock with them.

These sheep went on to Missouri State Fair and were very competitive.

RoKaJo of Missouri showed both the champion ram and champion ewe on yearlings. J & B Livestock exhibited the reserve champion ram, which was also a yearling. Owen Walker’s yearling ewe was reserve champion ewe.

Wisconsin State Fair City Limits Sheep Farm of Illinois showed the grand champion and reserve grand champion rams, both yearlings, at the Wisconsin State Fair. They also showed the grand champion yearling ewe.

Kipp Farms of Wisconsin exhibited the reserve grand champion ewe, a yearling.

Pennsylvania Farm Show Champion ram was a yearling exhibited by Derek Spayd. Denise Hardisky received reserve champion on her yearling.

Denise Hardisky also showed the champion ewe, a yearling and R&R Brown was reserve champion ewe with an early spring ewe lamb.

R&R Brown was also Premier Breeder and Premier Exhibitor.

Calvert tops PA Performance Test

Bob Calvert of Mercer, Penn. had a ram lamb top the Pennsylvannia Performance Test.The ram was top gaining ram of the 78 on test. He had a ADG of 1.45 for the 77 day test and a lifetime gain of 1.25 (this was second to a Hampshire ram).

Calvert 803–A Feb. 17, 2008 twin, weighed off at 177 lbs. and his pen feed conversion was the best – 4 pound per pound gain.

“He is a good correct meaty ram – a little more wool on face than I like but a complete buck,” Calvert said.

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s Annual Ram Test concluded on Aug. 2 with the Ram Lamb and Meat Goat Buck Sale in Pennsylvania Furnace, Penn. Gary Saylor of Belle Center, Ohio sold the sale. Bob’s ram sold for $250 to Harry Herron of Georgetown, Penn.

Bob’s other ram sold for $200 to Tom Hopkins, also of Georgetown.

Bob also had two ewes entered in the sale. Both ewes sold to Harry Herron at $150.

More information about the Ram Test Program can be found at www. agriculture.state.pa.us/lec or contact Glenn Eberly at (814) 238-2527.

Midwest sale results A total of 37 Shrops sold for an aver-

age of $338.51 at the Midwest Stud Ram Sale in Sedalia, Mo. in June. Champion ram was an early spring lamb consigned

by Morgan Cabaniss and sold to Buckham Farms, Mich., for $750. The reserve champion ram was on a late spring lamb

by Rife Shropshires and sold to Oscar Sweet, Wash., for $1000.

Eli Sample consigned the champion ewe which sold for $800 to Walker Shropshires, Mo. Buckham Farms had the reserve champion ewe which sold to Heineckes of Mo. for $375.

Highest selling head was an early spring ram lamb by Morgan Cabaniss that sold for $1200 to Emma Joy Hawkins of Or. For a complete listing of sales visit shorpshires.org.

Get the holidays behind you and then make plans for the next issue of The Voice. Deadline Jan. 15.

_______ Page 35

The Shropshire Sheep Package– Size and Scale

By Cody Hiemke, Director Wisconsin-Michigan District Fuel and commodity prices have many people in a variety of industries evaluating their business costs and the products they produce with scrutiny.

As Shropshire sheep producers, we too should be scrutinizing what we produce.

This evaluation should be done within the context of our own operations and also how they relate to the sheep industry as a whole.

Improved from English hill sheep into a moderate sized breed that is efficient,

hardy and grows fast, a true Shropshire is ideally suited to produce fast-growing lambs that flesh easily without an abundance of grain, if any. Compared to large-framed sheep, moderate-framed Shropshire flocks require far less supplemental feed to maintain condition.

This results in lower feed costs.

It is undeniable that the frame size of the Shropshire national flock has increased considerably over the last 25 years. The 1983 Standard of Excellence for the American Shropshire Sheep states that mature Shropshire rams should weigh 225 to 275 pounds and mature ewes from 160 to 190 pounds.

Progeny from these Shropshires within these standards would be ready for slaughter at approximately 120 pounds.

This increase in frame size still

Clothing, jewelry, Christmas cards, stationery, stuffed animals, books, figurines.

Collectables for the sheep enthusiast

www.ewesfulgifts.com Toll-free 1-877-EWESFUL (1-877-393-7385) Fax 1-920-623-1089 _______ Page 36

produces a fast-growing Shropshire; however a greater mature size requires these lambs be grown to a heavier weight in order to achieve the appropriate finish for slaughter. This heavier weight will require a greater amount of time and feed to reach slaughter weight. The ewe flock will need considerably more feed to maintain condition than it would under the 1983 standard. How big are your rams and your ewe flock? At what weight would your lambs achieve a yield grade 2 carcass?

Even though the average frame size has increased, there has not been a proportional increase in capacity and muscling. Less capacity in a largeframed sheep is counter-productive: less forage can be consumed by the larger sheep and therefore more grain must be supplemented to maintain condition. Harvested feedstuffs and the time required to put them in front of the animals are becoming increasingly costly. It should also be mentioned that this change in “type” and management style (more feed needed) has possibly bred out much of the hardiness that Shropshires had originally inherited from the old English hill sheep.

The reduction in musculature can be proven by comparing past American Shropshire Registry Association (ASRA) programs and current data collected on Shropshires at public sale.

In 1968 the ASRA announced the qualification standards for a CERTIFIED MEAT TYPE SHROPSHIRE RAM. To qualify, rams needed to sire 10 lambs (or 75% if testing more than 10 lambs) whose carcasses finished and muscled well. There were a variety of carcass weight categories lambs could qualify under. The heavier qualifying standards

required at least a 2.5 square inch loin muscle area from 56-60 lb. carcasses or a 2.7 sq. loin area from 61-65 lb carcasses. These carcass weights equate to 112-120 and 121-130 pound live lambs, respectively.

Ultrasonic fat and muscle measurements were collected during the 2004 and 2008 Shropshire Spectacular events in Springfield, Ill. The 21 lambs evaluated during these years averaged 2.4 square inch loin muscle areas when adjusted to a common weight of 135 pounds (the low was 1.96 and high was 2.99 square inches). A 135 pound lamb equates to a 67 pound carcass.

In the 1960s and 1970s we were capable of producing Shropshire lambs that fleshed easily with greater than 2.5 square inch loin muscle areas at low weights. Today we are growing a Shropshire that, on average, will not achieve a 2.5 square inch loin on a much heavier lamb.

Has the Shropshire breed made positive changes to size and scale in the past two and a half decades? What is the optimum size for Shropshires to fit the desires of the commercial industry without disparaging the assets of the breed?

Shropshire rams can have a place in the commercial sheep industry.Although the sheep industry is considerably fragmented between purebred and commercial producers, there remains great potential for the sale of rams to large commercial sheep producers if the purebred producer can provide the type of rams that the commercial flock needs. Western range breeders will buy upwards of 20 rams per year to cover a band (1000) of ewes.

Commercial lamb producers will � _______ Page 37

pay premium for a steady, reliable and consistent supply of rams that: have adequate testicle size and no structural faults, live past their third birthday, and will sire a thrifty and fast-growing lamb that will be ready for slaughter at 130 to 140 pounds. Most terminal sire rams do not last into year two because they cannot maintain themselves under grazing conditions when breeding ewes; they are too big and can’t consume enough feed to maintain health, much less condition. Many of these commercial growers maintain ewe flocks with average weights between 155 and 185 pounds.

Table one below is a tool that can assist in the management of average mature flock weights to target specific lean lamb slaughter weights. This table can be used to match optimum mature

weights within a purebred flock to meet a certain lamb slaughter weight or, similarly, by evaluating weights of purebred rams to be bred to commercial white faced ewes.

To conclude, I would like to assure you that this article is not written to tell anyone what kind of Shropshires they should raise. I prefer to offer this article as something that is thought-provoking; in part, to comment on the change in size and scale of the Shropshire breed, but mostly to prompt us to evaluate the type of Shropshire we are raising, if it fits into our own production goals, and if it makes sense within the greater sheep industry.

Respectfully submitted, Cody Hiemke Wisconsin-Michigan Director Niman Ranch Lamb Program Manager

a Table 1. Target slaughter weights to produce YG2 carcasses from ewe and wether lambs produced from sire and dam breeds of varying mature weights.

Mature Ram Weight, lbs 325 312 299 286 273 260 247 234 221 208 195 182 169 250 163 159 156 153 150 146 143 140 137 133 130 127 124 240 159 156 153 150 146 143 140 137 133 130 127 124 120 230 156 153 150 146 143 140 137 133 130 127 124 120 117 220 153 150 146 143 140 137 133 130 127 124 120 117 114 210 150 146 143 140 137 133 130 127 124 120 117 114 111 200 146 143 140 137 133 130 127 124 120 117 114 111 107 190 143 140 137 133 130 127 124 120 117 114 111 107 104 180 140 137 133 130 127 124 120 117 114 111 107 104 101 170 137 133 130 127 124 120 117 114 111 107 104 101 98 160 133 130 127 124 120 117 114 111 107 104 101 98 94 150 130 127 124 120 117 114 111 107 104 101 98 94 91 Mature Ewe Weight, lbs 140 127 124 120 117 114 111 107 104 101 98 94 91 88 130 124 120 117 114 111 107 104 101 98 94 91 88 85 120 120 117 114 111 107 104 101 98 94 91 88 85 81 a

Target slaughter weight = ((sire mature weight*1.30+ ewe mature weight)/2) * .65

Shaded areas indicate desired live weights for market lambs in most commercial markets.

This table is adapted from "Strategies for Producing USDA Yield Grade 2 Lambs," by Dr. Dave Thomas, University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Animal Sciences Extension Sheep Specialist.

_______ Page 38

156 120 117 114 111 107 104 101 98 94 91 88 85 81 78

_______ Page 39

All-American Junior Show A fine time was had by all in Sedalia for the 15th All-American Junior Show.

190 exhibitors from 19 states brought 870 head representing 13 breeds.

Shropshires boasted the fourth largest contingent with 92 head.

In addition to the class results that follow, we congratulate other winners: Ohio’s Jacob Fowler and the winning 3-3 basketball team, Maryland’s Ashley Fuss with her Shropshire fleece, Erik Mrozinski and his success in the Senior Skillathon, Hallie Walker and her Group 2 Judging Contest victory, Tyler Bruhin’s Photo Skills in the Intermediate Class and also Tyler’s Essay.

The ASRA received support from BWB Farms – Rick Whiting, Steve and Rinda Maddox, Tim Roberts, Whitte Family Shropshires and Becky Peterson.

The 2009 All-American Junior Show will be held in Greenville, Ohio on July 3-5. Financial support, of course, is always needed. For more information see

www.allamericanjuniorshow.com.

All American Junior Show Results Missouri State Fair Grounds Sedalia, Missouri Judge- Steve Reid Senior Ram Lamb – 1 shown 1. Tyler Bruhin, TN January Ram Lamb – 3 shown 1. Kaitlin Whiting, OH 2. Tyler Bruhin 3. Nicholas Cross, TN February Ram Lamb – 10 shown 1. Erik Mrozinski, IN 2. Tyler Bruhin 3. Nicholas Cross 4. Erik Mrozinski 5. Monica Ebert, KS March Ram Lamb – 4 shown 1. Dalton Hicks, OK 2. Erik Mrozinski 3. Jared Frieze, MO 4. Monica Ebert Champion Ram Erik Mrozinski–February Ram Lamb Reserve Champion Ram Kaitlin Whiting–January Ram Lamb Yearling Ewe – 21 shown 1. Hallie Walker, MA

2008 Exhibitors at the All-American Junior Show. _______ Page 40

All-American Champion Ewe (Yearling) shown by Hallie Walker, MA. 2. Kaitlin Whiting 3. Caleb Fritz, TN 4. Chris Whittaker, IL 5. Ashley Fuss, MD 6. Tyler Bruhin 7. Erik Mrozinski 8. Tyler Bruhin 9. Dalton Hicks 10. Caleb Fritz Pair of Yearling Ewes – 8 shown 1. Tyler Bruhin 2. Caleb Fritz 3. Erik Mrozinski 4. Ashley Fuss 5. Nicholas Cross Senior Ewe Lamb – 2 shown 1. Tyler Bruhin 2. Nicholas Cross January Ewe Lamb – 12 shown 1. Tyler Bruhin 2. Logan Van Horn, KS 3. Kaitlin Whiting 4. Chris Whittaker 5. Caleb Fritz February Ewe Lamb – 18 shown 1. Kyle Verhaeghe, IN �

All-American Champion Ram (February Ram Lamb) shown by Erik Mrozinski, IN.

All-American Res. Champion Ewe (Yearling) shown by Kaitlin Whiting, OH. At right,Top Gun winner, Monica Ebert, KS. Photo of the Res. Champion Ram was not provided.

_______ Page 41

2. Erik Mrozinski 3. Chris Whittaker 4. Erik Mrozinski 5. Tyler Bruhin 6. Monica Ebert 7. Kaitlyn Fuss 8. Nicholas Cross 9. Monica Ebert 10. Kaitlin Whiting March Ewe Lamb – 11 shown 1. Nicholas Cross 2. Monica Ebert 3. Erik Mrozinski 4. Caleb Fritz 5. Jared Frieze Pair of Ewe Lambs – 13 shown 1. Erik Mrozinski 2. Tyler Bruhin

3. Kaitlin Whiting 4. Caleb Fritz 5. Monica Ebert Young Flock – 10 shown 1. Erik Mrozinski 2. Tyler Bruhin 3. Kaitlin Whiting 4. Caleb Fritz 5. Dalton Hicks Best Four Head of Ewes – 8 shown 1. Tyler Bruhin 2. Erik Mrozinski 3. Caleb Fritz 4. Kaitlin Whiting 5. Chris Whittaker Champion Ewe Hallie Walker – Yearling Ewe Reserve Champion Ewe Kaitlin Whiting – Yearling Ewe Top Gun Winner Monica Ebert

Junior activities schedule for NAILE Fri., Nov. 14 4 p.m.

4 p.m.

Sat., Nov. 15 8 a.m.

3 p.m.

After Quiz Bowl Sun., Nov. 16 TBA Quiz Bowl — 3 Per team.

Sheep Lead Contest Market Lamb Showmanship Junior Wether Show Quiz Bowl (see details below) Pizza Party & meeting for all Shropshire youth.

National Junior Show

Must include one member 14 and under as well as one boy and/or one girl. Cash awards will be given at the conclusion of the quiz bowl. Each 1st place team member will receive $15, each 2nd place team member will receive $10, and each 3rd place team member will receive $5. The cash will be awarded before the pizza party.

Do you like the new Shropshires.org site?

Let me design a website for your farm!

aRull Designs

_______ Page 42

www.Rull.net/Designs or 605.791.2402

2008 Spectacular Junior Show 21 Sheep 14 exbitors Fall Ram 1. Katie Schimm Spring Ram 1. Brianna Brockman 2.Tom Buckland 3. Jaedyn Slutz 4. Chris Whittaker Yearling Ewe– 1. Brianna Brockman 2. Julie Elsbury 3. Chris Whittaker 4. Jaedyn Slutz 5. Chris Whittaker 6. Sarah Nyen (1st Futurity) 7. Sarah Nyen (2nd Futurity) 8. Duane Elsbury (3rd Futurity) Fall Ewe 1. Breanna Brockman 2. Katie Schimm 3. Katie Schimm Spring Ewe 1. Jaedyn Slutz

The judge speaks with the showmanship class, from left, Chris Whittaker, Breanna Brockman and Sarah Nyen.

2. Breanna Brockman 3. Chris Whittaker 4. Breanna Brockman 5. Chris Whittaker Showmanship Juniors Austin Brockman, winner Jaedyn Slutz Logan Flaxington

Junior Showmanship Class, from left, Logan Flaxington, Jaedyn Slutz and class winner Austin Brockmann.

Intermediate Chris Whittaker Breanna Brockman Sarah Nyen Senior Eric Morinski Molly Creamer John Whittaker Mitchell Gillett

_______ Page 43

Ewe Lamb Futurity Futurity competition began at the Shropshire Classic Yearling Ewe Futurity winner at the 2008 Shropshire Classic was Paxton Wenger.

Her yearling ewe is S Bar S 638 and was purchased at the Classic last year where it placed third in the Shropshire Ewe Lamb Futurity.

Paxton Wenger

2008 Shropshire Futurity Standings as of 9-17-08

The futurity for 2008 once again has the most ewe lambs nominated. The 92 head nominated will make a purse of $1840. The 24 ewe lambs being shown for points are the most ever. Points are updated on a weekly basis and can be viewed at shropshires.org. Questions about points can be directed to Mark McCabe.

(740)494-2969 or e-mail mamccabe51@hotmail.com.

Place Points 1.

44 2.

42 3. 39 4. 35 5.

30 6. 29 7.

28 8. 24 9. 23 10. 20 10. 20 12. 17 13. 16 13. 16 15. 14 16. 13 17. 12 18. 10 19. 07 20. 06 21. 05 22. 04 22. 04 24.

02 _______ Page 44

Name State Ewe Lamb Shows Scrapie No Tyler Bruhin TN Rife 08-060 4 OHO933-0577 Jaedyn Slutz IL Elsbury 1102 5 INH58374-30015 Kaitlin Whiting OH Buckham 08-10 5 MI1136-8010 Kaitlyn Fuss MD Bryant 08-39 3 OHA-49385 Sean Bryant OH Brandt 8015 3 OHO146-8015 Logan Van Horn IL Rueber 148 3 IA1038-0855 Kyle Moshier IL Rueber B141 5 IA1038-0854 Nicole Martin OH Rolling Hills 8015 5 PA3282-0146 Kaitlin Whiting OH Rife 08-046 5 OHO933-0574 Chris Whittaker IL Rife 08-101 1 OHO933-0599 Tylere Majchrzak MD Rife 08-039 3 OHO933-0576 Ashley Fuss MD Rife 08-115 3 OHO933-0584 Caleb Fritz TN BWB 8002 1 OH3165-0802 Kaitlin Klair DE Bryant 08-06 3 OHO592-7031 Tyler Bruhin TN Brooks 07-135 3 IN61013-0023 Mary Evans OH McCabe 812 4 OHO382-812 Nicloe Martin OH High life 8029 5 OHO694-8029 Monica Ebert KS Rife 08-080 3 OHO933-0603 Kaitlin Klair DE High Life 8025 3 OHO694-8025 Molly Jo Woods IL Crago 1280 2 MT1850-0144 Mariah Shearer IN Rife 08-015 3 OHO933-0572 Ashley Fuss MD Bryant 08-63 1 OHA-49386 Mariah Shearer IN Anderson 08-03 1 ILMLA0221 Kaitlyn Fuss MD Creamer 2816 1 OHO376-2816

Oregon State Fair Junior Show Submitted by Chris Peppmeier Secretary, NorthWest Shropshire Breeders Association Senior Showmanship (ages 15-21) 1. Stephanie Barker 2. Brett Deedon 3. Laurie Koch Junior Showmanship (ages 6-14) 1. Luke Hawkins 2. Tatiana Thompson 3. Palmer Deedon Yearling Ewe 1. Stephanie Barker 2. Palmer Deedon 3. Emma/Luke Hawkins 4. Stephanie Barker 5. Brett Deedon Senior Ewe Lamb 1. Stephanie Barker 2. Stephanie Barker Junior Ewe Lamb 1. Stephanie Barker 2. Emma/Luke Hawkins 3. Emma/ Luke Hawkins 4. Tatiana Thompson 5. Laurie Koch Best Pair 1. Stephanie Barker 2. Emma/Luke Hawkins 3. Palmer Deedon Champion Ewe–Spring Ewe Lamb Stephanie Barker Reserve Champion Ewe:–Yearling Ewe Stephanie Barker

Junior exhibitors at the Oregon State Fair, from left– Luke Hawkins, Brett Deedon, Tatiana Thompson, Palmer Deedon, Laurie Koch and Stephanie Barker.

California Champion Sydney Johnson, 16, showed her yearling ram, Anderson Farms 149 (aka: Slick) to the Champion All Other Meat Breed Ram title at the California State Fair. Slick won his class and division, competing against Cheviots and Oxfords. Sydney owns a small flock of Shropshires, Rafiki Farms, in Windsor, California. _______ Page 45

Showmanship – All Breeds Together Age 9 and 10 1. Jacob Fowler 5. Jacob Wenner Age 11 and 12 4. Taylor Darby High 5. Jordan Kaeck Age 15 and 16 3. Katherine Wenner 4. Meghan Hardesty 5. Nicole Martin Age 17 and 18 1. Katelyn Melvin 2. Sara Nichols 4. Molly Creamer Junior Shropshire Show Judged by Dave Cook Yearling Ram – 8 shown 1. Sean Bryant, Fredericktown, OH 2. Molly Creamer, Prospect, OH 3. Alyssa Pence, Old Fort, OH 4. Katelyn Melvin, Mount Sterling, OH

Junior Ram Lamb – 14 shown 1. Jordan Kaeck, Wapokoneta, OH 2. Taylor Darby High, McDermott, OH 3. Taylor Darby High 4. Molly Creamer 5. Katelyn Melvin 6. Alyssa Pence Late Ram Lamb – 14 shown 1. Taylor Darby High 2. Taylor Darby High 3. Trevor High, McDermott, OH 4. Jordan Kaeck 5. Sarah Nichols, Quaker City, OH 6. Sarah Nichols CHAMPION RAM Sean Bryant – Yearling Ram RESERVE CHAMPION RAM Molly Creamer- Yearling Ram Yearling Ewe – 26 shown 1. Taylor Darby High 2. Sean Bryant 3. Mary Evans, West Mansfield, OH 4. Katelyn Melvin 5. Katelyn Melvin 6. Paxton Wenger, Marion, OH 7. Sean Bryan 8. Kaitlyn Whiting, Martinsville, OH 9. Molly Creamer

Taylor Darby High’s Champion Ewe was also named Supremem Champion Ewe.

Morgan Johnson shows in a lamb class at the Ohio State Fair.

Ohio State Fair Junior Show

_______ Page 46

10.Molly Creamer 11. Alyssa Pence 12. Taylor Darby High Senior Ewe Lamb – 3 shown 1. Katelyn Melvin 2. Meghan Hardesty, New Bremen, OH 3. Taylor Darby High Early Ewe Lamb – 18 shown 1. Taylor Darby High 2. Meghan Hardesty 3. Molly Creamer, Prospect, OH 4. Taylor Darby High 5. Sarah Nichols 6. Ashley Morgan, Lebanon, OH 7. Molly Creamer 8. Trevor High, McDermott 9. Nicole Martin, Xenia, OH 10. Sean Bryant 11. Ellen McDevitt-Stredney, Sunbury, OH Late Ewe Lamb – 20 shown 1. Alyssa Pence 2. Taylor Darby High 3. Sean Bryant 4. Mary Evans 5. Ellen McDevitt-Stredney 6. Katelyn Melvin 7. Alyssa Pence 8. Sean Bryant 9. Sarah Nichols 10. Molly Hardesty 11. Jacob Wenner, Lewis Center, OH CHAMPION EWE Taylor Darby High – Yearling Ewe (This ewe was also named Supreme Champion Ewe) RESERVE CHAMPION EWE Sean Bryant - Yearling Ewe Flock – 9 shown 1. Taylor Darby High 2. Sean Bryant 3. Molly Creamer 4. Jordan Kaeck, Wapokoneta, OH 5. Katelyn Melvin Best Three Head

Darby High Best Headed Ewe – 7 shown Meghan Hardesty Best Headed Ram – 5 shown Sean Bryant Premier Exhibitor Darby High Junior Market Lamb Show Judged by Allen Hybsha, Bingen, OK 1. Hunter Shoemaker, London, OH 132 lbs. (7th Place Overall Carcass) 2. Kyle Burton, Camden, OH 126 lbs.

(First Place Overall Carcass) 3. Jake Westlake, Marysville, OH 125 lbs.

4. Megan Hunker, Bellevue, OH 125 lbs.

5. Stacey King, Pettisville, OH 132 lbs.

Sarah Nyen places 2nd Sarah Nyen placed second in the Ladies Lead class at the Stephenson County Fair in Freeport, Ill. this summer. She is shown here with Carolyn Dezell who is widely known in the area for making the wool outfits chosen by the young ladies. _______ Page 47

Indiana State Fair Junior Show Submitted by Lori Brown

Blaze Brooks was the winner of a ewe lamb donated by Mike and Karen Elsbury.

Julie Elsbury, left, was awarded the Premiere Breeder plaque by Indiana Royalty. _______ Page 48

The 4-H Shropshire breeding ewe show at the Indiana State Fair was one of the largest breed shows of the fair featuring 73 ewes.

Champion ewe was shown by Austin Bechtold with Trent Bechtold earning Reserve Champion honors. Nathan Avery showed the Best Pair of Yearling ewes and exhibited the Best Three Head.

In the showmanship contests, junior showman was Logan Elsbury, intermediate was Trent Bechtold and Austin Bechtold was named senior showman. Austin went on to be named the Overall Senior Showman of All Breeds.

Also earning awards was Blaze Brooks,

Champion Ewe and Res. Champion Ewe was shown by Austin and Trent Bechtold.

Exhibitors at the Indiana State 4-H Fair gather for a photo following the show. herdsman and champion trimmer; Julie Elsbury, premier breeder; and Mariah Shearer, champion fleece.

Each year a Shropshire breeder donates a lamb to be donated to a 4-H member. Each exhibitor receives one ticket for each ewe that he/she shows. This year Blaze Brooks was the lucky winner of a ewe lamb donated by Mike and Karen Elsbury family.

There were 27 exhibitors with six being first-time exhibitors at the Indiana State Fair. New exhibitors were Jacob Rogers, Matt Dirlam, Mekenna

Happy Harvest and   a Blessed Thanksgiving!

Mrozinski, Rylie Miller, Marty Edwards and Matt Hardy. These new exhibitors received a Shropshire T-shirt. The exhibitors were treated to a pizza party before the ewe show, courtesy of the Indiana Shropshire Association.

In the market lamb show, there were 18 lambs exhibited. The champion was shown by Brittany Thompson and reserve was Courtney Gray.

Junior showmanship winner was Aris Moreno; intermediate was Jacinda Thompson and senior was Austin Bechtold.

It is our privilege to be of service to the breeders & advertisers of the Voice.

Steven & Rinda Maddox Maddox Shropshires - Sidell, IL Advertising Sales & Publisher The Shropshire Voice _______ Page 49

North East Youth Show July 20, 2008 West Springfield, MA Judge: Steve Taylor, State College, PA The North East Youth Sheep Show is held in conjunction with the New England Sale on the grounds of the Big E and is sponsored in part by the New England Sheep & Wool Growers. The New England Shropshire Association, under the direction of Chip Hallett, helped to organize the Shropshire activities.

The youngsters were presented with T-shirts that listed the many supporters of the show.The purple shirts were very striking in the showring with the black faces of the Shropshires. This show is

the premier show in New England and rivals many of the Mid-western junior events.

Hallie Walker of Massachusetts was one of the recipients of the 2008 New England Youth Grant. Three of these $150 cash awards are given each year to youngsters as a help to their sheep projects. Hallie will return in 2009 with a presentation about her Shropshire project. Shropshire results are as follows: Senior Showmanship 1. Mandy Swartz, Attica, NY 2. Roxanne Moreau, Durham, ME 3. Britt Hallet, Stow, MA Junior Showmanship Hallie Walker, Williamstown, MA Yearling Ram Britt Hallet, Stow, MA Senior Ram Lamb Darcy Webster, Windham, ME Intermediate Ram Lamb Darcy Webster, Windham, ME Britt Hallet, Stow, MA Junior Ram Lamb

The yearling ewe class at the North East Youth Sheep Show. _______ Page 50

1. Roxanne Moreau, Durham, ME 2. Mandy Swartz, Attica, NY 3. Britt Hallet, Stow, MA 4. Mandy Swartz, Attica, NY Pair of Ram Lambs 1. Darcy Webster, Windham, ME 2. Britt Hallet, Stow, MA 3. Mandy Swartz, Attica, NY Champion Ram-Senior Ram Lamb Darcy Webster, Windham, ME Reserve Champion Ram-Interm.

Lamb, Darcy Webster, Windham, ME Yearling Ewe 1. Hallie Walker, Williamstown, MA 2. Mandy Swartz, Attica, NY 3. Darcy Webster, Windham, ME 4. Hallie Walker, Williamstown, MA 5. Mandy Swartz, Attica, NY 6. Darcy Webster, Windham, ME 7. Roxanne Moreau, Durham, ME 8. Roxanne Moreau, Durham, ME 9. Britt Hallet, Stow, MA   10.Britt Hallet, Stow, MA Pair of Yearling Ewes 1. Hallie Walker, Williamstown, MA 2. Mandy Swartz, Attica, NY 3. Darcy Webster, Windham, ME 4. Roxanne Moreau, Durham, ME 5. Britt Hallet, Stow, MA Senior Ewe Lamb 1. Mandy Swartz, Attica, NY

Champion Ram (Senior Ram Lamb) shown by Darcy Webster of ME.

2. Britt Hallet, Stow, MA Intermediate Ewe Lamb 1. Darcy Webster, Windham, ME 2. Mandy Swartz, Attica, NY 3. Roxanne Moreau, Durham, ME 4. Britt Hallet, Stow, MA Junior Ewe Lamb 1. Darcy Webster, Windham, ME 2. Mandy Swartz, Attica, NY 3. Hallie Walker, Williamstown, MA 4. Roxanne Moreau, Durham, ME 5. Mandy Swartz, Attica, NY Pair of Ewe Lambs 1. Darcy Webster, Windham, ME 2. Britt Hallet, Stow, MA 3. Mandy Swartz, Attica, NY 4. Roxanne Moreau, Durham, ME Champion Ewe-Yearling Ewe Hallie Walker, Williamstown, MA Reserve Champion Ewe- 2nd Yearling, Mandy Swartz, Attica, NY Exhibitors Flock 1. Darcy Webster, Windham, ME 2. Mandy Swartz, Attica, NY 3. Roxanne Moreau, Durham, ME 4. Britt Hallet, Stow, MA Market Lamb 1. Meagan Stephens, Clinton Corners, NY 2. Britt Hallet, Stow, MA0 Champion Ewe Photo was not provided.

Reserve Champion Ram (Interm. Lamb) shown by Darcy Webster, ME.

Reserve Champion Ewe (2nd Yearling) shown by Mandy Swartz, NY. _______ Page 51

NW Shropshire Breeders Association 2008 Starter Flock Award Submitted by Chris Peppmeier Secretary, NorthWest Shropshire Breeders Association Tatiana Thompson of Philomath, Oregon is the recipient of the 2008 Starter Flock Award. She has been in 4-H for one year and her 4-H leader, Nellie Oehler, commends her for “being an enthusiastic member accomplishing a lot in just a short period of time.”

Tatiana and her family took advantage of every sheep training program offered this spring.

Tatiana is also an active student at Philomath Middle School. While maintaining a 4.0 GPA she participates in soccer, softball, basketball, track, band,

Tatiana Thompson wins the 2008 Starter Flock Award by the NW Shrop Association. and 4-H. Because she has the ability to prioritize and organize her activities, she is able to have success in all her activities and gives each 100% effort.

She is dedicated to being in 4-H for many years. Her future plans are to attend Oregon State University and pursue a degree in animal science.

The NW Shropshire Breeders Association feels that Tatiana will be a great ambassador for the Shropshire Association.

J & R Farm Shropshires We purchased the son of Juice at the 2008 Spectacular from Dennis Avery. This January Ram Lamb was 5th at the Indiana State Fair.

See him at the National Show in November.

Norbert Jackson & Family

_______ Page 52

4125 W. St. Rt. 28 • Alexandria, IN 46001 • (765) 754-7057 Inquiries always welcome

Scholarship winners announced Eight scholarship applications were received in 2008. Four of them were extremely good and went through several hands over the summer in order to finally determine who would be the recipients.

The top winner is Stephanie Barker from Hillsboro, Oregon and the second recipient is Duane Elsbury of Greenfield, Ind. Stephanie Barker She is enrolled as a freshman at the Portland State University and is pursuing a degree in Architecture. Stephanie is the daughter of Sue Kalina Barker. She graduated from Hillsboro High School in June 2008 where she was the class valedictorian with a GPA of 4.0.

She was a member of the National Honor Society and the concert and encore choir. She has served as her FFA Chapter treasurer and has received the Sheep Proficiency Award, the Principal’s Leadership Award, and has been named as Student of the Year in history and English, as well as student of the month several times. She also has been named to Who’s Who Among America High School Students four times.

Outside of school, Stephanie has been a state 4-H ambassador and camp counselor. She has attended National 4-H Congress in Atlanta, Ga. and was the National Embroidery Award winner in the Make It With Wool competition. She was also a center mid-fielder in the Hillsboro Soccer Club for six years and was co-

captain her senior year.

Stephanie receives an award of $500 from The American Shropshire Registry Association.

Here is a portion of her scholarship essay: My involvement with sheep started the minute I was born. My grandpa is a retired 35-year 4-H leader and my mom a 28-year 4-H leader, both with livestock, I was smack in the middle of sheep heaven. I attended my first fair when I was two months old.

My grandpa, Jack Kalina, got me started with my own Shropshires with a beautiful ewe lamb named Sunny.The next year I got a great ewe lamb named Katie. These two ewes have been the cornerstone of my flock. Katie was my baby because as a triple, her mother died when Katie was two days old.As a bottle lamb she was very friendly. She grew tremendously and was Supreme �

Stephanie Barker with her spring ewe lamb, “Sunshine” who won Supreme Ewe at the Oregon State 4-H Fair. _______ Page 53

Ewe at the Washington County Fair in open class. It was at the fair that we discovered Katie had a sweet tooth. Oreos, licorice, soda pop, ham sandwiches, you name it, she ate it. Because Katie was so friendly, she was great to use to help educate the public about sheep and the sheep industry. To this day, Katie runs towards the Honda to greet me rather than run away like the rest of the sheep.

She is special.

I started showing in junior shows before I was old enough for 4-H. The Northwest Shropshire Breeders Association is very supportive of the junior breeders. I have shown my Shropshires in junior shows at the Oregon State Fair, Clark County Fair and Western Washington State Fair. Today I am involved with my sheep in 4-H, FFA, junior shows and open class. With the help of my grandpa, my flock has grown to a dozen ewes with our family flock of 25 ewes.The quality of my flock has increased to the point that I was Premier Exhibitor in open class at the Western Washington State Fair last year and I represented the Shropshires in the Puyallup Cup for supreme young flock.

The Northwest Shropshire Breeders Association is very active in promoting Shropshire sheep and promoting youth activities. I have been a Junior Director on the board and was active in helping with the National Shropshire Show when it was held at the Western Washington Fair. My mom was chairman of the junior show, and I helped with the awards, especially with the fund-raising for support of the awards including at the annual banquet with the brown bag raffle. _______ Page 54

My direct work on the farm has increased as the years have passed. When I was younger my work involved training my sheep for fairs, bedding the barns and helping feed the lambs. In the past five years, my duties have grown to full health care, shearing all the sheep for show preparation, putting the hay, straw and oats into the barn, feeding the entire flock and helping with the breeding program.

This past year as my grandpa had knee replacement surgery during the middle of lambing season and then from those tests was diagnosed with blood cancer.

Regular work at the farm has now become a big part of my life. Grandpa has not been to the barn in several months.

Today he is doing better, but work is very limited. I have helped lamb all the ewes, set up the barn for creep feeding, taken care of the veterinary needs, the feeding program, the marketing of lambs and ewes, pasture rotation and fence repair.

Grandpa has taught me well and helping him is important to me.

Raising and showing sheep has given me so many opportunities and awards. I have traveled from coast to coast either exhibiting or attending meetings, National 4-H Congress, State Ambassador (4-H and Wool), Supreme Ewes at county and state fairs, Outstanding Sheep Exhibitor in 4-H and FFA and now scholarship opportunities to further my education.

However the best reward for working with the sheep has been the close relationship with my Grandpa and Grandma.

Not many kids get the opportunity to be with their grandparents the way I have and I would not trade it for the world.

The sheep have allowed me time with my grandparents, the greatest gift of all.

I love my sheep!

Duane Elsbury The second winner is Duane Elsbury of Greenfield, Ind. Duane is the son of Mike and Karen Elsbury. He graduated from Eastern Hancock High School in May, 2007. He is enrolled as a sophomore at Franklin College where he is studying biology and pre-med. In high school, he boasted a 3.9599 GPA and was the recipient of the Royal Athletic Scholar Award six times. He also was on the honor roll seven years and received the Mathematics and Science Excellence Awards.

Duane has been a very busy athlete, winning several awards in tennis and basketball. He also played baseball for two years and golf for four years. Duane was a member of the National Honor Society. While at Franklin College, he has been on the Dean’s List for two semesters and was named Outstanding Freshman Biology Student. Away from school, Duane has been a 4-H Junior Leader and a 10-year member. He has been involved in the family Shropshire business as well as showing goats, rabbits, swine and beef cows. He has twice been the Indiana Shropshire Ambassador. Duane receives an award of $300 from The American Shropshire Registry Association.

Here is a portion of his essay: My great-grandfather started his Shropshire flock in the late 1940’s. This tradition has been passed down from my grandfather, to my father, and finally to me. Our family owns anywhere from 150 to 200 head of Shropshire sheep, depending on the time of the year. I am responsible for regular day-to-day chores, from feeding and watering, to making sure each animal is growing well and in good health. I also help during lambing season to make sure everything goes as

Duane Elsbury close to planned as possible.

From setting up lambing pens to delivering lambs in the middle of the night, I try to be as helpful as possible during this stressful time. I also help when it’s time for vaccination, worming, hauling manure, and shearing. I also select which ewes and market lambs I am going to show.

With this comes the job of halter breaking, exercising, and practicing showing each animal. Another thing I do is when it is time I help bale hay and straw.

I have exhibited my Shropshires at a wide variety of shows and sales. I have exhibited champion Shropshire ewes at the Hancock County 4-H Fair. In 2007 I had the Reserve Supreme Champion Ewe at the county fair. Also at the Hancock County Fair I won Champion Senior Showman of all breeds in 2006. I also have had champion Shropshire ewe and ram as well as supreme champion ram at � _______ Page 55

the Marion County open show. I have also exhibited Shropshires at the Indiana State Fair all 10 years of my 4-H career.

My first year in 4-H I was fortunate to have a good group of ewes with which I won a few classes. The next year I came back to the state fair and I had a couple of good yearling ewes and one ended up being selected the champion Shropshire ewe.

Over the years I have had great success with my sheep at the Indiana State Fair. I had champion ewe at the Indiana State Fair in 1999, 2004 and 2007. I have also had a reserve champion ewe at the Indiana State fair in 2000. I have been fortunate enough to have several good Shropshires over the years allowing me to win the Best Three Head Award at

the Indiana State fair in 1999, 2000, 2005, and 2007. I won champion intermediate Shropshire showman in 2003. I also exhibited my Shropshires in the open show at the Indiana State Fair.

I have exhibited in the All-American Junior Show, the Indiana Junior Show, the Shropshire Spectacular Junior Show and the 2002 National Shropshire Show. At the Shropshire Spectacular I have had the first place futurity ewe, and I have won intermediate Shropshire showmanship at the Spectacular. I have really enjoyed my 10 years of 4-H while showing Shropshire sheep. I plan on continuing my family tradition so my children will be able to enjoy some of the same experiences that I have.

Congratulations to both of these young Shropshire enthusiasts. They set an excellent example of what our students can do!

Shearer has success in Indiana Mariah Shearer, granddaughter of Norm and Jan Jackson of Indiana had

Mariah Shearer and her Reserve Grand Champion Ewe, are presented their award _______ Page 56

the Reserve Grand Champion Ewe at the Madison County 4-H Fair in Alexandria, Ind. with a yearling ewe. The 4-H fair had over 100 ewes in the breeding sheep show and over 250 market lambs.

The Shropshire ewe show had eight yearling ewes and 10 lambs. The Shropshire market lamb show had 26 lambs.

Mariah also won the meat breed wool show with her Shropshire fleece.

The fleece also won the Indiana State Fair Shropshire ewe 4-H wool show.

Mariah also showed the yearling ewe at both the 4-H and open shows at the Indiana State Fair in August where the ewe won her class in the 4-H show and placed fifth in the open show.

Mariah plans to show the ewe at the junior show in Louisville in November.

Illinois names 2008 Royalty, bids farewell to event organizers Shropshire Ambassador

My name is Sarah Kay Nyen. I live in Pecatonica, Ill. with my mom, my stepdad, and my little brother, Mason. I am 12-years-old and attend Pecatonica Middle School where I just finished sixth grade. I was lucky enough to make the 7th Grade cheerleading squad and just attended cheerleading camp. I am now attending a basketball camp – which I need really bad because I broke my wrist in January and had to sit on the bench during most of the season with my cast on my wrist.

I take tap and jazz lessons at J & J School of Dance and just participated in my dance recital on June 1.This summer I am playing softball with the Pecatonica summer program. Yesterday, I just finished attending the summer basketball camp at Highland Community College.

I got to meet Darwin Bauwinkle who stands about 6 foot 7 inches.

I have a new horse whose name is Sport, which I will show at the Winnebago County 4-H Show. I will also show my cats. My rabbits, my sheep, photography– maybe my pony, and have taken cake decorating for the first time ever.

I was lucky enough to be elected as Promoter last year, and I enjoy the sale, the banquet and attending and showing at all the different area fairs. I help take care of my sheep. I wash them for the fairs and trim them with the help of my mom, my uncles and my grandma and grandpa. My uncles are even letting me hold them tightly while we band the lamb’s tales and give them their shots.

I have also started showing a market lamb. With the help of my Uncle Kevin, I have done really well. The only problem is-- you have to sell them - yes it is good money, but it is hard when you know where they are going and someone will be eating them!

I show my sheep at Elizabeth, Warren, Belvidere, Pecatonica, Freeport, and Elkhorn Fairs. I am now old enough to be in Lady’s Lead with my sheep and enjoy that, too. But I really miss the costume classes that I used to be able to �

A “good-bye” from Illinois Royalty organizers

The last 15 years has gone by so fast for us. We have great memories to take with us of all our past royalty.

We enjoyed seeing them pass out ribbons and trophies and sometimes seeing them in parades. It has been a joy to see these kids also grow up and promote the Shropshire breed.

We will surely miss doing this each year, even though at times it involved doing some searching to find someone to sign up. We hope you will continue to help keep this Royalty going since it has been around since 1968!!

Your new chairman will be Carol Slutz of Sycamore. I feel she will do a great job for you, please welcome her when you see her.

Robin & Jerry Pardus _______ Page 57

Brockmann Shropshires

Winners of the Best Consignment at the 2008 National Shropshire Sale in Springfield, IL. We had Champion Ewe for the second year in a row.

Champion Ram 2008 Illinois State Fair Thank you to all the buyers at the Shropshire Spectacular and also off the farm. Your continued support is appreciated.

Breeding stock for sale. Contact us for your next flock improver.

Res. Champion Ewe 2008 Illinois State Fair and a member First Place Pair.

Gary & Vicky Brockmann, Brianna & Austin _______ Page 58

2011 Blake Road, Garden Prairie, IL 61038 (815) 544-4515 Our entire flock is DNA tested

be in. This year I brought my sheep which we purchased at the Shropshire Spectacular last June down to Springfield, and I showed them this morning.

Thanks for allowing me to enter the contest again this year. I think it is important to let kids be a part of the Shropshire program, and we do learn a lot.

Sincerely, Sarah Kay Nyen

Note: Sarah is the second person in the state of Illinois to ever hold all three royalty titles in her lifetime.

Congratulations Sarah!

Junior Promoter

Brianna Brockmann is 11-1/2 years old and is from Garden Prairie, Ill. She is the daughter of Gary and Vicky Brock-

mann. She attends Immanuel Lutheran School in Belvidere and is going into the 7th grade this fall. Brianna is in the band and plays the flute and sings with her class at church services. She plays volleyball and is a cheerleader for the boy’s basketball team.

Brianna’s dad has been raising Shropshire sheep for 40 years. She has been around Shropshire sheep all her life.

Brianna belongs to the County Clovers 4-H Club and this is her fourth year.

She also belongs to the Boone County 4-H Federation and Ambassadors. She is her 4-H club’s reporter and is the sentinel for the County 4-H Ambassadors.

Her projects include her Shropshire sheep and food projects. She shows her sheep at the Boone County Fair in Belvidere, the Illinois State Fair, the North American International Livestock Exposition junior and open shows. �

Illinois Royalty and retiring organizers, from left, Brianna Brockmann, Junior Promoter, Jerry Pardus holding Little Boy Blue Mason Peterson, Sarah Nyen, Shropshire Ambassador, Robin Pardus and, in inset, Jaedyn Slutz, Miss Bo Peep.

_______ Page 59

Miss Bo Peep

Jaedyn Slutz of Sycamore, Ill. was selected Miss Bo-Peep. A profile was not provided for publication.

Little Boy Blue

My name is Mason Robert Peterson. I live in Pecatonica, Ill. with my mom, my dad and my big sister, Sarah.

I am two and one-half years old. Last year, I when I was down here for the Springfield Shropshire Spectacular, I was still in the stroller. This year, I have discovered it is much more fun to walk and run and it is so much more fun to get into lots more stuff and trouble.

I try to help feed the sheep, but I usually get yelled at because I am wasting the expensive feed– according to my Uncle Kevin. My experiences at the fairs last year were mostly from my stroller and the playpen. However, I managed to keep the sheep exercised and in shape by launching my toy animals at them in their pens. I like feeding the lambs bottles, but they have to drink fast, because I am on the move. I hope I can have my own sheep one of these days and I will already know how to take care of it correctly.

Mason Peterson

Royce Rueber Scholarship winner named first The Royce Rueber Scholarship was awarded at the All-American Junior Show to Tom Shambow of Janesville, Wis. Tom is a breeder of Suffolks and Cheviots and very Tom Shambow active in the junior sheep world. He is the son of DVM Richard and Judy Shambow.

Tom is going to the University of Wyoming. The Shambows lost their entire flock to a barn fire this spring. They have bought some great sheep and rebuilt the barn and will be coming back stronger than ever.

Royce Rueber was a long-time Shropshire breeder, along with his wife Carol, and daughter, Aimee. After his death in 2007, the scholarship was set up in his memory by the Rueber family.

6471 Miller Drive, Edwardsville, IL 62025 (618) 656-5388 • cell: (618) 581-3554 Call for a fee catalog or visit www.ketchamsheepequipment.com _______ Page 60

Like Father…

like Sons!

Both winning rams were sired by Breakthrough, one of the most dominant rams in the breed.

First Place Late Junior Ram

at the Illinois State fair “Discovery” Adams 08-60 RRNN

Reserve Grand Ram at the 2008 Spectacular Adams 08-18 RRN

Sold to Bishop and Bishop of New York.

Adams Shropshires “Your Foundation For Quality” Brad and Rick Adams

6898 S 7000 W Rd., Chebanse, IL 60922 (815) 697-2903 radams@daca.net • AdamsShropshires.com _______ Page 61

Breeder’s Index The following breeder’s list is a paid subscription published both in the Voice and on the shropshires.org Web site. To have your name included see the info box at end of list.

Agrall, Lewis R.R. 1, Box 230 Athens, IL 62613 (217) 636-8151 Adams Shropshires 6898 S 7000 W Road Chebanse, IL 60922 (815) 697-2903 radams@daca.net adamsshropshires.com Anderson Farms Matthew, Christie, Emily & Andrew 24355 N. Elliott Rd. Acampo, CA 95220 (209) 368-5738 home (209) 642-1137 cell anderson_farms@hotmail.com Anderson, Michael L. 346 N 1600 E Paxton, IL 60957 (217) 379-3189 Avery Shropshires Dennis & Nancy Avery 1500 Douglas Road Bremen, IN 46506 (574) 209-0988 Floyd & Sharon Avery (229) 942-3415 Tim & Deb Barnes Barnes Farms 5707 Mooney Road Radnor, OH 43066 (740) 494-2125 troytongrn@acc-net.com barnesfarms.com _______ Page 62

Benson Brothers Shropshires 3839 E. 169th Street Noblesville, IN 46060-9763 (317) 896-2213 Biogenetic Services, Inc. 801 32nd Ave. Brookings, SD 57006 (800) 423-4163 Fax: (605) 697-8507 biogene@brookings.net Black, Carol & Bob Ewesful Gifts 7868 State Road 73 Columbus, WI 53925 (920) 623-3536 Cell: (920) 296-0326 carol@ewesfulgifts.com Jason Botsford Rolling Hill Farms 4646 Rt. 536 Punxsutawney, PA 15767 (507) 301-1034 jgbotsford@yahoo.com Bradish Fam ily Farm George and Brenda Bradish 3865 St. Rt. 982 Latrobe, PA 15650 (724) 539-8386 or 3808 Brill, Debra & Laura Shrop ‘til You Drop 7029 Pleasant Grove Rd. Pleasant Grove, CA 95668 (530) 656-1040 debraann71@wildblue.net Brockmann Shropshires Gary, Vicky, Brianna & Austin 2011 Blake Road Garden Prairie, IL 61038 (815) 544-4515

Brooks, Wayne, Cyndi, Blaze & Jenny 3760 N 700 E Decatur, IN 46733 (260) 592-6732 brooksshropshires@yahoo.com

Crago Brothers Shropshires Steve & Louise Crago & Sons 1499 Hiatt Road Clarksville, OH 45113 (937) 289-3167

Brown, Rob & Ron Clay-Nob Farm 17527 Maple Drive Saegertown, PA 16433 (814) 763-3140 claynob@peoplepc.net

Crago, Mark & Jennifer & Family 22 Maki Hill Rd. Columbus, MT 59019 (406) 322-9935 Cell: (406) 298-0015

Bryant Shropshires Bill Bryant 6838 Bryant Road Fredericktown, OH 43019 (740) 398-2053 Cell: (740) 398-2053 bryantb3@hotmail.com bryantsheepandhorses.com

Creamer, R.J. & Family 4094 Centerville-Newmans Rd. Prospect, OH 43342 (740) 262-3972 creamer@marion.net www.creamershropshires.com

Buckham Farms 6508 West R Avenue Schoolcraft, MI 49087 (269) 375-7676 buckhamfarms@yahoo.com BWB Farms, Inc. 1779 Green Road Martinsville, OH 45146 Randy Barr (937) 288-0001 Rick Whiting: (937) 685-2603 Barry Barr: (937) 403-4411 bwbfarmsinc@verizon.net www.bwbfarmsinc.com Calvert, Robert E. & Family 735 N. Perry Hwy. Mercer, PA 16137-4737 (724) 475-3119 Cessna, Jim & Nancy Cessna Farms 11100 Jerry City Road Cygnet, OH 43413 (419) 655-3209 jhcessna@dacor.net

Diehl, J.L. & G.L. 902 St. Rt. 14 Deerfield, OH 44411 (330) 584-2192 Dirlam, J.N. & Sons & Matthew Dirlam 11673 N. Bethesda Rd. Mooresville, IN 46158 (317) 831-2130 dirlamjd@aol.com Dockter, Darrell, Janet, Stacy & Jason 3-D Sheep Company 19411 S. Carpenter Road Snohomish, WA 98290 (425) 334-9130 Cell: (425) 327-1428 dddockter@earthlink.net www.3dsheepcompany.com Douglas, Donna April Aire Farms 11802 Pleasant Valley Road Woodstock, IL 60098 (815) 337-0598

_______ Page 63

Ebert, Jeff, Kerri, Christine & Monica Ebert Sheep Farm 10015 Flush Rd. St. George, KS 66535 Home: (785) 494-2436 Cell: (785) 458-9174 ebertj@wamego.net

www.clublambpage.com/ebertvanhorn/index.htm

Enterline, Samuel Enterline Shropshires 317 W. Jamestown Road Jamestown, PA 16134 (724) 932-5550 senterline@alltel.net Elsbury, Mike Elsbury’s Shropshires 5385 E 500 N Greenfield, IN 46140-8939 (317) 326-4461 elsburyfamily@aol.com www.elsburyfarms.com Galvin, Samantha & Jenny P.O. Box 835 Turner, OR 97392 (503) 743-2744 jmgalvin53@yahoo.com Gillett, Marie LMG Farm 2551 N 850 E Road Moweaqua, IL 62550 (217) 768-4601 Cell: (217) 972-3470 lmgfarm@yahoo.com Groverman DVM, Fred F & P Groverman Shropshires 400 Ormsby Lane Petaluma, CA 94954 (707) 763-3132 fgroverman@sbcglobal.net Gruenhagen, Jim & Donna SS Shrops 7622 Jersey Ridge Road Davenport, IA 52807 (563) 355-6730 ssshrops@netins.net _______ Page 64

Hardesty, Megan & Molly Come Again Farm 00427 Clover Four Road New Bremen, OH 45869 (419) 629-7205 msac@bright.net Hargrave, Kim & Katie 3759 State Rt 21 Wayland, NY 14572 (585) 534-5382 Harold, Ashley 11316 Durgin Road SE Olympia, WA 98513 (360) 456-3897 asheeper@aol.com Heaton, Fred & family 622 Sessler-Buxton Rd. Russia, OH 45363 (937) 526-3118 Hiemke Family Shropshires Lynn, Mary, Cody, Carissa & Clayton, Heidi & Hope 35753 Mapleton Rd. Oconomowoc, WI (920) 474-4589 Cody: (415) 302-8025 cjhiemke@hotmail.com High Farms Glenn & Joan High 7078 Co. Rd. 47 Lexington, OH 44904 (419) 362-3666 highfarms@cs.com High Life Farms David & Jodi High & Family 3388 McDermott Pond Creek Road McDermott, OH 45652 (740) 259-1907 highlifefarm2000@yahoo.com

Jaycox, Elaine Willaine Farm 3758 State Rt. 30 Middleburgh, NY 12122 (518) 827-5726 Cell: (518) 231-7245 willaine@midtel.net

McCall, Cynthia CMAC Shropshires 1673 22nd Road Washington, KS 66968 (402) 730-9213 cynthiasuemccall@yahoo.com sheepempire.com

Johnson, Bob & Karen RoKaJo Farm 569 St. Hwy. DD Marshfield, MO 65706 (417) 859-4452 rokajo6@centurytel.net

McNeal, Robert J. 1511 S.E. 20 Street Battle Ground, WA 98604 (360) 687-3410

Kipp, LeRoy Box 44 North Prairie, WI 53153 (262) 392-2713 Lisa Kowalyshyn Kindred Crossings LLC 868 Route 32 North Franklin, CT 06254 (860) 642-4243 kindredcrossings@msn.com Maddox, Steven & Rinda Maddox Shropshires 6503 E 700 North Road Sidell, IL 61876 (217) 288-9493 ssmaddox@hotmail.com Majchrzak, Steve, Beth, Ashley & Tyler Lan-O-Lin Acres 3745 Bradley Road Federalsburg, MD 21632 (410) 754-7531 Cell: (302) 542-8763 FFABigToe@dmv.com delawarelivestockexpo.com McCabe, Mark & Family McCabe Shropshires 5154 Nickelson Road Prospect, OH 43342 (740) 494-2969 mamccabe51@hotmail.com mccabeshropshires.com

Ed Mies Family 14810 Maxwll Rd. Loami, IL 62661 (217) 341-9630 jmies@hotmail.com Miller, Edith, Bryan & Fabiola 24417 Ridge Road Damascus, MD 20872 (301) 253-3530 (301) 514-7955 bryan.miller@shropshires.info www.shropshires.info Miller, Sam D. & Family Miller’s Back Achers 3075 E. Rusk Road Troy, OH 45373 (937) 339-7811 srmiller3075@netzero.com Motter, Jan Lane’s End Farm 12211 W. Rt. 973 Jersey Shore, PA 17740 (570) 398-2078 Mrozinski, Erik 5906 E 650 N Road P.O. Box 306 Rolling Prairie, IN 46371 (219) 716-4921 (219) 778-1060 emrozins@purdue.edu Mumm, Megan 49 CR 1300 N White Heath, IL 61884 (217) 687-2874

_______ Page 65

Oehler, Nellie Oehler Family Shropshires 5570 SW West Hills Road Corvallis, OR 97333-2623 (541) 757-3937 Peiter Shrops 5580 Shelby 234 Shelbyville, MO 63469 (573) 769-0003 Pence Farms 1083 W. Co. Rd. 61 Tiffin, OH 44883 Mike: (419) 992-4305 Doug: (419) 986-5848 Jay: (419) 992-4701 Peppmeier, Christine & Sara Peppmeier Family Shropshires 29323 SW Land Hill Road Sherwood, OR 97140 (503) 625-6691 peppmeier@worldnet.att.net

Rife, Randy & Julie Rife Shropshires 2423 Clifton Rd. Yellow Springs, OH 45387 (937) 767-1871 rifeflockmaster@dishmail.net www.rifeshropshires.com Roberts, Tim Roberts Farms 27954 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington, OK 73093 (405) 485-9255 Cell: (405) 314-3370 robertssheepco@cs.com Rogers, Danny & Cynthia Rogers Shropshires 2435 W. McCracken Road Monrovia, IN 46157 (317) 996-3301 dcrogers821@yahoo.com

Percival, Jim & Denise Schoolhouse Shropshires 961 Hoop Road Xenia, OH 45385 (937) 374-3371 schoolhousshrops@aol.com www.schoolhouseshropshires.com

Rueber, Carol & Aimee Rueber Shropshires 24632 210th St. Sumner, IA 50674 (563) 578-8663 ruebershrops@yahoo.com www.geocities.com/ruebershrops

Pipestone Vet Clinic 1300 S. Hwy. 75 Box 188 Pipestone, MN 56164 (507) 825-4211 www.pipevet.com

Sargent, Tom Tom Sargent & Family 9811 Grandview Dr. Bradford, OH 45308 (937) 448-6154 terry45308@yahoo.com

Proffitt, Jim 38208 Brady Creek Road Richmond, MO 64085 (816) 470-6842 jproffitt6842@esagelink.com

Seals Family S Bar S Ranch 2360 B Shafer Ave. Morgan Hill, CA 95037 (408) 779-1789 (Cell:) (408) 472-8195 sbarssheep@cs.com

Riddick, Daniel Mayo Mountain Sheep Company 680 Mayo Road Huntington, VT 05462 (802) 434-2745 riddicks@att.net (566) 415-0671 _______ Page 66

Schimm, Katie 29131 Winterbauer Ave. Athens, IL 62613 (566) 415-0671

Silvertop Farm 6151 West Fountain Road Ponca City, OK 74601 (580) 765-3727 marchodgson@TheSilvertop.com

Trew, Emily 389 York Road Ocoee, TN 37361 (888) 831-2619 billtrew@comcast.net

Slutz, Tom City Limits Sheep Farm P.O. Box 177, 602 S. Main St. LaMoille, IL 61330 (815) 638-2177 Cell: (815) 866-5031 tws46@excite.com www.citylimitssheepfarm.com

Verduin, Calvin Verduin’s Apple Hill Farm 4391 Miller Road Dansville, NY 14437 (585) 335-3703 calv8@hotmail.com

Smith Sisters Shropshires 2129 130th Ave. Russell, MN 56169-3072 (507) 823-4784 lbsmith@woodstocktel.net Smith, Gordon & Alyce Cedar Bend Farm N 7922 U.S. Highway 12 Elkhorn, WI 53121 (262) 742-3580 cedarbendfarm@elknet.net

Washburn, Emily Washburn Shrops 1755 Lead Mine Road Gouverneur, NY 13642 (315) 578-2443 Cell: (315) 408-2478 nyshrops@yahoo.com Webster, Ryan 413 Roosevelt Trail Windham, ME 04062 (207) 892-3824

Wisehart, Mark & Patty & Sons 9372 N 400 E Greenfield, IN 46140 (765) 778-7707

Sommer, Todd 2370 New Park Road New Park, PA 17352 (717) 382-1320 Switzer, Jane E. Switzer Shropshires 6741 S. 1150 W Redkey, IN 47373 (765) 369-2844 steve.jane@switzershropshires.com switzershropshires.com

Woods, Molly Jo Woods Wools Etc. 31359 County Hwy 2 Baylis, IL 62314 (217) 335-2001 Cell: (217) 242-4698 woodwool@adams.net

Be sure your name is listed in the Breeder’s Index It’s the best “phone directory” to Shropshire breeders

Shropshire breeders can have their name, phone, address and e-mail addresses listed in three issues of the Voice and on the Shropshire website for a 12-month period for only $30. A link to personal websites can be included for an additional $20. E-mail info to Rinda Maddox: shropshirevoice@thesidellreporter.com. _______ Page 67

On The Cover—Pictured on the cover is “Mojo” standing near

a corn field in Ohio. The beautiful photo was provided by Oscar Sweet and shows the natural correctness and straight lines of this tremendous ram. We were excited for the opportunity to purchase “Mojo” since the minute we saw him at the farm in May, we knew he represented exactly what we needed in our breeding program.

A tradition of quality and consistency spans over 30 years at 3D Sheep Company. Located in the West, we are many miles from the heart of the action but our program has emerged as one of the premier Shropshire flocks in the United States.We believe in breeding sheep that will continue to produce and perform.Carefully selecting breeding stock has allowed us to maintain breed character, size and capacity along with style and correctness. We are passionate about Shropshires and hope that we can share our enthusiasm with you.

3D Sheep Co. Darrell & Janet Dockter 19411 S. Carpenter Rd., Snohomish, WA 98290 (425) 334-9130 Cell: (425) 327-1428

Index Advertisers Adams........................................................61 Anderson..................................................29 Barnes...........................Inside Back Cover Brockmann................................................58 Dockter/Sweet..................... Front Cover Ebert..........................................................14 Elsbury.........................................................8 Ewesful Gifts.............................................36 Jackson.......................................................52 Johnson......................................................35 Ketcham....................................................60 Kipp............................................................20 Maddox......................................................49 McCabe.....................................................33 Percival.....................................Back Cover Pipestone..................................................21 Rull.............................................................42 Roberts........................................................7 Rife.............................. Inside Front Cover Rueber.......................................................24 Sheepman Supply.....................................39 _______ Page 68

Sydell..........................................................19 Townsend’s Sales.....................................27 Articles All-American Junior Show.....................40 Board of Director’s Meeting...................9 Calendar....................................................20 Fund-raising baskets................................25 Futurity......................................................44 Junior Schedule for NAILE....................42 Legal Notice...............................................5 Letters to the Editor..............................15 Matching Funds Program.........................7 Midwest Sale............................................35 National Sheep Improvement..............13 National Show at NAILE.........................6 North East Youth.....................................50 Northwest Starter Flock.......................52 Photo Album/Lacko................................32 Scholarship..................................................3 Shropshire Classic...................................26 Spectacular Junior Show........................43 Shropshire Spectacular..........................27

r i a f f A y l i m a F

It’s a “Great Genetics Make The Difference”

Powerful brood ewes loaded with October babies!

Randy, Julie, Justin, Melissa, Olivia & Zachary Rife 2423 Clifton Road, Yellow Springs, OH 45387 Only 6 miles south of I-70 (Exit 54)

(937) 767-1871 Cell: (937) 603-0535 rifeflockmaster@dishmail.net

www.rifeshropshires.com

air 2008 Ohio State F

BARNES FARMS

Ph: (740) 494-2125, Fax: (740) 494-2913 5707 Mooney Road, Radnor, OH 43066 e-mail: troytongrn@acc-net.com web: www.barnesfarms.com

October 2008

ShropShire

Voice

Contact Us! Phone/Fax: 937-374-3371 E-mail: SchoolhousShrops@aol.com

A New Lineage In The Making!

(Happy Retirement Bill & Linda!)

Schoolhouse Shropshires Buys S Bar S Ranch Flock

Jim & Denise Percival Xenia, Ohio

Schoolhouse Shropshires

Visit us on the web! www.SchoolhouseShropshires.com

Schoolhouse 08-0032 2nd Place Early Spring Ewe Lamb 2008 Ohio State Fair

The