- 7 -
percent in any given year, would be added to and kept in the
Barnes Ranches breeding flock. Ewes could have a potential
breeding life of 7 to 9 years. However, as part of their
continuing efforts to improve their breeding flock, the Barnes
family periodically evaluated a breeding sheep's quality level
and breeding performance and would cull from their breeding flock
those sheep they judged to be unproductive or incapable of
producing offspring of sufficient quality.
With respect to the lambs the Barnes Ranches breeding flock
annually produced, the Barnes family generally would sell their
surplus and lesser quality lambs (i.e., those that were not good
candidates either for addition to the breeding flock, entry in
national show competitions, or sale to other breeders)5 after
those lambs reached a certain age. Some of these lambs were sold
to teenagers participating in 4-H programs. However, the vast
majority of the lambs were sold to commercial meat packing
companies.6
5 For instance, a breeder of lower quality sheep might
purchase a few Suffolk rams from the Barnes family in an effort
to improve the quality of that breeder's flock. This breeder's
flock operations might be geared solely to producing lambs sold
for meat. Indeed, sometimes a Suffolk ram will be bred with a
ewe of another breed, as the resulting hybrid offspring's meat
quality can often be higher than that of a nonhybrid offspring of
the ewe's breed.
6Male lambs not raised for breeding purposes were castrated.
These castrated animals are called wethers.
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Last modified: May 25, 2011