Quarterly Newsletter of Katahdin Hair Sheep International Volume 16, Number 1 The Katahdin Hairald Inside Winter 2004 www.KHSI.org The enclosed printed member- ship list is the KHSI End of Year 2003 membership list. It reflects the names of all members who paid dues during 2003. We use this list as a record of renewals and members for 2003. We up- dated info for your listing if we received it before the printing date. The list will be updated again at the end of March. At that time, we will add new members for 2004, list all renewing members whose 2004 dues are paid, and make other changes that people have requested for their 2004 list- ing. NOTE: If your label says “not Important Info for All Members: 2004 Renewals, Enclosed 2003 Membership List paid” that means your 2004 dues have not been received and your info will be removed from the Spring 2004 printed list and website. 2004 Dues are $25US and $37 Canadian and must be sent to: KHSI Registry 1039 Winrock Drive Morrilton AR 72110. Don’t miss out—rejoin today! Website member listings are updated each week. You may check your listing at www.KHSI.org to be sure it cor- rectly reflects any changes that you sent in with your 2004 dues. If not, please drop a note to: [email protected]. Katahdin breeders emphasize different traits in their selection programs to make Katahdins a more functional animal for meat production. Producers may em- phasize one or more of the follow- ing: a) multiple births, b) nonsea- sonal lambing, c) increased milk production, d) increased frame size and growth rate, e) scrapie re- sistance, f) increased muscling. All of these traits may increase the ability of Katahdins to function in commercial production systems, Taking Katahdins to the Next Level: Identifying Sire Lines That Have Superior Parasite Resistance Jim Morgan, Arkansas but each of these traits is readily available in other breeds of sheep. Only a few breeds have the genetics for superior parasite re- sistance and these are breeds that are not commonly available or have other traits which make them less commercially viable. Many sheep breeders in the warmer and more humid parts of the world, including the South- eastern US, are beginning to find that most wormers are much less effective because internal parasite populations have resistance to current anthelmintics. Thus, a strategy with dramatic potential to increase the market for Katahdins is to identify lines that have genetics that will decrease the need for or eliminate use of wormers. Financial benefits for the breeder include more live lambs to sell, less money and la- bor spent on wormers, increased growth rates when ewes and lambs are less parasitized, and the ability to manage sheep at higher Continued on page 2 Sire Lines with Superior Parasite Resistance .............. 1 Important Information ............. 1 Director’s Corner ..................... 3 RR Ram Raffle ......................... 4 Seedstock Sale Proposed for KHSI Annual Gathering ........ 4 Scrapie Resistance Testing .... 5 Silent Auction A Success ........ 6 What Can You See? ................. 6 Scrapie Issues ......................... 7 Welcome New Members .......... 8 Operations Notes .................... 8 Showing Guidelines Update ... 9 2004 KHSI Annual Meeting Plans Take Shape in MS ..... 10 Midwest Stud Ram Sale ........ 10 MO Assn. Year in Review ...... 11 Classified Ads ........................ 12 KHSI Member’s Guide ........... 13 Insert - Showing Survey
Transcript
Quarterly Newsletter of Katahdin Hair Sheep International
Volume 16, Number 1
The Katahdin
Hairald
Inside
Winter 2004
www.KHSI.org
The enclosed printed member-ship list is the KHSI End of Year2003 membership list. It reflectsthe names of all members whopaid dues during 2003. We usethis list as a record of renewalsand members for 2003. We up-dated info for your listing if wereceived it before the printingdate.
The list will be updated againat the end of March. At that time,we will add new members for2004, list all renewing memberswhose 2004 dues are paid, andmake other changes that peoplehave requested for their 2004 list-ing. NOTE: If your label says “not
Important Info for All Members:
2004 Renewals, Enclosed 2003
Membership List
paid” that means your 2004 dueshave not been received and yourinfo will be removed from theSpring 2004 printed list andwebsite. 2004 Dues are $25USand $37 Canadian and must besent to:
KHSI Registry1039 Winrock Drive Morrilton AR 72110.
Don’t miss out—rejoin today!Website member listings are
updated each week. You maycheck your listing atwww.KHSI.org to be sure it cor-rectly reflects any changes thatyou sent in with your 2004 dues.If not, please drop a note to:[email protected].
Katahdin breeders emphasizedifferent traits in their selectionprograms to make Katahdins amore functional animal for meatproduction. Producers may em-phasize one or more of the follow-ing: a) multiple births, b) nonsea-sonal lambing, c) increased milkproduction, d) increased framesize and growth rate, e) scrapie re-sistance, f) increased muscling.All of these traits may increase theability of Katahdins to function incommercial production systems,
Taking Katahdins to the Next Level: Identifying Sire
Lines That Have Superior Parasite Resistance
Jim Morgan, Arkansas but each of these traits is readilyavailable in other breeds of sheep.
Only a few breeds have thegenetics for superior parasite re-sistance and these are breeds thatare not commonly available orhave other traits which makethem less commercially viable.Many sheep breeders in thewarmer and more humid parts ofthe world, including the South-eastern US, are beginning to findthat most wormers are much lesseffective because internal parasitepopulations have resistance to
current anthelmintics. Thus, astrategy with dramatic potentialto increase the market forKatahdins is to identify lines thathave genetics that will decreasethe need for or eliminate use ofwormers. Financial benefits forthe breeder include more livelambs to sell, less money and la-bor spent on wormers, increasedgrowth rates when ewes andlambs are less parasitized, and theability to manage sheep at higher
Continued on page 2
Sire Lines with SuperiorParasite Resistance .............. 1
Important Information ............. 1Director’s Corner ..................... 3RR Ram Raffle ......................... 4Seedstock Sale Proposed for
KHSI Annual Gathering ........ 4Scrapie Resistance Testing .... 5Silent Auction A Success ........ 6What Can You See? ................. 6Scrapie Issues ......................... 7Welcome New Members .......... 8Operations Notes .................... 8Showing Guidelines Update ... 92004 KHSI Annual Meeting
Plans Take Shape in MS ..... 10Midwest Stud Ram Sale ........ 10MO Assn. Year in Review ...... 11Classified Ads ........................ 12KHSI Member’s Guide ........... 13Insert - Showing Survey
The Katahdin Hairald • www.KHSI.orgPage 2 Winter 2004
densities. We need moreKatahdin breeders to help iden-tify superior lines of parasite re-sistant sheep.
At two recent meetings of pro-fessional Animal Scientists, selec-tion for parasite resistance hasbeen identified as a #1 priority forthe sheep industry. The wormspecies of most interest in NorthAmerica is the barber pole worm,Haemonchus contortus. Studies atVirginia Tech and the Booneville,Arkansas Small Farm ResearchCenter (USDA-ARS) have foundthat Katahdins are more resistantto parasites than most woolbreeds in those trials. However,Katahdins have not been found tobe as resistant to internal parasitesas St Croix and Gulf Coast/Florida Native sheep. There isroom for Katahdins to improve.
Animal scientists have deter-mined that parasite resistance isheritable. This means that iden-tifying animals with superiorparasite resistance and breedingthem to each other will produceoffspring superior for that trait.We need a program that can lookat large numbers of Katahdins,factor out management and envi-ronmental differences, and accu-rately identify lines of sheep withparasite resistance.
Other countries outside ofNorth America are actively pur-suing selection for parasite resis-tance and the models are outthere. In Australia, the “Nemesis”program is successfully identify-ing Merino sire lines that are moreresistant to parasites while stillretaining superior wool traits.Fecal egg counts (FEC) are stan-dardized procedures in which thenumbers of worm eggs/gram offeces are counted using a micro-scope. Dr. Dave Notter at VirginiaTech has found that a single FECis 20% heritable. With high vari-
ance in FEC and 20% heritability,significant progress identifyingparasite resistant Katahdin linesis feasible.
Many breeders say that theyare selecting for parasite resis-tance. The questions I have in-clude:A) what are their criteria,B) what are their methods,C) how accurate are they,D) will lines identified in flock #1
be more resistant in flock #2,E) are they actually making
progress or doing it quicklyenough to be important.
How can we set up a programthat identifies superior parasiteresistant Katahdin lines for allproducers? How can we increasethe rate of improvement?A) It needs to be across-flock.
i) Identified genetic linesneed to express superiorparasite resistance in sev-eral environments andmanagement systems.Most of the observed ex-pression of parasite resis-tance is due to superiormanagement or to envi-ronments that are not con-ducive to worm popula-tions.
ii) Multiple flocks will in-crease the number of ramsevaluated and thus in-crease the rate at which re-sistant lines are found.
B) It needs to have a standardprotocol that all participatingflocks use.
C) It needs to be quantitative.D) It needs to be replicated across
a few years. It will take a com-mitted multi-year effort fromseveral flocks.
During 2003, there were threeKatahdin flocks that started col-lecting data (FEC) and submittedresults to Dr. Dave Notter at Vir-ginia Tech for analyses. They in-
cluded Paul Rodgers of West Vir-ginia, Dave/Nancy Maddox ofGeorgia and Jim Morgan/TeresaMaurer of Arkansas. The goalwill be an EPD-FEC (ExpectedProgeny Difference for Fecal EggCount). This will be a cross-flockEPD and will identify geneticlines that are superior in multipleflocks, states and managementsystems.
In 2003, the process and crite-ria included the following:A) At least 2 sires that each had
1 dozen or more lambs raisedin the same pen/pasture (andwithin a couple of weeks ofthe same age)
B) Worm all lambs on the test onday 1 of the sample period.(Start at 14-17 weeks of age)
C) At 4 & 5 weeks after worm-ing, fecal samples were col-lected. Most breedersshipped their fecal samples toVirginia Tech for countingbecause of a batch price dis-count.
D) Pastures do need to be con-taminated. At the end of 5weeks, at least some of thelambs should have FEC ap-proaching 1000 eggs/gram oreven more.i) Need to have a moderate
to high level of pasturecontamination and prob-ably have lambs sampledin July-September (thesemonths will vary with theclimate). Typically highnumbers of Haemonchuslarvae available for inges-tion by the lamb only existin pastures later in thewarm and wet parts of thegrowing season.
ii) Not all pastures will havehigh enough contamina-tion to be able to accurately
Taking Katahdins to the Next Level, Continued from page 1
Continued on page 3
The Katahdin Hairald • www.KHSI.org Page 3Winter 2004
Taking Katahdins to the Next Level, Continued from page 2
This is going to be short be-cause we are dealing with oldman winter, getting ready forlambing, and trying to get ourtaxes filed. KHSI committees aregetting organized and startingwork.
Committee members and in-formation will soon be listed on
Director’s Corner
Larry Weeks, Virginia
the web page to make it easier foryou to reach them with any ideasthat could help them accomplishtheir goals. Planning is underway for the 2004 annual confer-ence October 7-9. Please startplanning on attending now. It isalready shaping up to be anothergreat event.
Check out the web page atwww.KHSI.org. We hope to addsome more pictures of KatahdinSheep—contact Operations if youhave good pictures. As always,please feel free to contact me withideas, suggestions or commentsconcerning any aspect of theKHSI organization.
tible to parasites at ages youngerthan the above protocol. Eventu-ally, we need Katahdins that areresistant to worms by the timethey begin grazing at 4-8 weeksof age. This is termed “innate” re-sistance. If you are interested inidentifying innate resistant lines,please inquire.
If you are interested in taking
differentiate resistance andnot all lambing scheduleswill lend themselves to thestudy.
The above protocol will iden-tify genetic lines with “acquired”parasite resistance at 14-20 weeksof age. This is just the first part ofa project to identify parasite resis-tant lines. Lambs are very suscep-
Katahdins to the next level, beingon the cutting edge and having amajor impact on the sheep indus-try, please contact:
The Katahdin Hairald • www.KHSI.orgPage 4 Winter 2004
John Stromquist, Katahdinbreeder from Illinois, has donateda Feb 2004 ram lamb that is RR atcodon 171 to KHSI. This meansthat the ram is resistant to scrapieand that all lambs sired by him areresistant to scrapie. John has agood eye for sheep and you cancount on this being a good ramwith good size. John judgedsheep nationally for many yearsbefore retiring from raisingColumbias.
His sheep-raising career tooka new look when he came backwith Katahdins. There may notbe another KHSI member whohas raised sheep longer than John- he has been doing it for more
RR Ram Donated for KHSI Raffle
Winning Ticket Drawn at the 2004
KHSI Annual Meeting
years than most of us have beenalive.
John donated the ram with thestipulation that all proceeds beused for promoting Katahdins innational & international sheepmagazines. The winning raffleticket will be drawn at the KHSIAnnual Meeting in MississippiOctober 7-9th. Suggested pricesfor the tickets will be $5.00 perticket or six tickets for $25.00.More details on the Ram Rafflewill be the next Hairald. Youcould be the owner of a qualityKatahdin Ram by buying a raffleticket. KHSI looks forward to us-ing this money to do a better jobof promoting all our Katahdins!
Plans are shaping up for aseedstock sale to be held at theAnnual KHSI Gathering in Octo-ber in Mississippi. The detailswill be announced later.
Such a sale would need to bemade up of animals that best rep-resent the Katahdin breed. It isnot too late to make suggestionsabout the sale itself. Also, we’dlike to hear from you if you haveanimals that you might consignto a “PREMIER” sale. To makesuggestions or learn more, pleasecall or email: Mark Dennis (337)364-0422 [email protected] or Ed Martsolf (501) [email protected]
The Katahdin Hairald • www.KHSI.org Page 5Winter 2004
Current research has shownthat there are two parts of theprion protein gene in a sheep’sDNA that determine its resistanceor susceptibility to scrapie strainspresent in the USA and Canada.These are the presence of R andQ amino acids located at codon171, and A and V located at codon136. The presence of the A and Vamino acids at codon 136 affectthe susceptibility to a strain ofscrapie that is very rare and vir-tually non-existent in this coun-try. Therefore, at the present timewe in the US are most concernedwith the Q and R at codon 171.Our Kentucky state veterinarianis not yet recommending testingfor codon 136.
The presence of at least onecopy of the prion protein genewith the R amino acid at codon171 will make a sheep resistant toscrapie. Genes usually come inpairs and a sheep has two pos-sible amino acids coded at 171(one from each parent). The paircan be RR, QR or QQ. Either theRR or QR combination (genotype)will make a sheep resistant. TheQQ genotype means that a sheepwill be susceptible to scrapie if itcomes in contact with the diseasecausing agent. It does not meanthat the sheep has scrapie. Keepin mind that this DNA testing isnot to determine if the sheep hasscrapie, it is to determine thesheep’s resistance or susceptibil-ity to the disease. Note, that thereare two other rare amino acidsfound at codon 171 in a fewbreeds of sheep, but for thepresent, Katahdin breeders onlyneed to be concerned with thepresence of the Q & R amino ac-ids.
Testing for Q & R requires thesampling of blood. There is a new
Getting Your Sheep Tested for Scrapie Resistance DNA
Kay Cloyd, Kentucky
method recently introduced thateliminates blood tube collectionmethod. Instead, this involvespricking the ear with a razor andputting 5 drops of blood on ablood card. The cards are thendried and sent to the testing lab.To find out more about thismethod of collection or any otherinformation about testing, contactone or all of the places at the endof the article. Note that some buy-ers will only want DNA tests thathave been certified and may re-quire that a veterinarian havedrawn the blood and certified thatit came from an animal with aspecific tag ID.
Prior to the introduction of the“blood card”, blood needed to bewithdrawn from a major bloodvessel, usually in the neck. To getyour testing done without a bloodcard, you must arrange to havesomeone draw blood or do ityourself. In some situations thismust be done by a veterinarian.You will need special “purpletop” tubes to collect the samples.These tubes have an anticoagu-lant in them to keep the bloodfrom clotting. Clotting will renderthe sample unusable. About 2ccof blood is taken out of the largeneck vein. Clean collectingneedles and syringes must beused with each draw to avoidcross contamination. Carefulidentification of the tubes is ob-viously important. Tubes are thenpacked to eliminate breakage andmailed as soon as possible to thetesting facilities. You don’t haveto get expensive overnight ship-ping. I mail mine US mail guar-anteed to get there in two days.If it is summertime and the tem-peratures are very warm you maywant to consider sending themovernight or pack them with cold
packs. If you can’t mail rightaway they will keep in the refrig-erator for several days. (I don’trecommend this but I once sentsome samples that had been in therefrigerator for a month and theytested ok.) It is best to ship earlyin the week so the samples willnot lie in a warm building some-where over the weekend. Thismeans that if you can arrange it,do your blood drawing early inthe week.
Getting your animals tested isexpensive. Cost per animal isabout $14.00 per test plus what-ever it costs to have the blooddrawn. Testing for both codonswould be approximately $26-$28per animal. (One blood draw willdo both 171 and 136 but there is aseparate charge for each test).Once a lab has a blood sample,you can get other informationlater such as the other codon 136,spider gene or parentage testingwithout having to submit addi-tional samples.
The ultimate goal after gettingyour animals tested is to breed incombinations that will eliminateQQ offspring that are susceptibleto scrapie. The following are thepossible genetic combinations ofthe parents and what we can pre-dict their offspring will be:• Both parents are RR: all off-
spring will be RR• Both parents are QQ: all off-
spring will be QQ• One parent is RR the other QQ:
all offspring will be QR• One parent is QR the other RR:
on average - 50% will be QRthe other 50% will be RR.
• One parent is QQ the other QR:on average - 50% will be QQ,the other 50% will be QR
Continued on page 6
The Katahdin Hairald • www.KHSI.orgPage 6 Winter 2004
• Both parents are QR: on aver-age - 25% will be RR, 25% willbe QQ and 50% will be QR.Even if it is prohibitive for you
to test all of your breeding ani-mals, just getting your rams testedcan give you some idea of whereyou are. You may be luckyenough to have one or more ofthem test RR. All of the offspringof an RR ram will have at least oneR gene, making them resistant. Ifyour best ram tests QQ, that doesnot necessarily mean he isthrough as a breeding animal. Butin order to prevent getting QQoffspring out of him you will haveto invest in getting your breedingewes tested.
Any RR ewes you have canthen be bred to the QQ ram result-ing in all QR offspring. These off-spring can then be bred to pro-duce RR lambs. I now have RR
grandsons out of my one of mybest rams who was QQ.
If you do not want to invest themoney and effort in testing and/or you are looking for new stock,buy from breeders who are test-ing. Purchase of an RR ram willassure that all of your lambs willbe resistant.
In the USA, current standardpolicy follows: If scrapie is foundin your stock or any you have pro-duced and sold within the last 5years, your farm will be quaran-tined and all QQ animals de-stroyed. I personally know some-one here in Kentucky that thishappened to last summer. Thiscan be disastrous and dishearten-ing if it is your prized rams orewes out of genetics you haveworked for years to establish.
Here are some resources youcan use for testing services:
GeneCheck1629 Blue Spruce DriveSuite 106Fort Collins, CO 80524Phone: 800-822-6740,
970-472-9959,[email protected] www.genecheck.com (has the blood cards)
GenMark1825 Infinity Dr.DeForest, WI 53532Phone: 877-766-3446www.genmarkag.com
Phone – 501-727-5659Fax – 501-727-5659p.s. Practical thoughts are wel-
come too.
The new owners of our auctionram are Robert, Johanna, and Ri-chard Elliott of Rojo Ranch inCaldwell, TX with the high bid of$700.00. The Elliotts are chartermembers of SCKA.
Our SCKA Officers and Mem-bers say “Thank You” to all thosewho bid on this Katahdin ramlamb. SCKA also sends our spe-cial appreciation to Vaughn andNaomi Johnson of Livingston,Montana, for donating this su-perb ram lamb to SCKA.
Proceeds from this 2004 fund
raiser will aid us in hosting theKHSI Annual Gathering / Meet-ing October 7-9, 2004, inMcComb, Mississippi.
Let me remind you of theSCKA Annual Meeting June 11-12, 2004, in Pecan Island, LA. AllKatahdin enthusiasts are wel-come to join and attend. Visit theSCKA Website www.hair-sheep.com for a schedule ofevents. Bring your trailer andcheckbook because Katahdinswill be on display and for sale.Thank you for your support!
South Central Katahdin Association
Silent Auction: A Success!
Mark Dennis, SCKA President
What Can You
See?
Ed Martsolf, Arkansas
Soliciting Sites for the2005 KHSI Annual Gathering
contact Operations Office 479-444-8441 or [email protected] www.khsi.org
The Katahdin Hairald • www.KHSI.org Page 7Winter 2004
REPORT 1 – DISTRIBUTION OF GENOTYPES AT CODON 171 IN USA SHEEPIn the NAHMS (National Animal Health Monitoring System) study of 2001, 11,748 blood samples
from US sheep were genotyped at codon 171. The genotype at codon 171 of the Prion gene is a goodpredictor of whether a sheep is resistant to scrapie for the strains present in the USA. Sheep that are RRor QR are found to be mostly scrapie resistant while QQ sheep are considered to be susceptible. Duringthe last half of 2003 and early in 2004, the KHSI Breed Improvement Committee collected frequencies of
codon 171 genotypes from 22KHSI breeders and from theNAHMS study which pro-vided anonymous data fromthe Katahdin flocks they sur-veyed. We have receivedcodon 171 genotypes for 384Katahdins.
While we can not say theKatahdin sample is random,we do believe that the reportedresults are a good indication ofthe frequency of QQ, QR & RRin Katahdins prior to breedersbeginning to select for R and/or cull QQ sheep.
The basic conclusions arethat a) Katahdins as a breed aresusceptible to scrapie and b)Katahdins are not much if anydifferent from the general USsheep population in their fre-quency of the Q & R alleles.
REPORT 2 - FREQUENCY OF SCRAPIE IN USA SHEEP PUBLISHEDIn its January 2004 issue, The Shepherd Magazine reprinted an article titled “Surveillance Study Shows
True Picture of Scrapie in the United States”. It was written by Emily Tescher-Johnston for the Sheep IndustryNews, a publication of the American Sheep Industry. The USDA-APHIS (US Department of Agriculture,Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service) program did a slaughter surveillance of older cull sheep forthe presence of scrapie. They looked at a random sample of older cull sheep, because they are of the agecategory in which scrapie can be more reliably detected.
The frequency of scrapie in the tested sheep was 0.2% or 1 in 500 sheep have scrapie. Samples werecollected from 12,508 sheep at 22 slaughter plants over the course of 1 year. There were regional differ-ences in that in the Eastern USA, they found that at least 1 in every 200 sheep have scrapie. They alsofound that the majority of sheep that have scrapie are black-faced, which was an expected result.
Now that USDA-APHIS knows the frequency of scrapie in the US sheep flocks, they are planning onstepping up surveillance with trace backs to identify the flocks that have scrapie. They will continuework to eradicate scrapie.
———————-One could be alarmist with this information and recommend that it is imperative that all Katahdin
breeders start taking very stringent measures to prevent scrapie. With frequencies of scrapie near 1 in500, it could be predicted that it may just be a matter of time before all breeds have a case of scrapie.Currently, flocks in the USA that are identified as having scrapie are quarantined and not allowed to sell
Two Recent Reports on Scrapie Issues:
Summarized by Jim Morgan, Arkansas
FREQUENCY OF CODON 171 GENOTYPESSheep Type QQ QR RR Other (H allele)All Sheep* 39.1% 44.1% 16.0% 0.8%Black Faced* 44.0% 41.9% 13.1% 1.0%White-Faced* 36.5% 45.4% 17.5% 0.6%Katahdin1 36.0% 51.8% 12.2% Not Tested
FREQUENCY OF 171 ALLELESSheep Type Q RAll Sheep** 61.6% 38.4%Black Faced** 65.6% 34.4%White-Faced** 59.6% 40.4%Katahdin1 61.9% 38.1%
* Percent frequencies taken from the NAHMS Study.1 Percent frequencies taken from Katahdin breeders who reported their results** Percent frequencies calculated from the NAHMS study. These are
approximations since I did not have the raw data.
Continued on page 8
The Katahdin Hairald • www.KHSI.orgPage 8 Winter 2004
sheep until APHIS knows the sta-tus of the infestation. In the past,all sheep were put down, but nowthey are testing the whole flockfor their genotype at codon 171.Typically, QQ sheep are putdown with the producer receiv-ing compensation. After the quar-antine is lifted, QR & RR sheep areallowed to be sold or kept asbreeding stock.
Factors that decrease risk ofscrapie transfer to your flock in-clude but are not limited to: a)knowing where all purchasedsheep came from and whetherthey were raised with any black-
faced breeds, b) selecting for R atcodon 171, c) culling sheep thatare QQ at codon 171, d) minimiz-ing contact of animals with pla-cental material, e) buying sheepfrom SFCP (Scrapie Flock Certifi-cation Program) flocks, especiallyones that are fully certified, f) notexhibiting at shows.
Not all of the above strategiesare practical or financially feasiblefor every producer. Each breederwill need to decide how to re-spond to this new informationand which, if any, of the measuresto decrease scrapie risk they needto take.
Recent Reports on Scrapie Issues, Continued from page 7
Inspection Requests Due May15. All requests for hair coat in-spections are due to KHSI Opera-tions by May 15. The earlier youget your request in, the morelikely it is that we can contact aninspector close to you or help youshare mileage costs with otherbreeders. Please call or emailsoon.
Breeder Mini Web Pages Be-ing Tested. We are currently test-ing the set-up for breeders’ pagesthat will soon be available on theKHSI website. If you would liketo help us “beta test” a page foryour farm, please call or email Jimat the above address. Detailsabout the breeder pages will beavailable soon on the site and inthe next Hairald.
Got Forms? Animal Registra-tion Forms, Membership Forms(for your customers!) and Re-newal Forms can be printed withjust a few clicks at www.KHSI.org
Brochures: Each member isentitled to 20 free KHSI brochuresper year. Call or email Operationsto request your 2004 supply.
Do You Have Artistic/Graph-ics/Layout Skills? From time totime, we need member volunteerswith a good artistic eye, especiallywhen it comes to revising dis-plays, T-shirt designs, etc. If youhave these skills and could helpKHSI out on small projects, wewould love to hear from you.
To make an effective statement........ consider advertising in the Hairald
contact Operations at 479-444-8441 or [email protected] more information on display advertising
Welcome New MembersDecember 2003 through January 2004
Keith Steele.......................................................................ArkansasVernon Crews .................................................................... GeorgiaRichard Moore ................................................................ LouisianaRick Maierhoffer & Bill Byram .......................................MissouriJames R & Jamie L Wilhoit .............................................MissouriJudy Peterson ....................................................................MissouriDeb Schneider ......................................................................... OhioJim & Julie Vaughn ....................................................... TennesseeClaude Hansford Conley II ......................................... TennesseeRod Hewitt ........................................................................VermontWade C Collins .................................................................. Virginia
The Katahdin Hairald • www.KHSI.org Page 9Winter 2004
While Katahdins have had astronger presence in show ringsthroughout North America in thelast few years, showingKatahdins remains a very contro-versial subject. Some breeders feelstrongly that they should not beshown at all, while others verymuch enjoy showing their sheep.Dr. Charles Parker spoke inMaine about the positive andnegative effects showing can anddoes have on sheep breeds. Forexample, shows provide muchneeded breed promotion by get-ting quality animals out there tobe seen. They offer opportunityfor animals to be evaluated andcompared by professionals. Un-fortunately, shows can havemany detrimental effects too.Breeders begin to breed just forappearance or extremes and notfor the traits a breed is known for.The show ring has taken its tollon many breeds of sheep. Howcan we avoid Katahdins beingone of them while still being outthere? These are very importantissues for us as breeders to con-sider.
The Showing Guidelines Com-mittee was established by theKHSI Board to develop a feasibleshow format and set of guidelinesfor showing Katahdins whichwill protect the integrity of thebreed. The committee will recom-mend to the KHSI Board a show-ing format that identifies superiorbreeding animals while: a) bal-ancing conformation, size, andvisual appeal with functional andperformance values, b) enhancing
Showing Guidelines Committee Update
Linda Neunzig, Washington
maternal strength in Katahdinsand c) maintaining Katahdinbreed character. This is a tall or-der, and will likely break newground.
The committee’s job is to inves-tigate alternatives and determinea format for showing that will notonly look at the physical aspectsof an animal, but will also includemeaningful performance data —a way of showing that goes be-yond what you see in the ring.Such a format, if approved byKHSI, would be applied to a lim-ited number of KHSI-sanctionedvenues that can showcase the im-portant aspects of our breed.These events would have the po-tential to be excellent educationalopportunities for breeders.
At the 2003 Katahdin Gather-ing in Maine, Scott Bowdridgeand Tom Settlemire did a good jobof demonstrating a show of thistype. Their demo combined fac-tual data with subjective appraisalvia computer analysis to morecompletely evaluate each animal.This stimulated our thinkingabout an unconventional formatfor showing sheep.
We will solicit broad input tothe committee from the KHSImembership and others in thesheep industry working togethertoward a solution. There is a lotof momentum from people whowant to see our breed excel in ev-ery way.
Included in this issue of theHairald is a Member Survey. It isvery important to us to know theopinions and ideas of Katahdin
breeders about showing and theimpact it can have on a breed,both positive and negative. Pleasethink about the questions, thentake 10-15 minutes to respond tothe survey and return it. Yourconstructive input will help usenormously in developing theguidelines.
The Showing Guidelines com-mittee has established three sub-committees:
Visual Evaluation: Recom-mend which traits should beevaluated relating to conforma-tion, soundness, breed character,maternal strength, muscling, etc.,as well as how evaluation shouldbe done for each trait. Most, if notall of this, will be subjective ap-praisal.
Performance Evaluation:Which traits can be included thatwill identify superior Katahdingenetics for fertility and other ma-ternal strengths that we appreci-ate about the breed, as well asgrowth potential and other pro-duction parameters. These willinclude traits that can be mea-sured.
Judges: Explore what trainingKatahdin judges need and whatqualifications they should have,including whether KHSI shouldcertify judges.
We are recruiting for these sub-committees now so if you wouldlike to volunteer for one of themplease contact Linda Neunzig,committee chair, ASAP by phone(360)435-9304 or [email protected]
Hair Coat Inspections Requests due May 15thsee Operations Notes page 8
The Katahdin Hairald • www.KHSI.orgPage 10 Winter 2004
Mark your calendar for Octo-ber 7-9! We are working hard tobring you a great program andhere’s some preliminary informa-tion about arrangements and pro-grams.
MEETING LOCATIONAs a reminder, our meeting site
at McComb Mississippi is 85miles from New Orleans andJackson, MS and Baton Rouge, LAare also within 75 miles. Our HostHotel will be the Hawthorn Innand Suites- they have been sohelpful to us that we especiallyrecommend them. The phonenumber is 601-684-8655—whenyou call, please specify KHSI Oct7-9 meeting. Regular rooms are$65/night, suites are $75/nightwith a hot breakfast included eachmorning. There is a nice pool, pa-tio area, with outdoor grilling fa-cilities if desired. There is a beau-tiful fountain which flows into thepool and another fountain in thelobby. The rooms are very niceand exceptionally clean. The ho-tel sits on Interstate 55 at exit 18,less than 10 minutes from the PikeCo. Fairgrounds where meetingswill be held. Other hotels in thearea: Comfort Inn 601-249-0080,Days Inn 601-684-5566. Self con-tained campers are welcomed to
2004 KHSI Annual Meeting Plans
Take Shape in Mississippi!
Les Jordan, Mississippi
stay at the fairgrounds for a mini-mal fee (estimated $10.00/night)and there are shower facilities inthe restrooms on the grounds.Percy Quin State Park is 10 min-utes away at exit on I-55. It fea-tures cabins, motel, camping fa-cilities, golf course, etc. The areahas at least 21 restaurants, all con-veniently located, as well as a va-riety of fast food places.
TENTATIVE AGENDAThursday October 7: Board of
Director’s meeting 9am-5pm. Daytrip to New Orleans (dependingon interest) maybe tour D-Daymuseum, French Quarter, riverboat ride, general sight seeing.Cost will be around $25.00 to$35.00 per person. The bus willpick up and return to McComb,with the trip lasting from 8 untilabout 6.
Friday, October 8: Registra-tion opens 7:30. Welcome andtwo presentation sessions will runfrom 8:30-noon. Lunch: on yourown or at on-site concession stand(reasonable prices). Presentationswill begin again at 1:30 pm, fol-lowed by a tour of a lamb meatprocessing plant around 4 pm. At7:00 pm, Catfish Dinner at the fair-grounds
Saturday, October 9: Inspec-
tor Training : 8 am to 10:00 amVendors will be available for brieftalks each, as well as time to talkwith them at their displays.Lunch: same as Friday. AnnualMeeting; 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm. Pri-vate treaty or Performance BasedSheep Show 3:30 pm. 7:00 pmBanquet will feature lamb cookoff for KHSI and SCKA members.Cash prizes and trophy given forthe Best and 2nd Best dishes. Doorprizes! Entertainment will be pro-vided by “Fair River”, a localbluegrass, country type band thatjust loves to entertain.
REGISTRATIONForms will be available in the
next issue of the Hairald and onthe website. Registration fee:$50.00 per person ($45.00 for earlyregistration before Sept. 1, 2004).This includes all sessions on Fri-day and events on Saturday, withcoffee, juices and water at thebreaks. It also includes dinner onboth Friday and Saturday nightwith entertainment. Membersand non-members are welcome!
DISPLAYSRegional Katahdin groups
such as Midwest Katahdins, Pa-cific Coast Katahdins, will be wel-come to set up a table.
Join us in June at the MissouriState Fairgrounds in Sedalia, Mis-souri, for one of the largest sheepand Boer goat sales in the UnitedStates. Nearly all sheep breedsare represented, with somebreeds holding national sales.Over a thousand sheep and goatsare sold, with sales totaling over
a million dollars.The Katahdin show takes place
on Monday evening, June 21, withopportunities to talk with thebreeders and see the animalslined up for comparison. The saleis on Wednesday, June 23.Classes are: Spring ewe and ramlambs, Fall ewe and ram lambs,
and Yearling ewes and rams. Allsheep entered must be enrolled inthe Federal (Voluntary) ScrapieFlock Certification Program.
We are just starting to buildthis venue at a professionallymanaged sale; genetics from
Nancy Case, Midwest Sale Committee / MO Sheep Producers
Midwest Stud Ram Sale June 21-23
Continued on page 11
The Katahdin Hairald • www.KHSI.org Page 11Winter 2004
The promotional year startedoff early in 2003. Lynn andDonna Fahrmeier of Wellingtontook advantage of a school systemopen house to bring Katahdinbottle babies, which drew a lot ofenthusiastic attention from the300 children present. MissouriAssociation brochures were madeavailable to parents and grand-parents who attended the event.
Marilyn Powell of Buffalo,MO, has always made her farmavailable to us and many otherlivestock raisers for free exhibitson the first weekend of June. Notonly are we starting to sell an in-creasing amount of Katahdinsthrough this venue, but we areconverting Marilyn into aKatahdin owner, too! A localcouple who are Dorper breederswork with us: they selling rams,we selling ewes, to both our mu-tual advantages. We have noticedthis very fast-growing phenom-ena in Missouri, leading us to callthe Dorper-Katahdin crossedlambs the “Black Baldies” of thesheep world, similar to the pre-dominance of Hereford-Anguscrossed calves in beef operations.
Late June marked our first at-tendance at the Midwest StudRam Sale in Sedalia. Since we hadno previous experience with thistype of venue, the outcome waskind of mixed, but we were givenassurances by other sheep breed-
Missouri Katahdin Association Year in Review
Nancy Case, Missouri
ers and the auctioneers that oursales will improve in followingyears. The seminar put on underthe auspices of the Missouri Dept.of Agriculture was very well re-ceived, featuring talks on geneticimprovement using NSIP, qualityrequirements of the Mexicansheep industry, and genetic test-ing for scrapie susceptibility. Themost important thing, once again,was the presence of our MissouriAssociation display. Despite theusual violent storm, it held upagainst high winds. Congratula-tions to the Baumer family forhaving the high selling ram, andalso to David Coplen and CarolFulkerson for winning the TopKatahdin Consignor Award.
Mid-August is time for the MOState Fair in Sedalia, and despitethe unusually high temperatures,the 2003 show was well attended. The fair is well-advertised, andwe are starting to see an increasednumber of show attendees com-ing to the pens to inquire aboutpurchasing breeding stock. Lotsof farm families stopped by thedisplay to pick up brochures andask questions. Congratulations tothe Fahrmeiers for winning thePremier Flock (high point) award.
During the first weekend ofOctober, MoKats membersexhibited at FarmFest in Spring-field, MO. This is one of the larg-est farm trade shows in the Mid-
west, and seems to be increasingevery year. I talked my fellowMO Sheep Producer membersinto hosting a booth, and theysent quite a few people down tothe sheep barn to talk to us. Theweather was perfect and the eventhad the usual heavy attendance. We again exhibited at the SmallFarm Today Expo, Columbia,MO, in early November, and asusual, our lamb samples werewell received. Despite a schedul-ing snafu that had everyone shar-ing the building with a horseshow, the exhibit was well at-tended, and my voice worn out.
In December, the MO Associa-tion decided not to have our ownbooth, opting instead to help staffa booth paid for by the MO SheepMerchandising council. We alsohelped serve lamb at the MODept. of Ag’s Governor’s Confer-ence held at the Lake of theOzarks.
A seminar put together by Bar-bara Hurst, in conjunction withthe local Ag Extension, was heldon January 17th, 2004 at the Ex-perimental Fruit Station in Moun-tain Grove. Twenty attendees lis-tened to talks on carcass grading,aging, and retail cuts; economicalgrazing and feeding of lambs; andincreased marketing opportuni-ties. Everyone brought a dish toshare, and enjoyed the chance tovisit and share their sheep expe-riences.
many states and Canada will berepresented. Many animals areenrolled in the National SheepImprovement Program and someare genetically tested for Scrapieresistance. All breeds are judgedby very experienced judges, andbelieve it or not, many judges arefamiliar with Katahdins.
If you wonder about the pricesthat you will get for your animals,that’s up to you. Before the sale,the auctioneer will ask the groupfor an absolute floor under all ani-mals (last year it was set at $150). You can set your own minimumprice for your entries. Bear inmind, only the finest animals sell
at this auction. Buyers are inter-national and include KHSI mem-bers from Mexico. They will notbuy anything with horns orwoolly coats, even as lambs.
If you are interested in obtain-ing an entry form or a sale cata-log, contact Sheep Breeder SaleManagement at (573) 442-8257.
Midwest Stud Ram Sale, Continued from page 10
The Katahdin Hairald • www.KHSI.orgPage 12 Winter 2004
In compliance with the KHSI Board of Directors policy, sheep for sale advertised by members in the Hairald mustbe Katahdins or Katahdin crosses. Ads for the next issue are due May 1st to Operations: 479-444-8441 [email protected].
Classified Ads
ALABAMA
2 rams, 35 ewes. Some50% Katahdin 50% White Dorper,some 75% Katahdin. Registered/recorded with KHSI. 2 - 3 yearsold and have lambed once ortwice. High quality, prolific flock,Certified Scrapie-free. The flock is100% hair and all shedcompletely. They sell open andready to breed for fall lambing. $200 each or $6500 for entire flock.Cindy Brasfield, Robertsdale, AL.(251)947-5218 [email protected]
Registered Katahdin sheep: 30ewe lambs, 10 ram lambs, bornDec 2003, will be ready to sale inMarch. Herd is in VSFCP and hasbeen gene typed; lambs will betyped before sale. Average weightof twins 8-9lbs each. Joey andRhonda Kelmer (Ricochet Farms)Atmore, AL. 251-446-7587 [email protected]
ILLINOIS
2 year old white long bodied,black hoofed Registered KatahdinRam. Please call (309) 329-2429 ifinterested or email us [email protected]. Tobyand Cathy White in central Illi-nois. Can send pictures of the ramvia the net. Asking $200.00. Ready
$250 or will consider trade foranother registered ram. GaryLaBuda, Marietta, PA. 717-575-9207. Email [email protected]
TEXAS
Feb 2003 white ram out of a realnice Mark Dennis ram and a reg-istered ewe ($150). Nov-Dec 2003registered ram & ewe lambs. CallGaylin Ratliff at 325- 646 4683 oremail at [email protected]
15 commercial Katahdin ewelambs $150.00 each, lambed inOctober - November 2003. 25commercial Katahdin ewelambs available as weanlings inMay, $150.00 each. Located inNortheast Texas. More info. onour website http://www.goodearthorganicfarm.com LynnMagedson [email protected]
TENNESSEE
For sale or trade; 3 year old whiteregistered Katahdin ram and ramlamb, white registerable, avail-able May 2004. Both born twins.3 year old proven producer oftwins. SFCP enrolled, annual vac-cinations. Clean small flock inwestern Tennessee. Tim & SusanO’Guin 901-465-8631,[email protected]
WASHINGTON
Registered 100% Katahdin Ewesand Rams. Born Jan/Feb 2004,ready to go. Located in NE Wash-ington. Gordon Smith, 509-486-4267, [email protected]
SHEEP FOR SALESHEEP WANTED
75 Katahdins: young ewes or ewelambs. Do not have to be regis-tered. Please contact Lee Wright,Glade Spring, VA. email to:[email protected] or call: Days:(276)944-2200 or Night: (276)429-5876.
SHEEP FOR SALE
SHEEP FOR SALE
for you immediately.
MARYLAND
Registered Katahdin ewe lambsand bred ewes. 1/2 Freisan-1/2Katahdin ewes 2-3 yrs old bred toregistered white Dorper. 50% ewelambs too Located in GarrettCounty in western Maryland.Call Mary or Charlie at 301-746-8194 or email at [email protected]
Registered Stock. Four 5/03 ewelambs, all RR at codon 171. Willconsider trade for RR ewe lambs.All lambs out of an RR ram bornin 3/04 will be for sale. Two com-mercial 2 year old ewes for salewith or without lambs at side,superior mothers, produce biglambs. Photos & sale list available.Evenings 301 855-0716,[email protected]; LindaOBrien.
OKLAHOMA
Registered three year old largewhite proven breeding ram.$250.00 For more informationcontact, Jeff Kerns (405) [email protected]
OREGON
25 Katahdin Ewes of differentages and colors, most are 1-3 years old. More than half arefully registered, rest recorded.Asking $4000. for the entire flock.Sheep squeeze for $300. We arelocated in Hillsboro, OR. (503)647-1922 , [email protected]
Canada Representative: Darlene Jordan, [email protected], 306-746-4361Mexico Representative: Dr. Javier Lara, [email protected], 52-442-214-3727
KHSI Operations:
• Jim Morgan and Teresa Maurer; PO Box 778; Fayetteville, AR 72702-0778; Phone and FAX: 479-444-8441; [email protected]
• Contact Operations for the following:- Request inspections before May 15- Information packets sent to public- Forms for: breed history, breed standards, membership, renewal, BLANK animal registration forms
and instructions, other KHSI information- Address changes or other corrections on printed list or Web- Brochures (20 free per member per year; additional at cost) & promotional items- Information on members with sheep for sale, anyone wanting to buy sheep- Articles, ads, and comments to be published in the Katahdin Hairald- Volunteer for KHSI Committees- Annual meeting information
• Office Hours (Central time): Monday mornings 8-11 am, and Monday and Tuesday evenings 7-10 pm.Calls on other evenings after sunset or anytime on the weekends will be answered personally when-ever possible.
• Answering machine, FAX and email: available for messages 24 hours per day.
KHSI Registry:
• Ed Martsolf; 1039 Winrock Drive; Morrilton, AR 72110Phone and FAX: 501-727-5659; [email protected]
• Contact the Registry for the following:- All questions about registration, recording, transferring, upgrading procedures- Send the following to the Registry:
> Completed membership and renewal applications> Renewal and new membership dues> Completed forms for registering, transferring, recording Katahdins
• Office Hours (Central time): Monday through Friday 9 am- 5pm. Answering machine and FAX acces-sible 24 hours.
KHSI Committees: (Call 479-444-8441 to volunteer!)Breed Improvement, Breeder Education, Promotions, Show Guidelines
