By STEPHAN BURNETT, Weyburn Review Editor
Presented with a chance to pick up livestock which produced meat with great taste, at a lower cholesterol level than cattle, a birth rate of almost double that of cattle and feed rates of almost one seventh the level of a regular cow, what would you think? Interested?
Bonny Garvey and Warren Brock were. Interested enough to become one of the first Katahdin sheep ranchers in the Yellow Grass area.
Brock had been researching small livestock for close to three years when he decided to invest in Katahdin sheep late in March, after picking up a herd from Chelan, Sask., situated just outside Porcupine Plain.
The purebred sheep are currently selling for close to $700 per ewe and $300 per lamb.
The Garvey-Brock herd now consists of 36 ewes, 28 lambs, two rams, and two llamas which are used for coyote control.
Over a two-day period on April 6-7, Brock and Garvey saw five sets of twins born to their flock.
Besides the high birth rate of the breed, another reason the Yellow Grass-based farmers invested in the Katahdin was because of price stability.
"The price has stayed pretty much at the same level for the last three years. It's not like ostrich which have been big bucks and then had the market bottom out," said Brock.
The sheep have been used in northern areas of the province to rid pastures of noxious weeds. Brock explains the digestive system of the sheep breaks down the seed from noxious weeds, which simply pass through the digestive system of cattle.
The sheep can also be bred every eight months and the majority of births are twins, said Garvey while adding she had not been present yet for the birth of a lamb, so there is no worrisome birthing process.
After checking a list of the membership for the Saskatchewan Katahdin Sheep Association, many women's names popped up.
Kathleen Mueller, a veteran Katahdin shepherdess from the Humboldt area, said the observation was not simply coincidence.
Many women are getting into the practice of becoming Katahdin shepherdesses. The work is easily handled on a day-to-day basis by women, said Mueller.
Brock agreed, the Katahdin sheep are an attractive to prospect for female ranchers.
"It's a smaller animal so women and older (male) farmers can easily handle them," said Brock in a subsequent interview.
Another reason the Katahdin are a hit with women is the financing factor.
Mueller said in order to buy land a farming-wife might be forced have her farming-husband put everything he owns up in collateral to finance the acquisition. But that was not the case with her sheep herd, which the retired teacher financed approximately five years ago. Apart from a small bit of security provided through the main farm, Mueller said the bank looked at her application largely on her own merits.
It seems the bank made the right decision, for Mueller's start-from-scratch sheep operation paid for itself within the first three years of operation.
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