R.S. Curtis Calls on North Carolina Farmers to Expand Sheep Herds, 1917

From the Nov. 20, 1917 issue of the Hickory Daily Record.

Every Stockman Should Save Ewe Lambs

By R.S. Curtis, Animal Husbandman, Animal Industry Division, West Raleigh

There has doubtless been a time in the history of the world when the sheep industry of the United States was in such a deplorable condition, and never a time when the production of wool and mutton were as important. There is today a world shortage of 53,000,000 sheep, and this condition has arisen during one of the most critical stages in the history of this country. Before the declaration of war there was a material shortage in meat products and the emergency which has arisen makes the condition the more critical.

We will not only need all of the meat products which can be produced from lamb and mutton, but the needs of the government in supplying the soldiers with clothing is going to make unusual inroads into the supply of wool at hand. Wool at the present time is selling as high as 80 cents per pound in the grease, and the chances are favorable that it will go still higher. Under present conditions this means that the wool clip form an average breed sheep is worth around $5. There is no other farm animal which produces such a by-product and still leaves the animal for reproductive purposes to replenish the breeding stock.

The census taken of livestock in North Carolina in 1900 showed that we had 300,000 sheep, and the census taken in 1910 showed a sheep population of only 200,000 or a decrease of 33 1/3 per cent. Such a condition is critical, as it not only means that we are helping to deplete the supply of meat and wool, but we are taking from the farms an animal which, when properly handled, will return the largest percentage on the money invested of any farm animal.

The slogan of every stockman should be to save the ewe lambs suitable for breeding purposes. It is a crime to allow them to go to the shambles. This is so fully realized that prominent livestock and kindred organizations are making every effort possible to divert the female breeding stock to the farms. For example, the Philadelphia Wool and Textile Association is transporting large numbers of western sheep into the east for the purpose of re-establishing the sheep industry on the eastern farms, where at one time this industry flourished.

If one-half of the farms in North Carolina maintained 20 head of breeding sheep this would mean a sheep population of four million head, or approximately 12 times the number which we now have. It is a conservative estimate to state that there is sufficient waste land on half of the farms of this State to carry this number of sheep. The amount of feed which it would require to keep this number of sheep would scarcely be appreciable. On the Iredell test farm in this State 20 head of sheep have been maintained for several years. The wool from these 20 breeding ewes has just been sold for $5.00 per head, which is more than sufficient to pay for the cost of keep, leaving the lambs clear profit.

When the good pasture is available the wool will pay for the cost of that (something is missing). Permanent pastures can not be provided in all sections of the states. That is not an obstacle to sheep production since temporary pastures are very much better and there is no section of the State where such cannot be grown. The chief reason for using temporary pastures is to retard the development of stomach worms which is one of the two chief troubles in lamb production.

The other obstacle, or at least what is commonly supposed to be an obstacle, is the dog. This can be controlled by the use of corrals where sheep are kept at night. ‘There is really more in the fear of the dog than the actual damage which is sustained. The writer is interested in the opinion that if farmers interested in sheep wait until adequate dog laws are passed that the sheep industry will lag hopelessly. Before a dog law can be passed it will be necessary to have a large number of interested stockmen bring pressure to bear on their legislators. If an attempt is made to pass a dog law there is really no argument at the present time, since there are not enough sheep owned by a sufficiently large number of stockmen to back up the issue. Even though we had a law at the present time sheep should be corralled at night, since there will always be some dogs which may prey on the unprotected flock. Conservation of the breeding animals is the one point which needs prompt attention, and the dog and intestinal worm problems should not stand out as barriers when an industry is facing extinction.