Northeast Youth Show & the New England Sale

Last weekend marked the 25th anniversary of the Northeast Youth Show in Springfield, MA.  Nine Vermont 4-H members from clubs throughout the State competed against a very tough group of well bred sheep and Fitting and Showmanship competitors.  The results of the breed shows should appear soon on each breed site.

2009 marks the last year of eligibility for two of our long time members, Lindsey Rouche and Megan Watrous.  Their leadership  and mentoring of younger 4-H members at regional competitions will certainly be missed.  On a brighter note, they both plan to continue their affiliation with Vermont 4-H as leaders and we all look forward to working with them.

Special congratulations to Amy Davenport.  Amy was one of 5 or 6 Youth Show participants to receive this year’s  Spirit Award.  This award is presented annually to those exhibitors who assist others and show leadership skills.  Amy was also chosen as the Northeast Tunis Youth Ambassador for 2009.  Her duties will include promoting the breed and representing the Tunis Association at regional events.

Prices at the New England Sale did not appear to be impacted by a sluggish economy.  The highest price paid for an Oxford Ewe was $1,700.   Lets hope that she lives long enough for the buyer to get some return on investement.  On the lower end, sales of $150 were not uncommon.  The number of animals sold seemed to be in line with historiacal sales numbers.  There was quite a bit of used equipment and some sold at very reasonable prices.  Two of our members won buyers credits through the National Tunis Association and came home with new additions.  Megan Watrous bought two Southdowns, a ewe and a ram,  to add to her flock.  Romney prices remained relatively good this year, as per Graham Stewart of Anchorage Farms.

Free Webinar on Sheep and Goats

The Center for Appropriate Technology (ATTRA) offers free webinars. The next one will be on sheep and goats. What is a webinar? It is an on line learning opportunity. Depending upon the technology involved it may be interactive, meaning that you can possibly ask questions and interact with the hosts. You’ll need a high speed internet connection and a fast computer. Just register and you should receive the details on how to log on for the event. Try it!

Details follow:

Sheep and Goats: What they can do for you
July 29, 2009
1:00pm (Eastern); 12:00pm (Central); 11:00am (Mountain); 10:00am (Pacific)

Register at www.attra.ncat.org/webinars2009/sheepandgoat.

Your hosts, Linda Coffey and Margo Hale, will discuss:
Multiple benefits of sheep and goats
Selecting breeding stock
Evaluating animal health
Marketing meat, milk, and wool products including organic

Register now and mark your calendar!

Scholarship Winner

My name is Amy Davenport. I am seventeen years old and have had Tunis sheep for three years. I started out with only two bred ewes. They both gave me twins, so my flock began to expand. I now have eight Tunis. I have other breeds along with the Tunis, such as Columbia and Oxford.

I have been a member of the Wonderful Woolies 4-H club for six years. Through these six years I have learned showmanship, sportsmanship, teamwork. and leadership. I am always willing to help others people show their animals even when I am done showing mine. I take being at the end of a class as an educational study to do better the next time in the show ring. 4-H and in general showing sheep has shown me teamwork is the key to success.

I have been a member of the Vermont sheep 4-H delegates to Eastern Exposition (Big E) for 6 years showing my sheep, as well as being a member of the Vermont Quiz Bowl, which won this past year. Plus competing in the Blocking & Fitting competitions with my fellow 4-H club members and we won for two years, as it is a team effort. In 2008 I was awarded the Shepherd Award while at the Big E; this award is voted on by all the participants from the 6 states attending and a participant from each state is chosen for their “outstanding teamwork and
dedication to their 4-H project” to win a sheep crook.

I live on a dairy farm with my family. My dad milks 40 cows and has a hundred head of cattle that he and I feed. My mother and sister help also. I have three horses that I ride. One of the horses does gymkhana with me. Another helps me get the cows from the cow pasture when it is time for milking. And I am teaching the other horse dressage so we compete during the summer in between getting hay in the barn and going to sheep shows. My 4-H club puts on educational workshops such as, lambing, feed idea, blocking and fitting, and parasite control workshops. Wonderful Woolies has been a great stepping stone into the working world; where we earn money to go places to broaden our horizons of sheep knowledge. For example, we had the vet come to ultrasound our 35 sheep and the 4-H club members came and learned how to tell if a ewe was pregnant or not.

My future plan is to become a large animal veterinarian. I plan to keep showing my Tunis throughout my college years and help other people become involved in becoming Tunis breeders and owners themselves. I love the Tunis that I have because they have great personalities, are able to take care of their lambs with little assistance from me, are able to handle a situation without getting extremely flighty, and are easy keeper when it comes to passing out the grain.

Reprinted from Tunis Spirit.

2009 American Sheep Industry Photo Contest

Attention all photographers: It is time to start thinking about the American Sheep Industry Association’s (ASI) 2009 Photo Contest. The contest is open to all who wish to enter, which means you do not have to be involved in the U.S. sheep, lamb or wool industries to participate. The only rule is that your photograph must include sheep. Entries must be postmarked by Sept. 1, 2009.

Entries will be judged on clarity, content, composition and appeal. More than $1,000 will be awarded, with awards of $125 going to the grand prize winner in each of the four categories listed below; $75 for the first runner-up in each category; and a $50 prize for the second runner-up in each of the four categories.

The four categories are action, scenic, people and sheep, and open.

Additional details can be obtained by going to www.sheepusa.org.

New England Sale & the Northeast Youth Show

Amy Davenport in 2008 at the Youth Show

This year celebrates 25th annual North East Youth Sheep Show. The first show was held in 1985 with three breeds being shown in a one day event.   The show has experienced growth and changes over the years and now hosts fourteen breeds, as well as All Other Breed Show, and runs a full weekend. The event is sponsored by the New England Sheep & Wool Growers along with many of the national and northeast breed associations and private donors

This year’s show runs from July 16th thru 19th and is held in the Livestock Complex at the Eastern States Exposition Fairgrounds in West Springfield, Massachusetts. It is open to all youths under the age of 21 years with all breeds of sheep being invited. The exhibitors must solely own or lease their sheep or co-own sheep in a youth partnership.

The sheep and exhibitors should arrive by Thursday, July 16th, with animals being penned by 11:00 p.m. Activities begin on Thursday evening and continue right through the weekend with the finale being the selection of the Supreme Champions on Sunday afternoon.

The judges for this year’s show are Ed Julian, Steve Taylor and Stacey Taylor. Entry information are available on the NES&WG website (www.nesheep.org). Deadline for entries is the Friday before the show, July 10.  Interstate health papers and breed registration forms are necessary.

Vermont needs to assemble a team for Quizbowl competition and submit an entry form immediately.