The Bozeman courier., 1927-11-18

The development of the sheep busi- I
ness in the West is one of the eplcs
of animal husbandry. The fact that
sheepmen generally are in prosperous
condition is not mere chance but is
the result of a concerted, intelligent
EFFORT on the part of wool growers to
give the consumer what he wants.
A generation or so ago the sheep
man was in business mainly to profit
from wool. Mutton was a side issue.
Sheep were bred to produce WOOL
fleeces which would command the
highest prices and it was the custom
to carry sheep of both sexes for sew
eral years-in fact they were carried
along very much the same as the
dairy cow is carried today. As long
as a sheep was producing good
amounts of valuable wool, the animal
was carried, just as the dairyman to-
day carries a milk cow as long as she
is producing sufficient milk and but
terfat to realize the owner a profit.
In the end, aged ewes and wethers
were slaughtered for mutton-and the
demand was narrow on such meat, be-
cause of its strong flavor and tough
ness.
1t has been only in the last genera
tion that sheepmen began producing
lambs for the market. Twenty-Five
years ago the only time sheepmen
realized a market on "baby lambs
was at Easter. The fact that Easter
lambs were in great demand at satis-
factory prices brought the sheepman
to the realization that the public ac-
tually liked them. AS a result, the
entire sheep business has been revolu-
tionized. Today the sheepman rear
ICES his profits on lambs-and the
wool business might almost be termed
the sideline.
This change did not just happen
The sheepmen found the public want
ed lamb-and they changed their en-
tire breeding methods in order to pro
duce a choice lamb carcass, at time:
at the expense of a salable wool pelt
The spring lamb of today is regarded
as one of our choicest meat foods
Moreover, the young lamb today, a
the age of five months up, weighs q
to 80 pounds, almost as much as tn
yearIing and two-year-old animal o
the preceding generation.
Sheepmen are still working on thei
, problems, for like every other grouI
they have their problems. In Tn
! case Of the sheepman. many feel tha
| there is at present grave danger o
/ production. Many caffeine
: have turned to sheep production an
, many small farmers have turned t
: sheep as means of profitable d
! versification and for the beenfit @
sheep manure, one of the best of fel
tilizers. Newspaper advertising
being resorted to in order to build u
market for the increasing volum
of lambs marketed. In other words
instead of cutting down production
as some farm leaders advocate wit
other farm. commodities, the fa1
sighted leaders of the sheep world bC
lieve that through acquainting tn
public with the value of lamb in tn
diet, there is less danger of Ovel
production. They believe that thrOug
intelligent merchandising, in whic
newspaper advertising is one of tn
most important factors, the shee
population may be reasonably II
creased to the benefit of the sheep il
dustry, the packing business and fl
the welfare of the public in general.
There is great room for the deve
opment of the sheep business on tt
many small farms and ranches in Il
fertile valleys of the Pacific slop
the Inter-mountain country, and tt
Southwest. But it must be borne
mind that it requires patience, SIX
and knowledge. There are reaso
able profits in the business for tho
who enter into it in an intellige
manner. 1t is a business which
going forward right along and t
man who takes it up must bear
mind that it is an industry which /