page_title: Polypay
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Polypay / History
caption_attribution_description: Polypay Ewe with Triplets
context_page_description: The Polypay sheep breed is a white, medium-sized, polled sheep which was developed in the 1960s at the U.S. Sheep Experiment Station in Dubois, Idaho. In general, Polypay sheep are noted for being a highly prolific maternal dual-purpose breed. It produces yearly about 4.2 kg of wool and is weaned at 120 days.
context_section_description: Dr. Clarence V. Hulet, at the U.S. Sheep Experiment Station in Dubois, Idaho, had five main goals when creating the new breed.
  High lifetime prolificacy
  Large lamb crop at one year of age
  Ability to lamb more frequently than once per year
  Rapid growth rate of lambs
  Desirable carcass quality
  The original breeding stock were taken from the Finnsheep for their high prolificacy, early puberty and short gestation, Dorset for their superior mothering ability, carcass quality, early puberty and long breeding season, Targhee for their large body size, long breeding season and quality fleeces, and Rambouillet for their adaptability, hardiness, productivity and quality fleeces. In 1968, Hulet performed the first cross breedings generating Finnsheep x Rambouillet (F x R) and Dorset x Targhee (D x T) lambs, which were born in 1969. The first 4-breed composites (F x R x D x T) were made in 1970. After seeing the potential and enthusiasm for the new breed, Hulet coined the name for the breed in 1975. The Polypay name was created from poly, meaning multiple, and pay, meaning return on investment. Pay also means the ability the breed has to contribute more than two paying "crops" each year, i.e. two lamb crops and one wool crop. The American Polypay Association was then later formed in 1980.
  The community of Polypay breeders is active and continues to grow to develop the breed. Currently, there are about 100 members of the American Polypay Association and there are typically about 1,500 animals registered each year. In 1987, the National Sheep Improvement Program (NSIP)] was initiated and included the Polypay breed. Through the efforts of the breeders enrolled in the program, breeders have been able to significantly enhance the breed characteristics. There are currently 41 breeders and 1,244 animals were added to the NSIP in 2016. There are nearly 14,000 animals in the registry. Each year there are national sales that highlight the breed in Sedalia, MO, Spencer, IA and Wooster, OH. These sales incorporate traditional conformational characteristics as well as estimated breeding values (EBVs) generated through the NSIP.
caption: A Polypay ewe tends to her newly born triplets.
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