In any livestock enterprise and especially in a sheep operation, management
is the name of the game. Good management involves more than raising sheep,
selling lambs and wool, and paying bills. To be profitable, it requires
a method of controlling production factors all year and being prepared to
be flexible to meet change that is always inevitable.
Good sheep management is a process of goal setting, developing plans and
organization. Management requires knowledge of specifics about a sheep operation
such as feed costs, lamb gains, wool weights, lambing rate, number of lambs
marketed per ewe, interest rates, selection, reproduction and health. The
first step to improved management is goal setting.
Goal Setting
Now is the time to set your goals for 19978 Determine your present lambing
rate, weaning rate, 60-90-120-day weights, present marketing strategy, feed
costs and health program. Put your goals into writing. Set goals that are
achievable in 1998. Calculate your present lambing rate, feed costs, weaning
weights, etc. Then set goals to raise those that are reasonable. For example,
if your lambing rate is 125% in 1997, set your goal for 1998 above that
with a reasonable increase, let us say 135%. More than likely, your lambing
rate is high enough but you lost too many of those lambs and your
weaning rate can more easily be increased in 1998.
Look at your feed costs. Plan to lower these costs by selecting feeds that
are lower or projected lower in 1989. If you are paying $100/ton for alfalfa,
consider meeting the NRC requirements of the flock by substituting corn
and soybean meal and decreasing the alfalfa fed per day. Other feedstuffs
may be available that you have grown, such as milo that can save on feed
costs. Decrease feed costs by timely purchasing at harvest.
Writing goals results in three things:
1. It forces you to identify each component of your sheep operation.
2. It requires that you know where you are going, like a road map. You
look at a map from where you are presently located to determine which
road you will take to get where you want to go.
3. Goals provide you with a foundation which can be revised to. help build
future goals beyond 1989.
Goals should consider the economics and quality of life provided for the
family. Consider how these goals will affect your family, both positive
and negative. Determine how you will prioritize your time and carry them
out. Consider how these goals may affect employees if they will be necessary
to reach your goals.
Now is the time to set goals for 1998 because you will be selecting your
replacement ewe lambs, purchasing rams, culling ewes and starting your fall
lamb crop by turning in intact rams.
Plan Development
Once you have set your goals, you know where you want to go, like your
road map. There are many roads that lead to most destinations. Most people
take the Interstate. Other like the scenic route, the quality of life route.
Perhaps in your family, raising sheep to teach children responsibility,
sharing and meeting people at shows and fairs is more important than an
increase in economic returns. That is for you to decide. However, make your
goals realistic and the plans will succeed.
Organization
Organization is the name of the game in any livestock enterprise. Organize
your plan. Put it on the calendar. Develop your own calendar to follow your
plan and help achieve your goals. Making plans and not carrying them out
will result in very little change. Define activities clearly and who should
do what. A division of labor in a sheep operation is cost effective. Decide
who is best at what and then agree that they will do that job.
Sheep raisers need a record of how well they are progressing toward their
goals. With specific information on lambing rate, weaning rate and weight,
herd health problems, feed cost, income per ewe, both lamb and wool and
quality of meat and wool, the sheep producer can measure progress toward
the goals set in an operation at a particular time. Then you can reset your
goals to optimize profits in you sheep operation.
Lincoln UniversityAgriculture and Extension Information Center
900 Moreau Drive, Jefferson City, MO 65101
Lincoln University at Jefferson City, University ot Missouri, and the
U.S. Department of Agriculture cooperating. Rufus Jones, 1890 Administrator,
Distributed in furtherance of Food and Agricultural Act, 1977 Pl 95-113
Sechon 1444 and 1445,
as amended by PL 97-98 December 22, 1981. Publications are distributed
without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion, or handicap.
(573) 681-5554
May 1989 EP203