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Sheep Projects Gain
Among 4-H Clubs
Interest in the 4-H club sheep project—which is returning more per dollar invested than any other livestock project—is running high in Virginia, says D. E. Brower, 4-H club livestock specialist at VPI.
Brower says there are about 75 flock projects in 22 counties this year, with the flocks ranging in size from a minimum of 5 to about 30.
There are very few farming systems into which a flock project will not fit—and last year’s figures give evidence of the value of the project, Brower says.
Last year 45 boys from 14 counties turned in complete records on their flock projects. They began with 400 breeding ewes value at $7,700 the fall of 1948. The total income from the lamb and wool crop, plus a few cull sheep, was $15,777. The net income was $6,250, or an average of $138 per flock, and the boys still owned ewes valued at $6,900, plus about $1,300 in replacement ewe lambs. In addition, they received $1,500 in premiums.
The most outstanding flock project in the state, Brower says, was carried by James Swink, of Lexington, who, as winner of the state sheep shearing contest, went to International Livestock Exposition in Chicago, and was awarded $50 in supplies and equipment. Swink had 13 ewes and a ram valued at $340 at the beginning of the year. Wool paid for the winter feed bill, and he raised 21 lambs from the ewes and sold them for $499. At the end of the year his original flock was valued at $300, he bought several purebred Hampshires, and is now in the purebred business.' His sljeep shearing techniques are paying off to—this year he sheared 800 sheep for a neighbor in addition to his own flock.
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