Sheep Production: Intensive Systems, Innovative Techniques Boost Yields

摘要

Lamb production per ewe can be doubled or tripled through intensive management practices and by use of certain innovations. Some of these practices include selecting for ewes that produce multiple births, inducing twice-a-year lambing, breeding ewes to lamb at one year of age, formulating diets for optimal weight gain and nutrition, and controlling losses due to diseases, parasites, and predators. New technologies are described and cost and return budgets are prepared for four types of sheep systems: two intensive management types and two pasture and open range types. Intensive sheep production using the latest innovations can be profitable at lamb prices near the 1979 level of about $65 to $70 per hundredweight.