Sheep & Goats

New research questions long-held postwildfire grazing practices

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 00:00:00 -0400

Resting a pasture for two growing seasons postburn is a common recommendation in the Intermountain West since at least the ’80s. “The question is, ‘Is there a real reason two full years rest are needed after fire?’” says University of Idaho (U of I) area extension range educator K. Scott Jensen. “Can it occur sooner than that without delay or harm to postfire recovery? We wanted to put some science to it.”

Igniting the passion for the sheep industry in today’s youth

Tue, 22 Apr 2025 00:00:00 -0400

Johnston Club Lambs’ market is 95% selling club lambs to youth to show in 4-H and FFA. Lambs are sold to youth throughout the states, from local kids in Payette County to kids living in the suburbs of Houston, Texas.

Farmers and ranchers improve soil with regenerative ag strategies

Wed, 12 Mar 2025 00:00:00 -0400

Regenerative agriculture is about farming and ranching in a way that supports people, the environment and soil health by employing specific practices that vary from one region to another.

Combating wolf depredation: Idaho's funding initiatives

Thu, 16 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0500

In 2023, the Idaho Wolf Depredation Control Board announced a new initiative to control wolves on private property and approved spending up to $50,000 per year for producers to undertake wolf removal projects – with board approval.

Southwest Idaho’s worst fire season in over two decades

cassidy@agproud.com — Tue, 10 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0500

Devastating damage for livestock owners across southwest Idaho is prompting land and fire managers from multiple agencies to declare this year’s fire season the worst in over two decades.

The Trailing of the Sheep Festival and the legacy of Idaho’s sheep industry

Thu, 07 Nov 2024 00:00:00 -0500

Originally founded by John Peavey in 1996 as an event to show the townspeople the tradition of moving sheep off the range every year, the Trailing of the Sheep Festival attracts numerous individuals, vendors and tourists alike, from literally all around the world.

Virtual fences with real results

Thu, 31 Oct 2024 00:00:00 -0400

“It’s not a complete silver bullet, but nothing is,” says Jay Smith of the J Lazy S Angus Ranch of Carmen. He and his wife Chyenne are using virtual fencing to manage cattle grazing on their Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Forest Service (USFS) permits after the 130,000-acre Moose Fire scorched their USFS grazing allotment in 2022. “I think the proof’s in the pudding when I say we want to keep using it,” he says. “The cost and the work were worth it.”

All those tiny bubbles: A look at bloat in livestock

woody@woodylane.com — Tue, 17 Sep 2024 00:00:00 -0400

Everyone knows a livestock producer who’s lost animals to bloat. Because of the risk, some folks flatly refuse to graze their stock on dense stands of clover or alfalfa. Others kind of shrug, saying they’ve rarely lost animals and don’t worry about it much. So … what gives?

The fascinating world of selenium and its toxicity

woody@woodylane.com — Tue, 21 May 2024 00:00:00 -0400

We’ll focus on the selenium accumulator plants that thrive in arid regions – the toxic plants that distressed Marco Polo, the toxic plants notorious in cowboy movies for causing “blind staggers” and “alkali disease.”

Where's the line? Understanding Idaho's boundary by agreement

john@sawtoothlaw.com — Tue, 20 Feb 2024 00:00:00 -0500

For many properties in Idaho, particularly rural properties, fences and other physical markers are often believed to be the boundary between neighboring properties and are treated as such.

Rethinking ewe nutrition: Addressing concerns about alfalfa pellets

woody@woodylane.com — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 00:00:00 -0500

For years I’ve recommended a very simple diet for ewes in their lambing jugs: a few pounds of alfalfa pellets in a tray hanging on the side of the pen. Nutritious, convenient and waste-free.

Rest after fire: Is it as simple as two years?

chris@lslivestocksolutions.com — Fri, 05 Jan 2024 00:00:00 -0500

When is the best time to graze after a fire? This question seems simple but is quite challenging to answer because there are many factors that contribute to the context.

From ranch to table

cassidy@agproud.com — Fri, 24 Nov 2023 00:00:00 -0500

No matter the choice of protein, consumers often want a memorable dining experience for the holidays, and if done right, direct-to-consumer businesses have the opportunity to capitalize on these traditions.

Playing the percentages of livestock

woody@woodylane.com — Sun, 01 Oct 2023 00:00:00 -0400

If you shorten the lambing period by two weeks, you can treat yourself to a well-earned vacation, finally. Two weeks saved from lambing can translate into two weeks on a warm tropical island with palm trees, a blue lagoon and long, white sand beaches.

9,000 sheep to gold

woody@woodylane.com — Thu, 01 Jun 2023 15:46:28 -0400

Yes, Virginia, there was indeed gold in California – not only in the ground, but also in sheep.

An approaching amendment to animal antibiotic access

Wed, 03 May 2023 13:07:46 -0400

It's about to get more difficult for smaller producers to gain access to animal antibiotics. Here's the reasoning.

Building a better ram

Fri, 13 Jan 2023 19:21:54 -0500

“Don’t just buy a ram, buy a lamb crop,” is the motto of Duff Land and Livestock, owned and operated by Mike and Kandi Duff, in Blackfoot, Idaho.

Orphans preferred

woody@woodylane.com — Mon, 09 Jan 2023 00:00:00 -0500

Are those multiple lamb births a problem to deal with or a boon to the lamb crop?

Farm Strategies: Guerry Incorporated

Thu, 01 Dec 2022 12:09:18 -0500

Where will the headwinds in agriculture come from in the next two years?

A dry sense of logic

woody@woodylane.com — Thu, 10 Nov 2022 21:39:31 -0500

“That’s not logical.”
“Of course it is,” I replied. “You just don’t like thinking outside the box.”

Sheep genetics and ewe

Mon, 17 Oct 2022 16:10:22 -0400

Expected progeny differences (EPDs) have been an integral part of cattle buying and breeding since before McDonald’s introduced the Angus burger. Though not without flaws, they have changed the cattle industry.

At home on the sheep range

Thu, 25 Aug 2022 23:05:13 -0400

“What’s really cool about sheep is the way they’re a part of the human story,” says Dr. Hailey Wilmer, research rangeland management specialist at the U.S. Sheep Experiment Station near Dubois.

Zoonotic diseases

Thu, 25 Aug 2022 22:34:00 -0400

There are an increasing number of women in the agricultural space. According to the 2017 census, 1.2 million women identify as agricultural producers, up 27% from the 2012 census.

Mobile butchers in great demand

Thu, 10 Mar 2022 00:00:00 -0500

Kortney Bahem and her husband, Daniel Lousignont, own and operate L&L Meats LLC – a mobile butchering business in Homedale, Idaho.

People in the News

Thu, 10 Mar 2022 00:00:00 -0500

On Jan. 21, 2022, in sunny San Diego, California, John and Diane Peavey were presented the American Sheep Industry Association’s (ASI) Industry Innovation Award.

Grazing sheep in alfalfa for weed control

carrie.veselka@agproud.com — Thu, 05 Oct 2017 18:35:25 -0400

For alfalfa producers, mild winters come at a price. Thanks to hot summers and mild winters, alfalfa growers in California’s Central Valley can usually depend on six cuttings of hay each year, but since they do not experience a true winter, weed infestation in their dormant alfalfa stands can be a problem.

Make pasture and forages work for sheep

oswalddean@gmail.com — Mon, 31 May 2010 07:00:00 -0400

Sheep producers should set annual goals for the forage and pasture grazing system. Under most farm circumstances a forage grazing plan will require several years to implement selected goals.