SHEEP IN NEW YORK STATE 



Edward van Alstyne 

 Director of Farmers' Institutes 



Sheep are again attracting attention. For this there are several 

 reasons. In many sections farm hibor is scarce, particularly such 

 as can be trusted to milk cows. The more expensive buildings 

 needed to meet the modern requirements for milk production and 

 the conditions necessary to produce dairy products meeting the de- 

 mands of the handlers and consumers, all contribute to the cost of 

 the products, — often beyond the price received for them. The 

 large amount of high-priced feed to be purchased tends to make the 

 margin of profit too small. These things are causing many to go 

 out of dairying. Having farms adapted to stock and appreciating 

 their advantage, such naturally turn to sheep. These require less 

 labor and many times no other feed than that which can be pro- 

 duced on the farm. Men are learning that it is not gross amounts 

 of sales v/hich count, but the net remaining after expenses are paid. 



Beef is scarce and high and must continue to be relativelv so. 

 This increases the demand and price of mutton. For a number of 

 years wool has been, and doubtless will be, a by-product. With 

 the right kind of sheep intelligently handled enough can he real- 

 ized for the carcass to insure a profit, so that a few cents more or 

 less per pound for wool, due to tariff changes or fashion in cloth- 

 ing, is no longer a vital matter. 



DIFFICULTIES 



The man who at the outset looks for the drawbacks in his busi- 

 ness is the one most sure to succeed. There have been and still are 

 many such in the sheep business. The first and most emphasized 

 — but by no means so great as to cause it to stand at the head of 

 the list — is the destruction of sheep by dogs. This is serious as 

 the writer can testify, having been a suiferer on more than one oc- 

 casion — once losing over sixty in a single raid. A large bell on 

 every twelfth sheep in a large flock, and a greater proportion of 



[1797] 



