544 



STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



SHEEP. 



The census report for 1920 gives the numbers of sheep in the Upper 

 Peninsula as 26,342 head, with a valuation of $370,046.00. 



The possibilities for developing farm flocks of sheep in this section 

 are very good. There are several areas well adapted to large sheep 

 outfits. Several men have run large bands of sheep during the grazing 

 season with excellent success, as far as gain in weight is concerned. 

 Many of them failed because of the lack of preparation. The principal 

 reasons for failure w^ere: (1) running stock in unfenced pasture, (2) 

 lack of sheds, (3) not raising their winter feeds. 



The grazing season is long enough to develop a 70 to 80 pound lamb, 

 even when the sheep are run in comparatively large numbers. 



TABLE 29. — DATA REGARDING LAMBS SHIPPED OUT OF THE UPPER PENINSULA. 



Owner 



J. Carson, Newberry, Luce Co., 1919 



Carley & Keene, Limestone, Alger Co., 1919 



U. P. Experiment Station, 1919 



U. P. Experiment Station, 1920 



U. P. Experiment Station, 1921 



The dressing percentages were secured on two shipments which are 

 as follows: 



J. Carson, lambs — 50 lambs, plain dressed 49.40 per cent. 



J. Carson, lambs — 104 lambs, plain dressed 51.80 per cent. 



Carley & Keene, 795 lambs, plain dressed 50.10 per cent. 



The average dressing percentages (as given by Armour & Co.) for 

 grass-fed lambs, is 47 to 48 per cent and grain fed lambs 47 to 49 per 

 cent. 



The above mentioned lambs were all shipped to market direct from 

 the pastures in the fall. The weights and dressing percentages show 

 that lambs not only grow to maximum weights desired by the packers 

 during the grazing season, but that a large percentage of them kill out 

 well. 



BREEDS ADAPTED. 



The breeds of sheep best adapted to the Upper Peninsula are those 

 having close fleeces, including medium and fine wools, such as the Hamp- 

 shire, Shropshire, Oxford, Southdown and Rambouillets. 



