U.S. Plans To Increase Sheep Production Through New Program

Jeremy Geske was just 9 years old when his father said he could pick out a sheep from his herd.

He happened to pick the best ewe lamb, and he picked so well, that his father also gave him the ewe lamb's twin sister to start the 4-H herd.

Every year after, he selected another ewe lamb from his father's herd.

"If you have the No. 1 draft pick every year, you end up with a pretty good flock after 10-12 years," Geske said. "I kept the offspring and that's how I got started in sheep."

When he reached adulthood, he had already built a high quality Suffolk herd.

In similar fashion, the U.S. sheep industry hopes to build up sheep numbers through a program called "Let's Grow with Two Plus."

Sponsored as an American Sheep Industry (ASI) Association initiative, the primary objective of this national campaign is to encourage current sheep producers to expand the size of their flocks by two ewes per operation or by two ewes per 100 head.

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