South Dakota Sheep Production Down But Optimism On The Rise
NEWELL, S.D. (AP) — Jack Orwick is a fourth-generation rancher who seems caught in a fading industry.
But his family has been raising sheep in Newell for more than 100 years, so he’s not about to turn gloomy despite some recent bad numbers.
Newell, known as the Sheep Capital of South Dakota, has had Orwicks on the land since 1910. At that time, the Orwick family ran 4,000 head of breeding ewes.
Today, Orwick, who ranches with his wife, Cindy, and his parents, Jim and Joyce Orwick, has cut the breeding ewes to 1,700.
The decision is one that many South Dakota ranchers have had to make.
A recent report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture said sheep production in South Dakota is once again on the decline. Low market value, a decreased need for wool and other factors have forced many ranchers to drastically reduce their sheep production, or shut down operations altogether.
Yet Orwick sounds like a rancher on the rise.
“I don’t like to see the numbers down, but we can build them back up,” he told the Rapid City Journal ( ). “The ones that are left in the sheep industry are totally committed. And we’ll still be here.”
Yet, even on a year-to year basis, the numbers look grim.
According to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Services, all sheep and lamb inventory in South Dakota in 2014 totaled 255,000 head, down 15,000 from a year before.
Breeding sheep inventory totaled 200,000 head, down 10,000 head from 2013. Market sheep and lambs totaled 55,000 head, down 5,000 head from the previous year.
The 2014 lamb crop totaled 215,000 head, down 15,000 head from 2013.
Wool production also hit a record low during 2014, at 1.75 million pounds, down 80,000 pounds from the previous year.
Sheep production reached its peak in the 1940s and 1950s, Orwick said, adding, “It’s been on the decline ever since.”
Dave Ollila, sheep field specialist with the Rapid City Regional South Dakota State University Extension Center, said that western South Dakota was ideal for sheep ranching years ago. That’s because cattle needed more water to survive than sheep.
But as ranchers developed means to obtain water, they began including cattle in the operations.
Today, such factors as predator control and soft markets are harming the sheep industry.
“Coyotes are on the increase big time,” Orwick said. “Everyone has been having a lot of trouble with them.”
In addition to coyotes, fox, mountain lions and eagles pose a threat to sheep and lambs, Ollila said, forcing many ranchers to reconsider raising them.
Barney Barnes, manager of the Newell Sheep Yards, said the market for sheep has fluctuated over the years, deterring people from both entering and continuing in the industry.
“A stabilized market sure would help,” Barnes said.
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“Ewes would sell for two bucks and then go down to 80 cents.”
Orwick added it’s hard to compete with cattle prices, which today are high.
But despite some discouraging census numbers, he is seeing a trickle of optimism in the addition of young ranchers.
The 2012 USDA census said the average age of ranchers in South Dakota is 58, and 33 percent of those ranchers were 65 or older.
“It’s been pretty stagnant for the past 20 years to get young people back in agriculture, period,” Orwick said. “In the past few years there has been a lot more interest in people coming back, though.”
That interest is in part due to a new program called SheepSD. Through iGrow, a service of SDSU Extension, SheepSD was developed not only to increase sheep production in the state, but also to entice young ranchers to enter and expand sheep operations. SheepSD provides mentoring to young and new ranchers, the developing of management skills and establishing supportive industry resources and marketing opportunities for the future.
“Education and networking are key,” Ollila said. “Having those go to people to mentor beginners through all phases of production and marketing will improve the chances for success.”
SheepSD began working with ranchers in 2012, and according to a recent report by iGrow, more than 75 percent of the operations added anywhere from 50 to 800 ewes to their flocks, a positive step in growing South Dakota’s sheep industry.
Ollila noted that the demand for wool is increasing, as well. The wool that comes from the state’s herds is compression-resistant and works well in the sock industry, he said.
“There will continue to be demand for those types of wools, and that helps bring in additional revenue,” Ollila said. “It’s just looking at your resources and how you can stack your enterprises. Sheep have potential to make a comeback. It’s a lower capital requirement and a good place to start.”
Orwick, who belongs to the South Dakota Sheep Growers Association, works with iGrow and the young ranchers in the SheepSD program, as well, and maintains a positive outlook on the state’s sheep industry.
“We’re going see a marked improvement on young people wanting to ranch, raise sheep and back in agriculture in the near future,” he said. “I’m 51 years old, and I’m going to want to see my ranch in its fifth generation.”
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Information from: Rapid City Journal,
