Breed Matters in Rangeland Production
Results of a three year study led by the USDA-ARS arrives at the answer that, yes, breed does matter when it comes to sheep production on the rangelands of the western United States. The study compared the Columbia, Suffolk, and Texel breeds along with a composite breed from the US Meat Animal Research Center (USMARC) for productivity and survivability of offspring. Twenty rams of each of these breeds were used to breed 574 Rambouillet ewes over a 3-year period. A comparison of the results validated the common use of the Suffolk breed as a terminal cross in the production setting of the rangelands of the western United States. Read the entire report as it was published in the August 2013 issue of Agricultural Research by clicking here.
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