Mid-America Show & Sale
Managing Resources and Your Pocketbook: the benefits of adding sheep to a cattle operation
Written by: Karla Blackstock, Executive Director of the American Dorper Sheep Breeders’ Society and Dan Quadros, Ph.D., Small Ruminant Specialist with the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture
Rotational grazing remains a necessary management tool to conserve pastures and improve livestock nutrition. Properly rotating livestock improves soil condition, increases pasture utilization, and manages overall animal health.
Adding sheep to a cattle operation can diversify assets with a quick return on investment. Even better, adding Dorpers, which have superior growth performance and carcasses, help achieve these goals much more efficiently.
Lauri Celella of Poetry Dorpers and Amanda Houser, Assistant Manager for the Farm Administration at Tennessee Tech, use Dorper sheep for biological weed control, increase soil organic matter and increase profits.