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Midwest
Shetland Sheep Breeders Association Newsletters |
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| Vol. 1, Issue 1 - May, 2004
A Word From Our President, Baahhb ********************************** I met Julie Guilette of BrambleWool Farm some years ago when she sold us Jasper and Nadeen, our first two Shetland sheep. Even then, the significance of her NASSA flock number – 10 – was not lost on me: Julie is one of the most experienced Shetland breeders in the United States . BrambleWool is great fun to visit for many reasons. First, it's in Door County , one of the prettiest spots in Wisconsin . Second, Julie's years of experience breeding, managing, selling Shetland sheep and using and selling their fleece has given her a depth of knowledge on the subject that any of us might envy. What's more, she's willing to share that knowledge. Third, her flock is simply stunning, and an opportunity to see it is an opportunity that should not be missed! Luckily for all of us in MSSBA, we'll have that opportunity when Julie hosts the summer MSSBA meeting in June. The big MSSBA event of last year was the Shetland Sheep Show at the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival last September. The show was both fascinating and educational, in addition to giving us an opportunity to show off our breed to a larger audience. Everyone had fun watching the show, but no one had more fun than the participants themselves! Those of you who missed the opportunity to show your Shetlands last year will get another chance at the Second Annual Shetland Sheep Show in September. Don't pass it up! Like last year, our autumn MSSBA meeting will be held in conjunction with the Shetland Sheep Show. Hope to see all of you at these two great events!
The spring meeting of MSSBA on March 20, 2004 was called to order at 12:00 noon, after tours of the Gordee farm had been completed by all. In attendance were Bob Suchor, Nancy Larsen, Naomi Gordee, Kathy and Steve Vogelmann, Chris Greene, Maureen Koch, Juliann Budde, Kelly Gordee, and Mary Zastrow. ===============================================================
Balance as of December 31, 2003..........................................$1341.59
The Jefferson Show report was also presented by Nancy . The barn now has new metal panels in place of the wood framed pens. These now fill the area where our MSBBA booth was located. Mary Ellen and Nancy are trying to get a double booth for us in the demo area. She stated they are trying to get the Shetland fleece judging in the booth area on Sunday. Karen Valley will be judging the fleeces. A show of hands was requested of those thinking about showing sheep at Jefferson . Interest was expressed by three of the members. This is something we all need to start thinking about. The show can not succeed unless members support it by showing their sheep. Four members have committed to donate lambs to the silent auction. Other items will be needed for the auction so start thinking about your donations. Juliann gave the Promotional Committee report. Ads have been placed in NASSA news and SHEEP so far. Hope to expand our advertising promotions in the future. It was suggested that copies of the ads be added to our display board. Juliann also wants to put together a listing of basic care to be given to new shepherds. This would be added to the web-site and available to all of us to download as needed. A MSSBA newsletter will be produced. Nancy Krohn and Kate Goebel will work on it. After some discussion, a motion was made by Nancy Larsen that we have three meetings a year rather than four. This was seconded by Mary Zastrow and approved unanimously. The next meeting is scheduled for June 19th, at Julie Guilette's farm. We adjourned to a great meal provided by the members. Nancy Larsen and Chris Greene spoke on how to promote the products of our farms. They showed us samples of their brochures and handouts, as well as some of the products they sell. A lively discussion ensued. The main theme: Advertise, advertise, advertise!
Things are moving along, Mary Ellen Kelly has all of the classes registered with WSWF, along with our Class sponsors, and a $50.00 donation from Nassa. The catalogs should be coming out in June, make sure you sign up to show your Shetlands. Thanks to all of our generous class sponsors. We need donations for our Silent Auction. Donations so far are:
NASSA has so kindly donated all the remaining note cards to MSSBA, they are drawings of Shetlands in 4 different poses. They sell for $6.00 for 8 note cards and envelopes. I don't know how many packages are in the two boxes that Stephen Rouse is shipping to us, but I'm sure we will make a nice profit on these cards for our treasury.
Kimberly Nikolai, Prior Lake ,
MN
A bit about our host Julie Guilette: Started raising sheep in 1986 with one Barbados/Jacob cross lamb (that farmer saw me coming). In 1990 I bought my first breeding trio of Shetlands. Back then, they were quite rare, having just recently come into the states. The following year when I went to purchase more, their popularity had caught on--as well as the price--sheep were selling for about $1800 each! Over the years the flock expanded. I've flown sheep in from as far away as Virginia & Oregon . I bought some of the semen of the British rams, and in 1997 began to have some of our ewes artificially inseminated. We presently have a flock of 55 adults and 16 lambs. Some of the sheep are gorgeous, some not. My main focus of our flock is wool for hand-spinners, and I tend now to have more of the single-coat type wool. Our flock has been OPP tested over the years, and last year we were fully certified as a scrapie-free flock. I've just been asked to serve on the WI Scrapie Board, but won't know what I'm getting into until my first meeting in September. I served on the NASSA Board for six years as the Board Secretary and later as Membership Secretary. I retired from those volunteer positions in 2001. I was lucky enough to attend the Shetland 2000 Sheep Conference that was held on the Shetland Islands of Scotland. Unfortunately, the following year Britain had the horrendous outbreak of foot and mouth disease, and I expect their sheep industry will never be the same.
Julie has photos, books and many pictures of the sheep from Shetland Islands , as she visited in person for the 2000 Sheep Conference! She picked up some samples of yarn at Jamieson and Smith, and will show some samples of fleeces she bought. With her first hand experience and travels to the “motherland” of Shetlands a thorough discussion of wool and what consumers look for is anticipated. To quote Julie “Plus I'd bet I have every publication about Shetlands you can get and can have those on display.” Should be interesting browsing!
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