THE IDEAL RANGE RAM
T he western United States is home to many large sheep operations that rely on National Forest and Bureau of Land Management Land for spring and summer grazing and alfalfa/ seed grass fields for winter grazing. As a result, there are operators that run hundreds to thousands of white faced ewes that are bred to black faced rams. The terminal lambs produced are sent to feedlots and then to market. The preferred terminal sire is the rugged Suffolk ram. The range producers like fast growing, large, muscular rams that weigh over 300 pounds. They like rams that have a large spring of rib, rounded shoulders and a large leg. A large testicular circumference of 34 cm to 40 cm is extremely important to these producers These characteristics are summarized by some of the producers as rams with large “guts, nuts, and butts”. Another advantage of selecting Suffolk rams are heads and legs clean of wool. They are easier to shear and do better in the thick brush. The range producer wants rams to last at least two to three years. The average price for a range ram at the Annual California Ram Sale was
between $800.00 to $1000.00 if they have the above characteristics. Freddie Iturriria of A & F Sheep Company of Central California runs 1400-1500 Merino and Rambouillet Ewes to 35-45 Suffolk Rams during breeding season. He prefers 300 pound Suffolk rams that are large framed, clean fronted, and free moving. He says that Suffolk rams give him heavier lambs going to market resulting in more profit. The University of Idaho (U of I) Sheep Center in Moscow, Idaho runs both a Suffolk and Polypay sheep flocks. They raise sheep for a variety of purposes from purebred seedstock to rams/ewes that will produce terminal offspring. The ideal range rams are sound, free moving individuals that have good feed conversion, produce lambs with excellent carcass merit scores, exhibit longevity, and have good dispositions. U of I uses several measurements to select good sheep including large loin eye and excellent upper and lower leg muscling. The rams sold are selected based on the purpose and location of the buyer’s flock. Randy Reinlasoder from Montana has
been raising range rams for the western market for over 30 years. He wants rams that have good bone, big body capacity, a square hip, and that have large testicles. He says that rams that are flat sided are not preferred. He also says there can be differences in ram types depending on the location of the buyer. He has seen that range ram buyers from Colorado can prefer shorter coupled rams that are still very muscular while California and Idaho buyers prefer longer legged muscular rams for better movement through brush. The need for range rams is continuing but there are concerns in the industry. Pressures such as continued drought in many western states and the California law established in 2022 to pay sheep herders overtime wages are stressing the industry. Thank you to the following individuals who contributed to this article: Joe Olsen, Olsen Suffolks, Spanish Fork, Utah; Dino Vinci, University of Idaho Sheep Center Herdsman; Freddie Iturriria of A & F Sheep Company, Bakersfield California; and Randy Reinlasoder, Rindy Farms, Ronan, Montana.
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