Split Hoof Ranch

The boys of SHR!!!

Anyone else’s bucks in rut?

Saw this on a sheep site this evening but it definitely correlates to goats as well. This is one reason we entered the Norrth Dakota buck test. I think that the feed conversion data could be a game changer to determine which lines or animals are converting feed to lbs at the highest level.

We’ve got a lot of decisions to make about the future of the sheep industry in the United States.

My hope is that producers start looking beyond the marketing claims and really begin running the numbers. It’s one thing to hear about lambs reaching 110-120 pounds, but it’s another thing entirely to examine what it takes to get them there. Were they raised primarily on grass, or were they supplemented with free-choice hay, grain, feed tubs, and other inputs along the way?

The question isn’t just how much a lamb weighs. The question is: What did it cost to get there?

In many parts of the United States, the highest price per pound is often paid for lambs in the 70-85 pound range. If that’s where the premium market exists, wouldn’t it make sense to develop genetics that can consistently hit that target weight on grass with minimal inputs?

Every bale of hay, every pound of grain, every feed tub, and every extra day on the farm cuts into profit. Depending on the operation, those costs can easily reduce actual profitability by 20-40%.

This isn’t meant to criticize any breed or any breeder. There are some outstanding genetics available today. My point is simply that we should evaluate sheep based on profitability, not just performance numbers.

At the end of the day, the most profitable sheep may not be the heaviest sheep. It may be the one that reaches the market’s sweet spot with the least amount of overhead.

As producers, we owe it to ourselves to run the numbers, understand our markets, and make breeding decisions that maximize profit—not just production.

What a shame!! He was not old enough to got to North Dakota Buck test.

Huckleberry over Pilgrim. Our top indexing Buck kid for 2026.

99 days old

Gonna be trying out some new loose minerals. We have had trouble getting our minerals over the last year and I finally decided to make a change.
We went with a premix from premier one. We will have to mix it ourselves but the selenium and copper are a lot higher than the previous mineral we were using. After purchasing all ingredients it’s gonna be around $30 a 50 lb bag.

Copper will be 4500 PPM
Selenium will be 90 PPM

Top indexing buck kid this year. To say we are excited about this is an understatement. This is a cross we hope to make often in the coming years and hopefully we will be able to send the next one to a buck test. Although he has already made the weight limit at just 79 days old he is not able to attend due to the fact he is 13 days too young to attend the Dakota buck test.

He is double bred JTV Duke & MJI Demelza and out of last years top buck from the Dakota Buck test and SHR Dukes Pilgrim daughter. Take notice of the grand dam on the bottom of this young bucks pedigree. She is a daughter of SPG 412 Scotch on the Rocks (owned by Jess and Janessa Smola with Kracked out Kiko’s). We bought this doe in one of the Oklahoma sales several years back and she has been as good as any doe in our herd. You will see more of her in some of our future pedigrees.