Agricultural fads and fashions aren’t to be found on the Watkins Sheep Farm in the small hamlet of Little Flock, Ark., in eastern Benton County.
Adam and his wife, Kendra, focus on their sheep, their sons – Levi, 3, and Ethan, 1 – and the overall commercial sheep industry. The family purchased a small flock after moving to their farm from Rogers, Ark., in 2003. The couple’s hope is to inspire others to strive to produce better sheep for the industry’s future.
“I practice and teach what matters to shepherds, and I don’t get caught up in the latest trends. I breed what works; I use what I have; and I breed to what I like in sheep,” said Adam, a University of Arkansas graduate who was reared on a farm in Omaha, Ark. He also works full time as a software quality assurance engineer on the ISD Technology team at the Walmart Stores corporate office in Bentonville, Ark. “Common sense teaches you what works.”
His motto for managing the flock is “functional, practical, grass-based” because ‘show sheep’ are not profitable, he said. “They should be grass-based and worm resistant, and any grain feedings should be for flushing at slaughter and at breeding,” he explained. The lambs are grain-fed, but he brought in baled hay because of this summer’s conditions. The whole lamb eventually goes to market, so good top line, loin-width leg, rib, fleece, bone and brisket should follow one another. “If you can’t eat the whole carcass, then you’re wasting your time.”
Carcass weight, specifically 30-, 60- and 90-day weights, is the No. 1 goal on the farm, Adam said. That’s followed by worm resistance and feet issues such as foot rot or bad locks.
Adam wants to produce excellent, balanced genetics through artificial insemination in his flock. “We believe in well-bred, quality sheep that include primarily Suffolk for terminal crosses and Border Leicesters for maternal crosses. We sometimes cross Suffolk with Border Leicesters to produce crossbred lambs for slaughter. These sheep are for prime, lean lamb but also make exceptional commercial breeding sires.”
The ewes are what drive the farm: Prolific ewes that are good milkers produce quality lambs, Adam said. The ewes, particularly the Border Leicesters, are noted for excellent mothering abilities, high fertility, good birth weights and high milk production with sound, long-lasting udders. Conversely, the lambs show high growth rates and muscling.
This is a retaining year for the farm, and all ewes are due to birth on Dec. 20. Their survival is their ability to withstand the cold from late December to mid-February, as well as their ability to produce rich milk that quickly fattens the lambs.
Future improvements include bettering the sheep’s wool production through breeding. Suffolk efficiently convert grass and forage into quality meat and fiber, but produce light fleece, or a medium-wool type, about once a year. Border Leicester wool is long and lustrous with an ideal fleece that falls in well-defined pencil locks with purled tips ending in a small curl. The wool is long enough that it can be sheared twice a year, Adam said. Border Leicesters are equally good foragers and get along on less feed than other breeds, he concluded.
