Entrepreneur Shawn Briggs, of Aurora, Mo., prefers to dabble in multiple types of business. He credits his work ethic to the example his parents set forth. The same example Shawn and his wife, Terri, hope to give to their three sons, Gavin, 14, Spencer, 12 and Larson, 8. “Farming is a great way to install work ethic and it is a really good experience for our boys,” said Shawn.
His most recent business adventure is raising 110 momma hair sheep. Shawn grew up on a farm near Monett, Mo., where his family raised cattle, sheep, horses and chickens, so starting a farm wasn’t completely out of the ordinary.
Shawn started his flock about five years ago with 60 Katahdin and Dorper sheep. “It took me a good three years to breed up the genetics and get what I wanted,” stated Shawn. “My goal is to get 100 percent Dorper. They seem to bring more money at market and shed better.”
After purchasing sheep, Shawn quickly realized that they were hardier and better mommas compared to goats. “I’ve always tinkered with goats and hogs,” explained Shawn. “Hair sheep are a lot like goats in that they will eat a lot of roughage.”
Shawn prefers to lamb in November so his lamb crop is ready for market in January-March to get the highest prices possible. The most profitable market for Shawn is to sell his breeding stock and meat animals off the farm. Currently he has about 100 bred ewes for sale and lambs will be sold when they reach about four to six months. Shawn doesn’t castrate and explained, “They grow faster if you don’t castrate. They tend to sell the same at the market as long as they are young.
One major benefit of raising hair sheep is they don’t have to be sheered, which is ideal for busy businessman Shawn. But on the other hand, hair sheep seem to be wilder than most. To try to tame his flock Shawn feeds a little grain and will bottle feed babies when necessary, which helps them become more docile.
To get the most profitable flock possible Shawn culls animals that have hoof problems, are slow growers, problems shedding and are extremely wild. He pays special attention to first time mommas because occasionally they will not raise multiple lambs. “My more experienced mommas have no problems raising sets of two or even three,” said Shawn.
Shawn explained that the hair sheep rarely have health issues but just to take extra precautions he vaccinates for tetanus and deworms two to three times a year. His sheep are rotated amongst five paddocks seeded with lespedeza to help control parasites.
His hardy sheep have made it through the winter just fine on pasture and a little hay. “They prefer grazing. They will dig through the snow to get to the ground rather than eat hay, which luckily means I don’t have to feed much hay.”
With all the benefits of hair sheep – no sheering, few birthing issues and excellent foraging – means Shawn has more time to focus on his other businesses. When he isn’t on the farm, Shawn can be found brewing beer for his restaurant and micro-brewery, Bootleggers in Aurora. Shawn opened Bootleggers with partner, Scott Young, 15 years ago. Along with the farm and Bootleggers, Shawn owns Buzzz Stop in Monett.
Thanks to the help of his partner, reliable managers and employees, Shawn is able to complete his duties on the farm. Someday Shawn would like to have a state inspected meat processing facility on his farm to sell meat at Bootleggers. But for now Shawn wants to continue growing his flock and purchase more property.
When running so many different businesses, Shawn concluded, “I’ve just been doing it so long it’s become natural now.”
