B—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 21,1971
Some Keys: Good Rom, Flushing, High Lomb Output, Controlled Feeding, Health Core
Why Robert Herr, Dorset Breeder, Keeps Urging Farmers to Try Sheep
“A ram really makes the dif
ference and I think you can af
ford to pay more for one.”
The comment was made by
Robert Herr, Narvon RD2,
shortly before the Pennsylvania
Keystone Show and Sale at Har
risburg July 10. At the sale, one
of Herr’s Dorset rams was
judged reserve breed champion
and sold for $530, the highest
price for any of the 203 ani
mals sold at the sale
Herr’s own flock ( ram was
sired by the highest selling ram
of the Dorset breed, a $2,000
ram - sold by North Carolina
State College.
His current ram was cham
pion at Staunton, Virginia, and
at the Pennsylvania Farm
Show.
Herr’s flock is a breeding
Elizabeth and Barbara show off the Herrs’ ewe lambs
which will be a year old in September.
The Polled Dorsets
While Dorsets normally have horns, all of the Robert
Herr flock is polled except one foundation ewe which was
kept because she drops good lambs.
Dorset literature explains that the polled strain of the
Dorset originated at North Carolina State College, Raleigh,
N.C.
The polled Dorset apparently resulted from a muta
tion which occurred in the purebred Dorset flock maintain
ed by the college. A mutation is an accidental change in
the gene or genes that affect a particular trait, such as
horns.
After the first polled Dorsets were obtained at the Col
lege, research and testing were carried out for seven years
in order to assure a strong foundation from which a polled
strain of Dorset could be propagated. In 1956; the Con
tinental Dorset Club accepted the first applications for
registry.
The first sale of animals from the College flock occur
red in 1958 when 15 rigidly selected rams were sold to Dor
set breeders in 11 States. Interest in the new strain of
Dorsets has spread from coast to coast and ha£ definitely
established the polled animals as part of the breed. Except
for the absence of horns, they are identical to horned Dor
sets, according to the breed information.
These are some of the Herrs’ older Dor
set -ewes grazing, with the farm pond in the
background. The ewe on the right is the only
flock. He sells many of his ani
mals to other sheepmen as
’foundation stock. That’s one of
the reasons he needs a quality
ram to maintain the high
quality in his flock year after
year.
Urges Sheep Production
Because his sheep are con
sistently among top award win
ners in local and state shows,
Herr’s flock is one of the best
known sheep flocks in the area.
But aside from winning at
shows, Herr is perhaps best
known among farmers as an
advocate of producing sheep.
While nationally and locally
sheep have been declining in
relative importance as a live
stock enterprise, Herr thinks
this shouldn’t be the case. He
thinks sheep can be a highly
horned animal in the flock. She has been
kept because she produces good lambs.
These are some of the lambs which the necessary to leave this wool on at this point
Herrs will enter in show compeition during in order to fit them out properly, reports Mrs.
the next few months. Note that the lambs Herr, who is credited by her husband with
have been sheared, except for the legs. Wool being an outstanding sheep fitter,
on ,the legs doesn’t grow very fast and it’s
The Herr family stands near a large Margaret (front); Karen Serafin, State Cot
cherry tree on their small farm, with the lege, a friend visiting Elizabeth; Mrs.
sheep in the background. They are: left to (Betty) Herr, and Christian,
right, Robert; Barbara (front); Elizabeth;
profitable enterprise, particu
larly on rocky and hilly land
not suitable for intensive crop
farming.
He thinks sheep can be adapt
ed to many types of farm pro
grams, kept small for the part-
time farmer or enlarged into a
full-time operation, adapted to
a purebred breeding flock pro
gram or changed to a crossbred
commercial operation.
The Herr operation is rela
tively small, emphasizing pri
marily sale of' breeding stock.
He has a full-time job as teach
er of the elementary ag pro
gram in the Eastern Lancaster
County School District, a pro
gram for sixth grade students.
By buying all his feed and
hay, and using rotational graz
ing, Herr feels he can easily
support his 50 head flock on his
17 acres. With the homestead, a
pond, creek and some woods, he
has about 12 acres of pasture.
He emphasized that this
ground is rocky and hilly, not
suited to intensive farming liir*
most of the better farm areas
in Lancaster County. He be
lieves that grazing sheep is
about the best use that can be
hiade of the land.
Herr stresses that one of the
main reasons he likes sheep is
that “it’s something the whole
family can do.” He considers his
wife, Betty, a very accomplish
ed sheep producer.
The Herr children Eliza
beth, 12; Christian, 9; Barbara,
8, and Margaret, 4 all have
sheep and the whole family
joins in show events. Show
some responsibilities with the
days are family days.
Besides an outstanding ram,
Herr believes there are many
other factors in making a suc
cessful sheep program.
Intensive Lambing
Herr explained that the
economics of producing lamb
in this country, including ris
ing costs, as well as Hie large
influx of foreign lamb, makes it
increasingly vital to increase
return from the flock, through
such means as increasing the
number of lambs per year and
■hitting the top market.
One of the most important
needs in Ihe industry, he be
lieves, is an accelerated lamb
ing program.
Most sheepmen get lambs
once a year. Herr’s flock lambs
every eight months, making it
possible to get three lambings
every two years, or a 50 per
cent increase over the normal
flock operator.
“As the hog people have been
doing for years and as the dairy
people do, it’s a matter of keep
ing the animals pregnant all the
time,” Herr explained.
This intensive breeding pro
gram is one of the key reasons
he specializes in Dorsets. Dor
sets are one of the few breeds
which can be used for out of
(Continued on Page 9)
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