A22—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, Dacambar 3,1983
Fleeners set sights on breeding champion sheep
BY TRISH WILLIAMS
LANCASTER - Quality not
quantity is the guiding principle
Tim and Sarah Fleener use to
manage thier flock of registered
Shropshire and Hampshire sheep.
It is that eye for quality and the
discriminating hand for culling
that recently led the Fleeners to a
long string of winnings at the
Keystone International Livestock
Exposition. Having captured both
the grand champion ram and ewe
in the National Shropshire Show,
they went on to the highly coveted
Governor’s Trophy for a group
class.
Years of breeding and showing
sheep have earned the Fleeners
their obvious ovine advantage. It
was showing sheep that originally
brought Tim and Sarah together.
And a mutual interest and par
ticipation in organized sheep ac
tivities that brought the couple to
head the Pennsylvania Hampshire
Association. Tim serves as
president and Sarah is the
secretary-treasurer for the largest
sheep breed association in' the
state.
Tim grew up in the wide opeif
spaces of Modoc, Indiana. Tim’s
parents have been showing
Shropshire sheep since 1963. Tim
took over responsibility for the
flock in 1970 and began a program
to upgrade the flock.
Sarah, like her mother and
grandparents, is a Lancaster
County native. She was raised and
still lives on her family’s farm that
seems as if it is being swept ever
closer to Lancaster, as urban
sprawl nears their farm, only a
mile and a half from the Park City
Mall.
Sarah’s parents, Clyde and
Dorothy Brubaker, have raised
Hampshire sheep for more than 20
years. Her parents started her and
her brother, Ken, raising sheep
when they were young. Sarah was
only nine years old when she began
showing sheep in 4-H competition.
Sarah and Tim are pictured with their grand champion ewe
and ram at the 1983 National Shropshire Show.
In 1980, Sarah’s last year of
junior showing competition Sarah
had achieved a level of quality in
her Hampshire show string that
permitted her to participate in the
North American International
Livestock Exposition, in
Louisville, Ky.
That same year Tim’s string of
Shropshire show sheep did well
enough that he postponed going to
college at Kansas State University
in order to compete at Louisville.
Vicki, an excellent show ewe of
Sarah’s was penned next to Tim’s
sheep. Tim offered to buy her from
Sarah, she wouldn’t sell her, but
nonetheless Vicki had brought the
two together.
Now the cflbple maintains a flock
of each breed and continues to
show with ever more success. The
Fleeners have 35 Hampshire ewes,
two stud rams and ten fall lambs.
They also raise 20 Shropshire
sheep.
Emphasis in the breeding
program is placed on good ewes.
“We haven’t spent alot of money
on rams,” Tim explained. “We
base most of our progress on the
ewe. If the ewe doesn’t produce
year after year, she is shipped.”
“We like to see twins and triplets
out of our ewes,” Sarah added. “If
we have an outstanding ewe
family, and the ewe throws single
births, we will keep some of the
outstanding lambs. If her lambs
are not outstanding, then she goes.
Alot also depends on her milking
ability. We do have one com
mercial ewe that we keep because
throws good market lams and she
is a terrific milker. We can milk
her out and freeze the milk for
orphan lambs or lambs not getting
enough to eat.”
“Probably the worst ewe we
have now, we have a ram out of
that won the champion ram at
Farm Show,” Tim stated,
stressing the importance of
culling.
How did the Fleener’s achieve
The Fleener's pasture their sheep on a rented meadow near their home. Each day they
make a head count and health check of the flock.
this level of quality in their sheep.
Tim attributes much of the genetic
progress to a program of carefully
planned inbreeding. As an
example of half brother and half
sister of outstanding quality might
be mated.
Embryo transfer is a genetic tool
these progressive breeders are
considering.
"Kignt now embryo transfer
techniques in sheep still need
refinement,” Tim explained.
“Most of the work is being done in
Illinois. I think the going price for a
transfer is around $5OO. At that
price I would want to know it was a
sure thing. But I would definitely
go that way when it is refined, that
way I wouldn’t have to haul a ewe
clear across the country. ”
Feeding a balanced ration is also
given much attention. The
Fleener’s flock is fed a custom
mixed concentrate consisting of
cracked com, rolled oats, soybean
oil meal, molasses and Vigortone
minerals. Tim estimates the cost
of the concentrate at about $2OO
- per ton depending on grain
prices. He feels the ground con
centrate gives better feed ef
ficiency than commercially
pelleted feeds that ‘tend to lay in
the bottom of the sheep’s stomach. ’
The crop and pasture land on
Sarah’s grandfather’s farm is used
to feed his commercial beef
animals. So Tim and Sarah buy all
the feed the sheep require, and
rent pastures for grazing theii
sheep from neighbors.
The sheep are divided into three
flocks for pasturing, two flocks of
Hampshire and one flock of
p.
have accumulated quite a collection of ribbons, banners,
trays and trophies, which they display in their home.
Shropshire.
“We try to keep them on pasture
as long as we can so we don’t have
to purchase feed,” Tim said.
“When the ewes have lambs we
feed them 2.5 to 3.0 pounds of
concentrates.”
4-H members in the Lancaster
Woolies club have also benefited
from the sheep production ex
perience of Sarah’s parent, Clyde
and Dorothy, who are leaders of
the club. The Brubakers have
helped to organize shows and
sales.
Dorothy has a special interest in
lead line competitions. She has
coordinated the lead line com
petition at the KILE for four years.
Sarah who competed in the contest
for six years herself, has helped
her mother to run the contest for
This Hampshire ewe, Vicki, is responsible for bringing Tim
and Sarah together. Tim wanted to buy hfer from Sarah, but
she wouldn’t sell. So Tim had to marry Sarah to get “joint
custody” of Vicki. As one can see the relationship is a growing
enterprise.
the last two years, and this year for
the first time they organized a lead
line contest at I-ancaster County’s
roundup.
Ken,jSarah’s brother, still has an
interest in sheep, although he no
longer lives on the farm. Ken was
the auctioneer for all but the
Suffolk sheep auctions held in
conjuction with KILE.
With this kind of family in
volvement and expertise one might
assume that sheep farming was a
full-time job for the Fleeners. It i£
definitely a full-time avocation, foi
Tim who works full-time foi
Warner Lambert in Lititz. And foi
Sarah it is a lifelong love of thl
species that she believes has i
personality more like humans that 1
any of the other barnyard animal.