Sheep
(Continued from Page Al)
present time, lamb entrees may be
coming out next year, says
Darazsdi.
Why all the fuss about lamb?
Darazsdi traces the company’s
interest in lamb to February of this
year when the Timberville facility
was purchased. Since the plant
provided more floor space than
Rocco needed for its poultry
operation, the company began to
explore other means of bringing it
up to capacity. After conducting an
economic analysis on processing
red meats, Rocco concluded that
lamb provided the best op
portunities for turning a profit.
“Lamb is quite low in cholesterol
and fat,” Darazsdi points out,
noting that such a product is right
for the times. “Based on the
market research that we’ve
conducted, people don’t associate
lamb with red fheat,” he adds.
Moreover, about 80 percent of the
nation’s lamb production is con
sumed in the Northeast, says
Darazsdi.
Much of the company’s success
can be attributed to its respon
siveness to consumer demands.
What makes Eocco’s lamb venture
particularly appealing to
producers, says Darazsdi, is that
the company has already
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established a market.
Compelling evidenced for the
existence of this market is the fact
that Rocco did not slaughter its
first lamb until August of this year.
Rocco is currently processing 3,000
lambs a week and intends to bring
the plant up to capacity at 10,000 a
week.
How much of this production will
come from Pennsylvania? “If we
could get to 500 a day with Penn
sylvania, that would probably
satisfy our needs,” says Darazsdi.
The 125,000 Pennsylvania lambs
slaughtered annually would yield
13,750,000 pounds of meat, ac
cording to the Rocco executive. At
70 cents a pound, that’s a $lO
million shot in the arm for the
Keystone State’s sheep industry.
“I think there’s a tremendous
potential in Pennsylvania for an
increase in sheep production,”
says Rocco’s lamb procurement
manager Dennis Miller, pointing to
the state’s healthy forage base and
abundant rainfall. “But I’m just
not sure that our management’s
there yet,” he cautions. “If we’re
going to be successful, then we’ve
got to get serious about producing
lamb in this country.”
And “getting serious” translates
to providing a product that the
consumer wants, Miller em
phasizes. What the market wants
is a 110-pound lamb says Miller,
basing his estimate on a 50-percent
dressed weight, yielding a 55-
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pound carcass. The market
demands lean, uniform carcasses,
and freshness is a must, he adds.
Top quality is absolutely
essential, Miller says, and Rocco
will be paying a premium for the
right stuff. “We’re the only plant in
the country slaughtering lambs on
a yield grade basis,” he says. “We
can’t slaughter ram lambs, and we
don’t like to slaughter lambs with
tails,” he adds. The company
prefers lambs with number-one
pelts grown back to 5/8-inch of
wool.
In order to provide the steady,
year-round supply of lamb so
crucial to the success of this
marketing venture, ewes capable
of out-of-season breeding and
multiple births must be utilized,
says Miller.
Will the intensive management
and large lamb numbers required
for this program spell the end of
the independent producer? Jim
Darazsdi doesn’t think so. “I
certainly think there’s room for the
small, independent producer,”
says Darazsdi, pointing out that
Rocco grows only about 60 percent
of the turkeys it slaughters. The
company, in fact, does not want to
own all its ewes, he stresses.
“We’re talking about tens of
millions of dollars in investment,”
Darazsdi estimates. “I think it can
be managed better if handled by
independents.”
But the program won’t be for
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everyone, stresses Penn State
Extension sheep specialist Clair
Engle. Producers must be willing
to fine-tune their management
practices if they plan to step into
sheep production’s fast lane. To
meet Rocco’s projected
requirements, Pennsylvania ewe
numbers will have to be doubled,
Engle estimates.
Quoting figures from a 1982
Pennsylvania sheep producer
survey, Engle points out that the
state-wide lambing rate of 1.42
lambs per ewe hardly reflects
conscientious management. “We
should be looking at at least a 175-
percent lambing rate, and we
ought to be weaning 160 to 165
percent of the crop.” (The 1982
weaning rate was 1.17.)
Despite the lure of increased
profits, Engle doesn’t expect
Rocco’s venture to generate many
Del. group seeks
DOVER, DE The Delaware
Soybean Board has announced it is
seeking project pre-proposals for
1986. Soybean research projects
and proposals dealing with market
development will be accepted by
the Delaware Soybean Board until
January 15,1986.
At that time the pre-proposals
will be reviewed and the Board will
request further details on projects
An Equal Opportunity Lender
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 14,1955-A23
new farming operations. “The
impact it’s going to have is as an
alternative for existing farms,” he
speculates. “Like it or not, there’s
going to be a decrease in dairy
farming,” Engle points out, adding
that sheep production will enable
some dairymen to pick up the
slack.
Tuesday and Wednesday’s
forum included a panel discussion
of the formation of a Sheep In
dustry Development Council. In
dealing with industry growing
pains, the council will provide a
team approach, with represen
tation from industry, educational
institutions, government and
financial institutions, Engle said.
The Extension specialist hopes
that the council will be functional
by mid-April, when the Penn
sylvania Sheep and Wool Growers
will hold its annual meeting.
soybean projects
to be considered for possible
funding. A final decision on
projects will be made by the Board
by the end of February.
The Delaware Soybean Board
funded 13 projects totalling $24,200
in 1985. Projects included deter
mination of the cause of a new
disease affecting Delaware
soybeans, weed control in
soybeans, and variety testing to
combat the soybean cyst
nematode.
Persons wishing to submit
project pre-proposals shoud
contact William Sammons, Jr., at
the Delaware Department of
Agriculture, 2320 S. duPont
Highway, Dover, De 19901 for more
information. Pre-proposals must
be submitted by January 15,1986.