Jaeme Lee LOU ANN GOOD Lancaster Farming Staff WHITEHOUSE STATION, NJ For thousands of years, people have been raising sheep. Those who are not well acquainted with sheep may believe all sheep look alike. But that isn’t true. Some sheep are completely white, some have black legs and faces, some have little wool while others have a warm heavy coat of wool. Jaeme Griffin of Whitehouse Station raises three different breeds of sheep. Some sheep are called wool grade sheep since there coats are used to spin yam. Some sheep do not have much wool, but they are raised as meat sheep for those who like to eat lamb. Jaeme helps raise 60-head of sheep on her parents farm called Pine Ridge Farm. Her parents are Charles and Carmen Griffin. Jaeme helped raise 10 puppies that are used for sheep herding. Jaeme and her sister Bobbl. When Bobbi first came from Korea, we would not talk, but she loved sheep. When lamb ing time started, Bobbi was so excited, she started talking and now she won’t stop talking about them. Jaeme said, “Bobbi would probably sleep with them if her mom would let her.” Jaeme has a nine-year-old sister, Bobbi, who also helps with the sheep. The family raises Romneys, Tunis, and a Jacobs that is a white with black spotted sheep. Jaeme said, “We fell in love with Romneys because they are like ted dy bears, gentle, loveable, good mothers, and easy to work with.” The Romneys are dual purpose sheep, that means they are raised for both their wool and their meat. Not many people know about the Tunis sheep. Jaeme said, 'Tunis sheep are 3,000 years old. When they are bom, they are red and white, but the fleece becomes cream-colored when they are five months old. We call them the Incredible Red Heads.” Tunis sheep will breed out of season and are used for milking, wool, and as a lean delicate meat. The fine medium fleece has a lot of crimp and elasticity, which Griffin And Her Wonder Sheep makes it perfect for working on a loom. If a Romney sheep’s wool become dirty, the Griffens can not wash it for it ruins the fleece and will not make nice wool for knitting. The fleece is sold to private buy ers who are usually hand spinners. They like the long Romney wool that is well suited to spinning. Lucky Jaeme sometimes gets clothing spun from her sheep. Last year she won first prize in the She pherds Lead Line at Harrisburg Farm Show building. In the Lead Line, competitors lead a sheep and are judged on their ability to lead and the appearance of their wool outfits. This year, Jaeme placed fifth out of 32 entries. She wore mauve colored knickers with a blue multi colored scarf, mittens, and head band. Her sheep wore a matching scarf. Jaeme competes in Sheep Bowl competition where they need to answer questions about sheep. Her team competes with other teams that try to tally the highest score. Jaeme’s mother started a Fiber 4-H Club. The club is for members who raise wool sheep, Angora rab bits, and llamas. All these animals have wool that is used for spinning. Jaeme has been in 4-H for two years, but she has been showing sheep for four years. She wins many awards for her sheep. There is a lot of hard work that goes into sheep raising. She helps give them shots, halter breaks them, fits them and bundles the fleece. Sometimes she insists on staying up to midnight if one of the ewes is having a lamb. Every day Jaeme follows a strict feeding program that has been planned for each individual sheep. She finds it interesting to see how the right amount of feed makes a difference in the growth. This summer, Jaeme raised 10 Maremmas. They are guard dogs that come from Italy. The dogs can be handled but not played with to prepare them to guard a flock of sheep for 24 hours each day. “Our Maremma dog, Britney, will come to the fence and bark if a ewe is having a problem. Britney loves her sheep and would not let anything hurt them. I’m sure glad, we have such a great dog.” Jaeme sold eight of the litter and kept two to work on their farm. It was very hard to sell the puppies Readers Write Hi, Everyone, My name is Sarah Ann Lapp. I am 12 years old. My birthday is April 28, 1978, My parents are Moses S. and Ruth E. Lapp. I have 5 brothers and 1 sister. Their names are Samuel, 13; Me, 12; Ammon, 10; Omar, 8; Anna Mary, 6; Jonas, 4; and Elam, 2. I live on a busy farm. We have 1 cow, mules, dogs, cats, chickens. We farm tobacco and horseradish. I go to Cherry Lane School. I’m going to be in 7th grade. I like to read Kid’s Komer. So good-bye. Sarah Ann Lapp Myerstown Jaeme and her sheep Josie ready for lead line competition. “What a Hunk.” Hunk is the name that Jaeme Griffin calls this champion ram that placed first in the 4-H Romney class. because she had become attached When Jaeme isn’t attending to them. Reddinton School or in the bam Jaeme likes to spin. She can spin with her sheep, she is taking ballet better than her mother. lessons. Allison and Rebecca Kolb from Manheim adore these black bunnies.
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