86-UncMter Farming, Saturday, January 29. 2000
Lamb And Wool Queen
For New 'Woolennium '
LOU ANN GOOD
Lancaster Farming Staff
HARRISBURG (Dauphin
Co.) Sheep have been
around since the beginning of
time, but Pennsylvania Lamb
and Wool Queen Laurie Bero
believes sheep today are exactly
what is needed for the new
“woolennium.”
Sheep find adequate nourish
ment on marginal land and re
plenish the soil that feeds them.
Sheep offer both meat and fabric
for consumers’ needs.
Wool, unlike synthetic fab
rics, is a natural and renewable
resource. Shear a sheep today,
and a year from now, when the
fleece has long since become
fabric, the same sheep is ready
again for shearing.
Twenty-one-year-old Laurie
touted the goodness of lamb and
wool’s oustanding qualities long
before being crowned industry
queen during the state Farm
Show.
“If people taste lamb, they
like it,” Laurie said.
The dilemma the industry
faces is overcoming pre
conceived prejudices against
lamb.
When entertaining, Laurie
serves lamb to her guests.
“I often don’t tell them it’s
lamb until after they taste it,”
Laurie admitted. She has no
qualms about upsetting people
because, she said, “I haven’t
found anyone yet who has tasted
it and not liked it.”
Guests’ positive reaction to
iamb sampling is probably due
to Laurie’s expertise in knowing
proper cooking methods for pre-
Helping Pennsylvania Lamb and Wool Queen Laurie Bero, center, with promo
tional events are Runnerup Amanda Darr, Somerset County; right, and Princess
Amanda Wilson, Cambria County.
Promotes Sheep
paring lamb. But the best secret
lies in using American lamb in
stead of imported product.
Americans breed lamb for
tenderness and process them
under one year of age, unlike
mang countries where sheep are
only processed after they are no
longer agile.
Many Americans, especially
those who served in the armed
forces, associate lamb with aged
mutton because that is what was
available during World War 11.
Those who tasted it didn’t like
the tough, strong flavor of the
aged mutton, and therefore
don’t include lamb in their diets.
American lamb is available in
most upscale restaurants where
chefs are trained on proper
cooking methods and the clien
tle enjoys good tasting lamb.
Lamb is best cooked to
medium or medium-rare done
ness. Lamb provides high qual
ity protein and all the essential
amino acids needed to build,
maintain, and repair body
tissue.
Lamb is also high in B
vitamins, iron, and zinc. Lamb is
considered a high nutrient den
sity food (ratio of nutrients to
calories). A 3-ounce serving of
cooked, lean lamb contains
about 221 calories, yet provides
40 percent of the protein reqire
ments, 17 percent of iron, and 31
percent of required zinc for
adult males.
The best market for lamb are
the ethnic markets, which are
growing the United States. The
industry is especially targeting
ethnic populations primarily in
cities, according to Laurie.
Many of these groups have
grown up preferring lamb and
goat more than other meats.
The industry faces another
obstacle. Some people believe
wool is too itchy to wear.
“Wool is not itchy if it is pro
cessed properly,” Laurie said.
Some processing methods use
acid to clean wool and remove
the natural lanolin to use for
other products.
“Wool that is cleaned with an
acid process can irritate skin be
cause some of the acid remains
in the wool,” Laurie said.
That problem can be elimi
nated if people buy wool directly
from the grower.
Many people who raise sheep
have wool to sell.
An expert shearer, using a
shearer similiar to a barber’s
clippers, can shear a sheep in
less than five minutes. The
fleece is rolled off with long
smooth strokes, beginning at the
legs and belly.
Laurie excells in fitting and
shearing sheep. She said, “I
have a whole wall of trophies.”
She grew up around sheep,
learned to show, shear and spin
the wool from her Tunis and
Border Leiscester sheep, and
also raises market sheep on the
family’s Alum Bank farm. Her
parents are Edward and
Rosemary Bero. Laurie also has
an older brother Steven.
In addition to her homestate,
Laurie has showed sheep in
Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey,
and Ohio. During these shows,
Laurie often met the reigning
wool queen.
“I wanted to be queen ever
Pennsylvania Lamb and Wool Queen Laurie Bero
sheared, spun, and dyed the wool from her registered
Tunis and Border Leister flock for her mother to knit into
the sweater Laurie is wearing.
since I was a little girl,” Laurie
said.
Laurie didn’t sit back and
wait for her dream to unfold. In
stead she immersed herself in
the industry and participated in
every aspect of competition such
as lead line, where contestants
lead a sheep and are judged on
their wool outfits, the lamb’s ap
pearance, and the shepherd’s
control of the lamb in the show
ring.
Contestants for the state lamb
and wool queen crown needed to
first compete at the local level.
Laurie won the title in Bedford
County. In fact, Laurie had won
the same title when she was only
Laurie shows her reserve champion Tunis ram year'
ling, one of the lambs from her flock in Bedford County.
IS years old. According to state
rules, she needed to be 16 years
old to compete for the state
crown. Now 21 years old, this is
the last year Laurie is eligible for
the position. She tVon the Bed
ford County crown to become el
igible to compete for the state
crown during the state Farm
Show.
Contestants needed to create
a display on the industry, give a
speech, write an article, and be
interviewed by a panel of four
judges for five minutes. Each
segment was worth 25 points.
The following day, the six
contestants needed to present
their prepared speeches to the
(Turn to Page B 7)