Shepherd Roegiers - Farm

SHEPHERD ROEGIERS

The Farm

	Welcome to The Shepherd Roegiers' sheep farm located at Burbank, South Dakota. Can you find the Ram in this litte gathering? We have six and a half acres for our small herd to keep clean of weeds.

	Here is a "fence decision" moment with neighbor Ray and our "curious audience". When we first started I needed all the help I could get. Thirty five years later, things are running a bit more smoothly. The ewes are bred in August and 145 days later the new lambs show up. This is called a ewe/lamb operation. I now brag about "knowing this business from the ground up". South Dakota is the sixth largest sheep producing state, following Texas, California, Wyoming, Colorado and Montana .

	Here we have "feeding time", Basically sheep eat the grass and weeds in their pasture. Often we do feed them corn to help finish off the growing process. Lambs are marketed between 115 lbs and 130 lbs. Birth weight is between 5 and 12 lbs, so we do have quite a growing period. Lambs are weaned after 45 days or so. About 400,000 lambs are raised in South Dakota annually. This is a big business!
	Here I am all ready for class (before I retired from the U. of South Dakota) and this young ram wants to see if I have a treat for him. Sheep really do come if you call them. They are also quite safe for young children as well as busy University Professors. We began as producers in 1972 and later, in 1992 we started the SHEPHERD ROEGIERS

	Again, welcome to the barnyard and our "live sheep" operation. We are home most of the time, so call or stop by. You too can take a tour. These wild turkes did.

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