MSU to begin sheep project

Montana State University recently received a $400,000 USDA grant to fund a statewide
Sheep Institute. The Montana Sheep Institute is a cooperative program of MSU, the Montana Wool
Growers Association and the Montana sheep industry.

MSU NEWS SERVICE

The project will help increase the competitiveness of Montana’s sheep industry by using sheep in
large-scale weed management systems, reducing lamb mortality and improving income through new wool and
lamb marketing strategies.

Rodney Kott, MSU Extension sheep specialist and Sheep Institute principal investigator, said that the grant
grew from requests by Montana sheep producers and land managers for help in developing weed grazing
programs and other efforts to help Montana’s sheep producers survive economically.

Rapid changes in world wool and lamb markets over the last 10 years have caused major profit losses to
producers, marking a drop in Montana sheep numbers from 500,000 in 1990 to 250,000 in 2002.

"Land managers were a surprise partner," Kott said. The Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and
Montana Weed Control Association are looking to sheep as a tool in battling noxious weeds like leafy spurge.
Weed grazing operations have proved successful, Kott said, but the practice has never been adopted on a large
and organized scale. The Montana Sheep Institute will develop a system that brings sheep producers land
managers together.

"This program is very important to Montana as we work to address the problem of noxious weeds that are
crowding out grass in our range lands," said Bob Gilbert, secretary/treasurer of the Montana Wool Growers
Association. "Not only do we (Montana’s agricultural economy) win, but also wildlife that depends on rangeland
for survival." The Montana Wool Growers Association is a non-profit organization that represents the interests of
the majority of Montana’s sheep producers.
Wayne Pearson, weed supervisor in Stillwater County, has used sheep in a 28,000-acre leafy spurge
control program over the past five years. "It’s the only way we’ve found to control whole areas of leafy spurge," he
said.

"We’re actively encouraging the Montana Sheep Institute so we can keep sheep numbers up. If we don’t
have enough sheep, we won’t be able to use them to control our leafy spurge."
Pearson employs about 4,300 sheep from May through July to browse leafy spurge leaves and flowers
before the plants can make viable seed. The sheep eat the weeds first, and are moved before they resort to
eating grass.

Pearson’s weed control program also uses insects for bio-ontrol and herbicide for spot control of new or
isolated infestations.
Using sheep to browse weeds costs as little as 60 cents per acre, compared with a cost of $35 per acre to
spray from a helicopter, said Pearson. "If you tried to spray 28,000 acres you couldn’t afford it start with, and
you’d start getting residue in the groundwater," he explained. Currently, Montana weed trust fund dollars
compensate sheep producers $1 a head per month for grazing services. The Stillwater County site is a regular
destination for BLM-sponsored tours, and the National Wool Growers Association will visit this year.

"Rodney Kott has shown real support for what we’re doing," Pearson said. "We’re hoping that this new
funding program will be able to encourage more statewide sheep programs."
A full-time Sheep Institute project coordinator will develop and implement educational programs for grower
activities focusing on weed grazing and profitability. The coordinator will also collaborate with other MSU
Extension personnel to assist sheep producers with value-added marketing efforts throughout the state, such
as the wool-pool marketing programs in south-central and northeastern Montana, and lamb marketing efforts in
Wwestern and south-central Montana.

The grant will fund the first two years of a five-year plan, through April 2004. The focus of the initial phase
will be to develop, test and implement management strategies that capitalize on existing research and
experience.

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