From the Pastures: Almost fair time

Hope everyone is having a great summer. The thing I like most about July is that it is almost fair time for us. We should be back in the sheep barn this year with some lambs my granddaughter is bringing for the 4-H show. She is excited and has started to teach them to lead and stand still. She is taking some Shetland lambs. She said she is not ready for market lambs yet.

I had the opportunity to travel to upstate New York this week. Dairy is the major agricultural entity in the area. There is a lot of corn and wheat grown in the area, also. It was interesting to see that the crops were doing well. It seemed like the growing season and crop progress was similar to northern Illinois. The weather was just as hot even though they are not too far from Lake Ontario. I am such an ag nerd. Always checking the crops wherever I go. I bet a lot of the readers do the same.

All my sheep are enjoying the lush pasture we have. This summer, we have been very fortunate with the amount of rain. Instead of weaning the lambs this year, I let all the lambs and moms out in the pasture. The Shetland moms wean the lambs themselves and the lambs are really doing great. They have increased in size already without feeding any grain. They are also much healthier than last year’s lambs. A few are sold and will be leaving in a couple of weeks. Glad they will have a good start.

Enjoy the summer days and have a great time at the fairs if you are attending or showing.