WASHINGTON — It is going to happen! There will be an NSIP (National Sheep Improvement Program) Influenced Commercial Ewe sale. It is open to all producers who have ewes for sale out of NSIP sired rams, registered or commercial, including crossbred. The first sale is January 26, 2022, and we are looking for consigners.
NSIP is the organization that handles performance records for its members and turns them into ebv’s. EBV’s are science-based, industry tested measurements of heritable traits that can be tracked and measured. They are like epd’s used in cattle and can assist producers in making breeding decisions to maximize profit in their management scheme.
According to Polypay enthusiast Jerry Sorenson, “There is a true interest in high quality replacement females. Producers are seeking maternal ewes that give them the option to make their own replacements or use NSIP terminal cross rams to provide the market lambs the industry desperately needs.”
Sorenson continues. “This sale will allow true price discovery on the value of NSIP replacement ewes across the United States. It will set precedence on the value of NSIP ewes and ewe lambs. This sale provides another opportunity for NSIP to provide value for the producers.”
The NSIP influenced ewe sale is open to all consigners who have ewes out of NSIP sires. The consigner can sell as few as 10 replacement ewes or ewe lambs or as many as a semi load or more per lot. The rule is the ewes must be sired by an NSIP ram. They can be bred or open. If the ewes are bred, they must be both sired by and bred by an NSIP sire.
The sale will be online at Willoughby Sales allowing people from east coast to west coast, to complete for these replacements all at the same time. As in most online sales, pictures and video will be requested. Information such as age, weight, and health will be listed along with NSIP sire data. The sire data will show where the sires originated along with index information.
Two more replacement ewes sales are in the planning stages for June and September as well as the annual online ram and ewe sales in June and the Center of the Nation Sale in Spencer, IA on July 30, 2022.
If you have questions or are interested in consigning, please contact Jerry Sorenson, 712-579-1511, wclones@harlannet.com Polypay; Alan Culham, 517-896-7378, info@katahdins.org hair breeds; or Matt Benz, benzmatt@hotmail.com, 701-870-4135, range breeds. Watch for more information as this sale develops on the NSIP website, http://nsip.org
–National Sheep Improvement Program