Hi Karen,
Barb Lee in W. Oregon here. Everyone's got different reasons for
lambing at different times, and that's the nice thing about the
polyestrous blackbellies! :o) I'm working my program toward a good
grass finishing model, and one of the prime ingredients for tender,
succulent lamb is to harvest when they're really on the gain. The best
grasses for that are the spring/early summer grasses. Since it takes so
long to grow out a blackbelly, I am timing my future breedings for
Sept/October, so we can harvest at the end of June, when the grass has
pretty well peaked and before it needs a rest during summer dormancy.
Fall is mild here, we usually get good rain to "pop" the fall grasses
for the ewes and lambs, the babes will be big and strong going into
winter, and they're ready to really make use of the spring flush,
nibbling those 20% protein/dry weight grass tips. We harvest in late
June to depopulate the pasture and take the pressure off.
Getting nitrogen on the grass now would be a good thing for fall growth,
if I could bring myself to do it, but waiting for the legumes to recover
in the pasture to eventually rely on that.
Anyway, if our first spring/early summer finished lamb was any
indicator, it's going to be hard to improve the program.
Barb
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