HOME WWSGA - WORLD WIDE SHEEP & GOAT ARCHIVES, INC.
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Joe Emenheiser
11384 Hill Street
Felton, PA 17322
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Emenheiser Sheep is a small, family-owned operation in southern York County, Pennsylvania. Since 1993, our farm has hosted a wide variety of sheep breeds and types. Our current flock began with a simple goal: to produce quality sheep that thrive under minimal management.
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We started with a group of half-sister ewe lambs purchased in 2005 from Sandy von Allmen, NY. They are of traditional Dorset type and are mostly straightbred, although such other breeds as East Friesian and Texel appear back in some of the ewe families. They have matured into tremendously hardy, maternal ewes that lamb unassisted and rear strong, growthy twins on grass alone. Most importantly, they have provided an excellent base for our Ile de France upgrading program.
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Our interest in the Ile de France breed began when we were unable to find a Dorset ram to fit our needs. The foundation ram of our IdF program, Crane Creek 0122R, was purchased as a lamb from Stephanie Mitcham, IA, in 2005. Little did we know at the time what a legend he was to become. Having matured into a quite handsome specimen of the breed, 0122R is accordingly featured as the representative IdF in the WWSGA logo and on the registry home page. His celebrity is further earned by the exemplary performance of his offspring, which clearly have exceeded our wildest expectations. The maternal milk of our Dorset base combined with the muscularity of the IdF results in lambs with exceptional carcasses, particularly at light weights.
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Although much of our focus has been on hothouse lambs, we seek a lamb growth curve that ensures superior product at a versatile range of carcass weights, developed on forage alone. Compared to the straightbred Dorset, our percentage IdF stock have a significantly improved growth rate as lambs, but their mature size and maintenance requirements as ewes have been kept in check. Our first group of 50% French, 0122R daughters is due to lamb in April 2009, and we anxiously await the results.
Using the WWSGA registry and breed standards, we intend to upgrade to purebred IdF sheep. Current facilities mandate that we must keep our numbers relatively small, but we recognize the importance of purebred sheep that can work for the common good of the larger U.S. lamb industry. Our aim is to produce elite seedstock that have been proven and profitable in a production-oriented, commercial setting.
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We also have a small flock of British-type Suffolks geared toward providing terminal sires for hothouse lamb producers and flocks using the three-tiered UK system to generate grass-finished market lambs. More info coming soon!
Thank you for your interest in Emenheiser Sheep. Please direct further inquiries to our contact information at the top of the page!
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