Thursday, July 30, 2009

Press Release: Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival

The 1st ~ Great Lakes ~ Bluefaced Leicester Show

The Bluefaced Leicester Breeders Association (BFLBA) will be hosting the first Great Lakes ~ Bluefaced Leicester Show held in conjunction with the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival in Jefferson, Wisconsin on September 11th - 13th, 2009.

The BFLBA will be coordinating its Bluefaced Leicester Show along with the North American Mule Sheep Society's (NAMSS) 2nd Annual Mule Sheep & Bluefaced Leicester Progeny Show. The judge presiding over both the Bluefaced Leicester classes as well as the Mule Show classes will be John Stott the newly elected president of the UK's Bluefaced Leicester Sheep Breeders' Association. John has also agreed to do several educational presentations highlighting the Bluefaced Leicester and the Mule ewe. The BFLBA's Great Lakes ~ Bluefaced Leicester Show, and the NAMSS's Mule Sheep Show will be an excellent opportunity to showcase the Bluefaced Leicester to the sheep industry, for their versatility not only as a purebred sire, but as a crossing sire in the 3-tier breeding scheme for grass fed lamb production too.

The BFLBA and NAMSS would like to thank the UK- BFLSBA for their generous contribution in providing us once again with our guest breeder-judge; and for their continued support of our efforts here in the States promoting the Bluefaced Leicester.
A BIT ABOUT OUR 2009 JUDGE:

John Stott and his family live on and work 'LAUND FARM' which is located in Chipping, Preston, Lancashire, UK. Laund Farm is a 500 acre family farm, which runs approximately 700 hill sheep mainly Swaledales and Beulah Speckled Face producing 400 Mules that are sold each year, plus a 400 ewe Freisland flock for their sheep milking enterprise, and around 30 suckler cows and 20 pedigree Simmental, as well as John's 50 pedigreed Bluefaced Leicesters. On June 3rd 2009, the Stott's and Laund Farm was the host location for NORTH SHEEP '09'. North Sheep is a biennial event run by the UK's National Sheep Association (NSA) an organization which represents UK sheep breeders. North Sheep is an industry event which brings together agricultural companies, sheep farmers and agricultural experts for a day. North Sheep '09' attracted over 9,000 visitors and 250 trade stands from across the sheep sector. Around 100 foreign delegates also flocked to the event which showcased Britain’s 70-plus sheep breeds. We look forward to meeting John and his wife, Christine, in September.

Champion Penrith Sale 2008
John Stott 'LAUND'
(photo courtesy of Wayne Hutchinson 'Farm-Images.co.uk')

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Black Sheep Gathering 2009 ~ Report

Black Sheep Gathering
A special issue of 'The Blue News' has been uploaded to the files sections of the: Bluefaced Leicester & BFLBA Members, yahoo groups.
It contains reports from the 2009 Black Sheep Gathering, by Kathy Davidson 'Potosi' and Robina Koenig 'Tumble Creek', as well as color photos of the Bluefaced Leicester classes, and the Spinner's Lead competition.