Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Great Lakes ~ Bluefaced Leicester Show

The 2010 ~ Great Lakes ~ Bluefaced Leicester Show
The Bluefaced Leicester Breeders Association (BFLBA) will be hosting the 2nd Great Lakes ~ Bluefaced Leicester Show held in conjunction with the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival in Jefferson, WI on September 11th - 12th, 2010.
The BFLBA will be coordinating the Bluefaced Leicester Show along with the North American Mule Sheep Society's (NAMSS) 3rd Annual Mule Sheep & Progeny Show. Our guest UK judge presiding over both the Bluefaced Leicester classes as well as the Mule Show classes this year will be Glenn Shapiro. New this year to the Great Lakes ~ Bluefaced Leicester Show will be a Young Handlers class (for ages 14 and under), the Progeny class (sire w/ 2 progeny), and the aged ewe class (2 years and up). Glenn will also be giving an educational presentation on the 'History of the Bluefaced Leicester' and the 'Development of the Hazelwood Flock'.
The BFLBA's, Great Lakes ~ Bluefaced Leicester Show, and the NAMSS's, Mule Sheep & Progeny Show are excellent venues that allow us to showcase the Bluefaced Leicester, and the Mule ewe to the purebred, as well as the commercial sheep industry.
The BFLBA and the NAMSS would like to thank the UK- BFLSBA for thier 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 and the Mule ewe.
AN INTRODUCTION TO OUR 2010 JUDGE:

Our visiting UK judge this year is Glenn Shapiro, Hazelwood Farm, Silverdale, Carnforth, Lancashire, UK. Glenn is a past Chairman & Vice Chairman of the UK-BFLSBA, and sits on their Council of Management. Her other duties include serving as an inspector for the Society's fall ram sales, as well as judging at the Royal Shows, and at local County shows. Some of Glenn's Bluefaced Leicester judging assignments this year have included the Northumberland Show, and at the prestigious Royal Welsh Show.
Mrs. Shapiro's Hazelwood Flock prefix is synonymous with the Bluefaced Leicester breed. She established the Hazelwood flock in 1985, with 7 ewes, and 2 ewe lambs, buying in rams from other well known flocks such as Parcelstown, Walton, Shrewbridge, Barlaes, Cairn Smiddy, and Newmills. HAZELWOOD Bluefaced Leicesters have won the red ticket at all the major shows, as well as winning the coveted Interbreed Champions titles at the Great Yorkshire, and the Royal Highland Show.
We look forward to meeting Glenn, and her husband, Dan, this September during their visit to the USA, and the Great Lakes area.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Blues, Youth, Lambs, and the YCP

Last year's recipient of the Youth Conservationist Program, Nick Wenger, recently sent an update about his Bluefaced Leicester ewe, Beechtrees 'Carron'.
After receiving Carron at the 2009 YCP Awards at the MSWF, Nick and Carron went on to compete in several Pennsylvania Fairs and shows, taking the purple rosette at the Elizabethtown Fair. As part of his contract with the YCP program to breed Carron, Nick purchased a Bluefaced Leicester ram lamb, aka Fred, from a pair of previous Bluefaced Leicester YCP recipients, Rachel & Joe Goodpaster.
Nick has learned to hand blade shear his sheep, as well as to hand card, and then spin the wool. In March, Carron presented Nick with a set of triplet Bluefaced Leicester lambs, two ewes and a ram. Mother and lambs are doing great!
We look forward to seeing Nick at the MSWF, for the presentation of his YCP 1st year report.

Awesome job Nick & Carron !
'Carron' with her 2010 triplet Bluefaced Leicester lambs



2009 YCP Bluefaced Leicester ewe 'Carron' donated by Beechtree Farm to Nick Wenger.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

New Year Blue Promotions

We started off 2010 by promoting the Bluefaced Leicester and the BFLBA, as well as the NAMSS and the roll that the Mule plays in the 3-Tier Breeding System.
We were at the Michigan Sheep Breeders Assoc. 'Shepherd's Weekend'
held in Lansing, MI on a very cold and blustery weekend January 2nd & 3rd.

Our display table contained newsletters, tri-folds, and flyers for the BFLBA, and the NAMSS.
As well as handouts announcing the dates for the 2010 Great Lakes ~ Bluefaced Leicester Show, and the NAMSS ~ Mule Sheep & Progeny Show,
to be held at the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival, September 10 - 12, 2010
We also had a laptop and computer display screen running different photo slideshows promoting Bluefaced Leicesters, Mule Sheep, grass fed lamb, and the different breeds associated with the 3-Tier Breeding System.
We had many interested sheep producers asking questions about the BFL sires involvement in the 3-Tier system, as well as picking up the informational flyers and newsletters for reading later.
Watch this blog and the www.BFLBA.com website for updates on where we will be promoting the Bluefaced Leicester, and the BFLBA and its members,
as well as information about the 2nd Great Lakes ~ Bluefaced Leicester Show.