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A Newsletter for the Iowa Sheep Industry ❖ November 2013
Ethnic Holidays - Busy Times for Michigan Family
Ethnic Marketing of Lamb and Mutton -- An Educational Program for U.S. Sheep Producers
The one-day tour I was on in July paid a short visit to Scott Fink-beiner’s farm near Ann
Arbor, Michigan to learn about his lamb feeding operation and garner some details on how he handles on-farm ethnic slaugh-ter lamb sales. He feeds around 9000 lambs each year and if possible likes to buy “specks” be-cause he says they give the best rate of gain. Staying away from notched ears and scurs is anoth-er priority because his Muslim customers do not want them and only in certain instances will they take a castrated ram. Scurs create a problem because they can break off and bleed and with notched ears and castration there is a scar. He reiterated that his Muslim customers want a blemish-free lamb, no blood or lameness.
Throughout the year he sells live lambs, which are then harvested on his farm, to a pre-dominantly Muslim population, charging $2.25/pound for 60-70
pound lambs and $275/lamb for 140 pound lambs. He said customers will drive on the yard any given day or time of day to purchase and harvest a lamb. Negotiation is always part of the process but the price outcome
depends on how much spare time he has that day; he added that he had to grow a tough skin. During certain Islamic holidays he will sell as many as 700 lambs throughout a week he describes as “very hectic” and during these
holidays prices are firm. Prior to the holiday, lambs are marked with different colors according to weight. Color-coded prices are then posted on a chalkboard with a large statement, “No Negotiation”.
Finkbeiner also markets lambs through traditional channels but his on-farm sales return the best profit per lamb. That profit comes with a price as it requires a great deal of attention during the special holidays and on any given day of the year.
Before delving into this kind of marketing there are many aspects to consider including how many interruptions in your private life you are willing to endure. If you are interested in learning more about market-ing lamb and mutton to the ethnic population you should check out the webinars that are being offered in November and December titled Ethnic Market-ing of Lamb and Mutton and detailed in the following article.
By Marsha Spykerman
Source: ASI Weekly
Benny Cox, Dan Lippert and Larry Pilster listen as Scott Fienkbeiner tells about his Michigan operation.
Sheep producers across the country are invited to participate in a four-
session webinar series designed to explore the feasibility of marketing lamb and mutton to ethnic consumers. This educa-tional outreach has been jointly designed by Richard Brzozowski, University of Maine Cooperative Extension, Susan Schoenian, University of Maryland Exten-sion, and Roger High, Ohio State University. It is being made available through a grant from the American Sheep Industry Association’s (ASI) Let’s Grow initiative to the state sheep asso-ciations of Maine, Maryland and Ohio. The series is free to anyone who wishes to participate.
The purpose of this multi-state
effort is to equip sheep produc-ers with skills and knowledge for effective marketing of sheep/lamb meat to ethnic communi-ties in their respective market areas. This outreach will be ac-complished via a webinar series and will be supplemented by readings, self-driven activities, assignments and group discus-sions. Producers are encouraged to participate in each of the four sessions for a complete educa-tional experience.
By the end of the series, webi-nar participants will be expected to:
Identify lamb consuming ethic populations in their area by per-forming a demographic analysis of specific ethnicities using cen-sus data and other sources.
Learn about the ethnic con-sumers as well as the specific holy days and holidays when lamb is customarily preferred and the demand for lamb/mut-ton or specific value-added products is typically high.
Evaluate their production system to determine needed changes in breed(s), carcass size, lambing time and or manage-ment to meet this market if deemed feasible.
Adapt or create a marketing plan as a part of a business plan for their sheep operation to include an ethnic component (if appropriate).
Successfully answer an ethnic lamb marketing quiz with a score of at least 80 percent.
Each session will begin at 6
p.m. CST and is scheduled to last 60-90 minutes. The schedule is as follows: Tuesday, Nov. 19 -- Ethnic Mar-ket Background Tuesday, Nov. 26 -- Understand-ing the Ethnic Consumer Tuesday, Dec. 3 -- Understand-ing and Evaluating Your Market Options Tuesday, Dec. 10 -- Your Market-ing Plan To register for this free series and for more information about specific sessions, instructors and other related information go to http://umaine.edu/livestock/sheep/ethnic-marketing-of-lamb-and-mutton.
Page 2 Lamb & Wool November 2013
This article was written collaboratively by Jeff Held, Kalen Manthei, Ann Kolthoff, and Kelly Bruns
Effect Of Sorting And Feeding Management Practices On Finished
Lamb Shrink Loss
BackgroundIn the Upper Midwest,
public auction sale barns and direct marketing (packer buying stations) are the pri-mary methods to sell sheep and lambs. They are generally sold on a live weight basis (lbs) with prices reported in dollars per hundred weight ($/cwt). Therefore the economic return to the producer is based on the live weight at the point of sale. Typically sheep are transported to a location and weighed im-mediately before being sold, referred to as the pay weight, or final weight. For public auction barns there is typically a time lag between delivery and weighing, which ranges from an overnight stand to a few hours after arrival at the sale facility. With packer buying stations, the animals are off-loaded then moved directly to a weigh scale. Using either marketing option is expected to result in a fair market value of the animal, “price discovery”.
Yet another common denomi-nator between these marketing options is a natural phenom-enon called shrink loss. Further defined, shrink loss is the differ-ence measured between the ini-tial body weight at the farm and the pay weight. Since pay weight is used to compute the value of the animal, minimizing loss is imperative to maximize animal market value. The sources of shrink loss include excrement, body fluids and tissue dehydra-tion.
Industry experts estimate shrink loss for market ready lambs (120-150 lbs) at approxi-mately 4%, but a wide array of
factors results in a range of 1 to 6 percent. Studies focused on livestock shrink loss have determined that distance trav-eled is a significant factor, with most shrink loss expected to occur in the initial 25 to 50 miles of transport. Yet little informa-tion is published evaluating the impact of common pre-marketing sorting, comingling and feed management prac-tices on shrink loss for finished weight lambs. Thus, a study was designed to measure the effect of common pre-marketing man-agement practices on shrink loss in finished weight lambs before and after transport.
ObjectivesThe objective of this study was
to determine the effect of com-mon pre-marketing sorting and feeding management practices on finished lamb shrink loss.
ProceduresA study was conducted at the
South Dakota State University sheep unit on March 14-15, 2013 to evaluate shrink loss with finished weight, fall born Hampshire sired and Polypay lambs (n=44). All lambs were offered a finishing lamb diet ad libitum and comingled for more than 60 days before the pre-trial weight was recorded and lambs designated to treatment. On March 14 at 5:00PM (CST) lambs were weighed, pre-trial weight, then were randomly allocated by weight and sex of animal (wether and ewe) to treatment: control (C; n=14), sorted on feed (SF; n=15) and sorted on hay (SH; n=15). These treatments correspond to common sheep industry finished lamb market-
ing management practices. The control lambs were housed in the original pen they had occu-pied for more than 60 days with ad libitum access to a finishing lamb diet and water, SF lambs were weighed then moved to a different pen and had ad libitum access to the lamb finishing diet and water, the SH lambs were also moved to a different pen with ad libitum access to hay and water. On March 15 at 8:00 AM (CST) all lambs were weighed to record a post-sort weight then loaded onto a live-stock trailer (8’ x 24’) and hauled for 50 miles. Following the transportation process lambs were off-loaded and weighed to determine a final weight.
Differences in shrink loss resulting from sorting, com-ingling and feed management treatments were analyzed by the GLM (general linear model) procedure of SAS. Differences in least square means for shrink loss were separated using the PDIFF option of SAS.
Results and DiscussionResults for shrink loss associ-
ated with sorting and comin-gling are reported in Table 1. Total shrink loss and shrink due to sorting were greater (P < 0.01) for the lambs in the sorted on feed (SF) treatment compared to control lambs. The lambs in the control group (C) had less than 1% body weight change during the trial. In contrast, the lambs in the SF group had 3.5% total shrink loss. The SF treatment resulted in a 7 fold increase in total shrink loss, the majority of body weight loss (>75% of total shrink loss) occurred in the 15 h period before transport. It is a common management practice for producers to sort market ready finished lambs into a different pen overnight prior to transport to direct marketing or public auction sale barn market-ing options. Based on our data the ideal management practice to minimize shrink loss and
See SHRINK on page 4
Table 2. Effect of sorting and feed management on shrink loss Sorted on Feed
n=15Sorted on Hay
n=15P-Value
Pre-trial wt., lbs 137.4 135.7 0.71Wt. after hauling, lbs 132.6 130.7 0.67Total shrink, %a 3.5 3.7 0.73aShrink from sorting and hauling = (1-(After hauling wt / Pre-trial wt)) * 100
Table 1. Effect of sorting and comingling on shrink loss Control
n=14Sorted on Feed
n=15P-Value
Pre-trial wt., lbs 136.8 137.4 0.88Post sort wt., lbs 136.5 133.7 0.49Shrink from sorting, %a 0.2 2.7 < 0.01Wt. after hauling, lbs 135.9 132.6 0.42Total shrink, %b 0.6 3.5 < 0.01a Shrink from sorting = (1- (Post sort wt / Pre-trial wt))*100 b Shrink from sorting and hauling = (1 - (After hauling wt / Pre-trial wt))*100
Does it make any difference when and how you sort lambs prior to delivery to the market place? According to a research project conducted by Jeff Held, South Dakota
State University Sheep Extension Specialist, and three undergraduate students, it affects the amount of shrink.
November 2013 Lamb & Wool Page 3
Please contact any member
Iowa Sheep Industry AssociationPresidentTed Greiner
Vice PresidentMarsha Spykerman
Newsletter712-330-7982
SecretaryGary Erickson515-332-1680
TreasurerErlene LeonardMembershipFinancials
Director-at-LargeMargie Meehan
Festival563-920-7704
Director-at-LargeRegina Fraham641-521-0086
Director-at-LargeLorraine Bailey515-306-2463
Director-at-LargeJim Timmins
Iowa Sheep & Wool Promotion BoardChair
Mark Van Roekel3891 390th ST • Orange City, IA 51041
BookkeeperSally Good
PO Box 1969Ames, IA 50010515-201-8875
Contact Information
Calendar of Events
Do you have an event that you would like to place in the Lamb & Wool newsletter? Please send information by the 15th of the month preceding publication date of newsletter. Submit via email at [email protected] or call 712-330-7982.
NOV & DEC 2013Nov 13 12:00–1:00 p.m. - Free webinar for live-
stock and poultry farmers to explain the impact of the EPA Region 7 and Iowa DNR “Work Plan Agreement”. For more information, and to access the webinar the day of the event, go to www.supportfarmers.com/farminspection.
Nov 19 & 26 • Dec 3 & 10 Ethnic Marketing of Lamb and Mutton -- An Educational Pro-gram for U.S. Sheep Producers. Series of four webinars available to anyone free of charge. Complete informa-tion can be found on page one of this newsletter.
JAN 2014January 10 6 p.m. Northwest Iowa Sheep
Producers Annual meeting – Community Center, San-born, Iowa. Leg of Lamb meal - $5/person. Program and business meeting following meal.
January 22-25 American Sheep Industry Association Annual Convention, Charleston, South Carolina. Details at www.sheepusa.org.
JUNE 2014June 14-15 10th Annual Iowa Sheep & Wool
Festival, Jasper County Fairgrounds, Colfax, Iowa.
Sheep & Equipment ExchangeFree listing for ISIA members. One ad per membership, which must be limited to 50 words. Ads may run in four issues (date in parenthesis indicates first issue) and may be re-submitted for an additional four issues. Send ad information along with name, address, phone and mail to Marsha Spykerman, 5771 230th St., Sibley, IA 51249 or email [email protected] by the 15th of the month for publication in the following month’s newsletter. Newsletter is published 11 times/year with a July/August issue.
Wanted (11/13): Used sheep scales. Howard Lindaman, 2041 180th Street, Marshalltown, Iowa 50158. Phone 641 752 3490 or email: [email protected]
For sale (10/13): Dorset Ram Lamb - 6 months old, asking $200. Email: [email protected] or phone: 641-903-1628.
For sale (10/13): Registered Finnsheep and Finn/Dorset/Ile de France crossbred ewe and ram lambs. Prolific, proven, easy care sheep. Production and perfor-mance records available along with health guarantee. Mormon Trail Farms, Greenfield, Iowa. 641-745-2323 or bredahl.mtfarms@
gmail.com.
For Sale (8/13): Registered Ram-bouillet Yearling Ram. Good Ram from good genetics, showed at the 2013 Iowa State fair. Born as a twin and has produced many twins in our 2013 spring crop. Please email me at [email protected] or call 641-751-0530
For Sale (8/13): Registered Suf-folk ram lamb. Well-muscled and fast growing, early February born lamb, sired by Kimm ram. Wengert Suffolks PH: 641-750-1655
For Sale (8/13): Bluefaced Leicester lambs. Ward, Beechtree
and Crider bloodlines. Lamb Lane Farm, Fort Madison, IA 319-372-1813. [email protected]
For Sale (8/13): Polypay ewe lambs. Good quality twins. Priced reasonable. 80# and up. Also ram lambs. 712-758-3762.
For Sale (8/13): Dorper and White Dorper rams: registered and commercial, also Ile de France percentage rams, hardy/easy care, well muscled, out of season breeding, excellent growth on for-age only. S Mitcham, 3061 160th Street, Sumner, 563-578-5665. [email protected]; www.ccdorpers.com ; FaceBook
The College of Veterinary Medicine at Iowa State University has added two new repro-ductive specialists, Dr. Patrick Phillips, DVM and Dr. Swanand Sathe, DVM, who work with sheep and goats. This is exciting news in that student veterinarians will be receiv-ing education from small ruminant special-ists and they have also offered to assist the industry with opportunities to speak, write articles or provide wet labs for Iowa sheep producers.
Check next month (December issue) for the first of what we hope will be many articles in the Lamb & Wool newsletter writ-
ten by Dr. Phillips and Dr. Sathe. For the December issue they have agreed to provide an article addressing the problem of non-dilation, especially in ewe lambs. With lambing season just around the corner this should be a very timely article.
If you have ovine reproductive issues that you would like to have addressed by Dr. Phillips and/or Dr. Sathe please send your ideas/concerns to [email protected] or call Marsha: 712-330.7982. This is a great opportunity, let’s not squander it! Send in your requests.
Coming next month……
Page 4 Lamb & Wool November 2013
Fiber News for Ewe
Which wool is right for that project you have in mind?
What might you do with that lus-cious bag of fleece that catches your eye at the festival? This handy little book will be offered on the Silent Auction at the Iowa Sheep & Wool Festival next June and will put the answers to those questions at your fingertips. With this compact, portable ref-erence in hand, you can quickly and easily look up any of 100
sheep breeds, the characteristics of their fleece, and the kinds of projects for which their fleece is best suited. Each breed profile includes a photo of the animal and information about its origin and conservation status, as well as the weight, staple length, fiber diameter, and natural colors of its fleece. This is a great primer for beginners, and a handy guide for anyone who loves working with fleece!
Early sorting affects shrink
Have you been using your lamb market app?
SHRINKContinued from page 2
subsequently improve economic return is to sort finished weight lambs from the feed-ing pen immediately before transport.
Results for shrink loss due to changes in sorting and feed management are shown in Table 2. No difference (P = 0.73) was shown for total shrink loss in lambs that were sorted to different pens then given access to the lamb finishing diet ad libitum (SF) com-pared to those with ad libitum access to hay (SH). The total shrink loss was 3.5% vs. 3.7% for SF and SH lambs, respectively. Since the SF lamb finishing diet was identical to that
offered for the past 60 d with proven nutri-tional qualities and high palatability char-acteristics compared to the modest quality hay offered to SH lambs, it was surprising to find no difference due to feed management treatment.
A summary of the economic relevance of the total shrink loss can be illustrated by computing the effect on lamb return ($/head). Using current live finished lamb pric-es at $106/cwt the SF and SH lambs would return $4 to $5 less per head, respectively, than C lambs due to differences in shrink loss. Another method to express the eco-nomic impact of shrink loss is to determine the finished lamb prices for SF ($113/cwt)
and SH ($117/cwt) lambs that equals the return when C lambs are priced at $106/cwt.
ConclusionsBased on data from this study, the manage-
ment practice that results in the least lamb shrink loss is sorting and loading immedi-ately prior to transportation to a marketing destination. Conversely, when lambs are sorted into a different pen overnight expect substantially higher shrink loss independent of feed management decisions. Although transport is an important source of shrink loss we have shown that on-farm man-agement decisions can have the greatest impact.
This is a reminder that in August the American Sheep Industry Association (ASI) launched its first mobile application providing lamb and wool markets information free of charge to anyone with a smartphone or tablet. The free market app is available for both Apple and Android operating systems.
ASI worked closely with United States Depart-ment of Agriculture’s (USDA) Ag Marketing System
(AMS) in selecting the portions of the USDA reports to offer in this first version of the industry market app. A good variety of national reports and market results from seven auction barns from around the country is made available by USDA.
The app is titled ASI Market News which can be downloaded from Apple’s App Store or the An-droid Store. From the front page, users can select to search national or auction reports.
Planning is well underway for the 10th Annual Iowa Sheep & Wool Festival and deadlines are beginning to show
up on the calendars. Did you know that for as little as $30 you can place and ad in the Festival Booklet? If you are interested check out the information at www.IowaSheepAnd-WoolFestival.com or email [email protected] for details; deadline January 31, 2014.
Sponsorship opportunities also exist for
anyone wishing to make a donation to specific activities at the festival. There are sponsorship levels as outlined on page six but donations of smaller amounts will gladly be accepted if you wish to contribute. Call 515-669-0573 or email [email protected] with questions.
Margie Meehan is receiving a tremendous response from vendors who are excited about the new festival location at Colfax. New vendors are being added this year and new activities are being explored so make
sure to watch for details as preparations unfold.
This might be a good time to dust off those cameras and take a few “Sheep Shots” so you will have an entry or two for the Photo Contest. You need not worry if your cam-era is missing that zoom lens and all of the fancy extras. Photos are judged only on the content and what appeals to visitors at the festival. The only rule is that it must contain sheep. Find details at www.IowaSheepAnd-WoolFestival.com.
November 2013 Lamb & Wool Page 5
Festival Notes
Minutes of Iowa Sheep and Wool Promotion Board
There is a widely-publicized myth that goat meat (chevon) is the most widely-consumed meat in the world.
It is not. In fact, it is mathematically impos-sible, given the number of goats in the world and the yield of an individual goat. Even if you increased world goat population figures by 10-fold, it is still impossible.
In addition, the consumption of sheep and goat meat is usually lumped together. It is often left out of data sets, because it is so minor compared to the major meats. And it is harder to obtain accurate data pertaining to sheep and goat meat consumption, as the animals are often slaughtered on-farm and consumed locally.
The most widely-consumed meats in the world (in order) are pork, poultry, and beef. While it’s possible that more people in the
world eat goat meat (and sheep meat) than pork, poultry, or beef, most consumers of goat meat live in the developing world, where the per capita meat consumption is very low. It may be their preferred meat, but they don’t eat a lot of it.
The table shows the countries of the world that consume the most sheep and goat meat. Some countries probably eat more lamb, others more goat. The data is from 2007. The source is the Food & Agricultural Organization of the
United Nations.In the United States, the per capita con-
sumption of lamb is only about 1 lb. The consumption of goat meat is unknown. On the plus side, the consumption of lamb and goat (in the U.S.) is considerably higher among certain ethnic groups, and demand
exceeds supply.Reprinted from Shepherd’s Notebook by
Susan Schoenian, Extension Sheep & Goat Specialist University of Maryland.
Country Per capita
Mongolia 89.5 lb.
Iceland 54.3
New Zealand 50.8
Turkmenistan 49.9
Kuwait 40.0
Australia 31.5
Greece 30.1
Mauritania 27.1
Barbados 25.5
Syria 24.4
Figi 23.3
Worldwide Consumption of Sheep and Goat Meat
Conference Call • October 24, 2013
Roll Call:
Also present were Erlene Leonard and Marsha Spyker-
man representing the Iowa Sheep Industry Association.
Chairman Mark Van Roekel called the meeting to order at 7:35pm. He announced the absence of a quorum and declared that no business could be transacted. The fol-lowing discussion ensued.
Mary Esther Pullin asked whether the previously “unknown deposits” from Febru-ary and March of 2013 had been identified. Sally Good stated that US Bank provided documentation free of charge and the deposits were now identified. A report with detailed information would to be sent to board members.
Financial reports for September 30, 2013 were reviewed as well as projections for this fiscal year. Mary Esther asked if the sheep sales at the Iowa State Fair had been checked off and submitted. Follow-up is required.
Dan Morrical asked for clarification of the checkoff code. Marsha Spykerman noted
that the code and the administrative rules should be used to determine how the code is carried out.
Erlene Leonard reviewed the follow-up reports for proposals #637 – Support for ISIA executive director salary and #646 – Mileage support for ISIA executive director. Other
Mark noted that Sally has proposed some updates to the Guidelines and Policies for ISWPB . Copies were sent out with board packets for review.
Mark closed the meeting. No action was taken and no business transacted in the absence of a quorum.
Respectfully submitted,Sally Good
District # Name Present
1 Mark Van Roekel, Chairman Yes
2 Carl Ginapp No
3 Mary Esther Pullin, Treasurer Yes
4 Mike Park Yes
5 Barb Osborn, Secretary No
6 Aaron Meyer No
7 Rick Schaeffer No
8 Justin Petersen Yes
9 Garrett Yoder No
Dr. Dan Morrical, Ex Officio Yes
Michael Naig, Ex Officio No
Sally Good, Bookkeeper Yes
Page 6 Lamb & Wool November 2013
THANK YOU! 2013 Supporters
Diamond Ram SponsorsAmerican Lamb Board • Premier 1 Supplies •
Superior Farms
Golden Ewe SponsorsMountain States Lamb
ISIA Affiliate MembersAdams Mutual Insurance Association • Bunker’s
Feed & Supply • Central Iowa Featherlite • Colfax Livestock Sales • Duffe Grain, Inc. • Equity Coopera-tive Livestock Sales Association • Farmers Coop – Keota • Farmers Pellet Mill, LLC • Farmers Union Coop – Ossian • Gold-Eagle Cooperative • Heinold Feed Co., LLC • JRG Supply Animal Health • Keota Vet Clinic • Key Cooperative • Kingsley Livestock Pavilion •
Lanesboro Sales Commission, Inc. • Levan Seed, Inc • Lyle Insurance Agency – Rita Sheetz • Marcus/Rem-sen Veterinary Center • Melvin Savings Bank • Mid State Milling. • Premier 1 Supplies • Sanborn Savings Bank • Sheep Breeder Sale Management Service – Larry E. Mead • Sibley Vet Clinic • Sioux Falls Regional Livestock • Spencer Ag Center • Superior Farms • Walter & Associates, LLC • Waverly Sales Co., Inc
Sponsorship Program levels are Diamond Ram – $1,000; Golden Ewe – $500; Silver Lamb – $250 and Bronze Lamb – $125. Affiliate membership in ISIA is $25. For more information about the Sponsorship Program call: 515-669-0573 or email: [email protected].
ISIA believes livestock production is very important to Iowa’s agricultural economy. There are many opportunities available in the sheep industry and with your help, ISIA carries out work for sheep production in Iowa. THANK YOU to our 2013 supporters:
Balsamic-Glazed Lamb Meat LoafIngredients
2 slices bread, torn into small pieces1 pound ground lamb1 large egg4 cloves garlic, chopped2 tablespoons fresh thyme leavesKosher salt and black pepper2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar2 tablespoons olive oil1 small red bell pepper, thinly sliced1 yellow or green bell pepper, thinly sliced1/2 red onion, thinly sliced2-15.5-ounce cans cannellini beans, rinsed1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Preparation1. Heat oven to 400° F. In a large bowl, combine
the bread and 3 tablespoons water. Add the lamb, egg, half the garlic, half the thyme, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
2. Place the mixture on a foil-lined baking sheet and shape into a 6-inch loaf (about 3 inches thick). Bake, brushing with the balsamic vinegar several times during cooking, until a thermometer inserted in the center registers 150° F, 30 to 35 minutes. Let rest at least 5 minutes before slicing.
3. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the bell pepper, onion, and the remaining garlic and thyme and cook, tossing occasionally, until the vegetables begin to soften, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the beans, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper and cook until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes; stir in the lemon juice. Serve with the meat loaf.
*Note from Marsha – We made this recipe in October and it was not only delicious but a very colorful meal.
In medieval time the main export product for the English was wool which created the large revenue needed to sustain various wars. Their valued wool makers were being consumed by the locals and thereby reducing exports of wool. Queen Elizabeth I decreed that sheep meat could only be served with bitter herbs, hoping it would give the meat a foul taste and discourage its consumption. They did not ban the eating of sheep meat all together as the royals and upper class English were not prepared to give up eating lamb. However, enterprising cooks developed different ways of serving up mint and many subjects thought it made the meat, in particular mutton, taste better.
We generally think of mint jelly being served with lamb but the traditional mint sauces are not as sweet as jelly. Even the English version of mint jelly is made with vinegar, giving it a sweet-savory taste. If you’d like to try a bit of mint with your lamb here are a couple of simple ways to do it.
Pepper Jelly with Fresh Mint: 1 cup of your favorite pepper jelly 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Mint Sauce1 ½ cups Brown Sugar½ cup cornstarch3 quarts pineapple juice¾ cup lemon juice½ tsp. mint extract1 Tbsp. basil1 Tbsp. marjoramBoil and serve with leg of lamb
Yogurt Mint Sauce1 cup Greek yogurt1/2 cup finely chopped mint leaves2 medium cloves garlic, minced (about
2 teaspoons)1 tablespoon fresh juice from 1 lemon1/2 teaspoon ground cumin1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepperKosher salt and freshly ground black
pepperStir together and refrigerate for at least
one hour.
To Mint or not to mint…..that is the question….
November 2013 Lamb & Wool Page 7
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Steven Karber, 1049 220th Street, Jefferson, IA 50129Phone 515-386-8216 • E-mail [email protected]
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Gary M. EricksonMaple Crest Farm1896 220th Street,
Humboldt, IA 50548Phone: 515-332-1680
Mid-states wool growers wool marketer 1189 200th StreetState Center, Iowa 50247
Phone641-483-2291
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For Sale: Wethers, Rams, Ewes and Aged Ewes HAMP ● HAMP INFLUENCED ● SUFFOLK
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(800) 658-2523 Request a free catalog or visit us on the web
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800-282-6631
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Equipment That Works!Fences That Work!Poultry Solutions!
Iowa Sheep Industry Assn2481 W 84th St NColfax, IA 50054-7731
