* Res Ch white Romney ram and best-fleeced white Romney at Maryland 2010

** Ch white Romney ram MD Sheep & Wool F. 2011
Res Ch white Romney ram ARBA National S. 2011
Res Ch wh. longwool ram NYS Sheep & Wool 2010

*** 2nd yrlg NC Romney ram MD Sheep&Wool 2011
Ch ram NC Longwool div NYA Sheep&Wool F. 2010

Rams on deck for fall 2012
Anchorage 826-09
Anchorage 933-10 natural-colored
Morton 0048
Tawanda X001 natural-colored

Graeme Stewart, manager at Anchorage since 2004, was named “Shepherd of the Year “ 2010 by the Dutchess County Sheep and Wool Growers Association. This well-deserved honor reflects Graeme’s contributions to the regional sheep enterprise not “just” as a flockmaster but also judge, teacher, administrator and go-to man. We all benefit from these talents. Thanks and congratulations!

Show Highlights 2007-2011:

NYS Sheep and Wool Festival Oct 2011

NYS Bred Ewe and Ewe Lamb Sale Oct 2011

Fryeburg Fair Oct 2011
Emily Adams had Ch NC Romney ram with Anchorage 932-10, who had been Champion also the year before as a lamb. Congratulations, Emily!

ARBA National Show (Eastern States Exposition Sept 2011 Open Romney Show)

ARBA National Sale, at Eastern States Exposition Sept 2011

• Ch white ewe
• Ch natural-colored ewe (pictured)

Dutchess County Fair August 2011
Kiley Lenahan showed her NC lamb Anchorage 962-11 to Supreme Ch ram 4H show Kiley also had Ch NC ewe in the 4H show with her Anchorage 924-10. Good work!

Cheshire County Fair and Hillboro County Fair, New Hampshire
Overall best fleece at both to Lara Gazo for fleece of Anchorage 979-11 white ewe lamb. Thanks!

New England Sale July 2011

• Res. Ch, NC ram, Res. Ch. NC ewe

Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival May 2011

• Ch white Romney ram with Morton 0048
• 2nd and 4th white yrlg ewes (1st pair)
• 2nd and 3rd natural-colored yrlg rams
• 2nd pair NC yearling ewes
• 2nd pair NC ewe lambs
• 2nd flock

NAILE November 2010

• Dana Hayward, North Yarmouth ME won best-fleeced natural-colored Romney with a ewe she had bought from us at the New England Sale. Thanks, Dana!
• Ethan Kennedy, Canandaigua NY, had Res. Ch. ewe in the Junior show with a ewe he bred from Anchorage parents. Strong work, Ethan!

NYS Sheep and Wool Festival Oct 2010

Eastern States Exposition Sept 2010 Open Romney Show
Premier Breeder White Romneys

Dutchess County Rhinebeck NY Fair August 2010
Kylie Lenahan , Tivoli NY showed her ewe bred by Anchorage Farm to Ch. natural-colored ewe and best-fleeced in the Junior Show. The same ewe was Res. Ch. n/c ewe in the Open show. Thanks, Kylie

Northeast Youth Sheep Show July 2010
Emma Morton, Chepachet RI, had 1st place Romney with her spring ewe lamb, whose parents were both from Anchorage Farm. Congratulations, Emma!

New England Sale July 2010
Ch. white Romney ram, Res Ch. n/c Romney ram

Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival May 2010

• Premier exhibitor white Romneys
• First flock white Romneys
• Res. Ch. ram and best-fleeced white Romney for Anchorage 826-09
• 1st and 2nd junior ewe lambs
• 1st pair n/c ewe lambs, 2nd n/c flock

NYS Sheep and Wool Festival Oct 18, 2009

Eastern States Exposition Sept 2009 Open Romney Show

Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival May 2009 Romney Show
Premier Exhibitor, natural-colored Romneys

New England Sale

• Reserve Champion white Romney ram (786-09) and
• Reserve Champion natural-colored ewe (791-09 Tw).

New York State Bred Ewe and Ewe Lamb Sale
Anchorage had Champion (535-06 Tw) and Reserve Champion (733-08 ) white Romney ewes.

Colin Graves’s white ram lamb from Anchorage was Supreme Champion ram at the 2009 Washington County Fair. Colin’s white ewe lamb, same background, was Reserve Champion ewe.

Ethan Kennedy of Canandaigua, who bought white Romneys from us last year, took progeny he had bred to the NYS Fair and the NYS Sheep and Wool Festival and stood very high at both. He had a best-fleeced white sheep in the 4H at the NYS Fair.

NYS Sheep and Wool Festival October 19, 2008

District 2 Regional Romney Show (at NYS Sheep and Wool Festival October 18 2008)

New York State Bred Ewe and Ewe Lamb Sale (at NYS Sheep and Wool Festival October 18 2008)

• Champion Romney Ewe (Anchorage 536-06) pictured at right
• Reserve Champion Romney Ewe (Anchorage 701-07)

Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival 2008

• Champion natural-colored Romney ram (Pitchfork Ranch 0461)
• Premier Exhibitor, white Romneys Anchorage 719-08 (AI), a son of Tresco 360/02, was first-place white ram lamb and best-fleeced white Romney. To our sorrow, he died suddenly two months later.

NYS Sheep and Wool Festival 2007

Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, May 2007
Premier Exhibitor natural-colored Romneys

Future Directions

We have started using natural-colored x white crosses to tease out color alleles at the agouti locus, known in shorthand as "recessive color." Our young ram from Tawanda Farms, Montagu CA, will be a keystone in this multi-year sequence. We thank Maggie and Carol for making him available to us.

We run about 20 acres of pasture, mostly rolling with some steeper hillsides. We use rotational grazing, fertilize the more level swards with barn manure. We don't employ chemical herbicides. We use chemical wormers regularly as appropriate to age and breeding cycle. Lambs get lasalocid in their feed to one year of age for control of "coccidiosis" . Other antimicrobials by mouth or injection are given as needed.

Sales

Since 1995, we have sold to breeders in California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Ontario.

We are very grateful to the following families and farms who added registered Romneys from our flock to theirs in 2011:

• Sue Stewart NY (gift to Laura Sands PA)
• Tracy Sands DVM, Wooly Wonders PA
• Marilyn Schuster, US Agrinova LLC NJ
• Gregory Rogers NJ
• Smiling Sheep Farm NH
• Richard Trojanoski CT
• Caroline Lafferty NY
• Lara Kazo NH
• Kiley Lenahan NY
• Erin Saluti ** NY
• Dave Pine WI
• Katherine Bambria *** CT

* second-time buyer
** has bought at least two sheep from us before 2011
*** bought more than one sheep this year

In 2012 we plan to consign to the New England Sale in July and to the New York State Bred Ewe and Ewe Lamb Sale in October. We will have sheep for sale at the farm starting in April. For information on sales at home and away call Graeme Stewart.

This Romney flock began in 1981 at Wethersfield Farm in Amenia NY, under the flock name Wethersfield, with the purchase of 3 ewes from Brenda Bothe (NJ) and of a ram from Peter and Patty Drape (NY).

In 1992 we moved to a 250 year old farm in Saugerties NY and changed the flock name to Anchorage.

Additions of white ewes since 1981: in 1982, one Sattler (MI); in 1984, one Oaklawn (MI); in 1985, two Kessi (OR); 1987, eight Judah (WA); in 1988, fourteen Bellairs (MI), 3 Loesch (MI), 2 Gavin (MI), 1 DeBano (MT), 1 Williams (MI); in 1989, two Judah (WA); 1992, two North Star (VT), 1 Rogue Romney (OR) and 13 Judah (WA); in 1994, three Judah (WA) and 11 Running Battle (NY); in 1995, five Marsh (MA); in 1996, one Bolton (NY); in 1997, one Gavin (MI); in 1998, twenty-six Nudd, 2 Guild, 2 Allou (NY), 1 Bristle (MI), 1 Sandhill (Ullman); in 1998, one Bullock (WA), 1 Kikitangeo (Imp NZ); in 2005, eight ewes from Pin Oak Farms (OR). The North Star and Running Battle ewes were nearly all Judah first or second generation. In 2011, 1 ewe from SOR (OR) and 1 ewe from Smiling Sheep Farm (NH).

Natural-colored ewes: in 1995, one Rozalia (MA); in 1996, one Weymouth Walk (NJ); in 1997, nine Bellairs (MI) and 2 Weymouth Walk (NJ); in 1998, one Sears (OR), 1 Sand Hill (Hordyk) (WA).

White rams: in 1985, Sassafras Meadow Apollo (KY); in 1987, Judah 667-86 (WA). "Henry!" the National Champion, was a son of the Judahs' imported Offord ram; in 1992, Springfield 921 (MD); in 1994, Running Battle 92-039 (NY) ; in 1995, Green Corner 226/93 Tw (Imp NZ); in 1998, Kia Ora 203/96 (Imp NZ); in 2000, Bullock 9906 (WA); in 2002, Banklea 390/01 (Imp NZ); in 2005, Banklea 639/03 (Imp NZ); in 2005, Bullock 0460 (WA); in 2009, Barnes 8082 (OR); in 2010, Morton 0048 (RI). By artificial insemination, Offord 336/98 NZ in 2000 and 2001; Tresco 360/02 Triplet in 2007.

Natural-colored rams: in 1995 Weymouth Walk 9321B (NJ) ; in 1997, Silver Creek 557-93B (AI) Tw (OR); in 2003, Weymouth Walk 0206 (NJ); in 2005 Pitchfork Ranch 388 Tw (MI); in 2007 Pitchfork Ranch 461-07 (MI); in 2010, Tawanda Farms X001.

Stephen has been weaving rugs from our wool, with the inspiration and unique method of our neighbor, Robin Goss. The yarn is made at Green Mountain Spinnery.

The photo at left shows a 38" x 60" rug which Stephen wove and bound in 2004.

Statement to sheep-buyers on Ovine Progressive Pneumonia

February 15, 2007

Between 1994 and 1998 four sheep born at Anchorage Farm tested positive for OPP at their buyers’ place. We did not know about this until 1998. In that year we began a multi-cycle test and cull series to eradicate OPP from our flock, using the AGID test.

By January 2000 the mothers of every one of our year-2000 lambs were negative. In August 2000 all the brood ewes for year 2001 lambs were negative. In Jan 2001 all brood ewes were again negative. All breeding rams tested negative all three times. A sample (n = 8) of year-2000 lambs were all negative in March 2001.

The Anchorage Farm flock was closed to American ewes from 1998-2005, when we brought in 8 mature ewes from Pin Oak Farms, Aurora OR. All had tested negative for OPP in 2005. (New Zealand has no reported cases of “Maida-visna,” as they call it. We have imports tested anyway before sendoff.). We introduced an American ram in 2000. He tested negative in May 2000 and Jan 2001. A second American ram, also from a flock we have known well for years, came in 2003. In August 2004 we tested every sheep on the farm older than one year (n = 61). All were negative.

We do not say that we are “OPP free.” This is not a recognized term, and you should be suspicious about such claims. Nor do we adhere to the consecutive year annual testing guidelines recommended by the OPP Concerned Sheep Breeders Society (of which we are members) that would let us say “OPP tested according to OPPCSBS guidelines ” (see The Banner April 2004 p 111-114). Repeat: we do not say “tested according.” Given our closed flock and the negative surveys mentioned above 2000-2004, we do say that our sheep are at very low risk (our term) to have got infected here. We therefore say this about serotesting:

If your vet draws blood for OPP testing by AGID from a sheep you bought from Anchorage Farm and the test is positive less than 90 days after the sheep leaves Anchorage Farm we will pay you the test cost (vet call plus lab). We will also offer you a choice of cash refund for the purchase price or replacement of the animal with one of the same quality that is sero-negative.

If you are considering buying from us and want the sheep (one or more) and their sires and dams (any still with us) to be tested at your expense before purchase we will be happy to arrange that with due notice. We think this action, being earlier in the sheep’s life than the post-purchase test, is less useful to you, but it is your call.

CONDITIONS FOR REMEDY OF A POST-PURCHASE POSITIVE TEST:

1. The sample must be drawn less than ninety (90) days after the sheep leaves Anchorage Farm
2. The sheep must be bought directly by you from Anchorage Farm, not bought by you from an intermediary buyer
3. You must prove you own the sheep (e.g. transfer papers or bill of sale)
4. Written proof of the positive test signed by the vet who drew the blood
5. You must notify us within a year of purchase
6. Any seropositive sheep shall be shipped and the sale-barn purchase payment to you made over to Anchorage Farm.

We don’t take a stand on whether you should OPP-test your flock or individuals in it. If you are concerned about OPP in your flock, and not all breeders are, we recommend you talk to anyone from whom you might buy about that person’s test results and management. We do urge that if you choose to test newcomers to your flock, you do the first test soon after arrival at your place.

Bird's nest in natural-colored Romney wool

9-month old ewe in natural condition

Selected Links

American Romney Breeders Association

Info on National Sheep Improvement Program (NSIP)

USDA scrapie information web site

The excellent animal inventory program (AIM) we use and recommend

Romney Sheep Breeders' Society, United Kingdom

New Zealand Romney Sheep Breeders Association

Dr Mario Damboriarena’s Romney flock in Uruguay

OPP information

Building insulation made from sheep wool

Organic soil enhancers in Vermont

Composting toilets

Yarn made from small lots (single fleece)

Yarn and socks made from small lots

MD Sheep and Wool Festival (May)

NY Sheep and Wool Festival (Oct)

Green Mountain Spinnery - makes yarn from larger lots (50+ lbs)

www.foxfallsfarm.com - natural colored Romney fleeces