U.S. Sheep Experiment Station
Encyclopedia
Agricultural experiment station
An agricultural experiment station is a research center that conducts scientific investigations to solve problems and suggest improvements in the food and agriculture industry...
focusing on domestic sheep
Domestic sheep
Sheep are quadrupedal, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Like all ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates. Although the name "sheep" applies to many species in the genus Ovis, in everyday usage it almost always refers to Ovis aries...
(Ovis aries) which is run by the United States Department of Agriculture
United States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture is the United States federal executive department responsible for developing and executing U.S. federal government policy on farming, agriculture, and food...
's Agricultural Research Service
Agricultural Research Service
The Agricultural Research Service is the principal in-house research agency of the United States Department of Agriculture . ARS is one of four agencies in USDA's Research, Education and Economics mission area...
. Its stated mission is "...to develop integrated methods for increasing production efficiency of sheep and to simultaneously improve the sustainability
Sustainability
Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
of rangeland
Rangeland
Rangelands are vast natural landscapes in the form of grasslands, shrublands, woodlands, wetlands, and deserts. Types of rangelands include tallgrass and shortgrass prairies, desert grasslands and shrublands, woodlands, savannas, chaparrals, steppes, and tundras...
ecosystems".
Geography and facilities
The station is located roughly six miles north of Dubois, IdahoDubois, Idaho
Dubois is a city in Clark County, Idaho, United States. The population was 647 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Clark County.The city was named for U.S. Senator Fred Dubois....
, and its lands span both Idaho and Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
. Its headquarters are on 27930 acres (113 km²) of land owned by the Agricultural Research Service, including research facilities, animal facilities (such as lambing pens and dry lots), as well as residential facilities. The station is surrounded by the Caribou-Targhee National Forest
Caribou-Targhee National Forest
Caribou-Targhee National Forest is located in the states of Idaho and Wyoming, with a small section in Utah in the United States. The forest is broken into several separate sections and extends over . To the east the forest borders Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park and...
, as well being within two hours of the Grand Teton
Grand Teton National Park
Grand Teton National Park is a United States National Park located in northwestern Wyoming, U.S. The Park consists of approximately and includes the major peaks of the long Teton Range as well as most of the northern sections of the valley known as Jackson Hole. Only south of Yellowstone...
and Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park, established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872, is a national park located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, although it also extends into Montana and Idaho...
s.
It also holds roughly 16600 acres (67.2 km²) within Montana's Centennial Mountains
Centennial Mountains
The Centennial Mountains are the southernmost sub-range of the Bitterroot Range in the U.S. states of Idaho and Montana. The Centennial Mountains include the Western and Eastern Centennial Mountains...
and 1200 acres (4.9 km²) near Kilgore, Idaho
Kilgore, Idaho
Kilgore is an unincorporated community on Antelope Valley Road in Clark County, Idaho, United States.It is the nearest community to Camas Meadows Battle Sites, a National Historic Landmark....
, both of which are used largely for seasonal grazing and rangeland research. The USSES spans several diverse ecosystems, including subalpine
Subalpine
The subalpine zone is the biotic zone immediately below tree line around the world. Species that occur in this zone depend on the location of the zone on the Earth, for example, Snow Gum in Australia, or Subalpine Larch, Mountain Hemlock and Subalpine Fir in western North America.Trees in the...
meadow
Meadow
A meadow is a field vegetated primarily by grass and other non-woody plants . The term is from Old English mædwe. In agriculture a meadow is grassland which is not grazed by domestic livestock but rather allowed to grow unchecked in order to make hay...
, foothill, sagebrush steppe
Sagebrush steppe
The sagebrush steppe is a type of shrub-steppe, which is a dry-xeric environment and plant community found in the Western United States and western Canada...
, and desert shrubland. The station is the second largest employer in Clark County, Idaho
Clark County, Idaho
Clark County is a rural county located in the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2000 Census the county had a population of 1,022 . The county seat and largest city is Dubois...
.
Research
The U.S. Sheep Experiment Station conducts research in the areas of ovine reproductive efficiency, genetic improvement (especially of breeds), nutrient intake and use, ovine growth and development, range/grazing management, and product quality (i.e. meat and woolWool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
). In addition to lambs and other attendant sheep, the station has a base flock of 3,000 mature sheep.
Breeds developed at the U.S. Sheep Experiment Station include:
- The ColumbiaColumbia (sheep)The Columbia is one of the first breeds of sheep developed in the United States. The product of USDA and university research, it was intended to be an improved breed specially built for the Western ranges of the country . Beginning in 1912 in Laramie, Wyoming, Lincoln rams were crossed with...
, a dual-purpose breed and one of the first originating in the U.S. Early crosses were made in WyomingWyomingWyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
, but the originating flock was moved to the USSES in 1918. - The PolypayPolypay (sheep)The Polypay sheep breed is a white, medium sized sheep which was developed in the 1960s at the U.S. Sheep Experiment Station in Dubois, Idaho. In general, Polypay sheep are noted for being a highly prolific, dual-purpose breed.-Breed goals:...
, developed in the 1960s. Known for its white wool and a high lambing rate. - The Targhee, a dual-purpose rangelandRangelandRangelands are vast natural landscapes in the form of grasslands, shrublands, woodlands, wetlands, and deserts. Types of rangelands include tallgrass and shortgrass prairies, desert grasslands and shrublands, woodlands, savannas, chaparrals, steppes, and tundras...
breed, named after the adjacent national forest.
Further reading
- Summer Tour 2007, U.S. Sheep Experiment Station Dubois, Idaho Society for Range Management, Idaho section
See also
- Sheep husbandrySheep husbandrySheep husbandry is a subcategory of animal husbandry specifically dealing with the raising and breeding of domestic sheep. Sheep farming is primarily based on raising lambs for meat, or raising sheep for wool. Sheep may also be raised for milk or to sell to other farmers.-Shelter and...
- Sheep stationSheep stationA sheep station is a large property in Australia or New Zealand whose main activity is the raising of sheep for their wool and meat. In Australia, sheep stations are usually in the south-east or south-west of the country. In New Zealand the Merinos are usually in the high country of the South...