Karras Farm specializes in breeding East Friesian Dairy Sheep. We have been in the dairy sheep business since the late 1800's starting in Greece. Four generations later we are still commited to breeding the highest quality and genetically pure East Friesian Sheep in the world. In 1994 we moved our operation to North Carolina with the same focus of excellence to our animals and customers.
It is probably erroneous to suggest that one period of the sheep year is more important than another. There is no doubt that lambing time should be the climax of the years' work.
Unfortunately, in many flocks, this isn't always the case; often because of inadequate preparation and lack of attention to detail throughout the year.
Birth is the most hazardous period in any animal's life. Since the sheep is a seasonal breeder, a large number of births take place over a relatively short time, putting extreme pressure on both the shepherd and the sheep. It is the shepherd's responsibility to minimize losses of both lambs and ewes and to ensure that neither are subjected to any unnecessary stress or hazard Apart from welfare considerations, it makes economic sense to rear as many fit and healthy lambs as possible.
At Karras Farms, we put extreme infuses in keeping our East Friesian dairy sheep and our Awassi dairy sheep in tip top shape year round!
It is the duty of the shepherd or anyone who is in charge of sheep to identify sick or injured animals promptly and to give appropriate treatment immediately or obtain veterinary advice as soon as possible.
It is a simple matter to spot a sheep or to decide that a sheep which is not eating or that constantly walks around in circles is unwell, but it takes considerable skill, experience and massive commitment to detect animals in the early stages of many diseases.
Below is an article published in Sheep Magazine July / August 2013 issue. I would like to personally thank Mr Nathan Griffin from sheep magazine for all of his hard work and dedication to the dairy sheep industry in the United States. I would also like to thank Alan Harman for his valued efforts in writing / editing the article. To link directly to the Sheep Magazine on their website please click HERE.
Sincerely,
Andy Karras -Owner Karrars Farm
http://www.karrasfarm.com
http://eastfriesiansheep.com
http://awassisheep.com
Karras Farm
Breeding Top Dairy Sheep For America
Alan Harman
Andy Karras qualified as a veterinarian in his ancestral
homeland of Greece, but now runs a South Carolina sheep breeding operation
producing top quality East Friesian, Awassi and Assaf dairy sheep.
A generations-long trek from the romantic sun-baked mountains of
northern Greece to the New World has led to a pioneering American dairy sheep
business that is creating a new frontier for cheese and yogurt makers.
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Andy Karras, 39, can trace his ancestry back to nomadic Greek
farmers who prided themselves on the quality of their Chios and East Friesian
milk sheep and the iconic cheeses they produced.
Andy’s great-grandfather started the first Karras Farm in Greece
in the late 1800s.
“At that time the main focus was to produce the highest quality
line of East Friesian sheep in the world,” Andy says. “He was breeding only the
very best genetically pure sheep for superior blood line, milk production, wool
and meat.”
Three generations later this same focus on breeding the perfect
East Friesian sheep bloodline made its way to the United States.
His parents moved to the U.S. in 1962, settling in South Carolina
because that’s where other family members, aunts and uncles, had preceded them.
“My family did not bring their sheep genetics with them from
Greece,” Andy says. “Our original sheep genetics were bought in 1996.”
Start-Up Challenges
There were special problems when Andy founded his farm in the
humid heat of the southeastern U.S.
“When we first got the sheep, we had some losses due to the
humidity,” Andy says. “Since then, we have not had any losses or conditioning
impact from the heat. The sheep now are well adapted.”
Coming from a family of nomadic shepherds, the interest in sheep
has always been in Andy’s blood, but it never crossed his mind to go into
mainstream meat and wool production in the U.S.
“My ancestors raised their family from sheep for many, many years,
with the milk and meat,” he says. “They made clothing from the sheep’s wool to
clothe the family.
“Those are our roots, and it’s what kept us focused on pursuing
the dairy sheep industry.”
He started his 417-acre farm from scratch.
“I do believe that when Karras Farm got started in 1996, neighbors
saw it as ‘Mission Impossible,’” Andy says. “The reasons being: (1) At the time
dairy sheep farming in the U.S. was rare. (2) A lot of people knew little about
sheep, even the fact that there are different types—dairy, meat, wool.
“Our family’s experience is in dairy sheep and we consume the milk
products in our own home. We make yogurts, cheeses, and ice cream, all with
sheep’s milk that is the healthiest you can consume, has no chemicals, and is
made from old family recipes.
“Dairy sheep genetics are in demand in this country and it has
been profitable for our family—and that’s why we stayed in the dairy sheep
industry.”
Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, Andy’s first memories of dairy
sheep farming are from when he first obtained embryos of East Friesian ewes and
rams.
“I was very excited in having this type of breed here in the U.S.,
because this was the breed my family had in their country of Greece,” he says.
“I felt a sense of accomplishment and was very eager with the knowledge I’d
learned from my father and grandfathers, to get started in raising this
beautiful breed of dairy sheep.”
Andy says there are several hundred dairy sheep farmers in the
U.S. and the number is increasing each year due to the popularity of sheep milk.
The Awassi breed inherits considerable resistance to
parasites, and is very hardy.
The prized Karras East Friesian dairy sheep first entered the U.S.
in 1996 through Canada.
Mary and Rusty Jarvis of Groveland Farm Wisconsin partnered with
Peter Welkerling, an investor from Canada, to import full-blood East Friesian
embryos from Europe.
Awassi sheep, an ancient Israeli breed, have large ears
that help dissipate heat.
The prized Karras East Friesian dairy sheep first entered the U.S.
in 1996 through Canada.
Mary and Rusty Jarvis of Groveland Farm Wisconsin partnered with
Peter Welkerling, an investor from Canada, to import full-blood East Friesian
embryos from Europe.
The embryos entered Canada in 1995 and were implanted in ewes and
the first North American East Friesian sheep were born. The full-blood lambs
were then imported into the U.S.
Andy purchased his original East Friesian stock directly from
Groveland Farm and since then, using a selective breeding process, has developed
some of the highest quality East Friesian dairy sheep available in the U.S.
In the process, he has become a leader in dairy sheep genetics,
focusing on physical characteristics, milk production, wool and overall animal
health.
His purebred East Friesian ewes and rams can sell for up to $1,000
a head with an average price of about $800.
“Our genetics from Karras Farm are now in 38 different states
known to us,” he says. “But I’m certain there is at least one sheep farmer in
every state across North America with our sheep genetics.
“We have more than 200 clients on our mailing list who have
purchased from us.”
When Karras Farm started, there was no dairy sheep farming in his
region.
“We started with only our knowledge from our ancestry and practice
of every-day dairy sheep farming, along with my education—I am a qualified vet
in Greece and that is where I received my education.”
He obtained his degree from the Karpenisi Veterinary School in the
region where his parents once lived.
“I feel the lack of knowledge on husbandry of the dairy sheep
itself has affected the dairy sheep industry, causing the sector to slowly
increase or sometimes decrease. Also, the importation of dairy sheep products
such as cheeses and milk products is affecting the growth.”
There are two main groups of buyers for Andy’s sheep.
“We have a lot of customers at Karras Farm that purchase animals
for homestead farms, using the dairy sheep for the milk, meat, and wool for
private use by their family,” he says.
“We also have had a number of dairy companies purchasing large
numbers of dairy sheep for the production of milk to make cheeses, yogurts, and
ice cream.”
Karras Farm may have started out specializing in breeding the
highest quality East Friesian dairy sheep in the world, but now Andy had taken
the business even further, producing the first Israeli Awassi sheep in the U.S.
as well as the Assaf, another Israeli breed created by crossing the Awassi with
East Friesians.
Andy now has dairy sheep bloodlines originating from Australia,
New Zealand and Europe.
The process leading to the birth of the first Awassi lambs in the
U.S. took two years.
Andy spent a year in Australia searching for the best Awassi sheep
dairy genetics, an odyssey that could be likened to hunting for a needle in a
haystack in a country that focuses on meat genetics.
Awassi sheep, being from hot, desert regions, accumulate
fat in their tails for survival during dearths, a delicacy to people of Mideast
descent.
Australia was selected because its strict quarantine laws lessen
the chances of foreign sheep disease being found in their sheep.
“We had to specifically find a dairy farmer that was producing
dairy products,” Andy says. “Then we had to trace through the records of these
particular Awassi to confirm their purity. Once we found our breeder of Awassi
genetics, we had to follow all guidelines and protocols of each Department of
Agriculture.”
The work paid off.
The first full-blood Awassi sheep were born in March 2012, and
Andy now is in his second year with the breed. He is accepting orders for
Awassis and expects the live sheep and semen will be available within two
years.
“It was difficult waiting a whole year to announce the birth of
Awassi sheep in the U.S,” he says. “Our Awassi USA dairy sheep program will be a
welcome enhancement to the dairy sheep industry in the U.S.”
The Awassi is a fat-tail dairy sheep that is very hardy by nature,
fully adapted to arid environments and widely considered the highest milk
producing breed in the Middle East.
The sheep have beautiful wool coats and are known for being
resistant to many diseases and parasites that can badly affect other breeds.
The first F1 Assaf was born Jan. 3, 2013 to a purebred East
Friesian ewe. The sire is a full-blood Awassi ram born at Karras Farm in March
2012 via an imported embryo from Australia.
“We have noticed the F1 Assaf dairy sheep have rapid weight gain,
durability, and high parasite resistance,” Andy says.
The first of his Assaf lambs—costing $2,500 apiece—went out to
sheep farms across the country in May.
The USDA has set requirements for the importation of new genetics
into the U.S. The country of origin of the embryos also has its own Dept. of
Agriculture guidelines that have to be met.
University of Wisconsin-Madison sheep researcher Yves M. Berger
(now retired) said in a report for the Spooner Agricultural Research Station
that the East Friesian is considered to be the world’s best milk-producing dairy
sheep.
He says it averages 2.25 lambs a litter with milk yield of 1,100
to 1,540 pounds. (500 kg to 700 kg) per lactation of 240 to 260 days, testing
six to seven percent milk fat, the highest average dairy milk yield recorded for
any breed of sheep.
The lactation of the average U.S. sheep breed is about 100 to 200
pounds per lactation.
“They are highly specialized animals and do poorly under extensive
and large flock husbandry conditions,” Berger wrote. “An example of the dramatic
effect the East Friesian milk sheep can have on breeds adapted to environments
too severe for the purebred East Friesian is from the development of the
composite Assaf breed in Israel from crossing East Friesian with the Awassi, a
breed adapted to the arid Middle East. Lamb and milk production among yearling
Assaf is double that of the Awassi.”
Karras Farm now has 63 Awassis, 92 F1 Assafs, and more than 300
East Friesians.
The F1 Assaf retains traits of the Awassi, like its large
ears, but is white like the Friesian.
“We try to keep 10 to 15 rams of each breed depending on demand,”
he says.
Until recently, Andy says, the U.S. dairy sheep industry was
growing only slowly.
Not any more.
“I have seen in the past few years a rapid increase in the demand
and interest, both from commercial operators and homesteaders,” he says. “I feel
in the next five to 10 years, the sheep industry will double due to people
realizing the sheeps milk is very good for their health.”
He recommends a stocking rate of five dairy sheep to the acre, but
says a knowledge of the sheep helps determine the size of flock, along with the
farm help available, the size of the barn and the availability of a food
supply.
The dairy build is evident in the red-headed breeds of
sheep.
Regular wool and meat producers could also run a dairy flock as
the milk will increase a farm’s revenue, along with the wool and meat from the
dairy sheep flock.
“We don’t recommend having sheep and goats in the same living
quarters,” he says, “but combining sheeps milk and goats milk does make a blend
of excellent artisan cheese that is very popular in Europe.”
The dairy sheep have to be milked every 12 hours and they have to
be shorn once a year. The animals are easily trained in the use of a milking
stall.
“We like the sheep to be heavily grazed and at times we feed a 22%
protein feed,” Andy says.
The Karras Farm sheep average seven to eight pounds of milk a day
during the prime milking season and have an average 10-month lactation period.
The average ewe produces milk for about eight years. After milk production
levels drop, the sheep is still good for eating.
About six pounds of sheep milk is needed to make one pound of
cheese. Sheep milk is fattier than that of cow or goat milk. There’s a higher
proportion of fatty, curd-producing solids in the milk and not as much is
required to make the same amount of cheese.
Another benefit of sheep milk is it is naturally homogenized,
meaning the fat globules are smaller and don’t separate from the less-dense,
water-based components in the milk.
An Oklahoma State University report says the Awassi evolved as a
nomadic sheep breed through centuries of natural and selective breeding to
become the highest milk producing breed in the Middle East. The breed is calm
around people, easy to work with and easily milked. When machine-milked, they
can be milked in four to six minutes.
Prices for dairy sheep milking stalls start at about $1,000.
“The stalls can range up to many thousands of dollars and I have
seen stalls holding up to 100 sheep,” Andy says.
U.S. sheep milk production is increasing annually to meet a demand
that constantly exceeds supply.
As a result, about 53 million pounds of expensive sheep-milk-based
cheese is imported annually.
The U.S. sheeps milk is being used to make sought-after yogurt and
milk products by people who are being told by their doctors that it is better
than cows milk for health benefits.
“People are really interested in the sheep milk cheeses,” Andy
says.
Also, soap made from the sheeps milk is becoming popular.
Karras farm is not in the dairy business itself, but sells live
sheep, semen and embryos.
East Friesian sheep have high milk yields and good size
but aren’t considered as hardy.
It has become a destination for everybody from church and school
groups to curious neighbors and farmers. Many of those farmers end up buying
dairy sheep, seeing an advantage in an animal that produces a new income source
in addition to wool and meat.
“We are constantly researching and studying for ways to produce
the highest milk producing sheep that’s hardy, parasite resistant, and that can
withstand varieties of climates,” Andy says.
“On record, our highest milk yield is 4,200 lbs. from one ewe
during a 10 month lactation period,” he says.
Overseas, the main countries that specialize in sheeps milk are
Greece, Italy, Spain, France, Russia and Libya, where the demand is high,
especially from countries around the Mediterranean.
There are hundreds of dairy sheep throughout the world; most of
them being in the countries of their origin, Andy says, indicating that he has
plans to introduce new breeds in the future.
Karras Farms runs courses for first-time buyers.
“We help clients get started on their farm by getting them set up
for their dairy sheep before the sheep make it to their new home,” he says. “We
also like to stay in contact with all of our customers to continue to help them
with different things.
“We have a true passion,” Andy says.
“My dream is of operating a nationally renowned sheep farm in the
U.S.”
A number of factors are involved in deciding how many sheep can be kept per acre.
These factors include:
1. Soil type (rocky - sandy - clay)
2. Species of plant (grass- weeds - clover)
3. Rainfall or irrigation
4. Climate
5. Fertility of soil
6. Topography (hill - slope - marsh)
7. Pregnant Ewes - Ewes in lactation - Dry Ewes
8. Can pasture be rotated?
Sheep don't do as well when pasture is overstocked. Older ewes suffer most as their poor teeth make it harder for them to cut on overgrazed pasture. The short grass results in less feed per bite. Even teeth of younger ewes will suffer from having to cut short grass as more dirt and sand enters the mouth resulting in accelerated tooth ware.
At Karras Fram we estimate four sheep per acre off good pasture, with grade A hay and some grain in the winter. Poor pasture would cut the stocking rate in half with roughly two sheep per acre and supplement feed in the winter. If you are new to sheep farming we would advocate keeping the stocking rate low the first year to determine how the pasture holds up?
Wishing you all a fantastic weekend and good grazing!
Ovine Progressive Pneumonia (OPP) is caused by a slow growing virus that infects lambs and manifests itself as a disease after the lamb has reached two years of age. It primarily affects the lungs and udder, but may also involve other tissues.
OPP causes chronic weight loss despite a good appetite; labored breathing; and a well formed udder that produces little to no milk. Opp can spread from older animals to lambs through the ewes’ milk.
Some producers have established OPP-free flocks, but this can be very difficult and expensive to accomplish. Don’t confine young sheep in close quarters with infected adult animals. Cull affected animals early in the course of the disease. A blood test can be used to determine if a sheep is infected, but may not be 100% reliable. A Necropsy is the only way to determine with certainty if an animal is infected with OPP. There is no known effective treatment for OPP and the disease slowly leads to death.
At Karras Farm, all our East Friesian Dairy Sheep are OPP- free flocks. We strive to produce the healthiest dairy sheep in the world.
It's a rainy Saturday here at Karras Farm so I wanted to take a moment to share some photos of our prized East Friesian Dairy Sheep. Hope all of your lambs are arriving healthy and strong.
Many thanks to all of you and we appreciate your comments.
Colustrum is the first milk a ewe produces after lambing. Containing high levels of important nutrients, colostrum is a key factor in newborn lamb health starting just minutes after birth. Colustrum provides antibodies against a variety of infectious agents. At birth the lamb does not carry any antibodies as the ewes blood stream doesn't cross the placenta. It is critical for the lamb to receive colostrum during the first 24hrs of life to ensure adequate absorption of colostral antibodies.
Antibodies are large protien molocules that can cross the intestinal wall and enter the blood stream of the lamb. This occures only during the first 24-36hrs of life. At Karras Farm we closely monitor our newborn lambs to make sure they are receiving colostrum for a healthy immune system.
We wanted to share some information on the USDA Scrapie program for thoes of you who may have a small herd or just getting into raising sheep.
Scrapie is a disease that affects the central nervous system of sheep and goats. Scrapie is a degenerative disease and can be fatal. A two to five year incubation period can mask the devistation on the flock. The disease can be transmitted between animals with a high percentage of infection. The most common breed of sheep prone to Scrapie are the Suffolk and North Country Chivot however all sheep and goats are suseptable.
An infected sheep rubs its head and rump against buildings or fences, becomes very nervous and develops muscular tremors.
The USDA offers a voulantary Scrapie inspection program. CLICK HERE
Our East Friesians are enrolled in a mandatory USDA Scrapie program for exportaion of animals, embryos and semen. We recommend that everyone producing sheep or goats enroll their animals asap!
Here is a quick video we shot 10 days ago while inserting CIDR for synchronising and inducing oestrus in production animals. The CIDR insert was performed by an expierenced veteranarian.
The CIDR insert uses only naturally occurring progesterone. These unique treatment programs take control of the oestrous cycle by mimicking normal physiological events.
Here are some of the approved uses for CIDR.
Oestrus synchronisation during the breeding season.
Ovulation control in ewes/does for artificial insemination, (AI), embryo collection and transfer programmes.
Advancing the breeding season in sheep.
We use the CIDR product annually to help control the heat cycle and ensure successful embryo implantation.
It's time to get the East Friesian Ewes and Rams ready for breeding. Over the years Karras Farm has developed a method to ensure the most successful breeding.
This is not rocket science but it will prove to be a huge boost for successful pregnancy and promote multiple births.
Starting now (September 20th) we feed every animal one pound of whole kernel corn straight off
the cob. This will be a 60 day cycle to boost the protein level in the East Friesian's.
The protein boost provides additional nutrients for the Ewes which have proved to enhance embryo production resulting in more multiple births. We have also notice the lambs tend to be healthier as a result. The Rams also benefit from the protein boost as the semen levels are increased giving them an added likely hood of conception.
Another benefit of the protein flush is having all our animals’ cycle at the same time. The breeding, pregnancy and births all occur in a very close time window within the herd. This cycle aids us in knowing how all the pregnancies are progressing and enables us to more closely monitor the animals’ progress.
One item of mention - We do not recommend using crack corn during the protein flush. Crack corn is much harder for the animals to digest and will not yield the same results. As the sheep regurgitate crack corn it can also affect their esophagus and stomach lining.
Thanks for taking the time to read our blog and we look forward to a wonderful East Friesian breeding season. Feel free to comment, email or call if we can help in any way.
