Accelerated Lambing Case Study

Accelerated lambing is a management practice in which farmers attempt to reduce fixed costs by producing a more uniform supply of lamb throughout the year. Accelerated lambing is when farmers synchronize their ewes so that they produce three lamb crops within two years or five lamb crops within three years. I am going to focus solely on the two year accelerated lambing practice.
The main purpose of this management program is to decrease the average lambing interval of ewes so that there are lambs throughout the entire year rather than just the spring. This allows farmers to market lambs at the holiday times throughout the year when the prices are higher, thus they can attain a higher profit. Accelerated lambing also cuts down or spreads out fixed costs as you are spreading the cost over more lambs than if you were to just lamb once a year.
The methods used for this program include progestogens such as the use of a CIDR device or MGA. These two methods or programs within the

accelerated lambing program allow farmers to advance the ovulatory season into the late summer or induce estrus during the anovulatory period in the spring. However in order for producers to breed and lamb out of season, certain breeds of sheep are needed. Breeds that are naturally fertile out of season include the Dorset and Merino. These breeds rarely follow an annual breeding program and overall production is usually too low when taking into account the extra costs that would be incurred from lambs born in the fall or winter, thus producers adopt the accelerated program to fully utilize the ewe’s breeding and lambing ability.
The three lambings in two years accelerated lambing program requires that the producers manage two flocks that lamb every eight months (January, May and September), alternating the first and second flocks. If an ewe is found to be open at pregnancy scanning (50 days after breeding), it could be moved to the other flock and exposed to the ram again. In order for the program to be successful however, exposure to the ram would be short thus shortening the lambing interval. Lambs are weaned by two months of age which allows the ewe to be bred back.
The program can be very beneficial to producers as it increases the productivity of the flock and provides the producers with lambs to be sold in the holiday markets. The program increases the number of lambs produced per ewe and increase market options. However, the program does come with a high level of management. The program also requires the highest degree of disease management as there is little to no time for the barns or pastures to be cleaned/decontaminated. The producers must be on top of nutrition also well. The ewes do not have the time in this program to gain back condition scores, so the producers must see that the nutrition is fine tuned.
It is also important to note that lambing rates will be lower than in a spring lambing system, but producers are able to get in three lambings in the two years rather than two.

The lambing periods for this system may be difficult for producers as there are times that will correlate with harvest time. For this program there is a higher required replacement rate as there is more wear and tear on the animals.
Accelerated lambing is used across the world, though it is most common in the northeastern USA and Canada. It is however growing in South Africa and New Zealand. Producers need to take a very close look at their finances before they implement an accelerated lambing program, the increased revenue from the extra lambs sold at higher market prices can sometimes be too good to be true for some due to the increased input costs such as labor, housing and feed. A study done by W.D. Allan found that the accelerated lambing program produces a return too low to warrant the program in

Southland.
As a Christian, I think it is good to take a step back and look at this management program. God created all things, humans, animals, plants and water. Everything has a purpose and a place. God created these sheep unique in their own way, just as he did us. Because of this I believe that it is good and right to utilize this management practice. God made these different sheep breeds so that they are able to produce frequently and they are good at it. I do not think there is anything wrong in utilizing what God gave us.