Hillsboro, WV 6/5/2020
Growing up on a farm I always heard the old joke about being “born in a barn.” In my case, the saying wasn’t off by much. My mother made her routine barn checks up until the last week of her pregnancy with me, so I truly have been around sheep since before I was born. By the time I was eight I was driving the farm truck and involved with most of the day to day chores around the farm. Deriving from generations of farmers, it wasn’t long until, I too, developed the passion for farming. In 2001, at the age of ten, my parent’s helped me establish my own flock, “DMC Dorsets” through the purchase of a small purebred flock out of White Sulphur Springs, WV.
Twenty years later, our goal at DMC Dorsets is to produce and market self efficient, low maintenance Purebred Dorset Sheep. We emphasize “real world” breeding characteristics: medium frame, heavy muscle, and elite maternal traits. Our animals thrive on a foliage based diet and maintain out of season breeding.
Our goal began as a result of growing increasingly frustrated with the recognition of unnatural characteristics of Dorset Sheep in the U.S. In our experience, the attempt to enhance the appearance of the animal by breeding them to be larger and taller depleted the real-life, marketable traits of the breed. We feel that when purebred livestock are no longer marketable, but conform to the standards of a show circuit, we have indeed defeated our purpose as livestock producers.
Inspired by farmers in New Zealand and Australia, we made the decision to enhance our Dorset flock by embracing the true characteristics of the breed, which we understood would eventually mean importing genetics. We began by purchasing 20 Dorset Ewes with an Australian influence from Ankeny Acers in Idaho in 2012 and 2013. In 2019, we purchased semen from Gooramma Poll Dorset Stud in Australia and implemented a 3 year Artificial Insemination plan within our flock. Considering the difficulties associated with A.I, we have experienced great success, which has allowed us to retain exceptional Australian genetics within our breeding stock. In 2020, we had the two highest selling yearling rams at the Virginia Ram Test. This year, the increased demand for our sheep has encouraged us to host our 1st annual online auction/sale.
While we feel we have much more ground to cover, it is a dream come to true to be where we are today. We are humbled by the mountain of support from our customers, family and friends!
