Another generation of sheep production
Sirrina Martinez
Multimedia reporter
smartinez@pipestonestar.com
Around five miles south of Pipestone sits the sheep operation owned by Andrew and Kiah Berg. Berg, a native to the area, grew up on a farm with Red Angus, and just down the road, his grandfather, Marlin Berg, raised sheep. Marlin, who is a retired Ag teacher from the Jasper and Pipestone school system, raised Suffolk sheep, and eventually, Berg bought his first few head from him. The sheep operation he currently runs is around five miles east of his grandfather’s farm. The Berg’s started their sheep adventure around the time they were married, he said.
“My wife and I bought the place in about 2021, I think, then we bought our first ewes that fall,” Berg said. “It was kind of a crazy year, we ended up getting married, buying a place, and buying some sheep all at the same time.”
Currently, Kiah works as a nutritionist at Pipestone Systems, and Andrew is a consultant in the wean-to-finish side of the business. The couple has one daughter, Harper, who is almost two, and another child on the way, who is expected to make an appearance in the next two weeks or so, Berg said.
While he was raised with cattle, Berg decided to start raising sheep because the infrastructure on his farm allowed him to run more head with sheep.
He started with around 50 ewes, which he bought from his grandfather. He has since grown his flock.
“We are probably at about 120-125 ewes now that we lamb out,” he said. “We started making our own replacements and bought the purebred Suffolks and started selling some rams.”
The majority of what the Bergs raise are white-faced commercial ewes, and the rest are Suffolk ewes. While their herd is sold primarily for meat, the Bergs will sell the majority of their lambs through the Pipestone Lamb and Wool Management Program at Minnesota West. The couple practice accelerated lambing, aiming for around 2-3 lambings a year.
“One group in January-February, one group in April-May, kind of late spring and one group in the fall,” he said. “I had about 30 to 40 head last year that lambed twice.”
One of the biggest challenges of raising any animal, Berg said, is time management and keeping feed costs down.
“My wife and I both work in the pig world and so we try to keep it (their sheep operation) as structured as we can,” he said. “So, at this time we do this and that, we try to keep it repeatable. For us, it is continuing to do time management with both of us having full-time jobs. We also try to reduce feed waste, which is the biggest cost associated with raising any animal.”
In the next few years, Berg hopes to continue to grow his herd of purebred Suffolks and, down the road, work more with club lamb producers (show lambs) on selling “recip”(recipient) ewes. A recipient ewe is one that is chosen to carry an embryo from a donor ewe.
For those who are considering raising sheep, Berg has one piece of advice.
“Find animals that are going to do what you want them to do and find producers that have like-minded goals when purchasing that first set of females,” he said. “I’d say that’s probably the most ideal, and that is what I have tried to do.”
Multimedia reporter
smartinez@pipestonestar.com
Around five miles south of Pipestone sits the sheep operation owned by Andrew and Kiah Berg. Berg, a native to the area, grew up on a farm with Red Angus, and just down the road, his grandfather, Marlin Berg, raised sheep. Marlin, who is a retired Ag teacher from the Jasper and Pipestone school system, raised Suffolk sheep, and eventually, Berg bought his first few head from him. The sheep operation he currently runs is around five miles east of his grandfather’s farm. The Berg’s started their sheep adventure around the time they were married, he said.
“My wife and I bought the place in about 2021, I think, then we bought our first ewes that fall,” Berg said. “It was kind of a crazy year, we ended up getting married, buying a place, and buying some sheep all at the same time.”
Currently, Kiah works as a nutritionist at Pipestone Systems, and Andrew is a consultant in the wean-to-finish side of the business. The couple has one daughter, Harper, who is almost two, and another child on the way, who is expected to make an appearance in the next two weeks or so, Berg said.
While he was raised with cattle, Berg decided to start raising sheep because the infrastructure on his farm allowed him to run more head with sheep.
He started with around 50 ewes, which he bought from his grandfather. He has since grown his flock.
“We are probably at about 120-125 ewes now that we lamb out,” he said. “We started making our own replacements and bought the purebred Suffolks and started selling some rams.”
The majority of what the Bergs raise are white-faced commercial ewes, and the rest are Suffolk ewes. While their herd is sold primarily for meat, the Bergs will sell the majority of their lambs through the Pipestone Lamb and Wool Management Program at Minnesota West. The couple practice accelerated lambing, aiming for around 2-3 lambings a year.
“One group in January-February, one group in April-May, kind of late spring and one group in the fall,” he said. “I had about 30 to 40 head last year that lambed twice.”
One of the biggest challenges of raising any animal, Berg said, is time management and keeping feed costs down.
“My wife and I both work in the pig world and so we try to keep it (their sheep operation) as structured as we can,” he said. “So, at this time we do this and that, we try to keep it repeatable. For us, it is continuing to do time management with both of us having full-time jobs. We also try to reduce feed waste, which is the biggest cost associated with raising any animal.”
In the next few years, Berg hopes to continue to grow his herd of purebred Suffolks and, down the road, work more with club lamb producers (show lambs) on selling “recip”(recipient) ewes. A recipient ewe is one that is chosen to carry an embryo from a donor ewe.
For those who are considering raising sheep, Berg has one piece of advice.
“Find animals that are going to do what you want them to do and find producers that have like-minded goals when purchasing that first set of females,” he said. “I’d say that’s probably the most ideal, and that is what I have tried to do.”
