The 2010 Dakota Fall Ram Test will be held at North Dakota State University’s Hettinger Research Extension Center.

The cost is $225 per ram, with $25 due when the animal is entered in the performance test and the balance due when the animal is delivered to the center. The fee will cover the cost of feed, management, veterinary attention and wool testing. Test officials will sell the wool collected from two shearings to cover the shearing costs.

“The Dakota Fall Ram Test is one of three ram tests in the nation that provide progressive producers the opportunity to measure both performance and wool traits, aiding in the selection of high-performing rams for use in breeding programs,” says Christopher Schauer, Hettinger center director.

All rams must be accompanied by a completed test entry form and health papers, and must come from a foot rot- and scrapie-free flock. The federal identification tag must be in the animal’s ear and listed in the health papers. All the rams will be tested for Brucella ovis (ELISA) at the end of the performance test. Lambs more than 6 months of age at the beginning of the test must be tested for B. Ovis or originate from a certified B. Ovis-free flock before they can be accepted at the station.

The rams will be vaccinated against enterotoxemia and sore mouth and drenched for internal parasites shortly after they arrive at the center. The rams’ owners should indicate on their entry form if the animals have been vaccinated against those diseases or drenched. The rams will be tested again for B. Ovis at the end of the performance test.

The rams will undergo their first shearing Sept. 30 and be weighed and started on the test Oct. 4. They’re scheduled to be weighed Nov. 1 and 29, Dec. 27 and Jan. 24, although the actual dates may vary. Test personnel will take wool samples in February. The samples will be used to determine staple length, clean yield and fiber diameter.

The animals will be shorn again Feb. 22 and given an ultrasound on March 11. Owners may pick up their animals March 12.

Schauer and Dave Pearson, an agricultural research technician at the Hettinger center, will be the test managers.

Sept. 28 is the deadline to enter animals in the test. Checks should be made payable to HREC-Dakota Fall Ram Test. The check writer must include his or her birth date on the memo line of the check. Mail checks to Christopher Schauer, Hettinger Research Extension Center, 2010 Dakota Fall Ram Test, P.O. Box 1377, Hettinger, ND 58639. Contact Schauer for an entry packet at (701) 567-4323 or christopher.schauer@ndsu.edu. An entry form also is available at http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/HettingerREC/ram-test.

NDSU Agriculture Communication