The Salt Lake Tribune from Salt Lake City, Utah • 77

The Long Dese417i3pctio0p 1 gli 5altStilit5tib4ttt A lov Dix Section Sunday Octobar a 1 A familiar sight to travelers up and down Utah's highways each fall are the numerous herds of sheep wending their way down the colorful hillsides that skirt the east rim of the Great Basin These comprise a large share of Utah's one and a half million range sheep returning from a summer sojourn atop the high plateaus and mountains of the state now on their way to the vast desert areas of Utah and Nevada for the "long winter" The annual trek of next year's potential wool crop to the winter ranges is in full swing and the next six months will largely determine the amount of that crop Between now and next May these range sheep will have harvested much of another great Utah forage produced on approximately 46000000 acres of winter-- grazing land Circuitous Route Before these eheep return to the green feed of the mountain ranges next spring many will have made a 500-mile circuit over the Utah and Nevada deserts The sheep this year are coming off the Demmer ranges generally in good condition And by spring much of the weight put on during the summer will likely have been lost The winter loss from malnutrition predators and other causes too are much heavier than in summer and recently a new plague has arisen in part of the desert I plague the In preparation for the "long winter" the sheep have been carefully culled to see that only those in good shape and with sound teeth are left in the winter herd The "strays" have been gathered from other herds and the mobile sheep wagons have been put in shape to withstand winter In the desert Use Large Land Area According to the Utah State Agrieultired College 'Experiment Station range livestock operations utilize by far ttme major portion of the total land area of the state Forage produced on these endless acres et desert land Is more suitable for sheep than for cattle and the total herbage produced varies widely Scientists at the Desert Range Expert- ment Station of the Forest Service in the heart of the winter sheep country estimate annual production of palatable forage at from 150 to SOO pounds per acre The Ideal sheep range for winter grart-'- Ing has a heavy production of shadscale block sage white 'sage or winterfat bud sage Indian rice grass and other native grasses If the range produces enough of these native feeds sheep will not only hold their own during an average winter but will likely show an actual gain in weight It has been shown in experiments conducted by the Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station of the Forest Service Studies Show Deficiencies Nutrition studies conducted -last winter by Dr Wayne Cook professor of range management and Dr Harris animal nutritionist with the Utah State Agricultural College Experiment Station in en operation with the Forest Service and private sheep operators revealed that the average winter range feeds are decidedly deficient in protein and phosphorous both as to quality and digestability -----The nutrition studies were conducted in-western Beaver County with funds from grants made by Swift Co and the Amer-- tan Dehydraters1 Assn Dr Mirka said the tests Indicated a 10 Increase In total lamb production and an additional pound of wool per bead was possible through supplementary feeding of protein concentrates and phosphorous during the winter months a Thomas Bryant Costar City typkal herder his hors and dog start shoals on ata winkt ring These studies with other research conducted in recent years have changed the average winter sheep operation in Utah considerably Because of moisture shortages in 1950 and 1951 the natural forage on the ranges Is expected to be low In total production this winter according to sheep pro duters Better Conditimus Seen' On the other hand the Bureau of Agricultural Economics considers the sheep Industry in sound condition and in better position to afford some supplementary feedIng than it bat been in a number of years In contrast to former times when one sheepman aptly put get a good lamb crop use good bucks give the ewes plenty to eat and then modern operateir adds little enlightened action to his prayers and there are many kinds of action whicts will help 2 The sheepman today at lease' them lis vertect to the practice of some supplementary feeding to keevelves In good shape through the winter Some operators separate their yearling ewes during the breeding season and feed them toncentrates to Insure a higher percentage lamb crop Others are now building lambing shOds on the range to overcome part of the 'Weather hazard Less Grating Pressure With sheep numbers in MO down I their lowest level sine -1 1884 and only about 3 increase Indicated this year winter ranges will not be subjected to the gray cl ing pressure some of the lend has "-formerly carried Until 1914 the income from the sheep enterprise was the largest single source of agricultural in -1 tome ha Utah During 1949 how ever the sheep enterprise ranked -a poor fourth among the major --sources of agricultural income With the the record high wool See sage 3 Column 1.