Lambing life

CLARISSA — When a bucket is delivered to the lamb pens at the Kuelbs farmstead close to feeding time, bleating is likely all one will hear. It is a familiar sound for Courtney Kuelbs, who grew up on a sheep farm and has operated BNC Livestock with her husband, Brian, since 2011. The couple raises 225 Polypay and 35 Hampshire Down sheep on their farm outside town.

The couple, along with their three children — Kainan, Nash and Mckinely — find fun amongst the work that comes with raising sheep. The Kuelbs family raises two different flocks of sheep for two different reasons.

“We find the maternal instinct of Polypays to be the best, so we try to keep with those bloodlines for our commercial market sheep,” Courtney Kuelbs said. “For our club lambs, we follow the show world pretty closely to find what judges are liking. We artificially inseminate our club lambs, so we are able to improve genetics a lot faster.”

The Kuelbses also raise around 30 head of beef cattle on pasture at a farm nearby owned by Courtney’s parents, Neil and Maggie Zimmer. The herd is primarily Red Angus and Simmental cattle. With 12 acres split up between the Kuelbs’ homestead and its tillable acres, Brian raises grain on his own land, along with rented acreage, to grind feed and provide for his livestock.

The family is involved in 4-H. Kainan and Nash, the two oldest boys, both showed sheep at the Todd County Fair this year, taking home some ribbons. Mckinely, the youngest daughter, is awaiting her Cloverbud debut. For now, she helps where she can alongside her parents or big brothers, Keulbs said, and loves showing sheep in open class.

The Kuelbses also showed Red Angus at the Minnesota State Fair in the open class show this year. Attending the state fair is a family tradition. Brian and
Courtney participated in 4-H and open class events their entire childhood. The couple also met through 4-H later in life.     

The value the Kuelbses found in family traditions and 4-H is something they wanted to carry on and teach to their children, Brian said. With their own family now showing animals and their farming business keeping them busy, the couple still works off-farm jobs. Courtney works as a registered nurse in wound care at Alomere Health in Alexandria, while Brian works for Riverview Excavating LLC in Long Prairie.

At chore time, the children can be found carrying feed buckets, filling the water tanks or putting out the evening hay. Kainan is also responsible for washing the show cattle and keeping an eye on flock health. Knowing what to look for, such as droopy ears and slow movers to eat, Kainan reports his findings to his parents.

One summer highlight for the Kuelbs family is attending jackpot shows. This string of circuit shows is focused on youth 21 and under. Due to a few local shows being cancelled and the jackpot shows falling on the same weekend as the Todd County Fair, the Kuelbses weren’t able to attend many shows this year.

“That was a bummer,” Kuelbs said. “We hope to make it to more next year, but this year was just really bad timing.”

The Kuelbses often see familiar faces at the jackpot shows, and competition tends to be at a higher level, which are reasons the family chooses to participate.

“I don’t like to compete against the (club lambs) we sell,” Kuelbs said. “As the kids get older, I’m sure we are going to be getting more and more involved in those competitions.”

By marketing their lambs at a couple of sales and selling a handful to private parties, the Kuelbses are able to keep their flock at a manageable size and spread their name within the show ring network. The couple said it has been fun to keep tabs on the families representing BNC Livestock with their show animals throughout the country.

“We were asked nine years ago to join two other families who host the Making Memories Sale in Lisbon, North Dakota,” Kuelbs said. “Every year, we gauge how well the show season went and how much interest we had, and we’ll haul 15 to 20 lambs to the sale for other 4-H families to purchase. We also consign at Burch Livestock’s  Heavy Hitter Genetic Appreciation Sale in Nebraska. It’s been a lot of fun to watch our lambs compete all over the place.”

Show season starts in June, and by that time, the Kuelbses are already prepping to breed for the next year.

“It takes a lot of money for the whole A.I. process,” Kuelbs said. “We set up 21 sheep this year on the farm. They require medications ahead of time, and then we bring them to RSG (Reproduction Specialty Group) in the Twin Cities to be bred. Their facility is always really well kept and clean; they do a really great job. “

The Kuelbses aim for good matches, but it can be challenging.

“We try to find the best mating we can, but in reality, it’s a guessing game a lot of the time,” Kuelbs said.

Breeding for the commercial lambs on the farm starts in August.

“We have five rams that we turn out into the breeding pens,” Kuelbs said. “That puts us lambing right at Christmas time. The club lambs are first, and the commercial sheep start up afterwards right away in January. We wrap up in mid-March … it feels like a never-ending cycle.”

For more reasons than one, the Kuelbses said they were happy to find a farm that was closer to Courtney’s parents’ farm. In doing so, it allowed them to expand their flock. The couple said they are also grateful to be able to raise their children right down the road from where Courtney grew up. Between the two families, they can watch out for the herds and the flocks together on their barn cameras.

“We are able to help each other out,” Kuelbs said. “During calving and lambing season, thankfully Brian can be home more with less dirt work to be done, because it’s pretty important to have someone looking out.”

Having more eyes on their animals during birth helps them jump in when problems arise.

“If the cows don’t get up right away, the sac can stay over (calves’) noses, and within minutes you can lose them,” Kuelbs said. “It’s no different with lambs. The bag could be over their head, and they try to take a couple of breaths … you’re literally throwing on your boots and running out to the barn. We’ve been able to save a few and that’s what every farmer wants to be able to say.”