We caught up with the breeder of the Reserve Grand Champion FFA Market Lamb at the 2023 Iowa State Fair. We invite you to read our candid interview with Pagliaro/Bohan Club Lambs below and please continue to check back often for our next edition of “Breeder Spotlight.”
What’s the pedigree of your champion?
Unicorn x Bravo x Hellcat
What makes your operation run smoothly?
I don’t know that it ever runs smoothly, we always feel like we are behind. Lol. Everybody kinda has their job/what they are good at but always willing to jump in where it is needed. We are blessed to have Jeremy, he helps anywhere from cleaning the barn to breaking and showing babies. He knows what do needs to be done before anyone asks. We also share the facility with AC3 Livestock Abe, Augy and Alex are always willing to help, we couldn’t share the space with a better outfit. My mom knows every ewe by name and wether or not they came to the feeder, we wouldn’t be able to do this without her willing to chore while we are gone. We are lucky to be surrounded by awesome people. Without them we probably would have thrown in the towel.
How many head do you run?
You would have to ask the sheep shearer, his count is always a lot more than ours! In all seriousness we run approx. 80 recips, currently 50 blackface ewes (about to be 30), 15 Southdowns, 25 Specks, and 8 Valais Blacknose.
Do you have another job besides raising sheep? If so, what’s your occupation?
Probably not after I took 2 weeks off to go watch the Iowa State Fair…I work for JD Strand Trucking thankfully my boss is pretty cool about me taking time off to be able to go to shows and sales. I was really happy when his kids decided they wanted to show sheep at the county fair. Rori is a sales rep for Willoughby Sales.
In your opinion, who has been the most influential ram across the industry?
Even though I was WAY TO LATE to the party, I would say Unicorn, Drop the Mic and Burn. I think it would be really hard to find sheep that don’t go back to those studs.
What’s your favorite livestock show?
Iowa State Fair was pretty surreal. Just to see all of the support, participation, big breeders and history was really cool. If you haven’t been, we highly recommend.
It may not be the biggest one but Western Bonanza will always be at the top of our list, for us it is really fun to see all of the new prospects out.
Do you prefer online sales or live sales?
We think both are a necessity. The ease of an online sale is fabulous, but I think live sales are making a comeback. It’s a lot of work, but it has been a blast to meet people in person. We will see how many 30 hour hauls I have left in me.
