We caught up with the breeder of the Grand Champion Market Lamb, Grand Champion Commercial Ewe, and Reserve Grand Champion Commercial Ewe at the 2024 LSU Spring Show. We invite you to read our candid interview with Steva Robinson Show Stock Livestock and please continue to check back often for our next edition of “Breeder Spotlight.”
What’s the pedigree of your champion?
The Champion Market Lamb and the Champion Commercial Ewe were both Kermit x Unicorns. Kermit is our Frog x Dirty Dragon son that we raised.
The Reserve Commercial Ewe is a Frog x Dirty Dragon.
Do you have a favorite animal on the farm? If so who is it and why?
I’m not sure that there’s one favorite in particular, the ones that cause the least problems and have the best lambs are easily at the top of my list though.
What’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned about raising animals?
For every high, there’s always a low – Raising livestock is not for the faint of heart, but it definitely can be rewarding.
Have you ever had to deal with an unexpected challenge while caring for your flock? How did you handle it?
Anyone that knows me knows I have an overwhelming fear of mice and rats – For that reason, we have Orkin (a pest control service) for our barn come monthly, because I can’t stand the thought of mice or rats. One year, our tech changed the type of poison that was being put out, and changed the location of the bait stations. A few months later, we had several ewes that had scanned bred but never lambed – We tried everything to figure out the culprit, and finally traced it back to those bait stations that caused the ewes to reabsorb.
We were fortunate that that year our long bred ewes from our main AI group were unaffected, and went on to raise the Grand and Reserve Market Lamb at our State Fair that year. Although I’m typically not the one to take things like that in stride, I learned that you just have to accept some things are out of your control at times, not get worked up about it, and just move on and focus on your goals.
How many years have you been raising sheep?
My dad bought me my first two ewes as a Christmas present when I was in first grade….I’ll let you try to do the math on how many years that makes it….
Do you prefer online sales or live sales?
I prefer sales where my customers can see the sheep in person, ask questions, and we can work with them to determine what sheep best meets their goals. We sell our main group of wethers in an online bid off, but without pictures and videos, which requires folks to come to the farm to see them in person.
Live sales are where some of my best memories come from looking back over the years, the network of people you meet at those events are second to none!
What’s been your best marketing tactic?
Being easy to work with, being humble, and being available to answer questions. All the marketing in the world won’t overcome poor customer service.
Beyond that, I like to do a variety of marketing tactics through the year to help show customer appreciation and keep our brand visible!
