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| US Targhee Sheep Assn. Website |
The History of the Targhee:
The Targhee is one of America's youngest breeds of sheep, having been developed
in the 1920's. LIke Corriedales and Columbias, Targhees are a cross-bred species, trying to maximize high quality wool
with increased musculature. To meet this demand the U.S. Sheep Experiment Station, Dubois, Idaho, began selective breeding
in the fall of 1926. They took a group of cross-bred ewes of Rambouillet, Lincoln and Corriedale blood lines and bred them
to their best Rambouillet rams. Through many years, variations within and between generations declined. The new
breed was named "Targhee" after the U.S. National Forest where the animals grazed during the summer. The forest was named
for a chief of the Bannock Indians who had lived in the area in the 1860's.
This same type of cross-breeding was also being developed by individual breeders
in the area. One of the first was Henry J. Yoppe of Eureka, Montana, who in 1934 bought a Targhee ram from Dubois. By 1938,
Mr. Yoppe was selling Targhee rams at a sale in Miles City, Montana - a sale which is now known as the Montana Ram Sale and
is the premier Targhee ram sale in the nation.
In the late 1940's other Western ranches began breeding Targhees in the same
way, by sorting their range ewes (Columbias, Rambouillets, or cross-breeds) for "Targhee Type" and then breeding with
Targhee rams from the U.S. Sheep Experiment Station and Henry Yoppe.
In 1951, Curtis Hughes of Stanford, Montana, invited those interested in forming
a Targhee association to meet in Dubois. This meeting was held May 16, 1951, with 17 people present, chaired by Henry Hibbard.
An organizational committee was appointed and it was decided that a meeting would be held following the Dubois sale, in September,
and at that time the association would be formed. An inspection policy was implemented and the first inspection of Targhees
for registration took place February 21, 1952, when 34 Targhees from Montana State University became the first registered
Targhees.
For a number of years Targhees were predominantly a breed of Montana, South
Dakota, and Wyoming. Each year the National Sale and membership meeting was held in Billings, Montana. In 1966, a National
Show was begun and the membership voted to close the books, mandating that registered Targhees have to be the offspring of
registered parents. By 1974, there were enough Targhees in the Midwest that the membership meeting was held in Wisconsin
and since that time it has moved around the country.
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25-21 microns, spinning count of 64-58 |
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Special Thanks To:
Jack McRae, Jordan, Montana
&
Nate Espeland, Fishtail, Montana
For Their Purchases At The 2009 USTSA National Show & Sale
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Our Flock:
The Targhee has been bred on our farms for over 30 years. In that time, we have come to appreciate the many wonderful
traits of this breed: easy lambing, excellent mothering instincts, outstanding fleeces, fast growth, easy-going temperment
(young children can handle them easily with training), and excellent producers. They are also a beautiful breed to observe.
Over the past few years we have averaged 200% lambing with occassional triplets. We have started scrapies gene testing
and will be target breeding for RR/QR production.
We are very proud of the wool our Targhees produce, and we do sell their fleeces. So if you are interested, please
send us an email and we can send a sample to you.
Results speak louder than words, so below are a few examples of our recent efforts.
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| 2009 Wisconsin Junior State Fair Champion Yearling Ewe and Reserve Champion AOB-Wool Ewe. |
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| 2009 Wisconsin State Fair Champion Targhee February Ram Lamb and Junior Champion Targhee Ram. |
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| National Reserve Champion Ram - 2008 USTSA National Junior Show |
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| Grand Champion Any Other Wool Breed Ewe - 2008 Wisconsin Junior State Fair |
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| Grand Champion Targhee Ram & Supreme Champion Wool Breed Ram - 2005 Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival |
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| National Reserve Champion Ram - 2009 USTSA National Junior Show. |
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| 2009 Wisconsin Junior State Fair Champion Winter Ram Lamb & Grand Champion AOB-Wool Ram. |
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| 2009 WI State Fair Reserve Champion Ram - also WI Junior State Fair Reserve Champion AOB-Wool Ram. |
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| Grand Champion Yearling Ram and Grand Champion Targhee Ram - 2008 Wisconsin State Fair |
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| Grand Champion Any Other Wool Breed Ram - 2008 Wisconsin Junior State Fair |
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| Grand Champion Yearling Ewe and Grand Champion Targhee Ewe - 2006 Wisconsin State Fair |
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| Grand Champion Targhee Ewe & Supreme Champion Wool Breed Ewe - 2006 Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival |
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