Western Lamb Pool
A particular problem for sheep producers in western Montana is the lack of a market for their sheep. The closest true sheep auction is Bozeman or Billings. Gary Hewitt, through the Western Montana Sheep Growers Association and the Sheep Institute has been working to assist growers to pool loads of lambs during May through November. This gives the producers in the area an opportunity to market their lambs in a broader market, at an ideal feeder lamb weight, while reducing freight costs. Currently, eleven buyers from California, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Montana, Oregon and South Dakota routinely bid on the lambs. The pool has developed have weight and quality standards that provide a dependable, uniform product for the buyers. The pool includes 220 sheep producers from Lincoln, Flathead, Sanders, Mineral, Lake, Missoula, Ravalli and Granite counties.
