SAUCE MAGAZINE
Posted On: 03/31/2006
I grew up thinking Lamb Chop was a puppet and Easter lamb was a cake baked in a lamb-shaped mold, frosted in buttercream and covered in flaked coconut. My experience is not unique. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Americans consume less than 1 pound of lamb per year. Still, Missouri farmers David Hillebrand and Mark Uthlaut have each weathered the volatile sheep market to carve out a solid niche for themselves.
Until 1995, government price supports for wool production boosted profits for sheep farmers. Historically, the price of lamb has been closely tied to the price of wool. Higher wool prices meant less available lamb meat as sheep were raised to maturity for their fleece. When government stabilization of wool prices ended, the value of wool fell, and farmers sold their flocks. The price of lamb plummeted with the market glut. Adding to farmers’ woes was the importation of cheaper lamb from Australia and New Zealand beginning in 1992.
Six years ago, the price of lamb was so low that Hillebrand, owner of Prairie Grass Farm in New Florence (573.835.2272), considered getting out of the business. Instead, he now supplies chefs at some of the area’s finest restaurants and sells direct through farmers’ markets year-round.
Uthlaut, co-owner of M and K Meats in Montgomery City (573.564.6117), rode out tough times, too. Today, he’s experiencing high demand for his lamb. “2006 is our second growth year in a row,” Uthlaut said. “More people are trying lamb. We have sales to new immigrants, but the average American consumer with a little more disposable income is choosing lamb, too.” Both credit neighborhood farmers’ markets with their success in reaching new customers.
Hillebrand, a third-generation sheep farmer, switched from raising a Dorset-Southdown crossbreed to the South African Dorper. This compact breed sheds its fleece and doesn’t require shearing. “Wool doesn’t pay for the shearing anymore,” Hillenbrand said. “Twenty years ago, you could sell the wool, pay the shearer and have money left over, [but] not now.”
Uthlaut explained that raising sheep does not require a large investment in equipment or housing, but the labor and management of sheep make for an expensive proposition. He began sheep ranching in 1979 with Rambouillet sheep, a breed known for its fine wool. The shrinking wool market inspired Uthlaut to change course. Uthlaut still has a few Rambouillet ewes, but he’s switched to old-fashioned Dorsets, a breed he described as “short, squat and thrifty.” The Dorset bucks weigh in at 200 pounds, about half the size of the Rambouillet. He’s also running fewer sheep and lambing twice a year. He doesn’t use antibiotics or hormones.
Like Uthlaut, raising a quality product is important to Hillebrand. His lambs are grass-fed. He also shuns antibiotics and hormones but does feed his lambs minerals and vitamins in a molasses-based mineral tub. He’s considering going for organic certification, but “getting organic molasses tubs is a little tough,” he said. “There’s not much demand for organic molasses, and that’s what makes the mix palatable for the sheep.” He supplements his flock’s diet with all-natural salt and Icelandic kelp for trace minerals as well.
Lambs born in the fall are available now. Look for M and K lamb and other farm products this spring at Soulard Farmers’ Market on Fridays and Saturdays, at Columbia, Mo. Farmers’ Market and possibly at other area markets. In addition to traditional cuts – shanks, boneless roasts, legs, frenched racks and chops – Uthlaut will do custom cuts such as crown roasts and whole lambs for roasting for customers who call in advance.
You can find Prairie Grass Farms products at the Maplewood Farmers’ Market, the GreenMarket in the Central West End and the new Tower Grove Farmers’ Market, which opens May 13. “I get real satisfaction when people say they never had anything like our lamb before,” said Hillebrand. “It’s so good.”
