Bred ewes given 20 years ago helps Kinsley build flock
By Heather Thorstensen
hthorstensen@agrinews.com
Date Modified: 02/02/2012 9:11 AM
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STEWARTVILLE, Minn. — Eric Kinsley spoke at the Southeast Minnesota Sheep Producer's Association's annual meeting about how the bred ewes they provided to him 20 years ago helped him become the shepherd he is today.
Kinsley was the first recipient of SEMSPA's bred ewe program. He was already an exhibitor of sheep and other livestock when he received the animals as a high school student, but those first four bred ewes gave him a foot in the door to a new side of the sheep industry.
"It was an opportunity to really be involved with commercial sheep production," said Kinsley, now34.
At the time he got the ewes, his interest in livestock judging was ramping up.He was namedHigh Individual at a statewide 4-H livestock judging contest.
It was the combination of those original ewes and his experience in livestock judging that built a foundation for his flock today, he said.
Competing on judging teams at Butler Community College and Kansas State University gave him the chance to meet many livestock producers. He looked for the best, most affordable show lambs for his younger brothers to exhibit. Their sheep began gaining recognition at county and state fairs.
From 1999 to 2002, Kinsley coached Iowa State University's livestock judging team while serving as an instructor and academic advisor in the animal science department. His teams won the collegiate contests at the National Western Stock Show in Denver and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
When his brothers' showing careers ended, Kinsley switched his focus from feeding sheep his family could show to raising sheep for other families to show and for breeders. Hekept his flock on his family's farm in Rochester.
His lambs began earning purple ribbons at the state fair, then won a class at AKSARBEN. He alsostarted judging livestock shows across the country.
In 2002, when his father, Dennis, was diagnosed with cancer, Kinsley moved back to Rochester, taking anoff-farm job and handling the daily management of his flock and his father's sheep.
Then his job took him to the Twin Cities. While living in the metro area, he focused on improving his ewe base back in Rochester by using better rams.
He eventually directed his career back to agriculture with a position in ag financial services. Today, he is an ag loan officer with MidCountry Bank in Hutchinson.
In 2008, Kinsley and his father merged their flocks so they could farm in partnership, transitioning from raising sheep as a hobby to running their flocks as a business. They sell under the name Kinsley Show Lambs.Additional income is earned from selling seed stock to other producers. They are focused on expanding their markets to sell to customers across the country.
To date, he has served as a judge for livestock shows in several states and Canada, participated on livestock show committees and he conducts seminars for young people to help them in the show ring. The more removed he is from being a livestock exhibitor, the more he views exhibitions primarily as a platform to teach children life lessons.
For the last two years, he has assisted with the Redwood County 4-H team.
He has 85 ewes that will lamb this year. It will be his first time having more than 100 lambs. His ewes are mostly Hampshire crosses.
"It's nice when you find someone who is still going and growing," said SEMPSA president Daryl Boehm.
The annual meeting was held Jan. 7 in Stewartville.