30 years of superior sheepgenetics 2021 rafter 7 merino

30 Years of Superior Sheep Genetics Ram Sale, Saturday,September 11, 2021

30+ Years of Superior Sheep Genetics

UNR Rafter 7 Merinos are raised on range so they adapt to your environment quickly & easily. Improving wool, lambs, and your bottom line!

2021 Rafter 7 Merino Ram Sale

You are invited to our Date:Place: Times: 8:00 AM

ANNUAL RAM SALESaturday, September 11, 2021Eureka County FairgroundsEwes and Rams available for inspection

12:00 Noon Lamb Luncheon provided by UNR 1:00 PM Sale begins

Our objective at Rafter 7 is to constantly provide profit building genetics for the sheep industry. Through research, artificial insemination, data analysis, and constant focus, our modern day dual‐purpose bloodlines have proven to enhance sheep industry profits. We emphasize quality wool production, lambing rates, hardiness, longevity and herding instinct, among others, as profitable production traits.Rafter Seven will offer 200 high‐quality purebred Merino and our Rafter 7 Line of Merino X Rambouillet rams, both yearlings and two year olds. Our yearlings offer an extra year of longevity, and our two year olds provide insight into the mature wool grade of our animals, ranging from 16 to 23 micron. Immediately following the ram sale, 30 purebred Merino yearling ewes will be auctioned. The information in our catalog provided is pertinent data as a guide to aid in your selection choice, for conception, mothering, weaning weights, andwool.

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To our long‐time supporting customers and friends, and to all interested in beginning on a path to increasing the bottom line in their dual‐purpose sheep, we invite you to our sale on Saturday, September 11. Come visit with friends in theindustry and enjoy a nice lamb lunch, prepared by Villa Basque of Carson City. For more information or questions please don’t hesitate to contact us by phone or email.

Thank you.

PSEureka DVM Dr. Darla Baumann (ph. 775‐237‐5100) will be in attendance to provide health certificates, if needed.

Gary McCuin (775) 385 5248 [email protected] Filbin (775) 221 3206 [email protected] Powers (843) 693 2461 [email protected]

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Our rams are NOT show sheep. They are grown out under range conditions in the high‐desert mountain ranges of Nevada. They have over 30 years of history helping sheep producers improve their lamb crop and wool clip. We would appreciate the chance to help your sheep operation like so many of our long‐time loyal clients have done.

TRAVELINFORMATION

00 paved ‐ 5 min. fromsaleAirports: Eureka County Ely City

ph. (775) 237‐61ph. (775) 289‐8804 paved – 80 miles “ “

Elko Regional (EKO) ph. (775) 777‐7190 Delta/Sky West3 flights daily (SLC)

multiple commercial flights then 243 miles to EurekaReno‐Tahoe (RNO) Las Vegas (LAS) Salt Lake City (SLC)

multiple commercial flights then 329 miles “ “ multiple commercial flights then 315 miles “ “

HotelsGold Country Inn – Eureka (775) 237‐5247Sundown Lodge – Eureka Ruby Hill Motel – Eureka

(775) 237‐5334(775) 237‐5339

Ely is about 80 miles East of Eureka.Ramada Inn – ElyJailhouse Motel/Casino ‐ Ely

(775) 289‐4884(775) 289‐3033

Prospector Hotel/Casino ‐ Ely (775) 289‐8900Park Vue‐Ely La Quinta – Ely

(775) 289‐4497(775) 289‐8833

Gold Country Inn/Casino – Elko (775) 738‐8421 Elko is about 110 miles North of Eureka.High Desert Inn – Elko (775) 738‐8425Holiday Inn Express – Elko (775) 777‐0990Red Lion Hotel/Casino – Elko (775) 738‐2111

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Directions If coming from the North from I‐80:Exit I‐80 in Carlin, NV which is about 20 miles west of Elko.

Coming from the west, take the first Carlin, NV exit (279) onto Hwy 278 From the east, take the Carlin, NV exit 280 into town and follow road signs to Hwy 278

Once on Hwy 278, drive south about 90 miles to Hwy 50.At Hwy 50, turn east towards Eureka. The Fairgrounds is about 1.5 miles on the left

If coming from the West on Hwy 50:Look for the Fairgrounds on the Leftabout 1.5 miles after passing by the Hwy 278 intersection

If coming from the South and EastFrom various points travel to Ely, NV, then, travel west

on Hwy 50 through Eureka. Look for the Fairgrounds about 1 mile west of town on the right.

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Explanation of RecordsYearling rams and ewes were born from mid April to end June. Lower numbers within breed groups were the earliest born.

Horn Type: H = Horned; P = Polled; Sc = Scurs, LSc = Large Scur Type of Birth and Rearing: 1 = Single, 2 = Twin, 3 = Triplet.

The yearling rams and ewes were shorn at 10 months of age. Fleece weight and staple length were obtained at shearing,are skirted with bellies out and adjusted to indicate 12 months of wool at 68% yield.Side samples were obtained prior to shearing and were analyzed for fiber diameter, CV micron, and curvature using an OFDA 2000 provided by the American Sheep Industry Association.

CV microncriteria demonstratesthe quality of wool within ourflock, and processing efficiency into yarn.Low CV is valued more amongst wool processors worldwide for this reason. The measurement of 19 is theinternational standard of quality, and USA non Rafter 7 bred wools typically range in the area of 21‐24, well below the Australian standard.

All animals were weighed in August and should be heavier by sale time.

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SPECIALNOTES

Offered rams only made our sale after extensive culling and sifting.

As an indicator of our current selection process, we continually sift breeding ewes based on the following criteria.

Propensity to twin – average lambs weaned over the breeding life of the ewe Weaning weight of lambs weighed at market valuesLb. of Wool shorn, fleeces estimated to be 68% clean wool after washing Micron of wool shorn at market values

Please visit https://naes.unr.edu/ram‐sale/ to see information about the Great Basin Research and Extension Center in Diamond Valley, home to the Rafter 7 Merinos! vi

Sale Pen Layout & Sequencestarting with Pen 1 and moving up

15 16

14 17

13 18

12 19

11 20

10 21

9 22

8 23

7 24

6 25

5 26

4 27

3 28

2 29

1 30

Merino Ewes

YRLMerino Rams (first set)

2YOMerino Rams

2YORafter 7 Rams

Yearling Rafter 7 Rams (first set)

Yearling R7Rams (second set)

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32

31

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2021 Rafter 7 RamSale September 11, 2020

Catalog Page1

*MSS = Merino Select Sire** Fleece wt. after bellies and skirted at 10 mos.

2020 Merino Yearling Rams


Catalog Page2






Catalog Page3


Catalog Page4


2019 Merino 2 Yr Rams


Catalog Page5


2019 Merino 2 Yr Rams


Catalog Page6

*SS = Select Sire** Fleece wt. after bellies and skirted at 12 mos.

2019 R7 2 Yr Rams


Catalog Page7


2020 R7 Yrlng Rams


Catalog Page8


2020 R7 Yrlng Rams


Catalog Page9


2020 R7 Yrlng Rams


Catalog Page10


2020 R7 Yrlng Rams


Catalog Page11


2020 R7 Yrlng Rams


Catalog Page 12


2020 Merino Yrlng Ewes

Letter from your geneticistGreetings,It was with much excitement that I started my role as the Animal Geneticist at the University of Nevada, Reno in July. Nevada ismy home state, and it is great to be home after being away for 10 years. My experiences while I was away from Nevada includedworking for AgResearch Limited in New Zealand, where I gained experience in sheep genomics from some of the world’s leading researchers. I am eager to bring the things I learned while in New Zealand to our university flock.We are excited to have the Rafter 7 flock back at UNR, and I would like to give special thanks to Rick Powers for taking over the flock in 2013 to keep the genetic lines going. I would also like to thank him for all the assistance he has provided during our transitionary period of getting the Great Basin Research and Extension Center (GBREC) established.Gary McCuin has been hard at work getting the center running in a functional manner. This past year has not been without its fair share of growing pains, which have been felt in our data recording practices. This and other challenges are now being addressed through manpower additions, and we are pleased to announce we will be hiring a new Herd Manager, who is scheduled to start late this year and will work with Tom Filbin to learn the intricacies of the Rafter 7 Merinos. We are working hard to get GBREC up and running to its fullest potential, and we appreciate your patience during this process.Our vision for the Rafter 7 flock is to pave the road for future of rangeland sheep production in the United States. As such, one of the first tools we hope to incorporate into our common practices at GBREC is the use of pedigree and genomic information to assist with selecting our animals. Incorporating this information into our current evaluations will allow us to utilize relationships between individuals to make more informed decisions about an individual’s genetic potential. We are also working to incorporate the use of digital agriculture tools, which can be utilized for both flock management as well as for collecting novel measurements on an individual animal in otherwise difficult environments (i.e., on the mountain). This will afford the opportunity to captureindividual performance in real‐time where the sheep will be challenged in the tough environmental conditions of Nevada.I look forward to speaking to you during the 2021 Rafter 7 Ram Sale. I will have an information booth set up in the morning prior to the Ram Sale to elaborate on the ideas that I have for sheep genetics research at GBREC. I am also interested in hearing yourthoughts on potential research that can be performed at GBREC to address your needs. Please stop by and say hi!

Sincerely yours,

Andrew Hess

Thanks again and always for supporting us!!

30 years of superior sheepgenetics 2021 rafter 7 merino

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