My journey in the breed-up program began in 2019, by purchasing two bred Scottish Blackface Ewes from Idaho. The ewes arrived just before the COVID shutdown in 2020. They lambed out with my first 50% F1 Valais Blacknose ewes. I continue to import semen from Europe and New Zealand, and am not using domestic rams in order to continue maintaining high quality sheep.

The breed-up program involves laparoscopic artificial insemination with my imported semen once yearly. The resulting lambs will be 50% more Valais than their mothers. I am not planning on pursuing embryos at this time as I enjoy making my own genetic selections and I want to make sure I have as varied a gene pool as possible to work with. I wait until my animals are 1.5 years old for their first breeding, as I want to ensure the health and full growth potential of the mother, as well as the lambs. I raise a small crop of lambs each year so they get individual attention. 

I feed a minimal amount of grain, relying on hay and mineral supplements to closely mimic a natural diet as much as possible. My animals are rotationally grazed from April until November during the daytime to even more closely mimic their natural diet as well as reduce parasite loads. I do monthly basic health checkups myself, do my own shearing twice per year, and do my own hoof care at least quarterly. My animals also receive regular veterinary care. For these rasons, my animals are