News

News from the OPP Society

“I continue to teach the introductory sheep production course here at Iowa State University, and every year I teach students about OPP. The information you provide periodically makes it quite easy for me to keep my students up to date . . . Keep up the good work!”
DR CURTIS R YOUNGS
IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY
UNSOLICITED CORRESPONDENCE

OPP Update Summer 2023

We want to thank everyone who has supported us by continuing their memberships. We continue to be a reliable source of accurate, up to date information regarding Ovine Progressive Pneumonia. Membership dues are the sole source of revenue keeping the lights on (website up). So thank you again.  

We also want to welcome the new members to our “flock”: Tara Klager, Alberta; Jacob Loehr, Iowa; Patrick K Regier, DVM, Kansas;  Isabel / Etienne Richards, New York; Randy Schier, Wisconsin; Christian Stovall, Massachusetts. Your support is greatly appreciated. Welcome aboard.

Last Summer Dr.  Holly Neaton was interviewed on the Podcast “Sheep Stuff ewe Should Know” regarding OPP. It’s a very good informative Podcast, here’s the link: https://podcasts.apple.com/bz/podcast/105-opp-yeah-ewe-know-me/id1508106193?i=1000569001921

Lastly, and sadly, Jim Schultz, one of the co-founders of the OPP Society passed away in May.  Click here to read his obituary.

– Member bios have always been well received, so we’re making this a regular feature –

Isabel and Etienne Richards
Gibraltar Farm – North Brookfield, New York

Originally from South Africa, where their grandparents farmed and taught the couple land stewardship, the Richards came to the US in 1999 and made careers as a small-animal veterinarian and IT software professional until an apprenticeship altered their path.

In 2013, Isabel hung up her stethoscope for a yearlong position at the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, where she “fell in love with sheep.” The experience “propelled us to pursue a quieter farming career upstate, away from the hustle and bustle of suburban life.”

Their passion to get back to the land took them north, to a 110 acre farm in the Sangerfield River Watershed. “When we walked the land with the realtor and saw the potential, and how well it could be set up for rotationally grazing sheep, we were hooked,” said Etienne.

By June 2015, after more than a year of commuting and weekend-warrior work, the pair were farming full time with 15 ewes, some portable net fencing, a few pigs and some beehives. Now, just 8 years later, their highly productive NSIP Katahdin flock numbers 160 ewes.

To read the entire 2-page Troy Bishopp article, from which we excerpted, see:
https://countryfolks.com/grazing-sheep-inspires-conservation-award-for-gibraltar-farm/

For Isabel’s excellent OPP information, prepared for their fellow EAPK breeders, see:
https://easternalliancekatahdins.com/ovine-progressive-pneumonia-opp-2/

“I liken OPP in the flock to having a permanent nose bleed, might not kill you in the short run, but eventually—if it begins to bleed heavier (higher percentage)—it weakens the overall system and reduces the body’s ability to work at peak efficiency.”
GENE SCHRIEFER
PRODUCER / ED

Sarah Beamer
Kerry Hill Flock — Morgantown, West Virginia

We first met Sarah in 1990, halfway between West Virginia and Minnesota, to trade rams just prior to the breeding season. While OPP-negative at the time, all four of those Border Leicester gentlemen seroconverted within a few years . . . sadly typical of eradication efforts at the time.

Sarah’s eventual path out of the OPP woods proved to be embryo transfer, to which she had early access as a lab tech at West Virginia University. The next step was AI using imported Kerry Hill semen on Border Leicester ewes, with her current flock now up to 88% pure Kerry Hill.

Now retired from WVU, where she co-authored many publications, Sarah’s journeys have included a long-planned trip to the UK (photo) for new genetics. More recently, one of her yearling rams took Reserve Champion in his class at the 2023 Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival!

While the Kerry Hill is a relatively new breed in the US, numbers are growing as producers are drawn to their striking appearance and meaty conformation. For more information, check out the breed’s new website: https://americankerryhillassociation.com

Welcome!
New Members

We welcome the following. More information in our Member Directory.

Minnesota Program Achieves Full Status

Piloted since 2006 by OPP Society volunteers under the auspices of the Minnesota Board of Animal Health, with full support of the University of Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and USDA-Veterinary Services, this project has recently graduated to full program status. With the groundwork now laid, the hope is that other states will follow.

Any Minnesota sheep or goat producer is eligible to apply. Details of the program can be found on our Library page.

TMEM154 Genetic Test for OPP Susceptibility

Developed by USDA scientists at the Meat Animal Research center (USMARC) in partnership with Gene Seek, a Neogen Corporation division in Lincoln, Nebraska, this test is based on results validated in collaboration with USDA colleagues in Idaho and Washington state. Still available from Neogen as a separate TMEM154 assay, this test has also been commercialized as a component of Flock 54.

While TMEM154 testing reports risk level for infection with the OPP virus, it does NOT tell you whether or not an animal is infected! If eradication of OPP is the shepherd’s goal, then removal of the reservoir by serologically testing and culling of positive animals is necessary. For more, see our Testing page. Extensive information on genetics and OPP can be found on our Library page.

“Elitest” ELISA Now Available in the US

Of more than 30 ELISAs noted for detection of OPP/CAE, ‘Elitest’ is the only one validated to standards of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). This test was developed through a collaborative effort by laboratories in the UK, Spain, Italy and Belgium, and is used in control and eradication programs worldwide, including Ontario and Minnesota.

‘Elitest’ is now offered by the University of Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory with a fee of $6.50 per sample plus a $10 accession fee for each lot submitted. Out-of-state submissions add 10%. Submit 1 ml of serum for this test.

Photo Credits

We’re always looking for great photos. Members please send your best shots to any director.