TARGHEE SHEEP FOR SALE

TARGHEE SHEEP FOR SALE

Targhee sheep for sale  are one of Americas newest breeds. They were developed in 1926 at the U.S. Sheep Experiment Station in Dubois, Idaho, from Rambouillet, Columbia, and Corriedale crosses. Targhee sheep derive their name from the Targhee National Forest on which the experiment station”s flock grazes in the summer. The forest was named for a chief of the Bannock Indians who had lived in the area in the 1860s.

Targhee are a dual-purpose sheep with good meat type and a heavy fleece of high quality wool. They are especially popular in Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota, where their 3/4 fine wool and 1/4 long wool breeding is favored by western ranchers.

In 1951, Curtis Hughes of Stanford, Montana, sent a letter inviting those interested in forming a Targhee association meet at the U.S. Sheep Experiment Station at Dubois. This meeting was held May 16, 1951, with 17 people present. The meeting was chaired by Henry Hibbard and much of the discussion centered on how many generations of top crossing nondescript ewes, with Targhee rams, was required before a Targhee was arrived at. It was decided that three top crosses were necessary for a flock registration and five top crosses for an individual registration. At that time the only, two breeders with five generations were the Experiment Station and Henry Yoppe. An organizational committee was appointed and it was decided that a meeting would be held following the Dubois sale, in September, and at that time the association would be formed.

Since the breed was a cross-bred trying to establish type, an inspection policy was implemented and the first inspection of Targhees for registration took place February 21, 1952, when 34 Targhees from Montana State University became the first registered Targhees. The Association has a lifetime membership and Montana State University received membership number T-1. They had begun their Targhee breeding program in 1942 under Dr. R. T. Clark and Dr. J. L. Van Horn. “Van” was advisor to the Targhee Association for many years.