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The judge slowly walked around the dozen finalists at the
National Shropshire Breed Association Championship Show during
the 1993 Indiana State Fair. Pausing, he studied each of the
ewes that had beaten out 250 other entrants to reach the
finals. Showing one of those finalists was a nervous teenager
from LaMoille, Illinois, Brad Slutz. The judge moved to the
microphone and explained to the crowd what he saw in this
year’s contestants and what traits he felt set the grand
champion apart. And then he told them he was going back into
the ring and name that champion. He walked over to Brad and
shook his hand, signifying that his ewe was the breed’s 1993
national champion.
 Brad,
who now is a financial professional in 1st Farm Credit
Services’ Sycamore and Woodstock offices, was in shock and
says the rest is pretty much a blur in his memory. It had been
a long climb to the top.
But once there, Brad
and his family have stayed there, repeating the feat – twice.
In 1999, the Slutz family captured both the national champion
ewe and national champion flock. In addition, Brad had shown
the reserve grand champion ewe in 1995. But because it was the
first, Brad says the 1993 championship is the most special.
Capturing three
national championships and a reserve grand champion in a
decade is quite an accomplishment, but particularly so when
you consider that the Slutz family’s flock numbers only 25
ewes, producing approximately 30 to 35 lambs each year. They
compete against many larger flocks.
It’s in the blood
The Slutz’s bloodline
may have as much to do with their success as those of their
sheep. Brad is a third-generation livestock exhibitor,
following in the footsteps of his father, Tom, and
grandfather, Don. Brad’s older sisters, Tonya and Tracy, also
have been part of the dynasty. "We grew up showing livestock
as a family," says Brad, recounting how he has been helping
around the show ring since he was two years old.
The Slutzs’ City Limit
Farms got its name from being located at the LaMoille city
limits in northeast Bureau County. The 160-year-old farmhouse
on the 100-acre operation pre-dates the Civil War, and
according to Brad played a role in the history of that
conflict. It was a stop on the Underground Railroad used for
smuggling Southern slaves to freedom in the North. The farm
came into the Slutz family earlier this century.
Up until 24 years ago,
the farm produced cattle and hogs, but as homes continued to
spring up around the farm on the outskirts of town, the Slutzs
received a steadily increasing number of complaints from
neighbors about the odor from the livestock operation. Brad
says the family wanted to be good neighbors, so they began
looking for an alternative livestock that would let them
continue competing in shows. Sheep turned out to be the
answer.
On the road
Brad and his sisters
began showing the sheep as 4-H projects, then began traveling
to a number of local county fairs. By the time he was a
teenager, Brad says they were exhibiting at a dozen county
fairs and rotating up to three state fairs – Illinois,
Indiana, Wisconsin or Iowa – each year. "I was on the road
much of the summer," he recalls. He terms those early years as
a time of "paying their dues." They didn’t do well in
competition early on, but they steadily grew and got better
each year.
Working a full-time
job has scaled that schedule back considerably, Brad reports.
He and his father do about a half-dozen of the local fairs in
the summer as they tune up for several of the state fairs, and
sometimes the North American Livestock Exposition in
Louisville held in November.
Breeding takes place
in August and September, and the five-month gestation produces
lambs in January and February. In April and May, Brad and his
father begin the selection process of the lambs they will keep
in the flock to show. About 15 to 18 of the other lambs are
then sold as breeding stock at the Springfield state sale in
June, or several other sales. A few of the lambs are sold
directly to market.
 The lambs are shown
that first year, but it is the second, or yearling, year when
they have the best shot at a national championship, Brad
explains. July is county fair time, and then it’s on to the
state fairs in August. Either the Sandwich Fair in September
or the North American Livestock Exposition in November winds
up the show season.
The sheep are trimmed
three or four times during the show season, a two-hour process
for each. Before they go into the ring, they are washed, and a
final hand-trimming gets them in top presentation form.
The sheep normally
remain in the family’s flock from five to seven years,
according to Brad, hopefully producing more champions.
More than winning
Brad admits to being
very competitive, but he says what he appreciates the most is
the people he has met and the friends he has made while
showing sheep. "I’ve built a lot of friendships over the
years."
Even after all these years, he still finds the competitions
fun. And he enjoys the challenge of keeping the family’s flock
as one of the premier ones in the entire nation. Part of that
is working with genetics and feeding programs. "I like the
thrill of trying to stay at the top; it takes a lot of work to
remain there." |
