National FFA CONVENTION Dorper Projects Lead Two Junior Members to National Proficiency Titles

John Buyrl Neely, Tennessee National FFA Champion Agriscience Fair Animal Systems Division 5

John Buyrl Neely of Auburntown, TN. was named the 2022 National FFA Champion Agriscience Fair Animal Systems Division 5 at the National FFA Convention in October. John’s parents are Dr. Alanna Vaught and Johnny Neely.

Neely’s study was titled: Se-eing is Believing: A study of treating late gestation Dorper ewes with supplemental Selenium and the transplacental effects. This purpose of this comparison study was to determine if treating late gestation Dorper ewes with a series of supplemental Selenium (Se) injections prior to lambing influenced birthweight, weaning weights, and body condition scores (BCS) of lambs versus late gestation ewes not receiving the treatment and their offspring. To evaluate, data was obtained from Dorper sheep. Quantitative data was obtained from the fall 2021 lamb crop. The target population (N = 15) for this study was lambs born between November 3, 2021, and November 10, 2021, to ten, five-year-old Dorper ewes. All lambs were sired by the same White Dorper ram. The treatment group consisted of five dams who received supplemental Se injections each week, for four weeks prior to lambing. The control group consisted of five dams who did not receive the treatment prior to lambing. Therefore, eight lambs were born to dams receiving the Se treatment, and seven lambs were born to dams not receiving the treatment.

This study examined birthweights, weaning weights, and BCS, and sought to determine if there was a difference in the weights and scores of the treatment group’s offspring as compared to the control group’s offspring. All lambs were weighed at birth, and every seven days until day 35. Lambs were weighed a final time at 60 days of age and assigned a BCS. There was no difference in birthweight of the two groups. The eight lambs born to the dams receiving the treatment had a 11.55% higher weaning weight than lambs born to dams not receiving the treatment. Although not statistically significant, the study reveals lambs born to dams receiving the Se treatment had an overall 0.92-point higher body condition score than lambs born to ewes not receiving the treatment. As a result, this study indicates that lambs born to ewes treated with a series of Se injections late gestation had a 11.55% higher weaning weight and a 0.92-point higher body condition score than lambs born to ewes not receiving the treatment.

John Buyrl was named National FFA Runner-Up with another Dorper study in 2020. JB is currently a freshman at Motlow State Community College. He owns John B. Neely Livestock which consists of livestock transportation throughout the US. He also brokers livestock, specializing in commercial hair cross ewes.