BREEDERSpotlight EMSOFF LIVESTOCK COMPANY

Emsoff Livestock Company was born of a dream. It began as a single high school FFA market lamb project in the mid 90’s where Crystal discovered her love for sheep. Crystal later earned a degree in Animal Science from Abilene Christian University in Texas, where she met Frank who was pursuing his own degree in Range and Agronomy. They married in 2001, moved back to Crystal’s hometown in northeastern California and shortly after began breeding sheep.

At Emsoff Livestock Company quality has always been our highest priority. We have never been satisfied with coarsemade, unsound or sloppy sheep, believing strongly that a sheep can be both attractive and functional. We select for sound feet and legs, strong top-lines, pretty front ends, good rib shape and an abundance of natural muscling. We have always maintained that these traits can and do align with the coveted Breed Standard and to ensure this, we have had our flock inspected regularly by South African inspectors, who have consistently typed the overwhelming majority of our ewes and rams as Stud Quality types 4 and 5.

At the same time, we have not sacrificed the incredible performance that makes a Dorper a Dorper. Our 300 acre high desert ranch is located where the Sierra Nevada mountain range collides with the Great Basin. At an elevation of 5,000 feet and an average of just 11 inches of annual precipitation (most of which falls as winter snow), our climate is harsh, with hot, dry summers and cold, snowy winters. No lush irrigated pastures here! Our sheep travel miles a day over rugged rangeland rustling for feed. Our ewes live outdoors year-round, going to the barn only for winter lambing. We expect our ewes to be excellent mothers, we have a zero-tolerance policy for ewes rejecting lambs and our ewes milk abundantly. At the other end of the life-cycle, Emsoff lambs have competed favorably in carcass contests and more than satisfy our meat buyers! We, along with our two sons, Case and Justus, regularly show our Dorpers, both to increase exposure and interest in the amazing Dorper breed, but also to avoid “barn blindness.” Our sheep have garnered awards nationwide, both for ourselves and for those who have put their trust in Emsoff genetics. Believing strongly that the youth are the future of the Dorper breed, we have mentored youth in showing and breeding Dorpers of their own. Crystal served on the Western States Dorper Association board of directors for six years, playing a key role in getting a Dorper market lamb division added to the California State Fair in 2019, as well as adding a Junior Show to the Western Regional Dorper Show in 2022. She also has worked to organize and grow every year the Youth Show as the annual Western States Dorper Show & Sale. Finally, Justus’s long-time participation with his Dorpers at the Nevada Junior Livestock Show spurred the show to include a separate division for Dorpers and other non-traditional breeds for the first time in 2021. We are excited and proud to be playing a role in the growing visibility and popularity of the Dorper breed in the Western Region!

At Emsoff Livestock Company, we are passionate about Dorpers and strive to produce sheep that will perform in the show ring, in the pasture and on the rail. We invite you to visit us virtually via our website and Facebook page, and in person on our farm or beside the show ring! We love to talk sheep and always have sheep available to help the next aspiring breeder get started or the veteran breeder improve their own flock.