Sharing their love of sheep

Oelke family shows Suffolk breed for three generations

BY JAN LEFEBVRE | STAFF WRITER

BARRETT – When Bret Oelke was 4 years old, his parents gave him and his sister each a Suffolk lamb to raise and show. Today, Bret is still raising Suffolk sheep and has been working with them for over 60 years. His wife, Lorie Oelke, has been doing the same for over 50 years, since she was 10 years old.

In fact, the couple came to know each other through showing sheep in their youth and fell in love over their mutual interest.

Today, on their farm near ing in Massachusetts.

Barrett, they share that interest with their 16 grandchildren. The oldest, Jacob, has aged out of youth showing. Three grandchildren are yet too young but are already starting to learn. They can begin showing when they are 3 years old. The other 12 grandchildren travel with their grandparents to show sheep, and the show schedule is long and expansive.

They start the show season in June at the Midwest Junior Suffolk Show in Sedalia, Missouri. Then, they travel to the All-American Junior Sheep Show in Madison, Wisconsin, and compete at the State Suffolk Show at the Rice County Fair in Faribault. Several more shows follow, and the season ends with the North American International Livestock Expo in November in Louisville, Kentucky.

Bret and Lorie Oelke gather with three of their 16 grandchildren – Maverick Hawthorne, Scarlet Bergstrom-McKee (center) and Daphne BergstromOelke – March 8 at their sheep farm near Barrett. All of the Oelkes’ grandchildren who are old enough show sheep in competitions.

“I could have charged people to look at our sheep at Niagara Falls,” Bret said. “We pulled in there with a trailer full of sheep and two cars full of kids. People were crawling all over each other, looking at our sheep.”

Showing gives Bret and Lorie stretches of time with their grandchildren.

“It’s quality time,” Lorie said. “We often get to spend several days with them.”

Bret and Lorie’s five children showed sheep as well. They now have their own families and live as far away as Rochester, Minnesota, but they make sure their kids are able to take part in the family hobby. Two of Bret and Lorie’s daughters have flocks of their own.

While on the road with their grandchildren, Bret and Lorie make sure to take them to vacation sites.

“The grandkids have traveled lots of places with us – Idaho, Kentucky, Massachusetts,” Lorie said.

They stopped at Yellowstone National Park when showing in Idaho and Niagara Falls when show-

While the Oelke’s are dedicated to their flock and showing, they have careers off the farm. Lorie works as a registered nurse. Bret has a consulting business as a farm management coach, is a professional speaker and manages the largest purebred sheep sale in North America – the Midwest Stud Ram Sale in Sedalia, Missouri. Needless to say, they are plenty busy.