By Dick Hagen
The Land Staff Writer
October 27, 2006 10:00 am
—
Obviously large-animal veterinarians work with livestock, but Gerald Kennedy wanted a closer connection to the animals.
Chuckled Kennedy, “I did my vet work for 10 years but always had this hankering for an outside interest. I bought some sheep and that provided me something other than the ‘Doc, can you save my cow’ practice that we were in at that time.”
Kennedy started at the Pipestone Vet Clinic in 1960 after graduating from Iowa State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine.
Known as “Doc” to all his associates and farming friends, and with four decades of experience there are few livestock health issues that Kennedy has not seen. He is a nationally recognized sheep veterinarian expert and has been in the sheep breeding business since 1972.
In the ’60s he said his practice was typical. It wasn’t the physical work but more the mental challenge of keeping some diversity in his professional life.
“I raised and showed hogs as part of my FFA high school background. Getting out of vet school there were a lot of swine disease problems and I just didn’t need more of that as a busman’s holiday,” Kennedy said.
However, sheep might be something to satisfy this extraneous urge. About that time Dwight Holloway got the Pipestone Lamb & Wool program going. Kennedy got involved, then soon became a board member of Pipestone Vocational School. He said Holloway found his first 20 Suffolk ewes from the Olson Brothers in Utah.
The sheep project flourished. The Kennedys developed a nationally respected flock of Suffolks and won many State Fair and national championships. He eventually dispersed his Suffolks and then built an elite flock of Rambouillets. His current flock of Dorper sheep started in 2000 and since then he has consigned several of the top selling Dorpers at the past two national sales.
Why the diversity of sheep breeds over the years?
“The Suffolk were sort of a glamour breed. My kids were in 4-H at the time and the Suffolk were excellent 4-H projects. We became pretty competitive on a national basis. In 1990 we sold the record Suffolk ewe at the Louisville show for $15,500. In 1992 we sold another ewe in a private treaty sale for $15,000. This ewe was Supreme Champion at Louisville. At that time my kids were older and no longer wanted to compete in the show circuit. I was tired of fighting that game myself because it’s pretty demanding — you had to be at all the big shows and all that stuff that’s part of maintaining your reputation in that very competitive world.”
So why the switch to Rambouillet?
“Because nobody cared about that breed at that time. If you missed a show or two they wouldn’t even know you weren’t there.” he said.
Kennedy’s wife died in 1996. During this depressing time, he and the family decided to sell the sheep although they earned the distinction of Premier Exhibitor for the Rambouillet breed at the 1997 Louisville show. That distinction included both Reserve Champion ram and Reserve Champion ewe at that ’97 show.
Kennedy remarried in 1998 and told Deb, his new wife, “One day I’m going to take you to Sedalia, Mo. You won’t really understand my past life and this passion for sheep unless I show you. So we went to this major sheep show. I didn’t even know Dorpers were a breed until seeing them at this show. I bought two rams and three ewes. I had too many rams so I got Mike Caskey to find me some white-faced ewes. He got 150 lined up for me. I found another 150 ewes that were relatively cheap. Then I didn’t have enough rams so bought some more Dorpers.”
“We counted up the numbers this fall and found we’re at 368 ewes, 15 breeding rams and currently another 175 ewe lambs. Deb helped convince me that we were getting too busy to manage this sheep business in addition to my other work with our vet clinic, our Pipestone System swine operation plus a livestock catalog business and the meat processing plant here in Pipestone. So we’re downsizing.”
In addition to his expertise in sheep production and management, he has coordinated international dairy cattle exports and oversees multiple production and business entities in the Pipestone community area.
He and Deb enjoy hunting, fishing and raising dogs, cats and birds on their farm near Pipestone.
Kennedy was inducted into the Minnesota Livestock Hall of Fame in March.
“Doc Kennedy has been tremendously beneficial to the entire sheep industry, especially here in southwest Minnesota. Because of his recognized expertise in sheep production, we here at the tech school and the Pipestone Vet Clinic get calls nationwide on health and other issues relating to sheep. He was very deserving of the honor of being inducted into the Minnesota Livestock Hall of Fame,” said Philip Berg, Lamb and Wool instructor at Minnesota West Community and Technical College.
Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.