Ewe Got It
A Lake City farmer reflects on big changes in Iowa ag during his 61 years in sheep production
There’s nothing like a new crop of lambs to make a farm come alive. When Dwight Dial walks out to his barn this time of year, a lively chorus of high-pitched bleats—mixed with the occasional lower-pitched baa—greets him.
“I’ve always enjoyed raising sheep,” said Dial, 75, whose flock includes 60 Suffolk and Polypay ewes. By mid-March, more than half of his ewes had lambed, and there were seven sets of triplets on his farm near Lake City. “This year I’m running about 10% triplets, 20% singles and 70% twins,” Dial said.
Dial’s interest in sheep production started when he was a sophomore at Lake City High School. “I didn’t go out for basketball after my freshman year, and my dad said, ‘You’re not just going to sit around,’” noted Dial, whose father, Gerald, raised cattle, hogs and crops.
Dial needed an FFA project, so he decided to try sheep. In October 1964, he bought 15 purebred Suffolk ewes and 10 commercial (crossbred) ewes at Bill Goins’ farm sale at Lake City. A member of the Jackson Pioneers 4-H Club and the Lake City FFA chapter, Dial showed sheep at the Calhoun County Fair in Manson, the Rockwell City Expo, the Sac County Fair and the Iowa State Fair.
Today, Dial is still raising sheep, along with hogs, corn and soybeans in the Lake City area. In the 1980s, he played a key role in creating the Calhoun County Sheep Producers Association. For 14 years, he also assisted with a replacement ewe sale that was held at the Lake City Sales Pavilion during Labor Day weekend. “That sale attracted people from all over,” Dial said.
Dial also promoted the sheep industry at the state and national levels through the Iowa Sheep Industry Association (ISIA) and the American Sheep Industry Association. “In the 1980s and 1990s, 500 to 700 people would attend the ISIA’s state symposiums in Ames, Des Moines and Cedar Rapids,” Dial said.
Big changes have re-shaped the sheep industry
Throughout the years, Iowa has often ranked among the top 10 sheep-producing states in America. Sheep flocks help diversify farming operations and offer a viable business for young producers with ample labor and limited facilities and capital, according to the Department of Animal Science at Iowa State University.
“The farm where I’ve lived for years doesn’t have a lot of pasture, so sheep make sense here,” Dial said.
While the peak of Iowa’s sheep industry occurred in the 1800s, when demand for wool was strong, sheep production endures in Iowa. The inventory of all sheep and lambs in Iowa as of January 1, 2025, totaled 161,000 head, up 6,000 head from 2024, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service’s Sheep and Goats report. Total breeding stock (at 117,000 head) was 6% higher than the previous year.
Dial remembers when there were more than 1,000 ewes at various farms in his rural neighborhood 30 to 40 years ago. “I was running about 300 ewes back then,” he added.
In years past, Dial sold his sheep to a packing plant in Hawarden, Iowa. “We used contracts to lock in prices with them,” Dial said.
While that processing plant in Hawarden is gone, lambing time remains a rite of spring. It starts in early March on Dial’s farm. “I’m done lambing when it’s time to head to the field for planting,” he noted.
Lambs typically weigh 7 to 8 pounds each in multiple births (twins and triplets), while single lambs usually weigh 10 to 12 pounds. “I raise the sheep to about 140 pounds,” said Dial, who markets his sheep during special sales at the livestock auction in Gowrie.
From a business standpoint, wool production has become one of the most challenging aspects of modern sheep production. “When I started raising sheep, wool brought 70 to 85 cents a pound,” said Dial, who noted that wool goes for a nickel a pound today.
An average black-faced sheep will produce 5 pounds of wool, he added. It costs Dial $4.50 per head to shear his sheep. The demand for wool has changed dramatically through the years, he noted. While wool used to be a primary fiber for suits, hats, coats, military uniforms and more, the rise of synthetic fabrics changed everything.
Also, China has become a major player in wool processing and manufacturing, with a large number of woolen mills and a significant share of the global textile industry. There are just a handful of woolen mills left in America, including the Faribault Woolen Mill in Minnesota and the Pendleton Woolen Mills in Portland, Oregon, Dial noted.
“I’ll keep raising sheep as long as I’m able”
Despite all these changes, livestock production remains a key part of Dial’s farm. In the spring of 2022, Dial received the Wergin Good Farm Neighbor Award, which is coordinated by the Coalition to Support Iowa’s Farmers (CSIF).
Wergin Good Farm Neighbor winners must be a family farm operation, be active in their community, produce livestock or poultry to the highest animal care standards, and be dedicated to conservation and environmental stewardship on their land.
“I was really humbled to receive this award,” Dial said. “It ranked right up there with some of the most memorable, meaningful accomplishments in my life.”
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig presented Dial with the Wergin award during a 2022 ceremony at the Community Memorial Building in Lake City. “Since Dwight started farming in 1978, he has worked to make his operation more sustainable for future generations through the implementation of conservation practices,” Naig said. “Dwight is a great example of someone who takes pride in caring for his pigs and sheep, while recognizing the importance of caring for his land and being involved in his local community.”
Gretta Irwin, executive director of the Iowa Turkey Federation, became acquainted with Dial in the 1990s when she served as executive director of the ISIA.
“Dwight has a strong commitment to the Iowa and US sheep industry,” said Irwin, who noted that Dial was a dedicated leader on the ISIA board, plus he served on the American Sheep Industry Association’s first executive board from 1989 to 1993. He also received the Iowa Master Lamb Producer award in 1994. “Dwight’s smile and charisma made board meetings better,” Irwin added. “He enjoyed connecting with other farmers, talking about sheep and educating himself on sheep health. Promoting lamb products was also a passion for Dwight.”
Dial has no plans to quit raising sheep anytime soon. “I’ll keep raising sheep as long as I’m able.”
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