Myah Finzen holds a black lamb while helping out on the rural Traer farm of her great-uncle Dan Yuska. As of last Friday, close to 60 lambs had been born on Yuska’s farm. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

TRAER – Spring officially sprung this past Tuesday with the passing of the vernal (spring) equinox, ushering in high lambing season – and National Ag Week! – for many in Iowa including on the farm of Dan Yuska.

As of last Friday, Yuska – who farms north of Traer – estimated he was a little over half finished lambing with 58 lambs on the ground including six sets of triplets and even a set of quadruplets.

Most of Yuska’s mixed breed lambs are white but every once in a while a ewe will throw a black one, he said.

“At one point I had a black ewe.”

This is only the second lambing season since Yuska’s mother, the late Dorothy Mae (née Kubalek) Yuska passed away at the age of 87 in February 2023. Dorothy loved – and helped out with – everything farm-related, Yuska said, but lambing was one of her favorite times a year.

A curious lamb peeks out from behind its mother in the barn of rural Traer farmer Dan Yuska. The weather the last few weeks has been “about perfect for lambing,” according to Yuska. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

“She loved her baby sheep.”

With so many sets of multiples, Yuska has had to break out the bottles. He thankfully has had plenty of assistance from his great-niece – and Dorothy’s great-granddaughter – North Tama freshman Myah Finzen who lives down the road.

While it may seem like pigs and cattle dominate in Iowa, Yuska is hardly alone when it comes to lambing. According to the American Sheep Industry, Iowa is 11th in the nation for total number of sheep operations (2,482) and is tied for ninth (along with Montana and Oregon) for total number of sheep and lambs.

Iowa’s spate of February warmth this year – which broke records – has certainly helped farmers like Yuska who said the weather the last few weeks has been “about perfect for lambing.”

“I haven’t had to run the heat lamps too much.”

Dan Yuska pictured last Friday beside one of six sets of triplet lambs born (thus far!) this season on his family farm north of Traer. Yuska grew up on the farm which once belonged to his parents, the late Glenn and Dorothy Yuska. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

Many of the lambs photographed for this week’s paper were around two weeks old and in addition to mom (or bottle), were starting to nibble on hay in the barn.

As long as the weather continues to cooperate and the predicted rains fall later this week and into the weekend, Yuska said he hopes to get everyone out of the barn and into the wider world in the next month.

“As soon as the grass starts growing, then I’ll turn them out into the pastures.”

PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER