Drought and Economic Woes Vex Sheep Farmers

New York Times: Since he was a boy in western Colorado, John Bartmann seemed destined to become a sheep man. He raised lambs with the local 4-H club and sheared them for elderly German farmers. His office is lined with paintings of sheep and a plaque honoring him for "promoting culinary excellence" in lambs. But over the last few years, skyrocketing costs, a brutal drought and plunging lamb prices have battered Mr. Bartmann and the 80,000 ranchers across the county who raise sheep — from a few to several thousand....

URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/11/us/drought-and-economic-woes-vex-sheep-farmers.html
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