OUR HISTORY | smerchek-showlambs

THE HISTORY OF SMERCHEK SHOW LAMBS

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about the history of our operation. We put this history together to preserve the stories behind Smerchek Show Lambs—the sheep, the people, and the decisions that shaped our flock over the years. As the program moves forward, we want to remember where it started, give credit to those who helped along the way, and tell the story of how we got here.

Built Over Generations

What exists today was built gradually, through decades of raising sheep in Wisconsin, studying pedigrees and livestock, taking chances on new genetics, making plenty of mistakes, and continually trying to make the next generation better than the last.

The roots of the flock reach back to 1979–1980, when Denise and Donna Smerchek started in the sheep business with Columbias and Dorsets. A few Hampshire ewes followed in the early 1980’s and Dan took this small group of Hampshire and crossbred ewes with him to River Falls.

Those few ewes became the beginning of what is now “Smerchek Show Lambs”.

The Early Years

In 1987, while working on a large ranch, Dan Smerchek and Danny Dittbrenner decided they wanted to build a flock geared more seriously toward the developing club lamb business. Operating for a time as Central Plains Sheep Co., they purchased roughly 40 Suffolk ewes from Denny Loenzer, who maintained several hundred Suffolk females.

The sheep took a somewhat unconventional route before becoming the foundation of the Smerchek flock. Dan lambed them the first year, later leased them back to Loenzer, and in 1991 made the trip to Illinois with family and friends to bring them home for good while buying out Dittbrenner's interest. About that same time, one of the flock's early influential sires arrived: a Henry Genetics ram from Ohio known as “Scrote.”

From there, the search for better club lamb genetics accelerated. Dan purchased a Cedarcrest Suffolk wether-type ram from Tom Willwerth called Willie. Willie was moderate, stout and masculine, a terminal kind of sheep that represented where the wether industry was headed at the time.

That same year brought a ram with an even better story. Brian Reilly had traveled to Oklahoma to buy wethers for his brothers and returned with a ram from Dave Annuschat. An intense storm followed him on the trip home, giving the blue ram his name: “Storm”. Storm brought more look and pattern to the flock and became a valuable female sire. Dewey Wacholz owned half of him—partly because, as the story goes, Dan was broke. Those early years were built on exactly that kind of resourcefulness.

Oklahoma Genetics and Turning the Flock Over - (Early 1990’s)

The next trip to Oklahoma produced Raven, another Annuschat ram from his white-tag line, which was known more for its ability to generate valuable females. Raven was only used for one season before he unfortunately died, but when bred to Storm daughters, he generated some of the most promising sheep the program had made to that point. Jasper, also from Annuschat, followed in 1993 and made the move with the flock to Rosholt, WI.

During this period, Dan and Shell were aggressive about retaining females. Nearly every ewe lamb that offered potential was kept and bred. The goal was simple: turn the flock over quickly and build a ewe base capable of producing the kind of club lambs they wanted.

Relationships with other breeders became increasingly important as well. Through Brian Reilly, Dan was encouraged to work with Rand Whitney and Fred Knop, who were connected to Mel Marx genetics and the influential Crazy Horse line. A trip to Whitney's operation resulted in the purchase of Gus, a Crazy Horse-line ram. Another detail from that trip: Shelly was pregnant with Dathan when they went to pick Gus up.

Chasing the Next Generation - (1996 - mid 2010’s)

By the mid-1990s, the direction of the program was becoming much clearer. Trips to Sedalia brought home additional sires, including Rocky, purchased from McLaughlin/Griffin of Colorado. Around 1995 and 1996, the family realized that if Smerchek Show Lambs was going to progress, they needed to continue to be agressive.

One Show Circuit magazine advertisement helped shape the next chapter. Dan saw genetics from the Jigsaw line that caught his attention and he contacted Mike Hindman. Hindman had both an Ozzy son and a McGolden-bred ram named Tuff in his program. The Ozzy son Dan wanted brought more than he was prepared to spend, so he returned home with another ram, Taz, and promised himself he would be back.

The following year, he was. That trip produced an Ozzy son the family named Batman. Taz proved useful as a female maker, while Batman generated sheep with another level of quality for the time, although this genetic line could be particularly hard-doing. As with every stage of the program, the successes and shortcomings both became part of the education. One of the Taz offspring was Jumper, the first ewe shown by Dathan during his childhood.

A few years later came Ebenezer, or “EB,” a Batman × Taz ram born around 2000–2001. EB was notable not only for his quality but because, when the flock first began genetic testing, he was the only ram in the group to test clean. The Bishop family purchased half interest in him, and that relationship ultimately helped connect the Smercheks with another breeder who would have a major influence on the flock: Mel Marx.

After meeting Mel Marx and later traveling to Ohio, the family brought home a high-quality Suffolk ram in 2005 named “Marx”. This ram worked especially well on the Hindman-influenced ewe base. His daughters, including females remembered as Angel (505), Dixie (515) and Minnie (516), became important pieces of the flock.

Then, in 2007, another trip to Botkins, OH produced a ram simply known as “Mel”. Not our most creative era in terms of sire names….Yet, Mel would become one of the most productive and heavily used sires in the history of Smerchek Show Lambs. More moderate than some of the sheep used before him, Mel proved to be exceptionally consistent and productive. He remained a major part of the breeding program from 2007 through approximately 2014, working alongside descendants of EB and “Diego”, an EB son.

That stretch provided stability and generated a genetically consistent set of females, but it also brought an important lesson. Relying heavily on a relatively small group of genetics eventually caused the program to enter a period that can be described as somewhat stagnant. The family continued retaining the best females, selling wethers and occasionally keeping a ram, but it became clear that another step forward would require new blood.

As a bright spot during this era, one of the most valuable sheep from this period turned out to be a Mel × Diego son called Pony Boy. A blue, attractive sheep with a uniquely big hip, and a hard handle, Pony Boy's true influence was probably not fully appreciated at the time but would be come apparent in future females genetic lines. Years later, his genetics could still be found throughout many of the program's most productive ewe pedigrees.

A Changing of the Guard - (2014 - 2015)

The next major shift began in 2014 and 2015. Through a relationship with Brian Balfanz and his family, Smerchek Show Lambs gained access to genetics originating from John Shroyer's program. In this case, a ram called Who's Your Daddy, whose exact sire was never confirmed (this explains the name) but we suspect to be Picasso. Who’s your daddy proved to be another exceptionally useful female maker whose value was not fully appreciated until years later when his daughters were in production.

In 2015, the flock also leased two Marx Genetics rams sired by Wheaton's The Situation, known at home as Silver and Situation Son. More importantly, this was the point when responsibility for the direction of the breeding program shifted.

In 2015, Dathan took over all aspects of selection and breeding decisions for Smerchek Show Lambs. However, as Dathan was in college during this period, Dan and Shelly still did all of the actual work and paid the bills. The history and ewe base built by Dan and Shelly remained the foundation. The challenge now was figuring out how to move it forward quickly and efficiently.

Foundation of the Modern Flock - (2016-2018)

Before the 2016 breeding season, Smerchek Show Lambs returned to the Balfanz flock and purchased a two-year-old Shroyer-bred ram sired by Kool-Aid. At home, he became known simply as 347. The decision to buy him came after seeing his previous lamb crop and believing he offered exactly what the flock needed: moderation, additional Hampshire fuzz and feature, adequate muscle and, most importantly, an excellent skeleton.

The conviction behind that purchase showed up in how he was used. For roughly three straight years, 347 was used heavily, with the goal of developing a deep, consistent set of females to build around. His daughters became the foundation of the modern flock, providing a reliable ewe base on which the next generation of sires could go to work. It was another chapter built around the same idea that had guided the program for years: progress starts with good females.

To this day, almost every female in our program traces back to 347 on the dam side of the pedigree.

Finding a Different Path - (2019 - 2021)

By 2019, Smerchek Show Lambs had still not yet begun using artificial insemination on its blackface ewe flock. Instead, as a poor college student and relatively modest budget, the flock was still trying to operate efficiently and effectively in the margins—finding good sheep that could improve the flock while remaining realistic for a growing family operation.

One of the most important relationships during this era was with Tom Willwerth, a successful Southdown breeder in Iowa and long time friend of the family. Tom introduced him to respected Texas sheepman Zane Bone. Zane was uniquely supportive of Smerchek Show Lambs during this era and used his connections to arrange a lease on a yearling ram from Shawn Ramsey in Texas. This connection with Zane also led to one of the better road-trip stories in SSL history. Dathan loaded up, left Wisconsin around 2:00 on a Friday afternoon, drove to College Station, TX, picked up the ram and was back home by approximately 5:00 Sunday evening…..roughly 2,700 miles of driving in a weekend. Naturally, the ram became known as “Long Haul”. An FF Spiffy × Miller, Long Haul offered exceptional build, ideal in his neck attachment and spine, and big and round in his fore rib. More importantly for the long-term program, he became an excellent female maker.

In 2020, Smerchek Show Lambs used a closely related FD ram from the same group. Fortunately, he did not require quite as much driving, earning him the name Special Delivery. Special Delivery was a completely different kind of sheep—massive topped, expression through his stifle and lower leg, and one of the biggest-bodied, heaviest-muscled rams the program had used to that point. Despite being selected largely as a power piece, he also proved surprisingly valuable on the maternal side.

In 2021, Zane Bone again helped create an opportunity, this time connecting Smerchek Show Lambs with Hassebroo Show Lambs. The result was a lease on “Zip”, an FF Splash Mountain × Road Rage yearling. Zip was a moderate, neat built ram with huge rib cage, big top and a balanced look from the side. He was not without his faults, but he did one thing exceptionally well: He made quality females.

Looking back, he became another ram the program wishes it had used even more heavily. (As I write this, I am noticing a pattern). A home-raised ram named Twitch (Special Delivery × 347 × Who's Your Daddy), was also used that season. He was a useful FF ram in his own right, but the productivity of the Zip daughters ultimately made Zip's impact especially significant.

The Modern Era - (2022 - Present)

By 2022, the club lamb industry had already undergone a significant amount of change with the now massive prevalence of LAI and ET. To this point, SSL had not gone the LAI or ET route. Therefore, the 2022 breeding season marked another major milestone: the first use of artificial insemination in the Smerchek Show Lambs flock. Approximately 30 mature ewes were AI-bred using genetics housed at JFSS, including Dexter, Black Label, El Presidente and Crenshaw. Conception rates that year were very solid (~70%), the jump in overall quality was noticeable, and another strong group of females was retained.

In 2023, the program returned to Crenshaw and Black Label, while also attempting matings to Double Barrel and Happy Days. Conception on those matings was not ideal, but another decision that year would prove especially impactful. Bullseye semen was used. One of those matings was particularly impactful and resulted in “Pretty Boy Floyd”. Wild-necked, shapely, and bigger-footed and shaggier than anything we’d produced to this point. He instantly became one of the most unique individuals generated at Smerchek Show Lambs and represented another big step in the continued evolution of the flock. The plan would be to utilize him rather heavily as a clean-up buck and in some strategic spots as a primary sire.

In 2024, Dathan took a slightly different path once again. LAI sires during this season included White Boy Rick and Woody from Glasscock Club lambs. The idea was to extract some of those Franklin bloodlines to layer in on top of the Long Haul and Special Delivery females that had some similarities in their genetic lineage. This season resulted in a bit of variability but produced some truly unique females who are now beginning to make their mark on our program. For example, one highlight was a White Boy Rick daughter (SSL 24004) being the dam of the Reserve Champion Commercial Ewe at the 2026 WI State Fair.

The 2024 season also saw Pretty Boy Floyd get some serious work as a clean-up ram. He worked exceptionally well and produced a set of natural mating offspring that were high quality and ultimately retained as replacement females alongside some of the WBR females.

During these A.I. breeding seasons in the mid-2020’s, we continued to place emphasis on developing the female base by injecting phenotypic traits that are conducive to competing in the modern club lamb industry. Things like skeletal width, muscle shape, balance, spine integrity, rib cage, and hamp-feature.
The 2025 breeding season featured LAI sires from multiple firms. Ceasefire (Nathan & Beatty), My Town (Burch & Karr), and Azul (Hobbs). Quality females were retained from each sire group and will go into production this season at SSL. Their story has yet to be told!

That brings us to 2026. This was the year that Dathan, Kylie, and Emerson assumed control of the ewes and moved the flock to their new home in Ogden, IA.

Unfiltered (Beatty & Harrell) and Under the Radar (Beatty & Riecke) were the primary service sires for LAI along, with a small group to Ghost Rider (Hild Bros). The Unfiltered and UTR offspring, which represented the bulk of our lamb crop, raised the bar in terms of quality. Many of these females went out and won shows early and late and wethers found the backdrop during the summer as well.

Notable highlights from this season were the Unfiltered x White Boy Rick daughter, now known affectionately as “Peach”, who was shown by the Squires Family in WI. Peach was the Reserve Champion Commercial Ewe at the 2026 WI State Fair. Beyond this, an Unfiltered x Bullseye ewe known as “Princess”, also shown by the Squires family, won several commercial ewe and wether dam shows leading up to the WSF in 2026. It was apparent early on that the quality in this set was at a different level; the success in the showring helped reaffirm that belief.

This set of 2026 daughters are primed to catapult the quality level we’re capable of producing to a new level. And that brings us to present day as we await conception results for our 2026-2027 LAI.

"Peach" SSL 26025
Unfiltered x SSL 24004 (White Boy Rick x Zip)

"Princess" SSL 26020
Unfiltered x SSL 24041 (Bullseye)

The Story Continues

More than four decades separate those first Columbia, Dorset, and Hampshire ewes from the flock that exists today. Over that time, Smerchek Show Lambs has been influenced by countless sheep, breeders, mentors, road trips, risks and lessons learned. Some sires became exactly what we hoped they would be. Others taught us what we needed to change. Through every era, however, the philosophy has remained remarkably consistent:

BUILD AROUND GOOD FEMALES. Make the next generation better. And never be afraid to forge your own path.

Today, as Smerchek Show Lambs moves into its next generation, the goal is not to replace the foundation that came before. Instead, our goal is to build on it. To honor the decades of work that created the flock, while continuing to push its genetics, quality, and competitive potential forward.

The sheep have changed. The industry has changed. But Smerchek Show Lambs remains a family operation, still trying every day to breed a better one than we did the year before. And that is the history we are most proud of.