Roger High, OSU Ohio State Sheep Extension Specialist
The 2012 Ohio Sheep Day is scheduled for Saturday, July 14, 2012. It will be held at Buckeye Acres Farm, home farm of the Ron and Carla Young Family, located at 12282 Harrison-Willshire Rd., Van Wert, Ohio 45891, in scenic Van Wert County.
Buckeye Acres Farm, under the direction of Ron and Carla Young, is a purebred oriented sheep operation, historically concentrating on Purebred Suffolk’s, but now concentrating on the Katahdin breed of sheep. Buckeye Acres Farm is located in Western Ohio where the terrain is very flat, making it an ideal location for grain crop production, but also an exceptional place to grow forages for sheep production.
This year’s Ohio Sheep Day will focus on programming which will increase and improve the profitability of sheep operations. Daryl Clark, Vice-President, Ohio Sheep Improvement Association and Retired, OSU Extension Agriculture Agent, will be the keynote speaker.
The programming for the day will also include EQIP programming, internal parasite control, manure management, farm tours, forage demonstrations, grazing management, and many other topics.
A partial list of what visitors will see at the 2012 Ohio Sheep Day includes:
Key Components to Starting a Small Ruminant Farm
- Utilization of Watering Systems in Pasture and Grazing Management Systems
- Manure Management: How can you Legally Handle the Manure that Small Ruminant Animals Produce?
- Basic Sheep Management Practices for the Beginner or Novice Shepherd
- Internal Parasite Programs
- Basics of Small Ruminant Livestock Fencing: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
- Basics of Small Ruminant Pasture and Grazing Management
- Utilizing EQIP Funding: Which Programs are Acceptable for a Small Ruminant Farm?
- Utilizing Cover Crops in a Small Ruminant Management System: Understanding the Diversity of Cover Crop Use
- Utilization of Watering Systems in Pasture and Grazing Management Systems
- Small Ruminant Selection Principles: Selecting Replacement Males and Females
A trade show will also take place, dealing with several aspects of sheep production and management, where attendees may visit and purchase supplies and equipment.
Ohio Sheep Day will offer visitors the opportunity to visit a successful sheep farming operation dedicated to sheep production in a profitable way. Sheep farmers and anyone interested in sheep management is cordially invited to attend.
Sheep producers who attend this program will receive great ideas about sheep nutrition, sheep management systems and many other areas of sheep production. A lamb luncheon is included as part as registration for the Ohio Sheep Day event, no preregistration necessary.