Symposium for sheep producers at every level
Commercial sheep producer Sandi Brock will speak at the 2019 Buckeye Shepherd’s Symposium Dec. 13-14 at the OARDC Shisler Conference Center. Brock also is the face of “Sheepishly Me — Adventures in Sheep Farming” on social media.
The 2019 Buckeye Shepherd’s Symposium, an event that will benefit sheep producers at every level, will be held Dec. 13 and 14 at the Shisler Conference Center, 1680 Madison Ave., Wooster. The Friday program will run from 2-5 p.m., and the Saturday event will run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“This is a state-wide program,” said planning committee member Rory Lewandowski, an educator for the OSU Extension. “It is a great opportunity for anyone that raises sheep at any level to come to a program located right in our own back yard.”
The program will focus on commercial sheep farming and feature two well-known commercial sheep producers as guest speakers for the event.
Speaking on both days will be Sandi Brock, a commercial sheep producer and the face of “Sheepishly Me – Adventures in Sheep Farming” on social media.
Brock will discuss life on her family farm in Ontario, Canada. With a flock of 500 ewes in an accelerated lambing and entirely housed system, she has plenty to share. Her videos have nearly 6 million views on YouTube, and she posts new content about her operation each week.
Brock uses the social-media platform to build consumer trust in modern agricultural systems. She offers a glimpse into the difficulty of the family farm.
“She has a large following on social media,” Lewandowski said. “She started her sheep operation with no prior knowledge of the process, and she has been documenting everything that she is doing on the farm.”
Brock describes her use of social media as a “nitty-gritty, get the work done, feed the family, run the farm, pray for rain, laugh, cry, try, succeed, fail, try again life of agriculture that is out in the open for the whole internet to see.”
Also speaking on both days will be Cameron Lauwers, a first-generation sheep producer who runs a farm with 600 ewes in a mostly housed accelerated lambing operation.
Other speakers include Dr. Luciana da Costa, a veterinarian with OSU, on Friday and Dr. John Foltz, OSU animal science department chair, on Saturday, as well as Lee Fitzsimmons of the Wayne Savings Community Bank.
According to Lewandowski, anyone interested in increasing production and potentially increasing profitability in sheep farming would benefit from attending.
“Sheep farming is a growing business,” he said. “As people are exiting the dairy business, they are getting into sheep production. Sheep has been one of the few areas of agriculture over the last few years that has been a bright spot. Their prices have remained strong. Ohio is the largest sheep-producing state east of the Mississippi, and Wayne and Holmes counties are number one and two in the state.”
Anyone interested in attending the event can register online at www.ohiosheep.org. Admission varies by age and number of days attending. There will be a free program designed for youth between the age of 6 and 18.
Dan Starcher is a public communications specialist for the Wayne County board of commissioners.