A tour of research and private sheep operations in South Dakota, Nebraska and Iowa Nov. 1-2 will introduce sheep producers and the Extension agents who assist them to the commercial sheep industry.
"The American sheep industry lacks commercialized products such as buildings, feeding systems, equipment and handling facilities that most other livestock industries have access to," said NDSU Extension Service sheep specialist Reid Redden, who organized the tour. "This tour will provide insight into management practices such as development of novel facilities, feeding strategies and breeding systems that individuals and research centers have developed to improve the efficiency of lamb and wool production."
Tour participants will visit state-of-the-art sheep facilities and meet sheep industry leaders. The tour stops and topics are:
- Buskohl Lamb Feedlot, Wyndmere, N.D. – David Buskohl will provide a tour of his large commercial lamb-finishing system and discuss methods of optimizing lamb health and productivity.
- South Dakota State University Sheep Unit, Brookings – Jeff Held will provide a tour of the sheep barn and discuss research topics at SDSU.
- Dakota Lamb, Hurley, S.D. – Bill Aeschilmann will provide a tour of his custom lamb feed yard and discuss his lamb marketing business.
- U.S. Meat Animal Research Center, Clay Center, Neb. – Kreg Leymaster will provide an educational seminar on commercial sheep breeding systems and lead a tour of the research center.
- Iron Horse Farms, Harlan, Iowa – Tom Schechinger will provide a tour of his 100 percent confinement sheep operation.
The registration fee is $25 to cover transportation costs. The registration deadline is Oct. 24. For more information or to register, contact Redden at 701-231-5597 or reid.redden@ndsu.edu.
Tour sponsors include the NDSU Extension Service, North Dakota Lamb and Wool Producers Association and Equity Livestock Cooperative Association.\
NDSU is recognized as one of the nation's top 108 public and private universities by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.