Southern Maryland Workshop

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2016 Maryland Wool Pool

 The Maryland Wool Pool will be held at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium on June 22 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.  All producers are welcome to attend and bring wool.  We always need volunteers for this event so any students seeking volunteer hours or producers looking to learn a little more about their wool clip are welcome to come and help out.

Wool presses are available for use. Bringing your wool in baled (bales are 250 pounds) and will get you a $0.05 cent price increase for your wool. Inquiries on the wool presses are welcome.  Wool from previous years can be brought to the pool and sold. Just be sure it has been stored properly and doesn't have any vermin living in it.  Wool for the pool needs to be dry.  Make make sure you shear your sheep dry and store your wool clear of the elements.

Wool can be brought in plastic trash bags and you can bring multiple fleeces in one bag. You do not need to be a member of the Maryland Sheep Breeders Association to bring wool to the pool. All producers are welcome and any amount of wool is accepted. Please do not bring black wool to the pool. We still do not buy black wool.

Any questions regarding the wool pool can be directed to Emily Chamelin-Hickman (wool pool director) at aeriedairy@yahoo.com or (443) 244-2702.  

Wool Classing School
This year, we will also be hosting an ASI Level 1 Wool Classing School. This will be held in conjunction with the Maryland Wool Pool. The dates are June 21-23.  Dr. Ron Pope will be instructing. All interested parties should contact Linda Shane at lshane@carr.org or (301) 746-8083 to get more information and to register.

Fall Pasture and Forage Programs

University of Maryland Extension Offices in Harford and Baltimore Counties have are teaming up to offer a series of workshops for livestock owners this fall. The programs will focus on a variety of topics surrounding pasture and forage management.

Pasture Walk at Jack Straw Farm
August 27, 2015 from 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.
Jack Straw Farm in White Hall, MD
See more at http://extension.umd.edu/news/events/thu-2015-08-27-1830-pasture-walk-jack-straw-farm

Pasture Site Tour and Hay Evaluation Workshop
September 16, 2015 from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Baltimore County Ag Center in Cockeysville, MD
See more at http://extension.umd.edu/news/events/wed-2015-09-16-1830-pasture-site-tour-and-hay-evaluation-workshop

Toxic Plant Seminar
October 20, 2015 from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Harford County Extension Office in Forest Hill, MD
See more at http://extension.umd.edu/news/events/tue-2015-10-20-1800-toxic-plant-seminar

Summer 2015 Wild & Woolly

The Summer 2015 issue of Wild & Woolly has been published to the Maryland Small Ruminant Page. It is the first newsletter to be posted to the newly designed web site.

Read about the Big 5 of worm control

Wild & Woolly is a quarterly newsletter for sheep and goat producers. It is also available via ISSUU and as a PDF file (for download.

HTML version
PDF file
via ISSUU

A Successful Maryland Wool Pool

The Maryland Wool Pool sold 29,643 lbs. of wool, brought to the pool by 58 consignors. The pool shipped 78 bales that weighed an average of 390 lbs. Last year's pool packed 29034 lbs. of wool into 112 bales.

Grade	Pounds
Choice (fine)	48
Medium white face	9793
Non-white face	300
Coarse	5013
Short	14489
Total	29643

Special thanks is extended to the 30 volunteers who assisted with this year's pool. Volunteers are what  makes the pool successful and profitable.

Emily Chamelin is the wool pool manager. Contact her at aeriedairy@yahoo.com. if you have any questions or suggestions for the wool pool. The pool is sponsored by the Maryland Sheep Breeders Association.

2015 Maryland Wool Pool

The 58th Annual Maryland Wool Pool will be held Wednesday, June 17, 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium, Maryland.

Three lines will be set up to accept wool. Consignors with wool baled in square bales will be pulled out of line to unload at the third line. The other two lines will accept loose wool. Consignors are expected to unload their own wool. Any help consignors can provide at the pool will be most appreciated.

Prices are slightly up from last year. The pool has been purchased by Chargeurs.

Grade	Price per pound
Choice white face	$0.95
Medium white face	$0.88
Non white face	$0.80
Coarse white face	$0.78
Short	$0.72

The price you receive for your wool will be the above price minus a deduction for wool pool expenses (usually between 5 and 8 cents per pound). Maryland Sheep Breeders Association annual dues of $25 will be withheld on wool sales over $40.

Black and gray wool and wool from hair sheep or hair sheep crosses will not be accepted. Wet wool cannot be accepted. Any producer bringing wool in nylon square packs weighting 300 pounds or more will receive a 5-cent per pound bonus payment for their wool. A replacement wool pack will be issued with each pack containing 300 pounds or more.

Smaller lots of wool can be delivered in plastic trash bags or loose in your vehicle. Never use polypropylene feed bags, and avoid using burlap bags. Wool delivered in polypropylene bags will be refused, and wool delivered in burlap will be deducted 3 cents per pound.

Sheepman Supply Company (in Frederick) will be collecting small lots of wool to take to the pool in the week leading up to June 17. Please contact them at 1 (800) 331-9122 for more information.

For more information about the wool pool, contact the manager Emily Chamelin at (443) 244-2702 or aeriedairy@yahoo.com.

Goat AI Clinic in Western Maryland

In partnership with University of Maryland Extension, the Maryland Dairy Goat Association (MDGA) will be hosting a Goat Artificial Insemination (AI) Clinic on May 5-6, 2015, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., at the Washington County Ag Expo in Boonsboro, Maryland.

The clinic will be taught by Bio-Genetics, LTD. The first day will be spent in a classroom learning environment. The second day will be hands-on training. Participants must provide their own AI equipment, as well as a doe in heat. For information about equipment and bringing does into heat, go to the Bio-Genetics web site or call their office at (208) 756-6500.

The cost of attending is $200 for MDGA members and $225 for non-members. A deposit of $50 will hold a place. The balance of payment is due April 25. Checks made payable to the Maryland Dairy Goat Association should be sent to MDGA Treasurer: Janice Kessler, 6170 Clearview Road, Dover, PA  17315.

Download program flyer

2015 Maryland Small Ruminant Expo

The first-ever Maryland Small Ruminant Expo will be held Saturday, February 28, 2015, at the Frederick County 4-H Camp & Activities Center in Frederick, Maryland.

The all-day event will feature separate educational programs for adults and youth. The adult program will be divided into four educational tracks: 1) Forage/pasture; 2) marketing; 3) production and health, and 4) alternative enterprises. Two tracks will be held concurrently.

Dr. Lindsay Lane

The youth program will include sessions related to fiber, dairy, meat, and science (wet lab). Activities will be mostly hands-on. Lunch will be a taco bar, with a choice of lamb and/or goat meat and sheep and/or goat milk cheese. Meats and cheeses will be sourced locally.

Speakers will include extension experts, as well as producers. One of the featured speakers will be Dr. Lindsay Lane. Before attending veterinary school in the Cayman Islands and Minnesota, Dr. Lane was the farm manager for the University of Maryland College Park. She managed the campus farm, which includes a flock of mostly Katahdin sheep.

Pre-registration is required by February 14. The registration fee is $35 per adult and $25 per youth (ages 8-18). You can register online line via EventBrite at http://2015mdexpo.eventbrite.com. You can pay by credit card, but there is a small fee to do so. Alternatively, you can mail your registration information and payment to the Maryland Small Ruminant Expo, Western Maryland Research & Education Center, 18330 Keedysville Road, Keedysville, Maryland 21756. Checks should be made payable the University of Maryland.

For more information, contact Susan Schoenian at (301) 432-2767 x343 or sschoen@umd.edu or go to http://www.sheepandgoat.com/programs/2015Expo.html.

Download registration form

2015 Maryland Small Ruminant Expo

Save the date!

The first Maryland Small Ruminant Expo will be held Saturday, February 28, 2015, at the Frederick County 4-H Camp & Activities Center in Frederick, Maryland.  It will be an all-day educational program with different themed tracks, including a track for youth. The program will cover all aspects of sheep and goat production. Lunch will be a taco bar, featuring lamb and goat meat.

Maryland's Beginning Farmer Program

University of Maryland Extension is proud to provide the Beginning Farmer Success program across the state. The Beginning Farmer Success program is targeted towards those who have been involved in agriculture for ten years or less. Special focus is paid to helping potential and new farmers establish business plans, scaling up their operations, and making smart production decisions for both crops and livestock.

Hannah Shear

These important topics are taught through workshops, conferences, and hands-on mentorships supported by the University of Maryland Extension, the Southern Maryland Agriculture Development Commission (SMADC), University of Maryland Eastern Shores (UMES), and Future Harvest.

In August, the Beginning Farmer Success Team welcomed Hannah Shear to the group to serve as program coordinator. Hannah was born and raised in Kentucky on a family farm that focused primarily on beef cattle and burley tobacco.Throughout her childhood she was surrounded by the rolling bluegrass pastures of central-eastern Kentucky. This access to plentiful pasture and a love for all things livestock led to Hannah’s desire to raise sheep.

If you have been farming for ten years or less and are interested in being a part of the Beginning Farmer Success Program you should sign-up and check out their website: http://extension.umd.edu/newfarmer.

Spring 2014 Wild & Woolly

The Spring 2014 issue of Wild & Woolly has been posted to the web. Wild & Woolly is a newsletter for sheep and goat producers and anyone else interested in small ruminants. It is published quarterly by University of Maryland Extension and the Western Maryland Research & Education Center.

Read about the National Sheep Improvement Program (NSIP) in this issue.

You can subscribe to the newsletter listserv, so you'll receive an e-mail message when a new issue of the newsletter has been posted to the web. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to listserv@listserv.umd.edu. In the body of the message, write subscribe sheepandgoatnews.

HTML version of Spring 2014 issue
PDF (printer-friendly) version of Spring 2014
Archive of previous issues

Integrated Parasite Management Workshops

As part of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore's Small Farm Workshop Series, Small Ruminant Integrated Parasite Management Workshops will be held on Saturday, March 15, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m, at the Central Maryland Research & Education Center in Upper Marlboro, MD; and on Saturday, April 12, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m, at  the Food Science and Technology Building at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES).

During the day, workshop participants will learn about the gastrointestinal parasites that badger small ruminants, anthelmintic resistance, and practices to mitigate or manage parasite burdens. The 3-hour morning session will serve as an introduction for the afternoon hands-on training session, which will allow participants to get certified in the use of the FAMACHA score card and learn how to conduct fecal egg counts.

For more information, contact University of Maryland Extension (at UMES) at (410) 651-6070 or kjparmar@umes.edu.

New Extension Director Has Sheep/Goat Ties

The College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Maryland has hired a new Associate Dean and Associate Director of University of Maryland Extension. He is Dr. Stephen Wright.

Dr. Stephen Wright (image by Edwin Remsberg)

Dr. Wright comes to Maryland from Ohio State University, where he held an administrative position.  Dr. Wright is a native of Maryland. He earned his undergraduate degree in geography, a master's degree in urban studies, and a Ph.D. in agriculture and extension education from the University of Maryland.

Dr. Wright has a strong connection to the sheep and goat industry. He managed as many as 150 goats and 200 ewes at his Sunland Mountain Farm in Mt. Solon, Virginia. The first livestock Dr. Wright purchased were Tennessee Fainting goats, a rare breed. Dr. Wright joined the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (now called The Livestock Conservancy). Within a year of purchasing the goats, he added St. Croix sheep to his farm. Dr. Wright was instrumental in getting farmers to raise hair sheep in his area.

Before moving to Ohio, Dr. Wright sold his farm; however, he still maintains a small flock of St. Croix sheep that he plans to move back east. Welcome back to Maryland, Dr. Wright!

Read University of Maryland news release

Learning About Lambing & Kidding

Approximately 90 adults and youth participated in the 2013 Lambing & Kidding School held December 7 at the Western Maryland Research & Education Center in Keedysville, Maryland.

The featured speaker was Dr. Mara Mullinix. Dr. Mullinix operates a mixed veterinary practice in Monrovia, Maryland. She has considerable experience working with small ruminants and is the consulting vet for the Western Maryland Pasture-Based Meat Goat Performance Test.

The youth program was run by Chris Anderson, University of  Maryland 4-H youth animal science specialist. Other presenters and facilitators included Susan Schoenian, Dr. Nelson Escobar, Shannon Uzelac, and Becky Yost.

Youth program:  dissecting goat testicles

The school received financial support from the University of Maryland's Beginning Farmer Success program. Almost 90 percent of the (adult) participants in the school had been raising sheep and/or goats for less than 10 years, USDA's definition of a beginning farmer.

Special thanks is extended to the companies that donated door prizes or made other contributions to the school:  D-S  Livestock Equipment, Good Shepherd Lamb Coats, Health E-Z ™ Hay Feeder, Premier 1 Supplies, Shepherd Magazine, and Sheepman Supply Company.

The Lambing & Kidding School is held every other year in a different location in Maryland. The next school (in 2015) is tentatively planned for Harford County.

2013 Lambing & Kidding School Proceedings

Maryland Sheep Industry Day

Maryland Sheep Industry Day will be held Saturday, October 26, 2013, at the Howard County Fairgrounds. The event is being hosted by the Maryland Sheep Breeders Association (MSBA). It will be held prior to the association's annual banquet. It will begin at 9 a.m.

Learn how to properly feed your sheep.

The focus of the day-long educational seminar will be nutrition. Dr. Dan Morrical from Iowa State University will be the featured speaker. Dr. Morrical's teaching specialties include production systems, management, resource evaluation and allocation, nutrition, health, financial records, and low cost nutritional alternatives. His area of research is sheep nutrition.

The event will also include a "supply-swap." Bring one to three sheep or farm-related items that you would like to swap with other shepherds. Examples might include a skein of yarn, a book, or a tool. Lunch will be a culinary delight: grilled lamb sliders and sausage and tortellini soup with lamb sausage.

The cost of attending is $10 for MSBA members and $20 for non-members. Checks should be made payable to MSBA and mailed to Kelly Cole at 2210 Bear Den Road, Frederick, MD 21701. The registration deadline is October 15. The first 20 people to register will be eligible for a special door prize.

Download program flyer and registration form

New Issue of Maryland Sheep News

The July 2013 issue of the Maryland Sheep News is now available to members of the Maryland Sheep Breeders Association (MSBA). This month's issue contains articles on the festival, parasites, scrapie, software, American lamb, and more.

There are many benefits to MSBA membership, including receiving the quarterly newsletter. MSBA publishes a Breeders Directory in which you can have your farm listed. Members pay a reduced commission on fleeces sold at the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival. They will be mailed a free copy of the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival catalog.

The Maryland Sheep Breeders Association sponsors many events throughout the year, including a Beginner's Sheep Shearing School, the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival, Maryland Wool Pool, and an annual  meeting and dinner. This year, a Maryland Sheep Industry Day will be held on Saturday, October 26 at the Howard County Fairgrounds (prior to the annual dinner).

The annual membership/subscription fee is $25. If you take your wool to the Maryland Wool Pool, membership dues are automatically deducted on sales over $40. The membership year runs from October 1 through September 30. Dues received after June 1, 2013, will be accepted as paid through September 30, 2014.

To become a member of MSBA and receive the quarterly newsletter, send a $25 check (payable to MSBA) to Connie Myers, MSBA, 17822 Cashell Road, Rockville, MD  20853.

Maryland Wool Prices Below Last Year

The 2013 Maryland Wool Pool was held June 19 at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium. Prices were below last year. Surprisingly, the coarse wool brought the highest bid.

Wool prices remain significantly above the support price ($0.40 for ungraded wool), so producers are not eligible for LDPs (loan deficiency payments) this year.

A wool classing school was held in conjunction with this year's wool pool. The school attracted participants from multiple states. The instructor was Dr. Ron Pope, manager of the Producers Marketing Cooperative and wool consultant with the American Sheep Industry Association.

2013 Maryland Wool Pool

The Maryland Wool Pool will be held Wednesday, June 19, at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium, Maryland. Wool should be delivered to the pool between 9 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. There will be three lines to accept wool.

Rich Barzcewski, wool pool manager

The pool will not accept wet wool, black or gray wool, or wool from hair sheep or hair x wool crosses.  Wool delivered in polypropylene bags will be refused and wool delivered in burlap bags will be discounted 3 cents per lb. 

Anyone bringing wool to the pool in a nylon square pack weighing 250 lbs. or more will receive a 5 cent per lb. bonus payment for their wool. Smaller lots of wool can be delivered in plastic trash bags (clear preferred) or loose in the vehicle.

Payment will be made within several weeks of the pool.  Wool pool expenses (usually between 5 and 8 cents per pound) will be deducted from checks. Maryland Sheep Breeders Association membership dues will be deducted  on wool sales over $40.

Questions pertaining to the wool pool should be directed to the wool pool manager Rich Barczewski at (302) 857-6410 or rbarczewski@desu.edu.

Maryland Small Flock Shearing Day

Update:  There was a fire at the Charles County Fairgrounds on April 2. Approximately five barns burned during the blaze. The shearing day has been canceled.

The Maryland Sheep Breeders Association (MSBA) will host a Small Flock Shearing Day on Saturday, May 11, 2013, at the Charles County Fairgrounds in La Plata, Maryland.

The purpose of the shearing day is to help defray the time, effort and cost of finding a shearer to come to small flocks, and hopefully help local shepherds get in touch with other shepherds in the area to build a stronger community.

Sheep owners may bring up to 10 sheep for shearing.  The cost of shearing will be $7 per sheep. Hoof trimming is available for an additional $5 per sheep.

You must RSVP to reserve a spot. A deposit of $20 is required. To RSVP, contact Kelly Cole at (240) 446-0996 or kc137f@yahoo.com.

This the first of what the Maryland Sheep Breeders Association hopes to make an annual event. Location(s) may change depending upon the need.

Westminster Annual Easter Sale

The Westminster Livestock Auction will hold its Annual Easter Sale on Saturday, March 16, 2013, at 1 p.m.  The auction is located at 1117 Old New Windsor Road, Westminster, Maryland 21157.

Easter is coming!

The Sale will be for goats, lambs, sheep, chickens, ducks, geese, rabbits, pigeons, peafowl, llamas, and alpacas. All young goats and lambs must be weaned from their mother or sold with their mother as a family group.

Poultry must be healthy and cannot be missing feathers. The sale will also accept eggs and homemade baked goods, canned products, handmade blankets and quilts and any other Easter-related items.

Al items except poultry and rabbits may be dropped off on Friday, March 15th from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. and on Saturday, March 16 between 7 a.m. and 12 p.m. Poultry an rabbits may only be dropped off on Saturday, March 16 between 7 a.m. and 12 p.m.

For more information, contact the office at (410) 848-9820.

See listing at auctionzip.com.