Monday, April 16, 2012

Upcoming Festival Seminars

Educational seminars are one of the highlights of the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival, always held the first full weekend of May at the Howard County Fairgrounds in West Friendship, Maryland.

Rich Barczewski
Every year on Friday of the Festival, Dr. Rich Barczewski teaches a basic shepherding course.  This year, there will be a course for those who already have sheep and a course for those who are considering getting a sheep flock.  Barczewski is an animal science professor at Delaware State University. He is also manager of the Maryland Wool Pool.

For the second year in a row, I (Susan Schoenian) will be conducting an Integrated Parasite Management (IPM/FAMACHA©) workshop. Participants will become certified in the FAMACHA© system and will receive a laminated FAMACHA© card. FAMACHA© is a method for determining when sheep need dewormed.

On Saturday, the featured speaker for all educational seminars will be Martin Dally from Oregon.  Dally's presentations will include:  1) Increasing profitability by increasing lamb survival; 2) Management of the flock for optimal reproduction; and 3) Maximizing your flock's fleece potential.  The flock reproduction seminar will be repeated on Sunday.

Martin Dally
All of Dally's seminars are free and will be held in the dining hall at the fairgrounds, except the Sunday seminar, which will be held in the 4-H building.  Dally is owner-operator of Super Sire Ltd (www.toprams.com).

Register online for the Basic Shepherding and FAMACHA courses at www.sheepandwool.org. Registration is not required for Dally's seminars. Information about all of the workshops and seminars can be found by clicking on Events -> Workshops -> Shepherd Workshops.

No comments: