Last week the ‘Sheep for Profit’ school, hosted at Minnesota West Community & Technical College, brought sheep producers from 10 states to Pipestone, MN.

The four-day program, held July 9-12, featured classroom learning from lamb and wool instructors Philip Berg and Dr. Ryan Knuth. They also invited a veterinarian from Windy Ridge Veterinary Clinic and together they covered a variety of topics including sheep nutrition, health, breeding programs, management practices and more. Attendees also had the chance to tour Minnesota sheep operations during the program.

Berg said that while there can be many different goals for a sheep operation, being profitable was the focus for this educational opportunity.

“Generally, people raise sheep for a variety of reasons, and we’re focusing on the profitability side of it,” Berg said. “[Producers] from Tennessee and Georgia came up because they were grazing solar panels…and looking at the benefit of grazing under these solar panels to maintain vegetative cover.”

At Minnesota West Community & Technical College they also offer a special program year-round for sheep producers that includes workshops, tours, newsletters and special short courses. For more information visit Lamb & Wool Management.