Meeting Ohio's Shepherds
Dr. Brady Campbell, from OSU Extension, invited our project to the 2022 Buckeye Shepherd's Symposium, hosted in Wooster.
A joint venture between OSU, the Ohio Sheep Improvement Association, and the Ohio Sheep and Wool Program, this yearly conference is an opportunity for shepherds to meet and learn more about current topics in husbandry and marketing.
The Symposium kicks off with an OSU Research Update, where representatives give summaries of relevant research going on at OSU that involve sheep and sheep production - and that includes us! Courtney gave a short presentation about our project, how we hope to help sheep producers in Ohio, and how producers can get involved.
More importantly, this was a great opportunity for us to meet with producers and learn about their concerns. Courtney was able to ask producers questions about their husbandry, their livestock, and how coyotes are impacting them. It is vital for us to know how people are interacting with coyotes as we continue to investigate coyote conflicts. That includes getting a better understanding of how people are preventing conflicts - from guard animals to fencing innovations to lambing indoors.
Courtney enjoyed meeting this great group and making connections with the shepherd community. We hope to be back next year!