Sheep Industry News April 2023

The Last Word PARAND REZAEI

ASI COMMUNICATION ASSISANT

My Trip to North Carolina

E veryone has a lot of different experiences during his or her life. These experiences may include both good or bad adventures. My life has had a lot of memorable moments. While it is always hard to choose the best one, joining ASI is the most wonderful experience to me so far. Since I joined ASI, I have learned a lot about the sheep industry. I just completed my first non-convention trip, and I would love to share my journey with you all. I traveled to North Carolina – the Southern state with friendly people, delicious food, and charming nature. During my trip, I had an opportunity to join the Shepherd’s Boot Camp hosted by North Carolina Cooperative Extension on March 10 in Greensboro, N.C. This event had some online education with a series of pre-recorded webinars and review questions and wrapped up with an in-person section at the N.C. A&T State University Farm Pavilion in Greens boro. The Shepherd’s Boot Camp started with some questions from what we had learned through the online education course. Dr. Carol Woodlief of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services provided an overview of Scrapie regula tions and the use of Scrapie tags “For North Carolina, we have not had any positive scrapie ani mals for at least the last five years,” Woodlief said. The second part of the boot camp was traveling to NC A&T’s Small Ruminant Unit. Coordinator Blake Thompson gave us a tour of the facility. They have a variety of sheep breeds for their research, including St. Croix. The unit added 15 Florida Cracker sheep last October. During the boot camp, they divided us into small groups with three rounds of stations. In the first round, we learned how to use halters for leading and attaching the sheep or goats, tying leads and animal behavior. The second round included a five-point check that focused on eyes, jaw, back, tail and nose. We also learned about the basics of FAMACHA, fecal sampling and animal husbandry. And in our last station, we learned how to perform vaccinations, ear tagging and hoof trimming. This was all so interesting to me because I came to ASI with no livestock or agriculture background. That was one of the reasons I attended the Shepherd’s Boot Camp, so that I could learn more about the animals and what it takes to raise them. I also had an opportunity to meet Dr. Andrew Weaver, an as

sistant professor and small ruminant extension specialist at North Carolina State University. Weaver is co-chair of ASI’s Genetic Stake holders Committee. You can read more about him and his research in an upcoming issue of the Sheep Industry News. I also met Stokes County Cooperative Extension Director Dr. Emily Cope, who organized the Shepherd’s Boot Camp. She received her bachelor’s and master’s in animal science from North Carolina State University, and her Ph.D. in animal science with an emphasis in ruminant nutrition from the University of Tennessee. Her research and extension efforts have focused on energy utiliza tion and metabolic efficiency in small ruminants. Additionally, some of her previous research efforts have focused on the interac tion between energy balance and reproductive efficiency in sheep.

While I was in North Carolina, I took time to visit with two sheep producers, including Johnny Rogers and John Brasfield at their farms. You can read more about them in future issues of the magazine. I know I still have a lot to learn about the American sheep indus try, but I’m thankful to those who hosted me in North Carolina and helped me to learn a few of the basics about raising sheep.

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