Shortcourses and Tours


 
Lambing Time Shortcourse and Bus Tour

The purpose of this shortcourse and bus tour is to help producers recognize and effectively deal with common lambing time problems. The shortcourse focuses on the management prior to, during and after lambing and the affect it has on lamb losses, pounds of lamb marketed and input costs and labor requirements. The tour will provide producers the opportunity to see firsthand how other producers recognize, manage, and deal with lambing time challenges.

2010 Course Details
Dates: February 5 and 6, 2010
Location: Minnesota West Community & Technical College,
                Pipestone, MN
 
SCHEDULE
Friday, February 5, 2010
6:30 pm Registration
7:00 pm Welcome/Opening Remarks Mike Caskey
7:15 pm Dealing with light test weight and mold in the 2009 corn crop – P. Berg
8:00 pm Current sheep health issues/Ask a Vet – Dr. Goelz
8:45 pm Sheep Care – Why do we do the things we do? – Mike Caskey
9:30 pm End of Evening Program

Saturday, February 6, 2010

8:00 am Registration
8:20 am Opening Remarks – Mike Caskey
8:30 am Low Labor Feeding Systems – Mike Caskey
9:15 am Economics & production challenges of the sheep industry – Mike Caskey
10:00 am Break
10:15 am What four years of feeding soybean hulls and DDGS has taught us. – P. Berg
11:00 am. The critical first three weeks of a lamb’s life. – Dr. Bobb
11:45 am Lunch
   
Farm Tours
12:30 pm Board Buses
1:30 pm Board Buses
1:50 pm Farm Tour Russell Gundermann Farm
Topics Discussed/Demonstrated:
  • Lambing barn layout
  • Lamb management philosophies
  • Low labor management concepts
  • TMR ewe rations
  • In lot ewe feeding system
  • Creep setup and design
3:30 pm Farm tour Bruce and Karla Gundermann Farm
Topics Discussed/Demonstrated:
  • New born lamb care
  • Tubing lambs
  • Fixing inverted eyelids
  • Docking and castrating methods
  • Raising lambs on milk replacer
  • Production record keeping
  • Hoop barns for sheep
  • Self feeding SBHP & DDGS to ewes
5:00 pm Arrive back at Minnesota West College - Head for home

Minimum enrollment will be 20 people to offer this shortcourse/bus tour.
Maximum enrollment will be limited to 100 paid registrants, so we encourage you to send your registration in early.

Russell Gundermann Farm Visit
Russ is one of the progressive producers in the sheep business. He and his family run about 550 commercial ewes. They use a multiple lambing period system to most efficiently utilize their facilities and labor. They have done an excellent job of combining older barns with newer buildings to make their sheep operation effectively use all the buildings available to them. Russ pays very close attention to the little things that make the difference in a successful operation. The Gundermann operation includes many labor saving concepts to enable them to handle a large number of sheep with minimal effort. Russ has very practical ideas on sheep management that make this a stop everyone will learn from. Russ was the recipient of the 2008 Pipestone Outstanding Producers Award.

Bruce and Karla Gunderamnn Farm Visit
Bruce and Karla started in the sheep business several years ago when they decided to discontinue raising hogs and converted their facilities to sheep production. Since that time, they have steadily grown their ewe flock to about 600 commercial ewes. They have done a nice job of utilizing existing buildings along with a new addition onto the lambing barn and have added three “hoop” barns to improve labor efficiency and management of their various lambing groups. They market a high lambing percentage because of the attention they pay to detail and the tremendous job they do of keeping their lamb death loss low. Their ability to save, manage and care for a large number of newborn lambs is outstanding. This operation has many lambing management ideas to share.


SHEEP FOR PROFIT SCHOOL 
The Sheep for Profit School is the professional management and business school of the sheep industry. The purpose of the school is to help you improve your sheep management skills; increase the profitability of your sheep operation and form relationships in your business. The school will be intense and combine lecture, group discussion and visits two outstanding Pipestone area sheep operations. Expert instructors with diverse and practical sheep experience will help you define your vision and build a practical plan to achieve your goals. This is a three day investment that will change your sheep operation and how you view the sheep industry.

Course Details
Dates: July 2011
Location: Minnesota West Community and Technical College, Pipestone Campus

Minimum Enrollment: 10 people
Maximum Enrollment: 20 people

Before the School Activities:
1) Submit information for Sheep Enterprise Analysis
2) Review Home Study Course Lessons

After the School Activities:
1) Receive Lamb and Wool Newsletter
2) Instructors Available for Phone Consulting

Cost: Approximately $450 (dependant on Summer Tuition Rates)
(including tuition, noon & evening meals and breaks)

Lodging:
Calumet Inn (507) 825-5871.
Super 8 (507) 825-4217.
Pipestone RV Campground (507) 828-2455
Split Rock Creek State Park (507) 348-7908
Arrow Motel (507) 825-3331
Crossing Inn and Suites (507) 562-1100

Wednesday (6:00 pm to 9:30 pm)
                 Registration
                 Welcome & Introductions
                 What to Expect
                 Get Acquainted Dinner
                 Overview of US Sheep Industry

Thursday (8 am to 9:30 pm)
     Topics: Economics and finance
                 Philosophy of Sheep Management
                 Five Keys to Profit
                 Record Keeping
                 Goal Setting
                 Develop Personal & Enterprise Goals
                 Sheep Breeds and Their Use
                 Genetic Selection
                 Develop Genetic Plan
                 Farm Tour
                      - Sheep Facilities
                      - Genetic Selection
                      - Seedstock Production
                      - Pasture Management


Friday (8 am to 9:30 pm)
     Topics: Identifying & Treating Common Ewe Diseases
                 Identifying & Treating Common Lamb Diseases
                 Preventive Health Programs
                 Flock Bio-security
                 Develop a Flock Preventive Health Plan
                 Reproductive Cycle of Sheep
                 Breeding Time Management
                 Manipulation of the Breeding Cycle
                 Develop a Flock Breeding Plan
                 Facility Requirements
                 Farm Tour
                     - Sheep Facilities
                     - Record Keeping
                     - Lambing Time Management
                     - Management Philosophy


Saturday (8 am - 5 pm)
     Topics: Sheep Nutrient Requirements
                 Feed Nutrient Values
                 Lamb Feed Rations
                 Ewe Feed Rations
                 Develop a Feeding Plan
                 Year Around Flock Management
                 Lamb Marketing
                 Wool Marketing
                 Develop a Flock Management Plan
                 Business Arrangements for the Future

Facility Tour (June 7, 2010)

Click here for registration form

The purpose of the Pipestone Sheep Facility Tour is to give producers an opportunity to see various types of sheep facilities, including the latest innovations in sheep buildings, state of the art lambing barns, handling systems, feeding systems and facility layout.  The tour will be a full day tour, visiting five lamb and wool producers with new and remodeled facilities.  All of these operations have devised their buildings and feeding systems to reduce labor and enable them to run larger numbers of ewes with the same labor.  In addition, this tour will also be an opportunity to hear the management philosophy of these five successful sheep operations..

Course Details
Date: June  7, 2010

Location: Start and end at Minnesota West Community and Technical College, 1314 North Hiawatha Ave., Pipestone, Minnesota.

Minimum Enrollment: 30 people
Maximum Enrollment: 55 people

Cost:  $140

Includes tour transportation, lunch and refreshments
Pre-Registration by May 28th, 2010

Lodging:
Arrow Motel (507) 825-3331
Crossings Inn & Suites (507) 562-1100
Calumet Inn (507) 825-5871
Super 8  (507) 825-4217

Tour Schedule:
7:00 a.m.                               Load bus at Minnesota West, Pipestone
7:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.         Tour 5 sheep operations
7:30 p.m.                               Unload bus at Minnesota West, Pipestone

Tour Stops:

Bruce and Karla Gundermann
Bruce and Karla started in the sheep business 10 years ago, with 25 ewes, when they decided to discontinue raising hogs and converted their facilities to sheep production.  Since that time, they have steadily grown their ewe flock to about 600 ewes.  They have done a nice job of utilizing existing buildings along with a new addition onto the lambing barn and have built three “hoop” barns to improve labor efficiency and management of their various lambing groups.  They market a high lambing percentage because of the attention they pay to detail and the tremendous job they do of keeping lamb death loss low.  They employ several low labor feeding systems such as self-feeding lactating ewes and fence line feeding systems.

Dave and Julie Hofland
Dave and Julie have been raising sheep for over 25 years and run an efficient 550 head ewe flock.  They employ a multiple lambing group system to most efficiently utilize their facilities and labor.  Hofland’s have done a nice job of utilizing various existing buildings on the farm for sheep plus have recently built three “hoop” barns to increase their flock size.  They use a “kitchen” style feeding system to control feed intake, reduce waste and efficiently use their limited lot space.  Dave and Julie do an excellent job of keeping and using production and financial records to make improvements to their operation.  Dave and Julie received the 2008 Pipestone Outstanding Producer Award.

Roger Knudson
Roger has been raising sheep nearly all his life and runs an extremely productive flock of 500 ewes.  This flock is dry lot fed year around and is fed corn silage and haylage based rations.  Ewes are fed in a concrete bunk in a fence line feeding system.  Roger was one of the first producers to build hoop barns to house sheep.  He employs a multiple lambing period system and does all the work himself.  He recently built a state of the art lambing facility to more efficiently use his available labor and provide a more ideal environment for newborn lambs.  An efficient one person sheep operation.

Moser Family Farm
Wes, Esther and Alex Moser run one of the most progressive sheep operations in the Pipestone program.  They have been raising sheep for 35 years and currently run about 850 ewes.  Part of their flock is fall lambed to take advantage of higher lamb prices and to utilize their labor and facilities more efficiently.  Because of their goal to run over 1,000 ewes, they have focused on lower labor input, reduced feed cost and highly productive ewes.  You will see a remodeled lambing barn, hoop barns, open front sheds, automated feeding systems, plus good working chutes, rotational grazed pastures and silage based rations.  An innovative, well managed sheep operation.  Wes and Esther received the 1987 Pipestone Outstanding Producer Award.

Rule Sheep Company
Tyson and Rob Rule started building a new sheep operation and facilities about a year and a half ago.  They have utilized ideas from many good sheep operations and added their ideas to develop their own operation.  Because of their goal to run four to five thousand ewes, they have focused on building facilities that require low labor input and will work with them not against them.  You will see a 500 head state of the art, slatted floor, lambing barn with an automated feeding system, hoop barns with drive through fence line feeding, commodity shed, TMR rations with corn stalks as the base ingredient and mechanical bedding of the hoop barns.  This operation also uses a multiple lambing period system of lambing ewes and will have lambed about 2,000 ewes this year.  This is one of the most futuristic sheep operations in the United States and is loaded with new concepts and designs.
 

For more information on these Shortcourses and Bus Tours
contact us at:
Phone: 507-825-6806
Email: philip.berg@mnwest.edu or mike.caskey@mnwest.edu

 
 

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