Publication

The So You Want to Raise Sheep or Goats publication was developed as a handout for the So You Want to Raise Sheep or Goat workshops held across Pennsylvania. The declining dairy industry and the interest in small farm food production in the state has increased the need for education on basic sheep and goat production. Thus, the objective of the workshops and the handout was to introduce potential producers and beginning producers to basic concepts of sheep and goat production. The purpose of the publication is to provide an overview of the information presented at the workshop. The handout discusses information on choosing the type of animals to raise, animal selection principles, equipment needs, reproduction and breeding seasons, feeding and nutrition, health issues, and marketing. Four workshops were held across the state in 2019 and used this publication as a handout. Results of the post evaluation indicated that 93% of participants learned a moderate to significant amount of information and 55% planned to use the information if they decided to start a new sheep or goat operation or with their current new operation. I wrote the publication, took photos, and worked with Penn State Creative Services to format the publication for print and the web.