WOOSTER, Ohio — Sheep producers can learn innovative new techniques to produce consistent, high quality lamb and how to better market their specialty meats during a two-day course Dec. 17-18.
The course will be taught by livestock experts from Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences and industry experts.
The Lamb 509 short course is designed to help producers increase sales and improve their financial bottom line through hands-on training in the value-determining factors that influence prices received for market lambs and lamb products, said Roger A. High, an Ohio State University Extension state sheep program specialist and executive director of the Ohio Sheep Improvement Association (OSIA).
Sponsored by OSU Extension, CFAES’ Department of Animal Sciences, the Ohio Sheep and Wool Program, and OSIA, the course is part of an ongoing effort to equip sheep producers with helpful, up-to-date information they use to continue to improve their operations, he said.
Understand the market
The course will offer information to help producers better understand what consumers are looking for when purchasing quality lamb products and how to market to those consumers.
“The class is designed to enhance producers’ understanding of meat quality and marketing to help them make more informed decisions that can impact the profitability, competitiveness and wholesomeness of the food products they produce,” he said.
The course is from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Dec. 17, and from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Dec. 18. It will be held at 2029 Fyffe Road in the Animal Sciences Building on the OSU-Columbus campus.
The program is open to beginner, intermediate and advanced sheep and goat producers. Participants will learn about muscle quality attributes affecting lamb, as well as the management, environmental, nutritional and genetic factors that contribute to muscle quality deficiencies.
They will also learn about the links in the production chain between the producer and the consumer and the interaction among these links.
Other workshop topics will include live animal evaluations, ultrasound evaluation and demo, grid pricing, lamb harvest, grading procedures, carcass and retail fabrication, processing and product development, retail product discussion, open discussion, and a review of live, carcass, and retail values.
Registration information can be found at http://www.ohiosheep.org. Registration includes the program, all meals, materials and parking.
Registration is $125 per person by Nov. 25. For more information, contact High at 614-246-8299.
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