Counting sheep

LAURA CHURCH, AGRICULTURAL COMMUNICATION & MARKETING AND ANIMAL SCIENCE, BS '21

The past academic year has been full of challenges, adaptations, and growth. Through it all, CFANS faculty continued to give students the opportunity to learn by doing. One course from the Department of Animal Science helped make this happen. Students in ANSC 4602: Sheep Production Systems Management spent the semester caring for the sheep on campus while learning about best practices to use around livestock.

“In this course we have gotten the opportunity to prepare the ewes for lambing and care for the ewes and lambs after lambing. We have trimmed feet, vaccinated ewes and lambs, docked tails and castrated lambs, identified body condition scores, moved lambs and ewes to different production stages, rearranged pens based on production stage, and more,” said Leah Ruen, agricultural and food business management senior. 

In early February, ANSC 4602 students began overseeing the lambing process from start to finish. These students successfully raised 70 healthy lambs throughout the semester. “It has been fun to care for lambs and their mothers and watch the lambs grow into healthy sheep knowing that I was a part of making that happen,” said Ruen. 

Having raised sheep on her farm back at home, animal science senior Vanessa Roberts has enjoyed using her past experiences and knowledge to support her peers. “Since I took this course last spring and have returned as a TA this spring, I have enjoyed the challenge of helping others develop skills to safely and efficiently work with livestock,” said Roberts. “Sharing the knowledge and passion I have for raising sheep is an awesome opportunity.”

For these students, their learning did not stop after gaining a deeper understanding of the technical side of sheep management. They also had an opportunity to manage the responsibility and commitment that’s needed to work with livestock.

“The skills I learned in this class can be applied across many other animal species. This experience will allow me to relate to even more people around the ag industry and in turn expand my network,” said Karter Janssen, animal science and agricultural and food business management senior. 

“Having strong ethics and a willingness to put in the work to get results applies to working with livestock and many aspects of life,” said Roberts. “As I go forward and start working in the agriculture industry, I look forward to applying the knowledge and skills I gained throughout my time at the U into practice.”