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| Spotlight on Youth - July 8, 2009 |
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MSU students gain experience at sheep sale
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Students are accustomed to writing term papers and making presentations in front of classmates and instructors, but 20 Michigan State University (MSU) animal science students tackled a much larger project as part of regular coursework – managing a purebred sheep sale from start to finish.
Students in MSU animal science professor John Shelle’s course, Merchandising Purebred Livestock, gained real-world experience managing the MSU Sheep Production Sale held May 2 at the MSU Pavilion for Agriculture and Livestock Education. Students were engaged with each step of the process, from creating and placing sale advertisements to designing the sale catalog to fitting (preparing) the sheep for sale to setting up the sale area to registering buyers and clerking to accepting bids in the sale ring.
Shelle said that the course on merchandising purebred livestock, developed in the 1970s by animal science professor emeritus David Hawkins, grew out of student demand.
“Students have a chance to learn from the experts because industry representatives provide many of the course lectures. Students also benefit by having a firsthand opportunity to become involved with any of the purebred sales associated with the MSU livestock herds, which equips them with real-life experience,” he said.
“In merchandising programs, there really is no substitute for ’hands-on’ learning – so many of the skills needed to effectively merchandise livestock are difficult to teach in a traditional classroom environment.”
Indeed, learning the ropes from Alan Culham, MSU Sheep Teaching and Research Center farm manager, was a key component of the class project. Culham, a 1978 graduate of the MSU animal science program, brings more than 40 years’ worth of sheep industry experience and valuable insight to share with the students. A leader in the industry’s genetic evaluation program (National Sheep Improvement Program) since its inception, he is also skilled in evaluating both live animals and carcasses and is often called on to judge shows and contests.
“Too often, students are taught how to breed, feed and care for the livestock, but little effort is made to teach them how to sell their product,” he said. “All the expertise in the world in the other disciplines can be wasted if one can’t sell the resulting product.”
“Not all of the students have a background in agriculture, so this experience went far beyond reading about something in a book,” she said. “We all had jobs to do, and we had to dive right in and work at every aspect of the sale process, from getting the animals ready to learning how we selected the ones to sell to how we would advertise them. Students were able to get the full perspective of what goes into a sale, something you don’t get by just being there on sale day.”
The top-selling animal was a Suffolk yearling ram that brought a final bid of $3,000 from John Phillips, of Paul, Idaho.
Thirty-four MSU-bred breeding stock lots sold for an average price of $546.67. By breed, the Suffolks averaged $687.50 and the Dorsets averaged $265. The current slaughter lamb price is $135.
This year’s sale was the first one held at MSU since 1997. Plans are to hold the MSU Sheep Production Sale every two years; the next sale is planned for 2011.
The MSU Sheep Teaching and Research Center is located on 90 acres south of the main MSU campus in East Lansing.
Home to approximately 125 breeding ewes and their lambs, the farm maintains a purebred Suffolk flock with 50 breeding females and a flock of 40 Dorset ewes in addition to 35 crossbred commercial ewes.
The sheep at MSU offer students the opportunity to gain sheep management experience. Animals are also used for undergraduate coursework in livestock evaluation and undergraduate and graduate research projects.
The farm regularly employs eight to 12 MSU students.
The MSU Sheep Teaching and Research Center will be exhibiting animals at the Michigan Suffolk Show, the Michigan State Fair and the North American International Livestock Exhibition in Louisville in November. MSU-bred animals will be consigned to the Center of the Nation National Sheep Improvement Program Sale in Spencer, Iowa, and the North American Suffolk Sale in Louisville.
Kentucky juniors win blue at state Angus show
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Angus enthusiasts led 139 entries at the 2009 Kentucky Angus Preview Show, June 13 in Bowling Green, Ky.
Lake Elliott, of Adams, Tenn., evaluated 107 females, 25 bulls and seven cow-calf pairs before naming the champions.
Champion Hill Georgina 6337 claimed grand champion female honors. The September 2007 daughter of S A V Net Worth 4200 is owned by Thomas Lundy, Bardstown, Ky. She was first named senior champion.
Blake Boyd, Mayslick, Ky., led Champion Hill Georgina 6530 to the reserve grand champion female honors. She is a January 2008 daughter of S A V Bismarck 5682 and first won junior champion.
A P S Delegate won the title of grand champion bull after winning junior champion. The March 2008 son of MCC Blackout 404 is owned by Anne Patton Schubert, Taylorsville, Ky.
Moss SCL Freedom Warrior 768 received reserve grand champion bull honors after being named senior champion. The November 2007 son of TC Freedom 104 is owned by Canoe Creek Farm, Lancaster, Ky.
Maggie Jasper, Midway, Ky., owns the grand champion cow-calf pair. Champion Hill Blackbird 6167 is a May 2007 daughter of S A V Net Worth 4200. A March 2009 bull calf sired by S A V Bismarck 5682 is at side.
Jacob Haught, Brandenburg, Ky., claimed reserve grand champion cow-calf pair honors. J C H New Design Lucy 60 is the January 2006 daughter of Bon View New Design 878. A February 2009 bull calf sired by S A V Mandan 5664 completed the winning pair. |
| 7/8/2009 |
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