Hoosier Sheep Symposium slated for Sept. 21

HUNTINGTON, Ind. — The Purdue University College of Agriculture’s Indiana Sheep and Wool Market Development Program (IN S&W) and the Indiana Sheep Association (ISA) are jointly sponsoring the annual Hoosier Sheep Symposium on Sept. 21 at Huntington University, located at 502 Lake St. in Huntington. Expert speakers will explore topics such as sheep product marketing, wool pelleting and new sheep-related research from Purdue.

Symposium sessions include:

• “Marketing Your Lamb” — “Lamb-bassador” Nick Forrest, Forrest Family Farm
• “Benefits of Wool Pelleting in Indiana” — Whitney Schlegel, Marble Hill Farm
• GEMS national sheep research project — Luiz Brito, Purdue associate professor of animal sciences

“We are very excited about the program we have put together for this year’s symposium,” said Smith. “It is a great mix of pertinent topics impacting the Indiana sheep industry. I hope you can join us.”

All sessions will take place in the Habecker Dining Commons and the attached lobby. Breakfast (pastries and coffee) and lunch are included in the $30 registration fee. Registration begins at 9 a.m. ET, and the welcome message from ISA President Jane Smith will be at 9:45 a.m. If interested, register here; more information is available on the ISA website.

About the Indiana Sheep Association

The Indiana Sheep Association is one of the oldest livestock organizations in Indiana. It was originally founded as the Indiana Wool Growers Association in 1876 to encourage local shepherds to come together to share ideas and expertise, to promote lamb and wool in the state, and to educate our communities about the value of sheep and the sheep industry.

About the Indiana Sheep and Wool Market Development Program

The Indiana Sheep and Wool Market Development Program was created to support educational, promotional and research efforts involving sheep in Indiana. Funds for the council are collected from the sale of all sheep in Indiana — 0.5% of the net market price of each sheep sold. All funds collected by stockyards, sale managers, producers and others should be sent to the council’s business office at Purdue. See https://indianasheep.com/checkoff.php for more information.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a public research institution demonstrating excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities and with two colleges in the top four in the United States, Purdue discovers and disseminates knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 105,000 students study at Purdue across modalities and locations, including nearly 50,000 in person on the West Lafayette campus. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 13 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap — including its first comprehensive urban campus in Indianapolis, the Mitch Daniels School of Business, Purdue Computes and the One Health initiative — at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives.