The 64th Annual Spooner Sheep Day will be held at the Spooner Agricultural Research Station on Saturday, Aug. 27. Registration will open at 8:30 a.m. at the station headquarters (W6646 Hwy 70, Spooner, Wis. 54801). The educational program will start at 9:15 a.m. and end at approximately 3:30 p.m.

It is very likely that the 2016 event will be the last Spooner Sheep Day because the sheep are to be sold in October due to budget cuts to the University of Wisconsin System.

OUT TO PASTURE: These ewes, along with the rest of the flock at Spooner Ag Research Station, will be sold in October due to the budget cuts to the UW System.

The Spooner Agricultural Research Station was established in 1908 and is the oldest of the several agricultural research stations operated throughout Wisconsin by the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Sheep were introduced to the Spooner Station in 1936 and the first sheep field day was held in 1953. The Spooner Sheep Day is thought to be the longest-running agricultural field day of the several held each year by CALS.

This year’s program will be a look back and a celebration of the accomplishments and impact of the Spooner sheep program. The program is not yet finalized, but confirmed speakers include:

• Dr. Dave Thomas, professor of sheep management and genetics, UW-Madison

• Dr. Richard “Dick” Vatthauer – emeritus professor and former beef and sheep Extension specialist, UW-Madison

• Dr. Sherwood “Woody” Lane – previous beef and sheep Extension specialist, UW-Madison and current grazing consultant, Roseburg, Ore.

• Robert “Bob” Rand, former superintendent, Spooner Ag Research Station, UW-Madison

• Yves Berger, emeritus sheep researcher and former superintendent, Spooner Ag Research Station, UW-Madison

• Philip “Phil” Holman, current superintendent, Spooner Ag Research Station, UW-Madison

• Laurel Kieffer, dairy sheep producer from Strum and president, Dairy Sheep Association of North America

• Duane Klindworth, sheep producer and immediate past president, Indianhead Sheep Breeders Association, Augusta

• Dr. Maristela Rovai, previous post-doctoral student at Spooner Ag Research Station and current dairy (cattle) Extension specialist, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD

• Dr. Claire Sandrock, previous M.S. and Ph.D. graduate student at Spooner Ag Research Station and current program manager, Center for Special Children, Vernon Memorial Healthcare, LaFarge

• Alexa Roscizewski, undergraduate student, Department of Animal Sciences, UW-Madison and current summer sheep intern at Spooner Ag Research Station

Check in the near future for a complete schedule at the UW-Madison Sheep and Goat Extension Web Site: fyi.uwex.edu/wisheepandgoat/ or the web site of the Spooner Ag Research Station: spooner.ars.wisc.edu/, or contact Lorraine Toman at the Spooner Agricultural Research Station ([email protected], 715-635-3735) or Dave Thomas at UW-Madison ([email protected], 608-263-4306) for additional information.

Pre-registration for this event is required with a deadline of Aug. 19.  Contact Lorraine Toman at the Spooner Agricultural Research Station at 715-635-3735 or [email protected] to register. Space may be limited. Attendance at the educational sessions is free, but a nominal fee will be charged for a delicious lamb lunch. 

Source: UW-Livestock Department