Sheep Management Courses

Sheep Management Courses
Our Sheep Management Courses are entirely online, allowing you to explore both philosophy and practical management from the comfort of your home. With flexible scheduling, you can learn at your own pace, whenever it fits your day.
Introduction to Sheep Management LWMP 1001 (one credit)

Offered each Spring and Fall Semester online or via mail.
This course introduces basic sheep management principles. Students will study the year-round management and production cycle for a sheep enterprise and understand how each production stage influences enterprise profitability. This course also studies the philosophy of sheep management and its relationship to business goals.

Required textbook: None, lesson materials provided.
Lesson Topics

  1. Getting Started in the Sheep Business
  2. Your Ewes, Your Rams, and Their Health
  3. Breeding Strategies
  4. Lamb Feeding
  5. Facilities and Equipment
  6. Ewe Flock Economics
  7. Wool
  8. Pre-Lambing Management
  9. Lambing Time Management, Difficult Births, Baby Lamb Health
  10. Orphan or Bonus Lambs, Grafting
  11. Creeps and Creep Feeding
  12. Weaning and Weaning Methods
  13. Fitting and Showing Sheep
  14. Raising Versus Buying Replacement Ewes
Equipment and Facilities LWMP 1202 (two credits)

Offered online each Spring and Fall Semester.
This self-paced online course will cover planning for sheep facilities, barn design, lot layout, and sheep feeding equipment. Students will become aware of housing and feeding requirements and how to effectively plan for them.

Required textbook: SID Sheep Industry Handbook 2002 Edition, Vol.7
Lesson Topics

  1. Feeder Space Requirements
  2. Building and Lot Requirements
  3. Cold and Warm Barn Housing
  4. Insulation
  5. Air Intake and Ventilation
  6. Feeding and Watering Systems
  7. Making Lambing Time Easier
  8. Working Facilities
  9. Lambing Barn Evaluation
Introduction to Sheep Health LWMP 1300 (two credits)

Offered online each Spring and Fall Semester.
This self-paced online course helps students become familiar with sheep diseases that need to be managed in a successful sheep enterprise.

Required textbook: Gates’ Practical Guide to Sheep Disease Management, Third Edition
Lesson Topics

  1. Animal Behavior
  2. Animal Space Requirements
  3. Ventilation and Air Quality
  4. Importance of Nutrition
  5. Quality Assurance
  6. Biosecurity
  7. Young Lamb Health
  8. Metabolic Diseases
  9. Diseases Causing Abortions
  10. Lameness
  11. Diseases Affecting Rams
  12. Parasites
Ewe Ration Formulation LWMP 1502 (one credit)

Offered online each Spring and Fall Semester.
This self-paced online course will make students aware of the methods used to balance rations to meet the sheep's nutrient needs for each specific stage of production. The course will also cover the least cost ration balancing.

Required textbook: SID Sheep Industry Handbook 2002 Edition, Vol.7
Lesson Topics

  1. Digestive Physiology of the Sheep
  2. Nutritional Safety
  3. Feeder Space Requirements
  4. Nutrient Requirements of Sheep
  5. Nutritional Values of Feed Ingredients
  6. Reading Feed Tags
  7. Forage Sampling and Interpretation
  8. Ewe Ration Formulation and Evaluation
  9. Price per Pound of Nutrient
  10. Year-Round Feeding Plan
Wool Characteristics and Properties LWMP 1701 (two credits)

Offered online each Spring and Fall Semester.
This self-paced online course will provide an in-depth look at the biological development of wool fiber and the properties that make it a unique clothing fiber. In addition, this course will study the factors that determine the value of wool, how these can be improved, and methods to measure these qualities.

Required textbook: SID Sheep Industry Handbook 2002 Edition, Vol.7
Lesson Topics

  1. Biological Development of Wool
  2. Characteristics of Wool
  3. Wool Improvement
  4. Wool Harvest and Preparation
  5. Wool Contaminants
  6. Wool Marketing
  7. Worsted and Woolen Processing
Registration

Register online or contact Sue Lovell.

North Dakota and Wisconsin residents will be charged a higher tuition cost unless a reciprocity form is completed. A copy of the completed reciprocity form must accompany the registration form. See the application form for your state. Follow the instructions on how to print and complete the form. Contact the Lamb and Wool program if you need help completing the reciprocity form. Reciprocity forms must be completed online.

North Dakota Reciprocity  Wisconsin Reciprocity

South Dakota students should contact Minnesota West directly. South Dakota residents don’t need to send a form to their home state.

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