Wisconsin Sheep Breeders Co-op

Ray and Alice Antoniewicz, Jim and Donna Lein and Roger and Carol Watkins were named Wisconsin Master Shepherds when the Wisconsin Sheep Breeders Cooperative held its annual meeting and recognition banquet in Reedsburg on October 20. WSBC also presented the Art Pope Award to Marv and Ruth Espenscheid, the Agri-Communicator Award to Greg and Deb Deakin, and Wisconsin Sheep Industry Awards to both Mac McDermott and Jim Walker.

Ray and Alice Antoniewicz, named Wisconsin Master Shepherds in the Commercial Division, have operated A-Z Farm near Oregon for more than three decades. In 2000, they decided to venture into agri-tourism, opening their farm to the public on weekends during shearing and lambing and for special events and tours. In 2007, over 7000 people visited their farm. They sell lambs, sheep, poultry and rabbits, as well as the products they produce, including wool fleeces and woolen blankets. They have been recognized by the state agriculture department for their agri-tourism efforts.

Ray serves as a WSBC director and coordinates producers’ educational sessions at the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival. Alice recently retired as a nurse with pediatrics training and as a St. Mary’s Hospital supervisor in Madison, and Ray retired as the University of Wisconsin – Extension horse specialist.

Jim and Donna Lein of Arlington, Iowa, were named Wisconsin Master Shepherds in the Purebred Division. They started raising sheep 38 years ago as 4-H projects for their five children. They now maintain registered Corriedale and Lincoln flocks totaling 80 to 100 head, with the goal of improving the flocks to produce and sell quality breeding stock. Their wool is sold to crafters, spinners, weavers and commercial markets.

They have been long-time exhibitors at Wisconsin State Fair, being named premier exhibitor there eight times, plus they show at the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival, Minnesota and Iowa State Fairs and the North American International Livestock Exposition in Louisville, Ky. They also have been involved in WSBC’s Wisconsin Wool Works! and its Wisconsin Bred Ewe and Ewe Lamb Sale.

Roger and Carol Watkins of Mt. Horeb received the Wisconsin Master Shepherd Award in the Wool Division. Owners of Horseshoe Hollow Lincolns, their interest in sheep began 35 years ago when Carol bought two Cheviot sheep, wanting wool for quilt batting. As her interest in wool grew, the Watkins decided to start raising Lincolns and, since importing breeding stock from a top Canadian breeder in the late 1970s, they have concentrated on improving the quality of the breed.

Carol, a spinner, was one of the nine members of Spindrifters, a group of Mt. Horeb-area sheep producers who put on Shepherds Harvest, a two-day on-farm educational and retail event, for a number of years. Roger began showing sheep about 10 years ago, and they currently exhibit at state fairs in Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota, plus the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival and the North American International Livestock Exposition. Roger currently serves as secretary-treasurer of the National Lincoln Sheep Breeders Association.

Art Pope Award

Marv and Ruth Espenscheid of Argyle received the Art Pope Award. The award—in honor of Dr. Art Pope, both a sheep producer and University of Wisconsin – Madison professor emeritus of sheep science—is given for exceptional service to and active involvement in the sheep industry. In addition to raising registered Polled Hereford cattle on their Owego Stock Farm, the Espenscheids have served at the helm of the Wisconsin Livestock Breeders Association for 17 years and plan to retire from their positions at the end of 2007. During their tenure, WLBA has strengthened its youth programs, including starting annual showing and fitting camps and expanding scholarship programs.

Sheep Industry Awards

Mac McDermott of Milwaukee and Jim Walker of Dalton received Wisconsin Sheep Industry Awards, which recognize people with a long history of support and service to Wisconsin’s sheep industry.

McDermott was raised on a farm near Hustisford in Dodge County and, as a 4-H and FFA member, owned a flock of 50 commercial and purebred sheep. He served as a state FFA officer in 1948 and graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Madison school of agriculture. He joined Plankinton Packing Co., a division of Swift & Co., as a student livestock buyer at the Milwaukee Stockyards in 1955 after returning from Japan, where he had served with the U.S. Army Counter-Intelligence Corps. He later joined Packer Order Buyers as an order buyer and, in 1964, teamed up with Joe Pipes to form Pipes-McDermott Inc., which continues to operate as a livestock broker in Reeseville.

Walker started shearing sheep with his father, Melvin Walker, at the age of 15. He estimates he sheared over a half million sheep in Wisconsin, Illinois, Montana and North Dakota during his 54-year career. He won first place at the Wisconsin State Fair shearing contest 14 times. He was featured on a number of television programs, including once on a national telecast, plus he demonstrated shearing techniques at fairs, malls and educational events. He retired from shearing four years ago. He also raised Suffolk sheep, eventually selling his flock to Roger and Ida Price of Pardeeville.

Agri-Communicator Award

Greg and Deb Deakin of Cuba, Ill., were presented the Agri-Communicator Award. The Deakins launched The Banner Sheep Magazine, the nation’s largest all-breeds sheep magazine, in 1978. Deakin Family Farms started raising registered Hampshire sheep in 1958, and the Deakins currently raise 60 Border Leister and 25 Hampshire ewes. They also operate Banner Sales Management Company, managing about 15 sales from coast to coast each year.

WISCONSIN MASTER SHEPHERDS – The Wisconsin Sheep Breeders Cooperative presented Wisconsin Master Shepherd Awards to (from left to right) Alice and Ray Antoniewicz of Oregon, Carol and Roger Watkins of Mt. Horeb, and Donna and Jim Lein of Arlington, Iowa.

ART POPE AWARD—UW-Madison Sheep Professor Emeritus Art Pope (left) presented the award that bears his name to Marv and Ruth Espenscheid, who have headed the Wisconsin Livestock Breeders Association for the past 17 years.

Bred Ewe Sale Nets Record $825 Price

Bred Ewe Sale Draws

WSBC’s Wisconsin Bred Ewe and Ewe Lamb Sale was a record-breaking one. A Wether-type mature ewe purchased by Shawn O’Donovan of Brownsville brought a record price of $825 at the sale. Aceline Suffolks & Club Lambs, owned by Romaine and David Ace, of Brooklyn consigned the ewe. The purchase price is the highest ever paid for a ewe in the sale’s 55-year history.

Consignors and buyers came from five states—Wisconsin, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Minnesota—for the Wisconsin Bred Ewe and Ewe Lamb Sale, which was held November 3 in Janesville.

The sale brought a sale average of $342.95 on 39 head. The average was up slightly from the 2006 sale average of $333.09 on 34 head and the 2005 sale average of $333.82, also on 34 head. In 2004, 54 head averaged $282.22.

The champion Suffolk, a spring ewe lamb consigned by Aceline Suffolks & Club Lambs brought a sale price of $500, as did the reserve champion Suffolk, a winter ewe lamb consigned by Dick and Grace Piechowski of Waupaca. Angela Bedard of Vulcan, Mich., purchased both lambs. The Suffolk sale average on nine head was $302.79.

The champion Hampshire, a spring ewe lamb consigned by Alf Hampshires of Edgerton, was purchased for $450 by JA Hampshires of Platteville. O’Donovan purchased the reserve champion Hampshire, a winter ewe lamb consigned by Highland Hampshires of Denmark, for $300. The 13 Hampshire ewes in the sale brought an average of $380.77.

Meudt Show Lambs of Delavan consigned the spring ewe lamb that earned championship honors in the Wether-Type show. Sally Ebsch of Stephenson, Mich., bought the lamb for $400. The reserve champion Wether-Type ewe, a winter ewe lamb consigned by Aceline Suffolks & Club Lambs, was purchased by Angela Bedard for $325. The Wether-Type sale average was $358.93 on 14 head.

Linnemann’s Show Lambs of Genoa City bought both the champion and reserve champion Southdown ewes. The champion Southdown, a spring ewe lamb consigned by the Kohlman Family Farm of Plymouth, was purchased for $300, and the reserve champion Southdown, also a spring ewe lamb, was consigned by Misti Williams Southdowns of Ridott, Ill., and brought a sale price of $150. The Southdown sale average on three head was $225.

Festival Looks Ahead to 2008

Festival Looks Ahead to 2008

Several changes to the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival will give it a slightly different look, both legally and visually. The Festival is scheduled for September 5 through 7 at Jefferson Fair Park in Jefferson.

The Wisconsin Sheep Breeders Cooperative, the Festival sponsor, recently established the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival as a limited liability company (LLC). While the Festival remains a program of WSBC, the move provides greater liability protection for the cooperative and organizers. The change is not expected to have any significant visible impact on the programs and features of the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival.

A more visible change, though, will come in the form of a larger Festival catalog. The catalog will be magazine-sized.

“The catalog will retain its WSBC membership directory, detailed Festival information and opportunities for advertising, but with a larger format and without a bound edge, the planning committee believes the catalog will be easier to handle and give advertisers more bang for their buck,” explains Festival Chairman Bob Black.

One thing that will not change with the 2008 Festival is the need for volunteers. As the Festival grows, so does its need for volunteers willing to chair events and to serve on various committees both before and during the Festival. Particularly needed are people to work with junior sheep shows and activities and a chairman and committee members for the Silent and Shepherd Auctions. Dick and Sylvia Roembke of Cedarburg are stepping down as co-chairs of the Auctions.

“They have chaired the Auctions for the duration of the Festival and even back in the days when the Wisconsin Sheep Industry Conference had its auctions,” Black says. “They’ve been involved with this for a long time, and they’ve done a tremendous job in building this program and obtaining auction items so that WSBC could expand its funding for youth scholarships and educational programs.”

People interested in volunteering for the 2008 Festival should contact Bob Black at 608/623-3536 or rbblack@powercom.net.

Glunz, Hammer Receive WSBC Scholarships

WSBC Awards Scholarships

Allison Glunz of Osceola and Sara Hammer of Cuba City are the 2007 recipients of $500 post-secondary scholarships from the Wisconsin Sheep Breeders Cooperative. The scholarships were presented at the WSBC Annual Meeting on October 20 in Reedsburg.

Glunz, 20, the daughter of Greg and Shelby Glunz, is a 2005 graduate of Amery High School, and she currently attends the University of Wisconsin – River Falls, with a major in computer science. Her family owns a flock of about 30 registered Suffolks, and Glunz has been actively involved in daily farm chores as well as deworming, vaccinating, washing, shearing and fitting sheep. As a 4-H member, she showed sheep for seven years, including at the Polk County Fair, Interstate Livestock Show and Wisconsin State Fair. She received the Master Herdsman Award at the Interstate Show and was fourth place Premier Exhibitor at the Wisconsin State Fair. She served as a youth leader for her 4-H club’s sheep project.

Glunz has been highly involved with the Indianhead Sheep Breeders Association. For the past year, she has served as editor of its newsletter and web master of its website, www.indianheadsheep.com. She has served as the registration clerk for ISBA’s annual shepherds’ clinic for several years, and she works at the concession stand at the UW-River Falls sheep sale.

When she graduates from UW-River Falls in two years, Glunz plans to work in an information technology- or computer programming-related field. She also wants to continue working with ISBA’s newsletter and website.

Hammer, 20, the daughter of David and Katherine Hammer, is a 2005 graduate of Benton High School, and she currently attends the University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh, majoring in anthropology and minoring in history. She owns Knee Deep Lincolns and is a member of the National Lincoln Sheep Breeders Association, regularly attending its meetings and exhibiting at its national show.

When Hammer first joined 4-H, she showed market lambs and Columbia breeding stock at local fairs, including the Lafayette County Fair and Belmont School Fair, and she showed fleeces at the Wisconsin State Fair open fleece show. In 1997, she started showing Lincoln Longwool breeding stock at those shows as well as the open shows at the Iowa State Fair, Grant County Fair and Mississippi Valley Fair, plus the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival and National Lincoln Show and Sale. When she is not at school, she assists her parents in raising their flocks.

When she graduates from UW-Oshkosh, Hammer wants to attend graduate school in library science or work for a museum or university in research or archiving. After settling into a career, she wants to purchase a farm where she can raise a small flock of Lincoln sheep and further her involvement with the breed.

WSBC scholarships are based on high-school activities in agriculture, community service, participation in breed or other sheep-organization activities and career goals. The applicants or their families must be current WSBC members to be eligible for the scholarships.

Ram Test Meeting Planned for January 8

Wisconsin Sheep Breeders Cooperative

The Wisconsin Sheep Breeders Cooperative is hosting a meeting on Tuesday, January 8 to allow producers to discuss the status of the Wisconsin Ram Test, to explore suggestions for change and to give input for a possible Ram Test sale. The meeting will be held at the Headquarters Meeting Room at the UW Arlington Agricultural Research Station near Arlington at 7:30 p.m., but producers also may participate by conference call.

Conference callers for whom a call to Madison is a local call should dial 265-1001 and, when prompted for the conference code, use the phone’s keypad to punch in “8214#”. For those for whom a call to Madison is a long-distance call, call 1-800-462-1257, and then punch in “8214#” when prompted for the conference code. Those having trouble getting connected to the conference call should contact the Help Desk at 608/262-3399 or toll-free at 1-800-442-4614.

The Wisconsin Ram Test is a cooperative effort of the Wisconsin Sheep Breeders Cooperative and the University of Wisconsin – Madison Animal Sciences Department. The Wisconsin Ram Test provides a common environment through which both large- and small-scale producers can compare the growth rate and carcass merit genetics of their rams with rams from other flocks.

For more information, contact Todd Taylor, University shepherd, at 608/846-9536 or ToddTaylor@wiscmail.wisc.edu; Dave Thomas, UW-Madison sheep Extension specialist, at 608/263-4306 or dlthomas@wisc.edu; or Jill Alf, WSBC executive secretary, at 608/868-2505 or wisbc@centurytel.net.

Wisconsin Ram Test Begins 2008 Season

Wisconsin Ram Test

The Wisconsin Ram Test gets underway for 2008 with the delivery of January-born lambs to the Test station on March 29. Delivery dates for February- and March-born lambs are April 26 and May 24 respectively. These dates should be considered tentatively set pending any changes made at the January 8 meeting about the Wisconsin Ram Test.

The Wisconsin Ram Test, sponsored by the Wisconsin Sheep Breeders Cooperative in cooperation with the University of Wisconsin – Madison Animal Sciences Department and UW-Cooperative Extension, is designed to provide a sound testing program for use by both large and small producers. The Test provides a common environment in which to compare growth rates and carcass-merit genetics of rams in different flocks.

While some producers view the test as a way to determine which of their rams they will put into service in their own flocks, others view it as a marketing tool. When selling rams to others, they can document the proven performance of rams in the Wisconsin Ram Test, providing prospective buyers a level of assurance about the quality of genetics offered.

The Test, which takes place at Nelson Crest Farm near Janesville, consists of a one-week “warm-up” period during which lambs adjust to their surroundings, and then an eight-week test period. Rams are weighed every 14 days, and loin-eye area and back-fat ultrasound measurements are taken at the end of the test and adjusted to 135 pounds. Scrotal circumference of each ram is taken at the end of the test. In addition, rams are tested for genetic resistance to scrapie at Codons 171 and 136; this service is donated by GenAlysis Inc.

To participate in the Wisconsin Ram Test, ram owners must be WSBC members. Consignors can be from any state. The cost of submitting a ram for testing is $110 per ram. Producers wishing to consign rams should pre-register with Nils Nelson, Test station manager.

For complete details on the testing procedure and guidelines for entering rams, contact Nils Nelson at 608/876-6928 or Dave Thomas, UW-Madison sheep professor, at 608/263-4306 or dlthomas@wisc.edu. Information also is available on WSBC’s website, www.wisbc.com.

Wisconsin Wool Works! Enters its 10th Year

Wisconsin Wool Works

WSBC’s Wisconsin Wool Works! is starting its tenth year as a grassroots promotional tool for Wisconsin shepherds and the sheep and wool products they produce and utilize. Initially, Wisconsin Wool Works! consisted of educational displays, demonstrations and retail sales in the Sheep Barn at the Wisconsin State Fair. It expanded its retail sales to the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival six years ago and, currently, there are plans to look at possible online sales.

While Wisconsin Wool Works! provides a retail outlet for sheep and wool items produced and created by Wisconsin shepherds and fiber artists, the commission collected on sales also serves as an income stream for WSBC.

People interested in consigning items to Wisconsin Wool Works! in 2008—whether the items are sheep skins, roving, spun yarn, hand-knit scarves or sweaters or wool quilts—should contact Carol Black at 920/623-3536 or carol@ewesfulgifts.com.

Notes from the President’s Pen

Winter Shepherd 2007

Season’s Greetings!

BUSY: Adjective, (1) Engaged in activity, (2) Sustaining much activity.

I have heard the word “busy” quite often lately. I believe the times of the season have people much more aware of how their time is spent or how full their calendars are or are becoming. There are many reasons we feel overbooked or that our lives are not our own anymore. The most obvious one is the holiday season--lots to do, places to go, people to see. . .Christmas programs, parties, shopping and on and on. On a personal note, I feel the trend of instant gratification also lends itself to the feeling of craziness.

Something prompted me to take an inventory of sorts the other day--my personal computer went down--horror! Suddenly, I felt cut off from the world, and I realized how stilted my thinking had become. So, I did some soul searching. How could I possibly feel cut off from civilization? I have four(!) phones in my home--two cell phones and two land line phones (one of each for work and personal use)--and two computers (again, one for work and one personal) and two answering machines. No wonder people (myself included) always feel busy or at someone’s beck and call. Personally, I don’t think it is a healthy way to live, much as if we allow the holiday season to consume us and if we don’t make a conscious effort to remember the ‘reason for the season’ and actually mean it when we say, “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!”

Year-end is always a time of reflection for me, and I am sure, for many others. WSBC has had another eventful, successful year, and, yes, at times it was busy! As an organization, WSBC is involved in and sponsors many activities and opportunities. As one of the premier sheep organizations in the Midwest, we certainly offer many things to our members and the sheep industry as a whole. Once again, I urge you to become involved. WSBC certainly is a good value and provides many meaningful opportunities to participate in the industry.

My best to you and yours.

Gary T. Klug

President

. . .Good Things Happen

Good Things Happen

Hats off to these generous donors who gave merchandise or cash to the Wisconsin Sheep Breeders Cooperative’s Silent and Shepherds’ Benefit Auctions at the 2007 Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival. All proceeds go to educational programs and youth scholarships. Thanks to you. . . good things happen!

Aceline Suffolks & Club Lambs

Ace, Sandy

Alf Hampshires

Alf, Jessica

American Livestock Supply

American Sheep Industry

Annie’s Fiber Expressions

BaaBaa Acres/Anderson Hamps

Babe’s Fiber Garden

Badger State Auction & Real Estate

Barakel Farm

Barb Lassa Photography

Bear Lake Enterprise

Blackberry Ridge

Bockman, Harold

Briar Rose Fibers

Cedarburg Woolen Mill

Connors, Andy & Florence

Country Today, The/Jan Micke

Cutler Fence

Dochterman, Donna

Doggy Toy Land

Edgewood Arts

Erickson, Glenn

Ewesful Gifts

Fibertastic/Ellen Haynes

Frene Creek Farm

Gavenhale Acres

GenMark

Gray Haven Hills

Green Mountain Spinnery

Grunzel, Judy

Happy Hands

Heaven Sent Homespun

Homestead Acres

Horizon Rabbitry

Huacaya Moon

Hunter Nutrition

Illinois Wool & Fiber Mill

J & L Farm

J & L Lettering

Jehovah Jirah Farm

Jensen Spinning Wheels

JHT Club Lambs

Kent Feeds

Kimmet Croft Fiber

Lanner’s Pottery

Lieske, Jerry

Level Hills Farm/ Richard & Barb Schultz

Maple Row Stock & Wool

Marshall Spinners

Metcalf, Jane

Mid-States Livestock Supplies

Mohair in Motion

Nasco

Ogle Design & Happy Hands

PinnOak Ridge Farm/Steve & Darlene Pinnow

Profile Livestock Show Supply

Psalm 23 Farm

Reiman Publications

Rich Nes Alpacas

River’s Edge Weaving Studio

Roembke Hampshires

Sandy’s Palette

Schroeder Farm

Sheep! Magazine

Sheeping Beauty

Shepherd’s Rug, The

Siever’s School of Fiber Arts

Skaska Designs

Smiley Bear Design

Sunny Meade Woolies

Susan’s Fiber Shop

Sydell

Taylor, Jessica

Taylor, Justin

Taylor, Hannah

Taylor, Hayden

Taylor, Lynette

Tochay’s Farm Fibers

Townsend Sales

Watkins, Roger & Carol

Wisconsin Hampshire Sheep Assoc.

Wisconsin Sheep Breeders Co-op.

Wisconsin State Farmer

Wool Farm Crafts

Wool From Over The Hill

Wool, Warp & Wheel

Yarns by Design

Johnson Wins National FFA Award

Denise Johnson, 19

Nineteen-year-old Denise Johnson believes the growth in the size of her flock and impeccable records are what propelled her to the limelight at this year’s National FFA Convention in Louisville. Johnson, the daughter of Merle and Rhonda Johnson, Ridgeland, was named one of four finalists for the National FFA Proficiency Award in Sheep Production.

Johnson is a member of the Prairie Farm FFA Chapter, where Kristin Hanson is her FFA advisor.

She started raising Hampshire and crossbred sheep as a 4-H project, “and it expanded from there,” she says. Johnson, a junior member of the American Hampshire Sheep Association, eventually grew her flock to 58 head. She showed both market lambs and breeding stock at the Barron and Dunn County Fairs, the Northern Wisconsin State Fair and Wisconsin Livestock Breeders Northwest District Livestock Show. She particularly enjoyed competing in showmanship contests.

“That was the best competition you could have,” she says. “My first year in intermediate showmanship and my senior year, I won, and that was a highlight for me.”

Johnson credits Mary Hoffmann, her first agriculture teacher, with giving her a firm footing in the principles of good recordkeeping. To be a contender for state and national FFA Proficiency Awards, the records of the Supervised Agricultural Experience have to be very complete, she said.

“You can’t have a flaw in your records,” she explains. “It’s not good enough that you can understand what your records mean. You have to make sure that everything was stated clearly enough that other people can understand it.”

Johnson is a freshman at the University of Wisconsin – Barron County. After completing her general studies requirements, she expects to transfer either to UW-River Falls or UW-Stout to complete her degree. Ultimately, though, she hopes to continue raising sheep.

Denise Johnson

ISBA Plans February 9 Shepherd’s Clinic

Press Release

Indianhead Sheep Breeders Association is presenting its 14th Annual Shepherd’s Clinic and Trade Show on Saturday, February 9 at the Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College Conference Center in Rice Lake. The clinic, which has been a highly successful educational, promotional and social event with over 200 people from four states in attendance last year, begins with registration and continental breakfast from 8:00 to 8:45 a.m.

The all-day event features concurrent educational sessions for beginning to experienced shepherds on a wide variety of topics, a trade show, a silent auction, an all-day hands-on youth program with live sheep, and a roast lamb and chicken luncheon program including a live auction, awards and scholarship presentations. Educational session topics include sheep behavior, nutrition, wool quality and economics, sheep health, sheep basics for beginners, flock economics, risk management and more.

Featured speakers include Fred Provenza, Utah State University professor of range animal production; Dave Thomas, University of Wisconsin – Madison professor and Extension sheep specialist; Robert Padula, American Wool Council wool quality improvement consultant; Susan McClanahan, DVM, University of Minnesota small ruminant professor; and Dan Leiterman, Crystal Creek Inc. nutritionist and CEO.

Pre-registration fees are $16 for ISBA members and $20 for non-members. The youth program fees are $10, including an off-site lunch, for youth and interested parents, with a $30 maximum per family. There is an additional registration charge of $10 for the clinic and trade show and $2 for the youth program at the door or after January 31st. Fees include continental breakfast, refreshments and lunch. Discounted rooms are available at the nearby Rice Lake Best Western for Friday night. Reserve by calling 715/234-7017; mention the Indianhead Sheep Breeders Association Shepherd’s Clinic.

Additional information, pre-registration, sponsorship opportunities and trade show reservation information is available online at www.indianheadsheep.com or by contacting Greg Glunz at 715/268-6286 or Jeff Kieffer at 715/339-4223.

Lindsey Langer Wins Southdown Scholarship

Lindsey Langer Wins

Lindsey Langer, a sophomore at the University of Wisconsin – Platteville, was one of three students to receive a $500 scholarship from the American Southdown Breeders’ Association. The scholarships were presented during the 2007 North American International Livestock Exposition in Louisville in November. Other recipients were Amy Davis of Odell, Ill., and Sam Fortener of Troy, Ohio. It marked the first time the ASBA had presented scholarships to its junior members.

Langer, the daughter of Randy and Sue Langer, DeForest, is studying animal science with the goal of becoming a large-animal veterinarian. Her family has a large dairy farm, but, at the age of eight, she started a 4-H sheep project that grew into a state FFA Gold Sheep Production Proficiency Award. She was one of the five premier exhibitors at the 2007 Wisconsin State Fair.

Scholarships were awarded based on students’ Southdown experiences and achievements, leadership and activities within agriculture-related organizations and a short essay. Barbara Bishop of Rio serves as chairman of the ASBA scholarship committee.

Lindsey Langer