Welcome to the Penn State Cooperative Extension Sheep Home Study Course! Lesson materials are available any time, although the course is run during the winter. Simply click on the topic title under each lesson and you will go directly to the material to read. You may read the material on screen or print it out for future reference.

The next course is scheduled to begin on February 3, 2010. Click here for more information about the course. To sign up for the course, complete the registration form and mail or fax to the Penn State Extension Office in Bedford County. Registration deadline is January 25, 2010.

Lesson 1: Basic Production Information

• Sheep Production Essentials: Some Guidelines for Success
• Wool Production Basics
• Sheep Selection

Lesson 4: Health

• Foot Rot
• Internal Parasites
• Scrapie
• Producer Responsibilities for Scrapie Eradication
• Docking and Castration
• Other Health Issues

Lesson 2: Reproduction

• Ram Soundness
• Flushing Ewes
• Preparing for Lambing
• The Process of Lambing

Lesson 5: Marketing

• What Is A Marketing Plan and How Do I Develop One?
• Marketing Meat Animals Directly to Consumers
• Goat and Lamb Holidays
• Fitting Breeding Sheep

Lesson 3: Nutrition

• Basic Ration Balancing
• Feeding the Flock
• Feeding the Market Lamb
• Grazing Alfalfa
• Strategies for Extending the Grazing Season
• Four Steps to Rotational Grazing

Lesson 6: Financial Information

• Farm Business Analysis
• Enterprise Budget Analysis
• Spring Lambing
• Milking Sheep
• Off Season and Accelerated Lamb Production