Episode 55: A Look at Ohio's Growing Sheep Industry with Roger High
When you think of the livestock industry, sheep might not be the first animal that comes to mind, but Roger High could convince you to think otherwise.
High is the executive director of the Ohio Sheep Improvement Association and the Ohio Sheep and Wool Program, organizations that seek to strengthen the viability, profitability, and sustainability of the Ohio sheep industry.
“In the last few years, the industry has gotten a lot of respect,” said High. “It’s really one of the more exciting livestock industries to be involved in right now.”
According to High, the Ohio sheep industry has seen significant growth in recent years. With over 4,200 sheep operations and approximately 120,000 total sheep, Ohio now ranks 11th in the country for sheep numbers and fourth in the number of sheep operations.
In this AgCredit Said It Podcast episode, we interviewed High to discuss the exciting things happening in the Ohio sheep industry, from the growing interest in confinement operations to solar grazing and more.
Diverse Operations
The Ohio sheep industry has a wide range of sheep operations that cater to the different needs and interests of producers.
“The Ohio sheep industry, much like across the country, is just extremely diverse,” said High. “We’ve got all different types of operations from large commercial operations to small commercial operations. We’ve got several lamb feedlots in Ohio where those western lambs are coming in all the way from California to be fed out on Ohio grains.”
Ohio also boasts a large purebred and club lamb industry, with many of these showcased at local county fairs and the state far. High also acknowledges that Ohio has many hobby flocks, with individuals who manage their farms on a part-time basis while working off the farm.
The rise in sheep operations is not limited to conventional farming operations. High pointed out that substantial growth has been seen in Amish communities. These communities, particularly in Ashland, Holmes, Wayne, and Knox County, have witnessed a surge in sheep production as other industries, such as dairy, have declined. Their access to land, livestock knowledge, and labor availability have contributed to their success.
Another emerging aspect of the industry is the adoption of solar grazing. “Sheep are really the only livestock species that works under solar panels,” explained High. While cattle, goats, and pigs may cause damage, sheep have been shown to graze effectively under solar panels. The concept of agrivoltaics, which combines agriculture and solar power, is holding potential for the sheep industry.
One last area of Ohio sheep production that has seen a significant expansion is confinement operations, where sheep are primarily raised in barns. High said this approach offers several benefits, including a reduction in predators and parasites. Given the increasing value of land, these operations are particularly advantageous, allowing producers to raise large numbers of sheep on less land, maximizing productivity.
Industry Priorities
As the executive director of the Ohio Sheep Improvement Association (OSIA), High outlined some of the key priorities for the upcoming year. While some priorities remain consistent from year to year, there are several areas of focus for 2024.
One of the association's main priorities is legislative advocacy. High emphasized the OSIA’s active involvement with other commodity groups, collectively known as the Commodity Roundtable. Together, these groups work collaboratively on legislative matters affecting the industry to stay engaged with policymakers and advocate for the needs and interests of sheep producers.
Youth programs and education also play a crucial role in the OSIA’s priorities. High highlighted the OSIA Lead Council, a youth program with around 400 participants. “We need to make sure that we’re involving young people in our committees and organizations because they are the future,” said High. The OSIA has hosted various programs aimed at sharing knowledge and fostering growth within the industry, including the Buckeye Shepherd Symposium and the Buckeye Young Shepherds Expo, which seeks to engage young people and attract them to the sheep industry.
Another key area of focus is nutrient management and water quality. High emphasized, “Whether you’re in the northwest part of Ohio or you’re in the southeast part of Ohio, we have to talk about nutrient management.” With increasing awareness of environmental concerns, the association recognizes the significance of sustainable farming practices and actively supports initiatives to improve water quality.
Challenges
Much like agriculture as a whole, the sheep industry faces its own unique set of challenges. High emphasized the need for skilled sheep shearers and their role in maintaining the health of sheep. “Sheep shearing is not something you can learn overnight,” explained High. To address this concern, the OSIA has collaborated with the Sheep Shearing School at the Ohio State University Extension to support and promote this essential skill.
Predators such as coyotes and wild dogs are also a persistent issue for sheep farmers. High also drew attention to the emerging threat of black vultures, noting their increasing presence in Ohio.
In addition to predators, finding value for the wool produced by sheep has become increasingly challenging. High acknowledged the importance of exploring alternative avenues for wool production, such as using wool pellets for gardening. Researchers are actively working on innovative ways to address this concern.
Despite these obstacles, the Ohio Sheep industry is experiencing growth and diversification, making it an exciting industry to be involved in.
Here’s a glance at this episode:
- [01:25] Roger introduces himself and his background in the sheep industry.
- [03:11] Roger shares about growing up in the sheep industry, leading to a degree in animal science and ag education, and many career roles in the sheep industry.
- [06:49] Roger shares information about the Ohio sheep industry, including its growth and diversity in different types of operations.
- [11:01] Roger describes the Ohio Sheep Improvement Association’s biggest priorities, which include legislative work, youth programs, and nutrient management and water quality.
- [18:48] Roger highlights the importance of sheep shearing education and the expansion of sheep confinement operations.
- [24:40] Roger shares some of the ways the Ohio Sheep Improvement Association connects with the general public.
- [28:25] Roger mentions some of the challenges sheep producers face.
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- Transcription
Voiceover (00:07):Welcome to AgCredit Said It. In each episode, our hosts sit down with experts from all parts of the agriculture industry to bring you insights and must have information on all things from farming to finances and everything in between.
Libby Wixtead (00:29):Welcome back to AgCredit Said It. This is Libby Wixtead, and today I have the Executive Director of the Ohio Sheep Improvement Association, Roger High with us today. Roger wears many hats, but you could say they're all made of wool. With his degree in Animal Science and Ag Education from The Ohio State University, Roger has built a career in the sheep and wool industry. His title list includes OSU State Sheep Extension Program Specialist, Executive Director for the Ohio Sheep Improvement Association and Sheep and Wool program, Livestock Director for the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, OSU Animal Science, Instructor, producer, sheep shearer, and livestock judge, to name a few. With this large list, he still says his passion and place is on the farm running his sheep operation with his family. Roger, we are so excited to have you with us today.
Roger High (01:25):Well, I'm certainly excited to be here and talk a little bit about Ohio's sheep and lamb and wool industry. It's certainly been a major part of my life and my family's life, and showing livestock with my parents and my family and certainly with my son Adam has always been a really exciting part of my life and getting out there and getting to know the sheep producers and judging sheep shows all over the state of Ohio and all over the country has just been a really exciting part of my life.
(02:00):But having my own little sheep flock there when Adam and Holly and I had our sheep flock there, I still got a few, certainly smaller, Libby read a lot of hats that I do there, and I think a lot of those have not only created me to have the sheep flock, but also to maybe reduce my numbers just a little bit in the last few years, and I may still maintain around 20 ewes. My wife Holly says I really can't get rid of them yet. So they're still there. I enjoy them. I got some lambs running around there, and so just have made my life and my passion the sheep industry.
Libby Wixtead (02:45):Yeah, I know if there's anything going on with a sheep show or anything with the association, you're always there. You are out and about. We see you as a frequent at the Marion County Fair, which we are glad to have you. Can you tell us how you got to wear all of these hats? It was quite a list. Where did you start and how did you get to all of these positions?
Roger High (03:11):Well, I think, like I mentioned, I kind of grew up in the sheep industry. My mom and dad, Glenn and Joanne High from Morrow County had a fairly large sheep flock. We traveled the show circuit for many years around many different areas, and counties around Morrow County, showing the sheep with my sisters and brother. And so my passion about the sheep industry started really young. Me and my siblings were the chore people when dad worked at GM over in Ontario. And so it was really important for us to be able to work together as a family. And I think families that work together in general stay together a lot more and they develop a lot of good relationships, not only with themselves, but also people in the industry. And I think I just took those relationships onto my career. Many times I say the sheep industry is my career, it's my hobby, it's my friends are sheep people.
(04:25):And so I went down to the Ohio State University and studied animal science and got out to the OSU Sheep Barn and worked with Ron Gunther and a lot of good people out there and Dr. Judy and Ralph Grimshaw and those people. And just continued on, went out into teaching for four or five years and came back as the shepherd of the Ohio State University sheep flock in 1990 and started off there four or five years later, kind of did both the shepherding work and then OSU Extension Program Specialist for the sheep industry. And eventually a couple of years later moved up to extension. In 2004, as I was working with the OSU Sheep Extension, Dr. Bobby Moser and Jack Fisher got together and both of them needed somebody to work in each of the positions, not only as the sheep specialist, but also somebody to run the organization the Ohio Sheep Improvement Association, Ohio Sheep and Wool program.
(05:33):And so they kind of tagged me into that. So for 20 years now, I've also been executive director of those organizations. And a little bit over seven years ago, I retired from the Ohio State University and I have stayed on in a full-time position with the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation as the Director of Livestock also continued with the Ohio Sheep Improvement Association, Ohio Sheep and Wool program. So that's kind of how we got here. Lots of different angles and lots of combinations that took place to make, for me, a very successful career in the livestock and the agriculture and then the sheep industry.
Libby Wixtead (06:17):Yeah. You've had a lot of experiences in different parts, from teaching, industry, being in the college. I mean, Ohio is very proud to have you in the position that you are because you are so experienced. Can you share with us, just give us a background of what the Ohio sheep industry looks like since it's grown in the past couple of years here, and just tell us a little bit about the background and what it looks like?
Roger High (06:49):Absolutely. Well, the Ohio sheep industry, much like across the country, is just extremely diverse. We've got all different types of operations. We've got commercial operations, large commercial, small commercial. We've got lamb feed lots, we've got several lamb feed lots in Ohio that actually bring in a lot of those Western lambs in from all the way to California and all across and feed those lambs out on Ohio grains. We're proud to say that a lot of those, that Ohio-grown corn and Ohio-grown soybeans are going through those lambs. We have a very large purebred industry as you can go to a lot of the fairs and the state fair and see many of the purebred breeds that are in the world are right here in Ohio. Club lamb industry is extremely large and important as well in our industry. Got a lot of hobby flocks.
(07:51):I sometimes say mine's a hobby flock. I try to make it as productive as possible, but knowing that our industry, our association, our checkoff program, we have to represent all of those types of operations. And so when I create boards or I work with both of my boards, I attempt to be cognizant of trying to get a representation, a broad representation of all of those types of operations. So Ohio has probably around 120,000 sheep somewhere in there. We actually rank 11th in the country of sheep numbers and then rank fourth in the number of sheep operations, so very significant. And that's just a little bit over 4,200 sheep operations in Ohio. So for many people, it's an important part-time job for them to work off the farm, come back, and still be able to manage their sheep farms, sheep flocks, and agricultural enterprises on a part-time basis in the evenings, on weekends, and things like that.
Libby Wixtead (09:08):When you think of where Ohio ranks and other industries, I guess I didn't realize that our sheep industry was ranked that high in the nation, and that's really exciting. That really just tells us that Ohio is - agriculture is the number one industry and is helping lead our country in agriculture.
Roger High (09:31):One of the other things I wanted to mention is we've seen huge growth in the Amish communities in sheep production. That's been a really exciting part of our growth of our industry is to, if you go into some of those communities in Ashland and Holmes and Wayne and even Knox County where you just see large flocks of sheep farms, the dairy industry left them. And so a lot of those to stay, they've got land, they've got livestock knowledge, they got labor, and so they've really increased it. The other part of our industry that we're kind of just infantile on and just starting to move into is the whole area of solar grazing. And so sheep are one of those species, are really the one species that works under solar panels, goats climb, cattle knock them over, pigs dig. But the interest in the solar grazing and sheep production across the country is a really huge part of the discussion of what we're doing as an industry.
Libby Wixtead (10:41):Yeah, I mean, that's a great point to bring up that with the solar panel farms going up, that is another way to connect agriculture to that controversial, that topic.
Roger High (10:53):Agrivoltaics is the term.
Libby Wixtead (10:56):Oh wow, what a word.
Roger High (10:56):Agrivoltaics agriculture and power together.
Libby Wixtead (11:01):Okay. Well, we'll have to put something in the show notes about that. We'll have to dig into Roger's knowledge on that. Roger, you talked about creating a board that is very diverse and each of those different parts of the industry I'm sure have their own struggles and their own priorities. And you said that just right before we got on here, that you guys had just come up with your priorities for 2024. What are those priorities that you guys are looking at to act on here in this next year?
Roger High (11:35):Yeah, it was really interesting when I got the notes here, just a day or so from Libby, that one of them was what are our priorities? And we had our OSIA, Ohio Sheep Improvement Association board meeting Tuesday night, and approved the 2024 list of priorities, and not that they change a whole lot from year to year, but many of them certainly include that OSIA membership and making sure we're getting out and getting membership and membership income and that we're representing all of our sheep producers in those... By diverse boards, and certainly one of our big things is legislative. I mean, we're very active with the other commodity groups, so we are collectively called the Commodity Roundtable and all of the commodity groups work really well together on legislative type things in the industry. One of the next areas that I'll pinpoint is the whole area of that Ohio Exposition Center at the Ohio State Fair, very important for our producers.
(12:46):We have a tremendous youth program here in Ohio called the OSIA Lead Council. And so the importance of the state fair to them, to our youth and to our families that produce sheep is really important. So we've really been on top of this phase one of the reconstruction, the $270 million reconstruction of the state fair. Certainly we're going to kind of lose out here for a couple of years with the taste of Ohio Cafe being taken down and wait a couple of years until something is rebuilt. But we've been very, very active and reactive to some of the things that are going on at the state fair. We have a really, really important council and committee structure so that our members know that what's happening out there is being done by members, that they're active, that they're putting these programs together. And we really have 11 major committees that work together to make things happen in our industry.
(13:57):And as I mentioned there just a moment ago, probably one of the larger parts of that is our OSIA Lead Council, which is our youth program. We have around 400 youth that are involved in somewhat or other in our youth programming. So, very important. We all talk about this. The whole agriculture industry talks about this, and that's nutrient management and water quality. And whether you're in the northwest part of Ohio or whether you're in the southeast part of Ohio, we have to talk about nutrient management. We have to talk about water quality because that's really the one thing that, that's one of the things that really as an agricultural commodity organization or agricultural organization, we can really talk about and make it really important because it really is important. Education, we're very involved in a lot of educational programs that primary one to us is the Buckeye Shepherd Symposium, which will be held in December.
(15:07):We have started the last few years, the Buckeye Young Shepherds Expo, which is basically kind of a symposium for young people. And we will have 200 to 300 young people attend that each year, Young Shepherds Assemblies to try to bring young people into our organization. And then we host a sheep industry tour. So one of the things that we all need to concentrate on is to make sure that we're involving young people in our committees and our councils in our organization because they're really the future. I have been and will continue to be a succession planner. Who takes over for me, who takes over for that generation as they get older and who takes over for them? So I think it's really important for us to get those 20 year-olds, 30 year-olds involved in our organization. So one of the things that we're doing this year, actually two things.
(16:15):We're celebrating our 75th anniversary-
Libby Wixtead (16:18):Congratulations.
Roger High (16:19):... of our organization. And so we're going to be doing some things around that. And I look at, we've got over those 75 years, we've had around 50 presidents of our organization, 20 of those are still living, and so we're probably going to try to have a little celebration. So I think it's really important that we celebrate those successes, and it's the 35th year of our Ohio Sheep and Wool Program, which is our checkoff program. And that's really that one part of our industry that's really kept financially, has held the industry up as it does in every commodity. Checkoffs are really important to hold up the financial, and we always talk about sheep industry growth. We've talked about that a little bit. The diversity of the industry, the Amish populations, all of those things are really important for our industry.
Libby Wixtead (17:13):And I think as Ohio, just the diversity of people that are coming to Ohio, I think that the sheep industry is just going to continue to grow.
Roger High (17:21):We certainly hope so.
Libby Wixtead (17:23):Yes, and I can attest to what you guys have done with your youth program and trying to get youth involved and just even non-ag kids exposed to the sheep industry, and you guys do a great job of that. Roger, that was probably back to when I was a student at Ohio State when you still taught there, but still, that is so important for, you talk about that succession plan. We stress that here at AgCredit with our farmers, but also in business and in the industry. It's hard to get young people involved, but it's so important because they are the future and they are the ones who need to fill that void. And we really need the young people to step up and become those board members or just pay attention to what's going on for when it is their turn.
Roger High (18:21):And certainly we have a lot of sponsors of our youth program and of our educational programs is we certainly want to thank AgCredit for being a major sponsor of all those programs. It's very important that companies like AgCredit are part of that success, not only from the leadership standpoint, but from the financial standpoint of the strength of our industry.
Libby Wixtead (18:48):You're welcome. And we are happy, very happy to be supporting the industry. And I want to talk about, you talked about your committees and how hands-on they are, having the members being the ones that are doing things. Can you tell our listeners about your programs such as the Shearing School and the Grazing and Forage Tours?
Roger High (19:15):Yeah, we've been very involved. One of the issues that we can talk about is sheep shearers, and we've given that program as we work with it, the Shearing School to OSU Extension. And we're still very supportive from the standpoint of promoting that and helping through the checkoff, but it is very hands-on. Sheep shearing is not something you learn overnight. I have to explain to people that this is not, you can, but it's more difficult to learn the older you get. I went to sheep shearing school in Morrow County when I was 14 and 16, and I was a little guy, and that's when I learned the footwork of it and everything. And so I think it's important that we bring young people into those types of things. It's great income. I've made a lot of money over the years shearing sheep through high school and through college and even still now, I can still go out and I don't like to take a lot of sheep at one time, but I take a few.
(20:30):And then we do a lot of tours, not only grazing and forage tours, but one of the areas that we're really seeing an expansion in is confinement operations where the sheep are primarily raised inside, and the benefit of that is reduction of predators and reduction of parasites. And so last year, not this past year, in 2022, we held a tour. We sponsored a tour with four confinement-type operations because land is becoming more valuable as we talk, and if they can find a building or build a building or put up a building on a lot less land and raise a lot of sheep in a building, then that's productive. So I think it's really important for us to get out and show those types of operations. Another part of that is, as everybody probably knows, we've become kind of not only national, but international travelers because I think it's really important for us to see what the rest of the country and rest of the world does.
(21:42):I've just got back with my group from New Zealand this past year, and I think it's, even though you think, well, you're just going to New Zealand, but you're also gaining knowledge about what a major sheep producing country does with sheep production and those types of things. So that's kind of a hands-on thing, even though it's some travel and it's enjoyable, but it does get our people to see other parts of the world. So yeah, we're trying to do as much education as we can because that's the one way that we can hopefully improve the productivity and the profitability of our sheep flocks.
Libby Wixtead (22:23):I want to go back to the confinement barn piece of it, and I can see where the nutrient management piece of it is going to be very important if that is the way that the industry starts to go. I can't imagine that there are that many confinement barns that are out there right now.
Roger High (22:42):Well, there's not a lot, but they're getting to be more, there's more interest in that. And you're exactly right. You're not going to have your sheep out on pastures as much dealing with parasites and predators like coyotes and wild dogs and things like that. But certainly you're going to have to manage your nutrition much differently. And then that's also going to reflect into the nutrients, because you're going to have your nutrients more concentrated. In a barn you're going to have to deal with manure management. You're going to have to go in there and clean those barns on a frequent basis. That manure is going to have to either be composted for a period of time or it's going to have to go out onto some farmer's land because a lot of these people that are sheep farmers that are doing confinement may not have land to put manure on, so where's it going to go? So nutrient management even becomes a bigger issue when we talk about confinement operations. You're exactly right, Libby.
Libby Wixtead (23:39):Yeah. I'm just sitting here thinking too, we've talked about before, young beginning farmers, the way that some of them have come back into an operation is with a swine contract barn, but I see this as a way for young beginning farmers to come back to the farm and diversify that operation with the sheep industry and grow it that way and have something that's a little different than kind of that other traditional route. So just be thinking about that listeners, if you are a young beginning farmer looking to diversify, this might be something that's on the horizon to look at, and we can use Roger as a resource and get more information out there. We are going to talk about now how the Ohio Sheep Improvement Association connects with the public to share the work and inform the public about their industry.
Roger High (24:40):Well, I certainly, think what we've talked about before is educational programs. We've attempted to build a website that not only is beneficial to our producers, but also every so often I'll get a comment, in fact, I did the other day about a classroom teacher sent me an email and she says, it's kind of an off thing that, "Hey, I really enjoyed your website. We gained a lot about the industry about it." And I think one of the things that we've been working on collectively as a commodity round table and certainly Farm Bureau and Nationwide, is this multi-species animal learning center that's going to start being built. We did groundbreaking on Tuesday, cold Tuesday, we did the groundbreaking on that. We're going to be involved in, that's going to be very much so a student-faculty as well as a public interface of the animal industry.
(25:43):So we're looking forward to getting that built, be able to maybe put some educational programs, but probably what we're doing now, mostly from the public, the industry public interface is what we do at the Ohio State Fair. There in the sheep barn, we have an educational display area named after a past sheep specialist and executive director, Ralph Grimshaw. And then we've also been involved in every so often with the Ohio Farm Bureau Land and Living building, or we have a sheep display in there. Again, that's probably going to be a little bit on hold here the next couple of years because those buildings won't be there until 2026, but we try to do as much as we can to inform the public about what the sheep and the lamb and the wool industry is dealing with.
Libby Wixtead (26:36):So the improvements that are being done at the state fair are really key to you guys reaching out and educating industry partners and also non-ag public.
Roger High (26:51):Exactly.
Libby Wixtead (26:51):And so you guys are really welcoming all of those changes that are coming to the state fair.
Roger High (26:56):Yeah, we're really looking forward to some new buildings, new ways that we can connect with the public rather than old worn-out buildings. Everything will be brand new, and we know it's a huge undertaking for the Ohio Expo Center and also the agricultural community, but we think on the other side of that, that there's going to be some real benefits to not only the state fair, but also agriculture in that new, redesigned, moving through the phases of the state fair and the development of it. I think we're just all really excited to see what it looks like on the other side of this major reconstruction. Well, first of all, major destruction and then reconstruction of the new buildings over the next couple of years.
Libby Wixtead (27:49):Yes. I mean, it is exciting just for agriculture, and we are lucky in Ohio that there is value there and that our politicians see that value and really understand that that is very much needed. We haven't really talked necessarily about some challenges that Ohio sheep producers are facing. We've kind of talked about the priorities, but what are some of the challenges that you guys are really facing that you're trying to work towards helping your producers overcome?
Roger High (28:25):Well, I think challenges are in all of agriculture, but I think the things that we deal with is it's not been until the last few years really, and I think we talked about this earlier, that the industry's gotten a lot of respect. Now we talk to family and we talk to friends, and it's really one of the more exciting livestock industries to be involved in right now. Lamb prices are good. Probably our biggest challenges continue to be and always will be, not only in Ohio, but across the country, is predators. The coyote situation is everywhere. Certainly we got wild dogs. One of the ones that continues to grow is the black vulture issue as a major predator, and then wool markets with the loss in 2023 of Mid States Wool Growers, it's more of a struggle not only to get rid of the wool that our sheep produce, but then to find any value to it.
(29:42):And so I know there's a lot of people working on what can we do with wool all the way from clothing or wool pellets for gardening. And so there's a lot of research and a lot of thought going into some of those things. But I think that agriculture will always have challenges. I think we've talked about a couple of those things with nutrient management, with water quality, and I think we just need to continue to talk with our producers, not only our crop producers, but our livestock producers about making sure that we're doing the right things for nutrient management, water quality, so that we can continue to do the good things that agriculture does.
Libby Wixtead (30:31):Yeah, in any industry that we have talked to on our podcast or just in any of our meetings, I mean, that is what we come back to, and especially for AgCredit being in northwest Ohio. I mean that nutrient management and water quality piece is coming up over and over again, which does remind me to say that if you are enrolled in the H2Ohio program, that interest savings program on any equipment that you're purchasing that falls into that category for the interest savings program is still out there. There's still funding available. Any of our listeners, keep that in mind if you guys are purchasing anything here for the spring or the summer, just talk to your local loan officer about that. I think that will do it for this episode. Roger, we are so happy to have spent this time with you today and sharing all the exciting things about the sheep industry.
Roger High (31:31):Yep. It's been a pleasure to be here and to spend some time with you and AgCredit about some of the things that are going on in the sheep industry. It's a pretty exciting time for our industry as well as for agriculture.
Libby Wixtead (31:43):That will do it for another episode of AgCredit Said it. We will talk to you guys next time.
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