What is the primary focus of the association?
The Ohio Sheep Improvement Association (OSIA), which boasts around 400 members, focuses on educational  and legislative activities to make the Ohio’s sheep industry infrastructure stronger and more profitable. It also focuses on integrating youth programming into sheep production by sponsoring a variety of youth activities.

In order to increase educational programming, OSIA is able to utilize funds from the Ohio Sheep and Wool Program (OSWP), Ohio’s sheep, lamb and wool check-off program, which has been in place for 20 years. OSIA has been able to use the Ohio Sheep and Wool Program for promotion, education and research programs and activities.

“OSIA just couldn’t do as much without Ohio’s check-off program,” says Susan Shultz, OSIA president.
 
What fundraising/promotional activitiesdoes the association participate in?
A major activity for the OSIA is operating a booth at the Ohio State Fair, selling roast lamb sandwiches and lamb gyros to fair attendees. This major lamb-promotion activity has been named the best sandwich at the Ohio State Fair several years. In 2009, OSIA sold more than 4,000 pounds of lamb, consistently boasting the longest line of customers in the Ohio State Fair “Taste of Ohio Café,” the location at the fair which highlights all of the state’s commodity organizations.

“We’ve got a good lamb product to work with, and it also gets the OSIA members and Ohio producers involved in marketing the product that they produce,” says Roger A. High, OSIA executive director.

But according to High, membership is still the largest part of the OSIA’s funding sources. Second is the Ohio State Fair “Taste of Ohio Café,” and rounding out a significant portion of funding is the Ohio Sheep and Wool Program.

In addition, OSIA is very youth-oriented, hosting several youth events during the year. OSIA sponsors several Ohio Club Lamb Association events, the Ohio Sheep Youth Extravaganza breeding sheep show, the Ohio Lamb and Wool Queen Program, the Ohio Make It With Wool (MIWW) Contest and also provides the Ralph Grimshaw Memorial Scholarship, a $1,000 scholarship, which is given to a young person involved in sheep production and is attending college.

When and where is the association’s annual convention?
The association, now in its 60th year, hosts its annual Buckeye Shepherd Symposium in various locations throughout the state.  The Buckeye Shepherd’s Symposium has been held on the second Saturday of December for the last several years. The Buckeye Shepherd’s Symposium is also the site of the OSIA annual meeting each year.

What are the major issues of the association?
OSIA first has a goal to be service oriented to the sheep industry, and with sheep numbers down in so many areas, it focuses on education to keep producers informed on the best ways to stay in business and make money. The district programs, Buckeye Shepherd’s Symposium and the Ohio Sheep Day, are designed with workshops and speakers to help producers with marketing, profitability and a number of other topic areas important to sheep producers. OSIA has been able to do many of these programs because of the partnership that it has with Ohio State University Extension and Ohio State University Department of Animal Sciences. Currently, High serves both as the executive director of OSIA as well as the State Sheep Extension Program specialist for OSU.

Marketing of the state’s sheep, lambs and wool is an important issue, says High, mainly because of the diverse breeds that make up the Ohio sheep industry. This diversity has caused some issues with producing a consistent product for the diverse marketplaces that we have in Ohio.

“It’s very difficult for a producer to get one group of animals that are consistent for marketing,” says High.

However, says Shultz, the state’s producers are in a good location for ethnic marketing, so many producers, no matter the breed, have been able to take advantage of the diversity of breeds as well as the marketing.
“Our diversity can be a disadvantage but also an advantage because of the ethnic market. It depends on the producer’s market, but we have a market for just about anything,” she relates.

In addition, like many states, Ohio’s sheep producers face challenges from predators. Coyotes are an issue, as well as black vultures, which have caused many producers to stop pasturing lamb, which are a target for the protected birds. Domestic dogs also cause issues for sheep producers as well.

What are the unique aspects of the association?
Ohio is a state of diversity, playing host to both livestock and feedstuffs (primarily corn and soybeans) production, and the two go together well. As it is a large grain producing state, most livestock, sheep and lambs included, are raised or finished on grain in Ohio.

In addition, the type of sheep, lambs and wool produced in Ohio is very diverse, representing seed stock, commercial, club lambs and a variety of other types of sheep and lamb operations.

This diversity has been an asset, as OSIA members are very active in the local, state and national sheep industry. Many members have volunteered their time and asked to be part of committees and councils to make sure their production type is represented, says High.

“We can use the knowledge of a lot of different people to make the whole industry stronger,” High relates.

Also, Ohio is unique in that it is the largest (in production numbers) sheep producing state east of the Mississippi River, and ranks as the 13th largest sheep-producing state in the United States.  Ohio also ranks fourth in the number of sheep operations in the United States. Ohio is very proud of our heritage and history in the annals of U.S. sheep production, and the association’s hope is that it can continue to add to that heritage and history into the future.

Of note, Ohio will also host the upcoming ASI Regional Genetics Conference in conjunction with their Ohio Sheep Day program on July 10-11, 2010. This will be a comprehensive seminar on defining and selecting traits that can increase profits in sheep production.