Annual Workshop on Sheep and Goats for Island Ranchers

The Hawaii Sheep and Goat Association will offer its annual two-day workshop on livestock and business management at Kahua Ranch in Kohala on Friday, Nov. 9 and Saturday, Nov. 10.

The workshop is sponsored in partnership with the Hawaii Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative and the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Although somewhat lesser known than the Big Island’s local beef industry, the HSGA strives to improve and strengthen the local sheep and goat community through marketing programs and education.

The first day’s workshop will focus on grazing management for healthy pastures with the featured speaker Charlie Orchard of Land EKG.

Since the bulk of the workshop will be in the field, participants are urged to be prepared for hot and sticky or cold and wet weather. They should wear hiking footwear and bring  stool or 5-gallon bucket on which to sit, bottled water and paper/pencil clipboard.

Saturday’s workshop will focus on animal and herd management with talks by Dr. Elizabeth Hamilton of Veterinary Associates, as well as sessions on record keeping, informational resources and more.

Tickets for the workshop are $75 for both days, and includes materials and lunch. Tickets for a barbeque dinner Friday night are available for an additional $25.

For those wanting to learn how to raise sheep or who need help learning how to manage their flock, the HGSA offers a mentoring program, and mentoring scholarships are available.

For more information contact Jan Den at 775-0401 or register online at www.hawaiisheepandgoat.com.