Campbell, Stu. Let It Rot. North Adams, MA: Storey Publishing, 1998. Great information about preparing and using compost.
Carroll, Ricki. Home Cheese Making. North Adams, MA: Storey Publishing, 1996.
A good starting point if you want to try making your own sheep’s-milk cheese.
Cavitch, Susan Miller. The Natural Soap Book. North Adams, MA: Storey Publishing, 1995.
Basic soap-making instructions and specialty techniques like marbling, layering, and making transparent and liquid soaps.
Damerow, Gail. Fences for Pasture & Garden. North Adams, MA: Storey Publishing, 1992.
This book is packed full of great advice and techniques for building all types of fencing.
Ekarius, Carol. How to Build Animal Housing. North Adams, MA: Storey Publishing, 2004.
The definitive guide to building suitable housing for our animals.
———. Small-Scale Livestock Farming. North Adams, MA: Storey Publishing, 1999.
If you want to learn more about managed grazing, marketing, and general animal husbandry, read this book.
———. Storey’s Illustrated Breed Guide to Sheep, Goats, Cattle, and Pigs. North Adams, MA: Storey Publishing, 2008.
This book provides in-depth details on all the breeds and is lavishly illustrated with full-color photos of each breed.
Fogt, Bruce. Lessons from a Stock Dog. Sidney, OH: Working Border Collie, Inc., 1996.
For any novice herding-dog trainer, from the publisher of Working Border Collie magazine.
Haynes, Bruce. Keeping Livestock Healthy. North Adams, MA: Storey Publishing, 1994.
Anyone raising livestock should have a copy of this book.
Hirning, H. J., et al. Sheep Housing and Equipment Handbook. Ames, IA: MidWest Plan Service, 1994.
Excellent plans for sheep buildings and all sorts of equipment. Available online at www.mwps.org.
Kahn, Cynthia M., Scott Line, and Susan E. Aiello, eds. The Merck Veterinary Manual, 9th edition. Whitehouse Station, NJ: Merck & Co. Inc., 2005.
This title is also available online at www.merckvetmanual.com.
Martin, Ann. Food Pets Die For: Shocking Facts about Pet Food. Troutdale, OR: New Sage Press, 1997.
Good info if you want to market pet food.
Oppenheimer, Betty. The Candlemaker’s Companion. North Adams, MA: Storey Publishing, 1997.
A great book for candlemakers of all abilities.
Reavis, Charles. Home Sausage Making. North Adams, MA: Storey Publishing, 2003.
Sausage is a great way to use mutton!
Robinson, Jo. Pasture Perfect. Vashon Island, WA: Vashon Island Press, 2004.
A must-read for anyone marketing grass-fed meat.
Schroedter, Peter. More Sheep, More Grass, More Money. Manitoba, Canada: Ramshead Publishing, 1997.
A great little book about how this Canadian shepherd turned his operation into a profitable enterprise by using spring lambing on pasture.
Simmons, Paula. Spinning and Weaving with Wool. Unicom Books & Crafts, 1991.
The best book about spinning and weaving for beginner and experienced spinners and weavers.
Simmons, Paula, and Darrell Salsbury. Your Sheep. North Adams, MA: Storey Publishing, 1992.
A great book for kids who are getting their first sheep.
Spaulding, C. E. A Veterinary Guide for Animal Owners. Emmaus, PA: Rodale Press, 1996.
Another must-have for animal owners.
Warren, Jill Stanford. Lamb Country Cooking: Lamb with All the Trimmings. Lake Oswego, OR: Culinary Arts, Ltd., 1995.
Lots of good lamb recipes, as well as serving hints and ideas for using leftovers.
The Banner Sheep Magazine
309-785-5058
www.bannersheepmagazine.com
This is especially suited for those folks who are interested in registered sheep and in showing sheep
Black Sheep Newsletter
503-621-3063
www.blacksheepnewsletter.net
Geared toward anyone who is interested in raising naturally colored sheep
Countryside & Small Stock Journal
800-551-5691
www.countrysidemag.com
A good general homesteading magazine, with lots of info on sheep and goats
Handwoven
Interweave Press
800-433-6451
www.interweave.com/weave
The magazine for weaving
Sheep Canada
888-241-5124
www.sheepcanada.com
Contains lots of information on sheep shows and registered sheep in Canada
Sheep Industry News
American Sheep Industry
Association
303-771-3500
www.sheepindustrynews.org
News about what’s happening in the sheep industry, including legislative information
sheep! Magazine
800-551-5691
www.sheepmagazine.com
This is the best all-around magazine for shepherds with small- and medium-sized flocks; lots of informative articles and good ads
419-492-2364
Aimed at larger-scale, commercial shepherds; contains lots of information on sheep research coming out of USDA and the agricultural colleges, as well as information on laws and regulations that impact the sheep industry
Spin-Off
Interweave Press
800-767-9638
http://spinoffmagazine.com
The magazine for spinning
The Stockman Grass Farmer
800-748-9808
www.stockmangrassfarmer.net
Excellent source of information about managed grazing. If we could afford just one agricultural magazine, this would be the one we’d keep.
Agricultural Marketing Service
United States Department of Agriculture
202-720-3252
http://search.ams.usda.gov
Manages the National Organic Program that is responsible for organic certification and standards
American Association of Small Ruminant Practitioners
Guthrie, Kentucky
270-483-2090
www.aasrp.org
A forum for farmers raising small ruminants
American Grassfed Association
Denver, Colorado
877-774-7277
www.americangrassfed.org
A producer association representing the grassfed industry
American Lamb Board
Denver, Colorado
866-327-5262
www.americanlambboard.org
The marketing organization formed through the national “check-off” fund for sheep promotion
American Livestock Breeds Conservancy
Pittsboro, North Carolina
919-542-5704
www.albc-usa.org
If you are interested in raising heritage breeds, these folks can help you locate other shepherds who work with the breed that interests you
American Sheep Industry Association
Centennial, Colorado
303-771-3500
www.sheepusa.org
The main industry association for shepherds
ATTRA — National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service
National Center for Appropriate Technology
Fayetteville, Arkansas
800-346-9140
www.attra.org
A phenomenal resource that provides information and answers questions
Breeds of Livestock
Oklahoma State University, Department of Animal Science
405-744-6062
www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds
Provides a really good Web page with information about livestock breeds from around the world
Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance
Austin, Texas
866-687-6452
http://farmandranchfreedom.org “Leading the fight to save family farms and individuals from expensive and unnecessary government regulation,” with an emphasis on fighting the National Animal Identification System (NAIS)
Forage Information System
Oregon State University
http://forages.oregonstate.edu
Has the best site on the Web for learning about forage plants of all types; the site also lists plant tissue testing labs.
Maryland Small Ruminant Page
www.sheepandgoat.com
Maintained by Susan Schoenian, a sheep and goat specialist at the University of Maryland
National Animal Identification System (NAIS)
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
http://animalid.aphis.usda.gov/nais
The official USDA program for implementing NAIS
National Sheep Improvement Program
Fayetteville, Arkansas
479-444-6075
www.nsip.org
Provides performance-based evaluation systems for shepherds
NoNAIS.org
http://nonais.org
A group “fighting to protect traditional rights to farm;” gathers and disseminates information about the National Animal Identification System
OPP Concerned Sheep Breeders Society
hollyneat@juno.com
www.oppsociety.org
Breeders who are working to prevent ovine progressive pneumonia
Rare Breeds Canada
Castleton, Ontario
905-344-7768
www.rarebreedscanada.ca
The Canadian counterpart to ALBC; helps preserve agricultural genetic diversity and heritage breeds in Canada
The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation
580-223-5810
www.noble.org
Features a wonderful plant image gallery, is a great site for learning about a wide variety of pasture plants
Sheep101.info
www.sheep101.info
Maintained by Susan Schoenian, a sheep and goat specialist at the University of Maryland
Southern Consortium for Small Ruminant Parasite Control
www.scsrpc.org
Veterinarians, academics, government people, and producers helping address parasite control and resistance, particularly in the South but helpful throughout the country.
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Washington, D.C.
202-720-2791
www.usda.gov
General information
Agricultural Marketing Resource Center
Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa
866-277-5567
www.agmrc.org
Valuable information on all aspects of marketing
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Washington, D.C.
www.aphis.usda.gov
Information on wildlife services and scrapie certification
Blogger
www.blogger.com
A free site that allows you to start a blog for your farm with little technical skill required
Chefs Collaborative
Boston, Massachusetts
617-236-5200
http://chefscollaborative.org
A national network for chefs who promote local and sustainably produced food. They have a farm-to-chef program and are partners in Renewing America’s Food Traditions, a project in partnership with ALBC and Slow Food to raise awareness about the benefits of agricultural biodiversity.
Eatwild
Tacoma, Washington
866-453-8489
www.eatwild.com
Author Jo Robinson’s site about eating grassfed meats. Jo has gathered tons of information on the benefits of grassfed and provides a searchable database where farmers producing grassfed meats can register so consumers can find them.
Live Journal
www.livejournal.com
A free blogging site for anyone interested in starting his or her own farm blog
Local Harvest
www.localharvest.org
The go-to Web site for consumers looking for organic and local food. They “maintain a definitive and reliable ‘living’ public nationwide directory of small farms, farmers markets, and other local food sources. If you are direct marketing, you should be registered with LocalHarvest!
Locavores
www.locavores.com
The Web site of the Locavore movement and the folks who started the 100-mile diet (buying and eating food that has been grown within 100 miles of where you live)
National Organic Program
Washington, D.C.
www.ams.usda.gov/nop
Rules and regulations regarding the organic program
Organic Trade Association
Greenfield, Massachusetts
413-774-7511
www.ota.com
Can help you identify an organic certifying agency that is working in your state
SheepGoatMarketing.info
http://sheepgoatmarketing.info
An excellent resource for all sorts of marketing information; includes a way for producers to register their sites and to search the sites of marketing businesses, such as shippers, slaughter facilities, and sale barns
Slow Food USA
Brooklyn, New York
877-756-9366
www.slowfoodusa.org
An international organization that believes “everyone has a fundamental right to pleasure and consequently the responsibility to protect the heritage of food, tradition and culture that make this pleasure possible. It has grown tremendously over the last decade or so and provides a great mechanism for connecting farmers and conscientious food consumers.
USDA Agricultural Marketing Service
Washington, D.C.
www.ams.usda.gov
For information on the program for lamb promotion
Wisconsin Sheep Dairy Cooperative
800-409-7953
www.sheepmilk.biz
Has valuable information for anyone considering going into the sheep-milk and cheese business
WordPress
http://wordpress.com
www.wordpress.org
A free Web blogging service is available at
http://wordpress.com. Or, if you have a Web site already and want to incorporate the blog into an existing site, you can use WordPress software from
http://wordpress.org. This option does require a little more computer savvy.
American Herding Breed Association
herdewe@me.com
www.ahba-herding.org
American Kennel Club
Raleigh, North Carolina
919-233-9767
www.akc.org
Herding on the Web
www.herdingontheweb.com
A virtual community for herding dog enthusiasts
Livestock Guardian Dogs Association
www.lgd.org
An online collaborative of guardian dog enthusiasts, with a listserv and an excellent library of articles about guardian animals
Stock Dog Server
www.stockdog.com
A wide variety of information for working-dog owners
United States Border Collie Handlers’ Association
Crawford, Texas
254-486-2500
www.usbcha.com
Specifically dedicated to Border collies
Working Dogs Cyberzine
www.workingdogs.com
A resource for networking and extensive articles on all working-dog breeds
Working Dog Competitions
Sheepdog trials are entertaining and educational. If you are interested in working dogs, check out these trials:
Bank of the West Soldier Hollow Classic
Midway, Utah
www.soldierhollowclassic.com
Bluegrass Classic Stockdog Trial
Lexington, Kentucky
www.bluegrassclassicsdt.com
Meeker Classic Sheepdog Championship Trials
Meeker, Colorado
www.meekersheepdog.com
National Sheepdog Finals
www.nationalsheepdogfinals.com
Locale varies
World Sheepdog Trials
Llandeilo, Wales
www.worldsheepdogtrials.org
If your travel budget allows, the biggest event of the sheepdog world is the world trials in Wales. Global competitors with some of the finest working dogs on the planet are sure to inspire awe.
NASCO
Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin
800-558-9595
www.enasco.com/farmandranch
The Sears catalog of agriculture has just about anything you might need but can’t find elsewhere
Heritage Genetics
Cornersville, Tennessee
931-293-4466
www.heritagegenetics.com
Specializes in breed preservation of rare and minor breeds of cattle and sheep through the importation of semen into the USA from other populations around the world
Small Ruminant Genetics
Markdale, Ontario
www.srgenetics.com
Offers a variety of breeds but in particular covers the Arcott breed
Super Sire, Ltd.
Lebanon, Oregon
supersireltd@yahoo.com
www.toprams.com
Carries a wide variety of genetics, representing many breeds
Biotic Industries
Bell Buckle, Tennessee
www.biotic.com
Manufactures calf, lamb, and kid feeders
Farmstead Health Supply
Hillsborough, North Carolina
919-643-0300
www.farmsteadhealth.com
Herbal parasite control and do-it-yourself test kits
Mid-States Wool Growers Cooperative Association
Canal Winchester, Ohio
800-841-9665
http://midstateswoolgrowers.com/catalog.asp
One of the oldest wool co-ops in the country, representing over 6,000 producers in 20 states; markets everything you need, and represents Gallagher Fencing from New Zealand
Pipestone Veterinary Supply
Pipestone Veterinary Clinic
Pipestone, Montana
800-658-2523
www.pipevet.com
Probably the best-known sheep vet clinic in the country; also has a supply service with almost anything you could think of needing for a sheep operation
Powell Sheep Company
Ramona, California
760-789-1758
Offers 12 sizes of sheep coats
Premier1 Supplies
Washington, Iowa
800-282-6631
www.premier1supplies.com
Excellent fencing catalog and shepherd’s catalog; a wide selection of specialized products, including ram masks
Sheepman Supply Company
Frederick, Maryland
800-331-9122
www.sheepman.com
In business since 1937; carries a wide range of supplies and is known for sharpening shearing equipment
Show Stopper Equipment
Vittetoe, Inc.
Keota, Iowa
888-848-8373
www.vittetoe.com
Specializes in equipment for showing, but also carries a variety of other products for shepherds
Eldon’s Jerky and Sausage Supply
Kooskia, Idaho
800-352-9453
www.eldonsausage.com
Equipment, sausage casings, and seasonings
The Sausage Maker, Inc.
Buffalo, New York
888-490-8525
www.sausagemaker.com
Equipment, sausage casings, and seasonings
Belfast Mini Mills
Belfast, Prince Edward Island
902-659-2533
www.minimills.net
Producers of a variety of wool-processing equipment; specializes in equipment for exotics, such as alpaca, llama, mohair, and Qiviut
Patrick Green Carders Ltd.
Chilliwack, British Columbia
877-898-2273
www.patgreencarders.com
Paula and Patrick’s company makes all the equipment you might need if you plan to go into the cottage wool business; even if you aren’t interested in commercial preparation of wool, they sell an excellent drum carder
Stonehedge Fiber Milling Equipment, Inc.
East Jordan, Michigan
866-536-2779
www.fibermillingequipment.com
Started in 1998 by a farm family looking to improve the bottom line; manufactures a full line of custom equipment
Tex Tek Technologies, Inc.
Wainfleet, Ontario
905-899-4872
www.textek.net
Full line of wool-processing equipment
3-Corner Field Farm
www.dairysheepfarm.com
Carol Ekarius
www.carolekarius.com
Greenwood Farms
www.greenwoodfarms.com
Lava Lake Lamb
www.lavalakelamb.com
Musings and Ramblings of the Shepherd, PhD
http://shepherddoc.blogspot.com
River Oaks Farm & Studio
http://riveroaksfarmstudioblog.blogspot.com
Rurban Ramblings
www.rurbanramblings.com
Carol Ekarius’s food, farming, and energy blog
A Shepherd’s Voice
http://shepherdsvoice.blogspot.com
Thirteen Mile Lam & Wool Company
www.lambandwool.com
Uncompahgre Polypay Farm
www.polypays4u.com