DSANA held its second ever Virtual Symposium on January 19th and 20th, 2022. Members of DSANA joined in from the US, Canada and around the world. All the sessions were recorded and are available to DSANA members. Want to watch? Join DSANA today!
For any technical problems or questions about the symposium please email us at hello@dsana.org. Thank you so much for making this year’s symposium a success!
Using Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs) for breeding + selection
Three producers from Washington, Quebec, and California will share how they make breeding, selection, and culling decisions using their flock’s Estimated Breeding Values from GenOvis (via DSANA’s Production Improvement Program in the US). EBVs are derived from individual ewe’s milk production and milk component information, along with her female relative’s production and component information, to give a prediction of offsprings’ production potential. These producers can see how each ewe differs in milk yield, fat and protein production, and seasonal persistence.
Lynn Swanson, Glendale Shepherd, Washington
Tommy LaVoie, Lait Brebis du Nord, Quebec
Rebecca King, Monkeyflower Ranch and Garden Variety Cheese, California
Food Safety for Artisan Cheesemakers
Dr Dennis D’Amico, of the University of Connecticut, works with small-scale cheese producers on product development, process control, environmental monitoring, and the development and implementation of food safety management systems. He will present on food safety for artisan-scale cheesemaking, and on Identifying novel and natural interventions as preventive controls for pathogens in dairy foods.
Dr Dennis D’Amico, of the University of Connecticut
Raising Dairy Replacement Ewes
Growing out dairy ewe lambs is not like growing out meat replacements. Grow them too slow and they won’t lamb out at 13-14 months and won’t milk well in their first year. Grow them too fast and you can see leg deformities, fatty udders, or giant frame sizes that don’t give much milk for the feed they consume. Dr Andrea Mongini, of Ewetopia Dairy and M&M Veterinary Practice in California, will give us some guidance on raising dairy replacements from weaning through first parturition.
Dr Andrea Mongini, Ewetopia Dairy and M&M Veterinary Practice, California
Getting Started with a Distributor
This panel discussion will approach distribution of sheep-milk products from both sides. Two long-time processors -- from Liam Callahan (Bellwether Farm, California) and Allyson Brennan (Old Chatham Creamery, New York) will share their experiences working with distributors. From the distributor side, we will hear from Nora Granger and Eric Casella, of Counter Cheese Caves in South Carolina, will talk about how their distribution system works, their experiences working with sheep milk products, what they are looking for in a supplier, how they prefer to be approached.
Liam Callahan, Bellwether Farm, California
Allyson Brennan, Old Chatham Creamery, New York
Nora Granger and Eric Casella, Counter Cheese Caves, South Carolina
Light-Extension Protocols for Out-of-Season Breeding
Producing milk in fall and winter requires spring breeding and conception, no easy task. Out-of-season conception rates can be increased with hormones, but success can be improved with light-control treatment of both ewes and rams – simulating the change from long-day periods to short-day periods. Johanne Cameron will present the current understanding of light-control treatment protocols. As Sheep Extension Coordinator for Quebec, Ms Cameron specialized in out-of-season breeding programs for year-round lambing operations in Canada, and now uses those protocols for year-round lambing at her own farm in Quebec. Ms Cameron also has knowledge of dairy sheep, as she was part of the CEPOQ team that added the dairy sheep module to the GenOvis genetic evaluation service.
Johanne Cameron, AGR, M.Sc, Sheep Specialist, Quebec
Freezing and Thawing Sheep Milk for Processing
Although processing fresh sheep milk may be the ideal for processors, using frozen milk is often a real necessity when purchasing milk from a distance, or when having to utilize stored milk to reach needed processing volumes during the fall and winter months. Tom Clark will begin this panel discussion with an overview of best practices for freezing milk. Then we will have producers and processors talk about their systems for freezing milk (producer) and for thawing and processing frozen milk (processor). Joining us will be producer Terry Felda of Tin Willows Sheep Dairy & Ranch in Oregon and cheesemaker Brad Gregory of Black Sheep Creamery in Washington; producers Woody Babcock and Cora Wahl of Woodrow Farms in Oregon and ice cream maker Negranti Creamery in California; and cheese and yogurt processor Liam Callahan of Bellwether Farm in California.
Climate Change Mitigation on Your Farm
We are dairy sheep farmers, and we have a low ecological impact on the planet … right? Hmmm… More and more, consumers want to know how the goods they buy impact our climate. Dr Greg Thoma of the University of Arkansas is a chemical engineer who studies “carbon life cycles” and measures the sustainability of consumer goods including milk, taking things like raw material sources, utility usage, and transport into consideration. Dr Thoma will present on strategies for greenhouse gas and climate change mitigation on our dairy farms.
Dr. Greg Thoma, The University of Arkansas
Virtual Farm Tours from farms in Oregon, Quebec, Wisconsin
Three dairy sheep producers from Oregon, Quebec, and Wisconsin will share virtual tours of their farm operations, and then answer questions after the tours. In Wisconsin, Ms J and Co currently milk 300+ Assaf and Assaf-cross ewes in a 32-bail milking parlor. In Oregon, Woody Babcock and Cora Wahl started Woodrow Farms’ Sheep Dairy in 2018 and currently milk around 200 Friesian-cross ewes, selling their milk to processors on the West Coast of the US. In Quebec, Audrey Boulet and Olivier Beaurivage milk 50 ewes at Les Brebis du Beaurivage, use GenOvis to produce EBVs for their flock, and market yarn and ready-to-wear wool garments at their farm store.
Want to learn more about sheep dairying? Check out last year’s symposium here.