The First Northeastern NLFA Leadership School

For the first time, the annual Howard Wyman Sheep Industry Leadership School will be held on the East Coast in close proximity to the large eastern ethnic markets in the major metropolitan areas of New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. The dates for the 2012 school are July 8-11, and applications to attend must be submitted by April 16, 2012.

Laurie Hubbard, shepherd for Pennsylvania State University, and Joanne Evans, president of the Pennsylvania Sheep and Wool Growers, are the 2012 coordinators.

"The focus will be on educating the participants about the non-traditional marketing of lamb," said Hubbard. "Tour sites will include the New Holland Sales Stables, which is a hub for the non-traditional ethnic trade, an ethnic custom harvesting facility, traditional lamb packers and a sheep dairy that utilizes their lambs for the meat industry as well as other private, non-traditional marketers."

The school will discuss the customs of various countries to help explain certain aspects of raising lambs for the non-traditional lamb market. This information would be of assistance to any sheep ranch or lamb feedlot operation, regardless of location, in planning alternative marketing options to increase profitability.

Interested individuals may apply by completing a brief application and a short essay. A group of 26 participants, age 20 or older, will be selected to attend. The registration fee is $200 per person and participants are responsible for their own travel expenses. The National Lamb Feeders Association (NLFA) will cover the cost of food, lodging and tour-related expenses during the school. No fee is required until applicants are selected. Applicants will be notified in May 2012.

Applications may be submitted online at www.nlfa-sheep.org or requested from NLFA by phone at (503) 364-5462 or email at info@nlfa-sheep.org.

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