About RaisingSheep.net
RaisingSheep.net was launched in 2013 with the goal of creating a comprehensive resource about sheep and sheep farming. The site was redesigned in 2021 by the original owner to modernize the site, improve navigation, deliver an improved mobile browsing experience, and to generally make this site well-suited for its continued growth.
My name is Joe, and I’m the author and original owner of the site. I began in 4H in 1991, several years after my family purchased their first Romney ewes. I started out with a 4H market lamb project, and the profit from my first few years in this project was used to purchase my first registered Hampshire ewe.
With time I grew my flock of Hampshires to be well known across New England. I regularly exhibited at the Northeast Regional Hampshire show, and was able to take a pair of my ewes to the North American International Livestock Exhibition (NAILE) in Louisville, Kentucky.
On this website I share my 20 years of experience, and some of the tricks and techniques I learned growing up on a sheep farm. I don’t pretend to be the most knowledgeable person out there on every subject – but my goal with the site is to use what I learned over the years to help beginners, and folks looking to improve their showmanship and flock management practices.
I also want this site to be a resource for folks who don’t know that much about sheep, but are curious and want to learn more about them.
A Few Photos of the Author
Most of my work raising sheep happened on the farm between sheep shows, but over the years I gained quite a bite of experience fitting and showing sheep. Here are a few photos of some of the Hampshire lambs I raised on our family farm.
One thing I took a lot of pride in was the fact that every time I fit a lamb for show I did all of the work myself. My parents allowed me to make mistakes along the way when I was very young, which helped me to learn and grow.
It’s something I encourage other parents of FFA or 4H kids to do as well. Your child may not win every class at first, but if you allow them to learn to do things themselves, by the time they’re in their teens you can both take great satisfaction in the strides they’ve made and how much they’ve accomplished as a result of their hard work.
Enough about me! Let’s get you back to the homepage so you can discover some of the great articles I’ve put together for you on this website.