If you’re currently milking sheep, have ever thought about milking sheep, or just curious about why people milk sheep, then you should plan on attending the 21st Annual Dairy Sheep Association of North America (DSANA) Symposium in Madison, Wisconsin on Nov. 5-7.
This year marks the first year in six years that the symposium has been held in Wisconsin, considered by many to be the dairy sheep mecca of North America. Hundreds of folks will descend on Madison for the event, which also includes a pre-symposium sheep milk cheese-making course at the Center for Dairy Research at UW-Madison.
Twelve presentations by 16 animal scientists, dairy sheep producers, veterinarians, and sheep milk cheese makers and marketers will be held at the Pyle Center. A sampling of topics and presenters include:
- Impacts on Non-GMO Labeling on Artisan Cheese Production, by Cathy Strange, Global Cheese Buyer, Whole Foods Market
- Special Considerations for Small Ruminants, by Dr. Doug Reinemann, UW-Madison
- Perspectives on Surviving and Growing in Dairy Sheep Production, by Bill Halligan, Bushnell, Nebraska; Dean and Brenda Jensen, Westby, Wisconsin; and Dave Galton, Locke, New York
- A New Producer and Their New Cheesemaker – Challenges in Getting Started, by Sam and Abe Enloe, Enloe Brothers Farms, Rewey, Wisconsin, and Anna Landmark, Landmark Creamery, Albany, Wisconsin
- Markets and Marketing of Sheep Milk Cheeses, Jeanne Carpenter, Specialty Cheese Buyer, Metcalfe’s Markets, Madison, Wisconsin (yep that’s me).
In addition, attendees are invited to an all-day tour on Saturday, Nov. 7 (also led by me -whoo-hoo!) to Cedar Grove Cheese in Plain, and to Hidden Springs Creamery in Westby, where participants will visit a modern dairy sheep farm and artisan cheese plant operated by Dean and Brenda Jensen. We’ll also enjoy a farm-to-table-lunch at The Rooted Spoon in Viroqua.
Be sure to click here for a complete program with registration information. I hope to see you there!
I love cheese so much that I started writing books about cheese. The “Adventures of the Von Hoofs” is illustrated short stories about the main characters The Von Hoofs. They are funny and educational. We sell them in our retail store and we have developed a small but loyal following. So far I have nine books. We also offer them on Amazon. I thought it might be something you want to mention in your blog. We plan to attend one of these Cheese events soon with a display and all. Should you decide to look us up on Amazon I recommend using my name to find the books “Athan Loukakis”. Thanks for your time. My favorite is “The Adventures of Julius Cheezar.”