Sheep Barn builds on legacy to serve NDSewe
By Darla White
Administrative Secretary
At NDSU’s Sheep Unit, there are many ways to count sheep. You can count the number of breeds – 5. You can count the number of sheep there – over 500. You can count the number of years the unit has been raising Hampshire sheep – 110. And you can count the continuous years of breeding and raising sheep at NDSU – 131.
You can even count the number of sheep used in a photo shoot at the barn to inspire a muralist for a Grand Forks church. That would be one. One is also a meaningful number for the Sheep Unit manager.
“I joke that the university only has one president, one football coach, and one shepherd,” says Steven “Skip” Anderson, NDSU’s shepherd since 2009.
Skip is a cheerleader for the Sheep Barn and its contribution to the university. In 2016 he launched the NDSewe brand. It’s featured on T-shirts, ear tags for the sheep, and the NDSU Sheep Unit Facebook page. He is enthusiastic about the sheep under his care and the students and stakeholders who benefit from them.
The first sheep came to the college in 1894, so they have a long tradition at NDSU. The flock is currently represented by five breeds: purebred Hampshires, Columbias and Royal Whites, plus commercial Dorsets and composite hair sheep.
The sheep live at the unit year-round, and during the spring lambing season, it can seem like Skip lives there as well. Between feeding the sheep, preparing for classes, cleaning, doing repairs, teaching and ensuring the new lambs and their mothers are okay, sometimes he doesn’t get home until the wee hours of the morning. He’s back at 7:30 a.m. to start the cycle all over again. It’s all in a day’s work for the NDSU shepherd.
“My goal is to continue to be one of the flagship universities with a sheep program,” he says.
A big part of that goal is the students, and not just the seven student workers who help him feed and care for the flock. Undergraduates in nine courses visit the unit every year to get hands-on learning. This is a great experience for them, Skip says, because they get to see and feel the sheep, and those interactive moments become teachable moments.
They aren’t the only ones who get an up-close look at the sheep. For the past several years, Skip has taken lambs to visit the Center for Child Development, which is NDSU’s childcare and education program. When the children see the lambs, Skip says, “the kids’ faces light up.” He gets the same reaction from the hundreds of elementary and preschool students who tour the barn each year.
People of all ages who admire the flower beds on campus indirectly have the Sheep Unit to thank. About 10 years ago, it started supplying composted sheep manure to NDSU Grounds and Landscaping as well as the Fargo-Moorhead community gardens. Sheep manure is one of the best types of fertilizer, and the Sheep Unit has “an endless supply of it,” Skip says. He created compost piles on the property and is happy they go toward beautifying NDSU and helping the community.
One could say that the Sheep Unit has helped thousands of people over the years, but who’s counting?
