"I got my first ewes by laboring for my dad, basically if I did the daily chores down in the shed as far as feeding and vaccinating sheep, he would give me a ewe lamb every year. That's how I started my herd. Now I'm up to 25 ewes of my own, and that's where I'm at now," said Schrock.
Growing up with sheep, Schrock became fascinated with the business side of his project. He went on to judge livestock at Lincoln Land Community College after high school. I know in my experience of showing, the hard work dims in comparison to all the new friends made in the barn. Schrock can definately relate to this as he met his wife at the Illinois State Fair in the sheep barn.
"You can meet all kinds of friends in the sheep business. You don't have to show, you can meet people at sale barns or coordinating buying sheep with people, but the real fun is at the shows. It's kind of like a big family reunion because similar people are there every year and it's something everyone looks forward to so everyone has a good time while they're there. I met my wife, Kelsey, at the state fair 3 years ago. We just got married this summer so that was cool," said Schrock. Currently, Schrock is in the process of building his herd back up and helping young 4-H members get started with sheep projects of their very own.
.To hear Schrock's full interview, click here.
So, you see, showing sheep is more than a 4-H/FFA project, like any livestock project. It is getting out there, meeting new people, building new skills, but most of all having fun with what you're doing. What are your favorite fair memories?
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