News & Announcements

2020 Garden State Sheep Breeders’ annual fleece show going virtual

Posted: September 7, 2020

The Garden State Sheep Breeders’ annual fleece show is going virtual this year, and you’re invited to create a free listing on our website to offer your skirted 2020 fleeces for sale. These business card-style listings will feature your name and/or farm name with contact information, such as your phone number, website, Facebook page, or Etsy store. While you won’t be able to list individual fleeces for sale, you may wish to note breeds or colors you do have available and whether you participate in The Livestock Conservancy’s Shave ‘Em To Save ‘Em program.  

Please visit www.NJSheep.net and click on the “Fiber Farmers – Sign Up To Be Listed in the Virtual Fleece Sale!” link on our home page. You will be taken to an easy-to-complete form that will walk you through some suggested information to list. Listings will be posted every few days, and we will be promoting this sale on our social media pages. We encourage you to do the same!

Note that any sales generated will be between you and your buyers. Garden State Sheep Breeders charges no fee for this listing but is providing it as a way to support all involved in our vibrant fiber community.

If you have any questions, please direct your inquiries to .

Save the Date – 2019 MSBA Annual Dinner

Posted: October 3, 2019

The 2019 annual dinner will be held on Friday, November 15 at Dutch’s Daughter Restaurant in Frederick, Maryland. Watch your inbox for an invitation and instructions for registering online. Paper invitations will also be forthcoming.

Save the Date – 2018 MSBA Annual Dinner

Posted: September 12, 2018

The 2018 annual dinner will be held on Friday, October 26 at Dutch’s Daughter Restaurant in Frederick, Maryland. Watch your inbox for an invitation and instructions for registering online. Paper invitations will also be forthcoming.

Announcing MSBA Fall Seminar Day – November 4, 2017

Posted: October 21, 2017

MSBA will be holding a fall seminar day on Saturday November 4, 2017 from 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. at Linden Farm in Dickerson, Maryland. Topics will include:

• Basic Lamb Necropsy – Techniques & Tips, with Dr. Margi Dunlap & Dr. Rosalind Hain
• Evaluating Hay for Your Flock, with Jeff Semler, University of Maryland Extension Educator
• Sheep Management & Record Keeping Tools – 1: Using FlockFiler for Keeping and Using Computerized Records, with Tom Hays
• Sheep Management & Record Keeping Tools – 2, with Andrew Keller
• Over-the-counter (OTC) Medications & Treatments for Sheep: How and When to Use Which Ones, with Dr. Rosalind Hain
• Basic Sheep Evaluation, with Dr. Margi Dunlap
• Taking your Wool to a Mill: How to Prepare for Success, with Mary & Dwayne Singleton

Visit https://marylandsheepbreeders.org/festival/msba-fall-seminar-day for further information and registration instructions. RSVP needed by Wednesday November 1, 2017.

 

Maryland Wool Pool Suspended for 2017

Posted: July 31, 2017

The Maryland Wool Pool, which has traditionally been held in mid-June at the State Fairgrounds in Timonium, will not take place this year. This suspension is a result of considerable discussion over the past year. Wool Pool Director, Emily Chamelin identified and shared a number of concerns over the past several years, and helped the Board to consider whether there may be better ways to help MSBA members connect with buyers for their wool.

From it’s heyday when over 100,000 pounds of wool were brought to the Maryland pool over 2 days, to more recent years when it has been less than 30,000 pounds, we’ve seen the demographics of wool production and sales in Maryland and the region evolve. The number of MSBA members who have taken advantage of the Wool Pool has decreased, the volume of wool has dropped, but the resources needed to conduct the Pool have not decreased. The availability of volunteers – including those who are qualified to run the wool presses – has waned significantly as well. For the last several years the majority of the volunteers have not been users of the Wool Pool.

Ms. Chamelin, who shears all over our region, and well beyond, made the decision to resign as Wool Pool Director and to become a buyer herself – on behalf of one of the large wool mill, Groenewald Wool and Fur Company, as well as other potential purchasers (see her article in the Spring 2017 issue of the Maryland Sheep News). She will be able to buy directly from shepherds on their farms, saving them the need to transport their wool on a set day to a Wool Pool. You can contact her directly at or 443-244-2702.

It is logical to conclude that this situation will further reduce 1) the volume of wool likely to be brought to the Maryland Wool Pool, and 2) the number of shepherds likely to participate (be served by the Wool Pool and/or have sufficient interest to volunteer).

Going Forward

The decision to suspend the Maryland Wool Pool for 2017 was made by the MSBA Directors, along with:

1. An open invitation to any interested MSBA members to engage in a process to investigate the needs of our wool producing members in connecting with buyers for their wool, and consider the most appropriate role for MSBA on behalf of its members in this regard. If there is sufficient interest, a Task Force will be formed to develop recommendations to the Board of Directors.
2. Providing MSBA members with information about the range of options – in the absence of the Maryland Wool Pool – available to them for connecting with buyers for their wool (see Emily Chamelin’s article in in the Spring 2017 issue of the Maryland Sheep News).

Anyone who is interested in participating, please contact Lee Langstaff (; 301-908-9332) or Tommy Mullinix (; 410-857-4387).