Scholarships

Kailen Smercheck is the 2020 recipient of a $1000 Wisconsin Sheep Breeders Co-op (WSBC) scholarship.

I live on a 150 head sheep farm where I manage our family flock of wether-type ewes, Smerchek Club Lambs, and the pure bred Southdown flock I co-own with my two older siblings, KDK Southdowns. My daily responsibilities include feeding, and watering all the sheep on our farm as well as maintenance like bedding, sweeping and cleaning the barns. I assist with vaccinating for CD&T and sore mouth as well as deworming the flock and lamb all the sheep in the winter and fall lambing seasons. I make breeding decisions and work to improve the quality of our livestock in the ring, in the lambing barn, and on the rail. I also work to expand the sales of KDK Southdowns by advertising and marketing. I have been photographing our sheep and fitting them for online sales which allows sheep breeders across the country to buy our sheep. I have also been updating and photographing for both KDK Southdowns and Smerchek Show Lamb’s websites and facebook pages. Being the only owner that lives on the farm day to day care and sales all falls on my plate.I have known for a long time now that wherever my future takes me, it will be revolved around the agricultural industry. I have grown a true passion for agriculture and a love for animals. Knowing that, I will be attending Iowa State University, where I will major in animal science and agriculture communications. I may be unsure of the exact career I will have in the future but I am open to any of the opportunities that come my way. I might be an agricultural advocate, a veterinarian, a reproductive/ genetic specialist, or even a ruminant nutritionist. I want to be an important part of the ever-changing agricultural industry and am open to whatever role that demands I play. Now, on the other side of my future career I want to raise high quality show sheep on a small farm. I want to own a flock consisting of crossbred wether-type ewes and Southdown ewes with the goal of producing a champion one day.

Vanessa Roberts is the 2020 recipient a $750 WSBC scholarship.

My sheep project began thirteen years ago when my sister purchased the first two lambs my family had ever owned. I helped my sister raise those lambs that summer, and from there, we dove head-first into the sheep project. We purchased lambs every spring for the next few years to take to our county fair and kept ewes to begin our own flock. In addition to raising sheep, my family also raises and exhibited a small herd of registered Hereford cattle. Our passion for raising livestock led us to the amazing opportunity to become a part of the first 4-H livestock judging team in Manitowoc County. Taking part in judging taught us the valuable skills necessary to evaluate livestock and gave us the desire to improve our own herd and flock. When my sister and I applied our developing drive to improve our small flock, we began taking the necessary steps toward producing club lambs that are competitive in the ring. When the time was right, we made purchases to take steps in the right direction. The first lambs we bought in those early years were an affordable place to get started and certainly kept us humble. Yet, somewhere along the way, starting on the bottom of classes even at our county fair lit a fire and drive deep within us. That drive is still the same flame that burns in me today to keep working to improve our flock. I will never forget how we started, but time has certainly changed our operation. Currently, we consistently lamb 15-20 ewes each winter. Since my time as a junior showman has concluded, the lambs are primarily sold to other exhibitors as show lambs. While it has been a huge transition for me to switch from raising the lambs myself to encouraging others, it is rewarding to see other kids have awesome experiences with lambs we bred. My sister and I own all the ewes and the two bucks we own, and we make the management decisions as well. Everything from selecting breeding stock to seasonal dietary changes to annual matings to health protocols and more all fall on our shoulders. While I am finishing my final year of college, my parents have been exceptionally helpful by allowing us to keep the sheep at home and taking care of daily operations when we cannot be home. It certainly is a challenge to attend school and maintain a flock across the state, but I am definitely looking forward to returning to more of the hands-on operations when I have graduated next spring. I have recently concluded my junior year at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities where I am pursuing a degree in Animal Science with minors in Agriculture and Food Business Management, Food Systems, and Applied Economics. I am a member of the 2020 Livestock Judging team on campus, and I am looking forward to the second half of our season this fall. I am also actively involved in my sorority, Lambda Delta Phi, Block & Bridle Club, and the Gopher Dairy Club. Additionally, I am the student manager of the sheep flock on campus. I am excited for my senior year of college and the experiences that will come with it. Upon graduation, I intend to obtain a career in the agriculture industry. I am currently working on my second summer internship related to animal nutrition, and I would like to work with nutrition more in the future. Regardless, I would like to remain in the agriculture industry. I was raised in the industry and my passion for it makes me want to get more involved all the time. Beyond my career plans, I want to continue raising our sheep and Hereford cattle. Raising livestock has given me many tremendous opportunities, and I would love to give other youth some of the wonderful opportunities that I have had. I want to have kids show our livestock and remain involved in 4-H and livestock judging programs to share the knowledge I have with other kids. I cannot imagine growing up any other way than I did, and I hope to share my passion with others while advocating for agriculture for the rest of my life.