Extension Home Study Courses

All three courses are available through the postal service and through email/internet. The sheep and goat courses have six lessons and the beef course has seven lessons that are to be completed weekly. The lesson topics include basic production information, nutrition, health, reproduction, marketing, and financial issues. the additional lesson for the beef course covers selection principles. Each lesson has information about the topic and a worksheet for producers to complete and mail or email back to the Extension Office for comments. Producers can also submit any questions that they would like answered.

Melanie Barkley, Bedford County Extension Agent, said “Each course is a great way for producers to learn new information without having to rearrange their schedule to accommodate a meeting. Producers can study the lessons at their leisure in their own home.” The worksheet questions are designed to ask producers about their current operation so that comments from the instructor are tailored to participants’ individual situations to help them improve their management skills.

According to Barkley, over 1,500 producers from across the country have taken one or more of the three courses. Comments following the courses show that information contained in the courses is very beneficial and that producers are able to adapt the information for use in their own operations.

For more information, visit http://agsci.psu.edu/livestock-course or you can contact the Penn State Extension Office in Bedford County at (814) 623-4800 or in Fulton County at (717) 485-4111. Cost for the course is $45.00 if taking over email/internet and $80.00 if taking through the postal service. Deadline for registration is January 30, 2013.