Producer Spotlight: Linda Detwiler & her Suffolk sheep Artwork

Baa's and Bleat's - The AASRP Podcast

This podcast is sponsored by the American Association of Small Ruminant Practitioners. In Season 1, host Dr. Michelle Buckley from Iowa State University will explore dairy goat production by providing insights on improving milk quality and antimicrobial stewardship. Each episode focuses on a different aspect of dairy goat production with guest speakers ranging from veterinarians to farm managers. Questions can be directed to DairyGoatExtension@iastate.edu.Season 1 is also supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Agricultural and Food Research Initiative Competitive Program, Antimicrobial Resistance grant number: 2020-04197. Listeners are encouraged to write to DairyGoatExtension@iastate.edu with questions that were sparked by previous episodes for our content experts to discuss.

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Baa's and Bleat's - The AASRP Podcast

Producer Spotlight: Linda Detwiler & her Suffolk sheep

May 05, 2025 • Season 3 • Episode 16

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This month we are testing out a new type of episode where we will sit down with a veterinarian and one of their exceptional producers to dig into how their relationship benefits the livestock they care for. Our first guests are Dr. Linda Detwiler and her veterinarian, Dr. Jon Higgins from New Jersey. Linda raises Suffolk sheep for breeding stock and is also a veterinarian working on the USDA APHIS scrapie program. She targets her breeding program to produce sheep that will perform well for owners who are new to sheep production as well as research groups who are studying scrapie management. Dr. Higgins highlights Linda's willingness to call for help early and her meticulous animal care records as two of the many reasons that she is such an exceptional producer to work with. Despite being a licensed veterinarian who works with sheep frequently in a regulatory capacity, Linda finds Dr. Higgins' expertise as a practitioner to be invaluable, especially his interest in staying up-to-date on the cutting edge treatment and preventative recommendations for her animals. She also cites her strict biosecurity practices and solid nutrition plan as keys to her success in over 20 years of raising Suffolk sheep.

Resources discussed in this episode:

American Association of Small Ruminant Practitioners - Veterinarians and vet students join today!

https://aasrp.org/Main/Main/Membership/Join-AASRP.aspx?hkey=6878474f-d347-4a79-bdbe-5a1896781821

American Association of Bovine Practitioners - Veterinarians & vet students join today! https://www.aabp.org/dues/

AASRP Biosecurity toolkit: https://aasrp.org/Main/Main/Resources/AASRP-Biosecurity-Tool-Kit-Resources.aspx?hkey=63a00c1e-31c3-4b94-b5c4-8050b9e7b6dd

AABP Podcast - Have You Herd? https://www.buzzsprout.com/814177/

The American Sheep Industry Research Update Podcast with Dr. Robert VanSaun: https://soundcloud.com/user-637754734

If you or your organization would like to sponsor an episode of Baas and Bleats, please contact office@aasrp.org to learn more.

People on this episode

Michelle Buckley - Season 1

Host

Sarah Lowry - Season 3

Host