MEET OUR MEMBERS
District Reps
In this series of brief articles, we will chronicle biographies of Indiana Sheep and Wool Council members, beginning with those recently elected or re-elected.
BEN WILSON
District One
Ben serves district one, which includes Porter, Lake, Jasper, Laporte, St. Joseph, Marshall, Fulton, Stark, Pulaski and Newton counties.
He and his family established their flock seven years ago in Valparaiso, IN, where Ben also works for Porter County Parks and Recreation. They raise a small flock of Border Leicester, St. Croix, Katahdin and some cross breeds of sheep.
Ben’s interest in sheep began when his daughter decided to participate in the sheep project at their county 4-H fair. They started with two lambs and grew from there.
The Wilson family shows sheep now at the Porter and Lake county fairs, as well as the Maryland Sheep and Wool festival. They hope to add more shows such as the State Fair and the North American International Livestock Exposition in coming years.
Ben focuses on breeding stock within his operation, and enjoys the aspect of selecting and breeding sheep which allow him to improve his flock. He believes one focus of the Council should be striving to find ways to better educate consumers about the industry and necessary management practices.
“They need more educated information,” he said. “We see protesters at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Fest claiming that shearing sheep is harmful to them, when, if educated, they would know it’s more harmful not to shear sheep.”
STEVE KENNEDY
District Seven
Steve is the Council member serving district seven, which includes Marion, Hancock, Rush, Shelby, Morgan, Johnson, Hendricks and Putnam counties. He is a full-time firefighter and part-time sheep shearer in Shirley, IN.
Steve and his wife, Angela, and their children Garret, Eli and Riley keep a 25-head flock of Dorset and Dorset Advantage sheep, which they established in 2011.
Though he has been raising his flock for about seven years, sheep have always been a part of his life.
“I raise sheep because I have always been raised around sheep,” he said. “It's something that my family has always had. My kids also enjoy the sheep a lot and enjoy going to the barn and taking care of them.”
Steve got started in the industry when he was still very young. He used to bag wool for his father—also a shearer—as he traveled the state to shear for several clients.
Once he was old enough, Steve learned to shear, himself, and is still doing so today.
He attended 4-H for five years as a child and now sells lambs from his own farm to 4-Hers.
Along with breeding stock, Steve markets his sheep for meat.
His two boys, Garrett and Eli, carry on the family tradition by showing sheep at local shows and the North American International Livestock Exposition each year.
JANE C. SMITH
District Four
Jane serves district four, which includes Benton, White, Warren, Tippecanoe, Fountain, Montgomery, Vermillion and Parke counties.
She is a full-time shepherd and accountant on her family’s farm which doubles as a crop operation in Earl Park, IN.
Jane got her start with sheep in 1974, in Nebraska. She moved to Indiana in 1981 and has been raising sheep here with her husband, David Smith, ever since. In the 2000s, her farm transitioned their focus on the production of Katahdin sheep for the breed’s easy care and prolificacy.
“I really love working with sheep,” she said. “They also really work well into the whole diversification of our farm—we lamb January through April and again in the fall. The sheep take forage and grain, and turn it into a highly desirable product.”
Her farm keeps around 300 ewes at a time, a few of which her family shows at the State Fair and the North American International Livestock Exposition each year.
Others are consigned to sales such as the Midwest Ram Sale and the Katahdin Exposition.
Jane’s children were active 4-H and FFA members, and her grandchildren now are all 4-H members.
Jane believes Indiana lacks markets for lamb and developing new markets would be a great help to producers like herself. Like many other members, she is also concerned with access to shearers in the state for smaller farms.
Bill Zwyers
District 5
Bill serves district five, which includes Cass, Carroll, Howard, Clinton, Boone, Tipton, Hamilton, Grant and Tipton counties.
He and his family established Hickory Lane Suffolks, a linebred flock, in 1984, and many of their ewes today trace back to an original foundation ewe. His original flock grew from a 4-H project, and Bill has been coaching 4-H and livestock judging teams for several years.
Bill has had a lifelong interest in raising quality, registered sheep and cattle. For sheep in particular, he has focused on raising moderate framed, industry functional Suffolk sheep with an emphasis on muscling and carcass traits for a commercial, terminal sire market.
Though more focused on producing sound, functional sheep than the business of chasing ribbons, Hickory Lane Suffolks does exhibit sheep at the state and national levels.
In terms of Indiana Sheep Industry reform, Bill would like to see more emphasis on growing markets and market reporting.
“We need more competitive markets for our better commercial lambs. We are behind the states that process lambs, collect data and reward producers for yield grade and quality. With our shrinking producer base this has become a very challenging issue. We need more competition in our lamb markets.”
Kim Martin
District 2
Kim oversees District 2 of the checkoff, which includes Elkhart, LaGrange, Steuben, Kosciusko, DeKalb and Noble county, where his farm is located, in Cromwell, IN. He has been farming sheep for 55 years.
Kim got interested in sheep via his grandfather, who was also a shepherd. As a teenager, Kim worked for Howard Harper, who was once the head of the Indiana state fair sheep program and was president over the State Fair several times. His son, Harold, was president of the American Sheep Association.
Kim raises Suffolk, Dorset and Texel sheep, as well as crossbreeds, which he used to exhibit in competitions, but now focuses on breeding. In the past, he also had a full 4-H career and spent 3 years in FFA and vocational agriculture. He would like to see improvement in sheep sales venues in the state.
“I would like more Co-op sales where breeders can sell there sheep and lock in a better price.”