Virginia Tech Copenhaver Sheep Center

02/23/2026

Join us this Tuesday and Wednesday for the online Shepherd’s Symposium!

Please join us online Feb 24-25 for Shepherd's Sympsium.
Register here https://tinyurl.com/26sheepsymposium

09/01/2025

Our 26th annual Virginia Tech Sheep Center Production Sale will be live tomorrow, September 2nd on PL Auctions. We would like to thank the amazing crew of faculty, staff, and students who have worked hard to prepare a great sale catalog this year! We would also like to thank everyone who has supported our programs and students throughout the years!

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03/11/2025

Thank you Virginia Tech for highlighting our Sheep Center and our amazing team!

09/01/2024

We are very excited to let you all know that our 25th Annual Virginia Tech Sheep Center Production Sale is this Tuesday, September 3rd which will be held online at PLAuctions.live https://plauctions.live/auction/25674

The Dorset and Suffolk flocks support the teaching, research, and Extension missions in our School of Animal Sciences, and all proceeds from this sale will contribute to these missions. Students involved in our Sheep Center volunteer and student experience programs get to help with all aspects of production at the Sheep Center to learn about sheep production. They have been involved in assisting with the lambing duties, daily care, and sale preparation of all the sheep in our production sale and in our flock.

Both the Dorset and Suffolk flocks have been enrolled in NSIP for over 30 years, and as a result our sheep are backed by generations of performance data. Our sheep are raised on the native fescue pastures found in Southwest Virginia, and selected to perform in this environment. Over the last decade, we have worked diligently to identify genetics with parasite resistance and incorporated this data into NSIP for use in the form of FEC EBVs.

If we can be of assistance in any way, please reach out to either Erin Poteat, Sheep Center Manager ([email protected] , cell 704-794-7195) or Dr. Scott Greiner, Professor and Extension Animal Scientist ([email protected] , cell 540-230-2680). The sheep are available for viewing here on campus anytime, just let us know if you would like to visit and view the sheep. We are also happy to assist with absentee bids should you not be able to participate in the sale. Finally, we will do all we can to assist in delivery arrangements outside our region, please reach out prior to the sale to discuss details.

Thanks for your continued support!

GO HOKIES!

07/08/2024

Pair of fall Dorset ram lambs consigned to the NSIP Online sale on Wednesday July 10.
🧬Lot 6 https://plauctions.live/auction/23282/644148?fsp=3200
Pwwt Ebv: +7.6 (top 15%), Pemd Ebv: +0.5 (top 30%), SRC +114 (top 25%), Carcass Plus: +153 (top 3%)
🧬Lot 7 https://plauctions.live/auction/23282/644149?fsp=4035
Pwwt Ebv: +6.9 (top 20%), Pemd Ebv: +0.9 (top 15%), SRC +113 (top 30%), Carcass Plus: +151 (top 4%)

Great looking rams with breed-leading EBVs!!

Will have transportation to Center of Nation Sale (Spencer, IA) and points in route later this month.

12/07/2023

Interested in learning more about sheep production? Join us in our Sheep Basics 101 Workshop this January! We would love to welcome you out at the Sheep Center so register below to reserve your spot!
Register here: https://forms.gle/apae268HD9M1kjMJ6

08/24/2023

Information now posted for our 24th Annual VT Sheep Center Production Sale to be held online on Sept 5! Please reach out if we can be of assistance!

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07/31/2023

Thank you to everyone who supported our NSIP sale this year. We sold one ram in the online sale and two rams at the Center of the Nations Sale in Spencer, Iowa. Two of our rams will be going to South Dakota and the other will be in Iowa! Interested in purchasing sheep from Virginia Tech to add to your flock? Keep an eye out for more information about our online Production sale on September 5th!

07/28/2023

Welcome to the new Copenhaver Sheep Center page! We are a university farm at Virginia Tech home to over 400 Polled Dorset, Suffolk, and St. Croix Sheep. The Copenhaver Sheep Center plays a role in providing hands-on learning opportunities for our students, extension events and outreach, and research in the School of Animal and Poultry Sciences. We are very passionate about animal agriculture and our sheep and we are very excited to show you a bit of what we do out at the Copenhaver Sheep Center!