Ohio Ag Net | Ohio's Country Journal Ohio Ag Net | Ohio's Country Journal 
By Matt Reese
Susan Shultz, from Logan County, is the new president of the American Sheep Industry Association.
Susan and her husband Bill raise production-oriented sheep on their Bunker Hill Farm near DeGraff. Susan was elected president on Jan. 29 through the virtual 2021 American Sheep Industry Convention. Both Susan and Bill have been very involved at the state and national levels of the sheep industry.
“I got very involved in Production Education Research Council, which was kind of a natural since I was a retired teacher. I am very interested in research and education outreach at the national level,” Susan said in a 2019 interview for the couple’s Master Shepherd Award. “Then there was an opportunity to become a regional director and I represented six states.”
In her role at the national level, Susan is an advocate for the wide array of issues facing the U.S sheep industry.
“There are many challenges. We are a minor species, so even access to pharmaceuticals is a challenge. We have problems with parasite resistance and to get new products available takes a lot of lobbying and work at the federal level,” she said. “Another challenge we have is that it is hard for people to change.”
The influence of Susan at the national level fits in well with the Shultz family heritage, but also the reputation of Ohio as a hotbed of gifted national leaders in the sheep industry.
“Ohio is unbelievably well respected on the national level and I attribute a lot of that to Roger High. For over 70 years Ohio has had tremendous leaders who have gotten involved at the national level and made a difference,” Susan said. “Ohio has a real presence at the national level. We have tremendous diversity here with club lambs, show sheep, commercial sheep and they all work together and we have a wonderful organization here in our state.”
