Sheep farmer Sandi Brock might look a little familiar, if you’re keen on YouTube and Instagram. The Staffa, Ont. farmer was raised on a dairy farm, worked on a broiler breeder farm, and then eventually chose sheep as the livestock venture to diversify her grain enterprise.
Brock learned so much in those first years of taking on a new farm business that she wanted to share her experience and fuel the more creative side of her personality. And so began Sheepishly Me, a YouTube channel that’s been featured on the YouTube upcoming creators page, has nearly 200,000 subscribers, and regularly gets hundreds of thousands of views from around the world.
In this Q&A Brock shares a bit of her journey, why she does what she does, how many hours the extra work takes, and answers questions from the audience.
- Sandi’s farm was and is primarily a grain farm, but diversified in 2012 to include sheep
- Then, shortly after, she decided to expand and build a barn and more than triple the flock size (a huge leap!)
- She’s spent many videos explaining her barn design — and why a barn vs. keeping sheep outside
- It’s hot. Big Ass fans are just so expensive!
- How important is a team of professionals when farming? Vet, feed ration person, scanner, shearer, etc.
- Swallow your pride, or know when you’re wrong and adapt management based on all the brain power you can draw from
- Sheepishly Me — what was the impetus to begin the YouTube and Instagram feed?
- Video was a good fit
- It’s not all cute lambs and sunshine and rainbows, Brock is known for sharing the failures, too. It’s not really about the sheep —it’s about sharing the experience of farming
- What do locals think? Thankfully, they’re not on Youtube
- One she was featured on the YouTube creator page, the subscribers and interest took off
- It’s a truly global audience
- But all that extra pressure leads to one thing. Burn out is a real thing, you guys.
- The thing is, there’s always more eyes, and people want more and that can be very tiring.
- How do you deal with activism?
- Shearing has been a target, for sure.
- Will you know when you’re done? What’s next?
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