Big barns, hundreds of sheep, and 175,000 YouTube subscribers — a LIVE! Q&A with Sandi Brock

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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