![]() ![]() He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is author of numerous magazine articles, former editor of the Minnesota Shepherd, and recipient of the Distinguished Service Award from the Minnesota Lamb and Wool Growers. Ron Parker is an academic geologist who turned to sheep raising in 1976. The reader is encouraged to learn from the sheep, for they are the best teachers of a successful shepherd. Many managers focus too much on the project at hand and not enough on the people they also have to manage. The Sheep Book guides the reader to working with the instincts of the sheep-treating them as animals with special talents and ways of behaving that can be engaged and directed. Know the Condition of Your Flock Follow the status of your people as well as the status of the work. A knowledgeable shepherd manages a flock in such a way as to provide an appropriate environment for all phases of the annual journey from breeding through pregnancy, lambing, growing of lambs, marketing of lamb and wools, and revitalization of the sheep for another cycle. The Sheep Book carries the reader along through a year in a sheep’s life during which sheep and shepherd form a symbiosis. His scientific background and his ‘outside the box’ thinking make this a book of substance, significance, and originality without being the least bit pedantic.” Ron's insistence from his first days as a sheep farmer on raising sheep outside on grass with no heavy equipment put him ahead of the low-tech, sustainable ag movement. For that matter the lists of sources for supplies, of web sites, of organizations, of breed associations, and of publications will be worth the price of the book to experienced shepherds. “The revised and updated The Sheep Book is what the literary critics would call a ‘must read’ for beginning shepherds. Woody Lane, Ph.D., Livestock nutritionist ![]() The reading is always interesting, always clear, and this book would be an asset in any shepherd's library.” ![]() Beginner and veteran shepherds alike will appreciate the many how-to-do-it descriptions in these chapters. ![]() Unlike so many textbooks, Ron's book is structured around the gentle cycle of a ewe's production year, which is elegantly logical and effective. “Ron combines intelligent observations with a shrewd and delightful humor, and his practical experience shows through at every turn. Mixing theoretical, technical and practical, Parker offers a buffet of tips for any sheep producer.” All of this together is symptomatic of nothing less than the deterioration of the foundation of lawful order in our culture.“ The Sheep Book offers a template for both the beginner and the old hand. With the erosion of respect for the authority of the Shepherd, it is no surprise that respect for authority generally is diminished, whether in government, family, or the church. Unfortunately, we live in a culture that has denied the authority of the Shepherd and the moral “fences” he has established. The sheep must look to the Shepherd to delineate the bounds of the “green pastures” and “still waters.” It is to these standards that the shepherd-elder must be personally loyal and with which the elders must feed the sheep. Though we pay great lip service to faith in God, the bottom line of our culture is not “the Lord is my Shepherd,” but “I am my own shepherd.” Respect for the authority of the Word of the Shepherd results in clear moral boundaries within which the sheep will be safe and secure. The deterioration of respect for authority in culture has its root in a failure to respect the sovereign lordship of the ultimate authority, the living God who is the Shepherd and authority of all of life. ![]()
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