SAN ANTONIO – As part of educational opportunities at the upcoming San Antonio International Farm and Ranch Show, the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will present a youth livestock clinic from 9:30 – 11:30 a.m. Nov 10 at the Freeman Coliseum.
The coliseum is located on the San Antonio Livestock Exposition grounds, 3201 East Houston Street.
The clinic, which is open to all 4-H and FFA members, will be one of more than 20 no-cost educational programs offered at this year’s show, which runs Nov. 8-10.
“AgriLife Extension experts Dwight Sexton, Brad Roeder, Todd Swift and Chuck Real will be the guest speakers at the clinic,” said Cheree Leita, AgriLife Extension agricultural youth educator for Bexar County, who is helping coordinate the clinic.
Sexton will present on beef cattle, Swift on lambs, Roeder on goats and Real on swine, Leita said.
“The clinic will be extremely useful for young people who are or plan to be involved in animal projects and/or showing animals in livestock shows in area or statewide venues,” she said. “It will be a rare opportunity to get a lot of information at one time from a variety of experts with decades of combined experience with different types of livestock.”
Topics to be covered at the clinic include health management, feed and nutrition, grooming for show, showmanship, and project selection, Leita said.
“Thanks to the sponsorship of SAIFRS, this year, as in past years, we will be able to offer a variety of no-cost educational programming,” said Bryan Davis, AgriLife Extension agent for Bexar County and show’s educational program coordinator. “And most of these educational opportunities also offer continuing education units or credits for attendees.”
“These programs will be presented by AgriLife Extension, Texas A&M AgriLife research, the Texas Department of Agriculture, Texas Deer Association and other cooperating agencies and organizations,” he said.
He said additional educational topics would include brush management and forage, low-stress cattle handling, drought-resistant crops, irrigation efficiency, hydraulic fracking, low-stress deer husbandry, AgrAbility for military veterans, feral hogs and dressage.
“We’ll also have a private applicator training and testing from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Nov. 10, but there is a charge for the training and for the testing,” Davis said.
He said additional show activities include a trade show on all three days, a Texas Tractor Pulling Extravaganza on Nov. 9 and 10, and a wine tasting and food pairing on Nov. 9.
Davis added that the show admission is free, but there is a $5 per day charge for parking on the show grounds.
For more information, go to http://www.farmandranchexpo.com.
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