Back-to-back educational programs will address the changing industry
Writer: Steve Byrns, 325-653-4576, s-byrns@tamu.edu
Contact: Marvin Ensor, 325-653-4576, m-ensor@tamu.edu
SAN ANGELO – What organizers tout as the largest, most comprehensive sheep and goat production educational opportunity in recent times is coming to fruition.
A diverse and changing sheep and goat industry will highlight two back-to-back educational opportunities in San Angelo on Aug. 28-29. (Texas A&M AgriLife Communications photo by Steve Byrns)
The venue is actually two events set back-to-back on Aug. 28-29 in San Angelo, said Marvin Ensor, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service regional program leader in San Angelo.http://youtu.be/f91aFP110DI
He said the first of the two is the 42nd Annual Sheep and Goat Field Day conducted by and on the grounds of the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center located just north of San Angelo. That event starts with registration at 8 a.m. followed by the program from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Aug. 28.
The second event is the first ever Texas Sheep and Goat Expo set from 2-8:30 p.m., also on Aug. 28, and again on Aug. 29 from 7 a.m.-4 p.m. at the San Angelo Fairgrounds.
“The Texas sheep and goat industry is undergoing tremendous change,” Ensor said. “And the AgriLife agencies, AgriLife Extension and Texas A&M AgriLife Research, are staying abreast of those changes. The industry is as diverse now as perhaps it’s ever been, so we are offering these events that will specifically target this diversity.
“As an example, our traditional wool sheep, by far the most predominant variety in the West for generations, are making way for an ever increasing hair sheep population. And while both are sheep, there are significant differences in the management and marketing of wool sheep, a dual-purpose animal, and hair sheep kept solely as meat producers. The expo curriculum will recognize and address the specific needs and interests of these two sheep types and the other major segments of the industry–club lamb, and meat goat production, while recognizing and providing support in the common areas that impact all aspects of the sheep and goat industry.”
The annual Sheep and Goat Field Day is a long-standing tradition of the AgriLife center dating back to the 1970s. The field day is generally scheduled the first Thursday of each September, but Ensor said both events complement one another so well that planners opted to move the field day to coincide with the expo as a convenience to participants.
The expo is to be a premier state-level event with emphasis on demonstrations and hands-on activities that will follow the center’s Aug. 28 field day. Activities on Aug. 29 will start early at the San Angelo Fairgrounds with a chuck wagon breakfast followed by concurrent sessions featuring the various management and marketing techniques specific to wool breeds, hair sheep, club lamb production and meat goats.
Commercial businesses will exhibit new equipment, products and services at both events.
“Both these programs will be packed with information,” Ensor said. “We’d like folks to first attend the center’s field day that touts work being conducted there, including the extensive flock guard dog work being done, work on using juniper in deer feed to limit the problem of feral hogs eating much of it, insight into factors affecting lamb prices, the latest in prescribed fire management and some very interesting wool garment work. After a sponsored lunch at the center, activities will move to the San Angelo Fairgrounds for the start of the expo.
“It will be a full two days, and participants can take part in any or all of both events. We do hope they will take advantage of both programs though, as we have never offered such an opportunity before.”
Ensor said expo presenters will include AgriLife personnel, Texas A&M University faculty, veterinarians, Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory staff, agribusinesses and area ranchers.
The concurrent expo sessions will include:
– Wool Sheep Session: rancher panels on effective coyote, bobcat, feral hog control; lambing rate expectations and current goals, and how to increase the number of lambs marketed.
– Hair Sheep Session: hair sheep breeds overview; recommended best management practices-rancher panel; tips on selecting breeding stock with a cull-keep demonstration; marketing opportunities for hair sheep; and cause, prevention and treatment of pneumonia.
– Club Lamb Session: ram breeding soundness and semen collection; testing for reproductive and other diseases; breed classification standards; the facts about coccidiosis and other internal parasites; and keys to a successful embryo transfer program.
– Meat Goat Session: use of embryo transfer technology to improve genetics-producer panel; testing for reproductive and other diseases; pregnancy testing using ultrasound and Pregnancy-Specific Protein B technology; coccidiosis and other parasites; and cause, prevention and treatment of pneumonia.
The AgriLife Center sheep and goat field day is free including the lunch there.
Individual preregistration for the expo received by Aug. 26 is $20 and $30 thereafter. Register online at http://agrilife.org/westresults/registration/
or call Myra Marsh at the center at 325-653-4576, ext. 237.
For more specific information regarding either activity and their accompanying trade shows, contact Ensor at 325-653-4576, e-ensor@tamu.edu .
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