Small Ruminant Grazing Conference coming up in January

The University of Kentucky College of Agriculture will offer sheep and goat producers an opportunity to learn more about grazing Jan. 6 at the Fayette County Cooperative Extension office in Lexington.

The single-day event begins at 9:15 a.m. EST with a welcome from Jimmy Henning, UK College of Agriculture associate dean for extension and associate director of the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service, and Ray Bowman, executive director of the Kentucky Sheep and Goat Development Office.

The conference is divided into four informational sessions including nutrition, grazing systems, parasites and an economic outlook.

The nutrition portion will include presentations on the "Economical Methods of Improving Rates of Gain for Kids Grazing Unimproved Pastures" by UK Extension Associate for Goat Management Terry Hutchens and "Lamb in April, Market in November ... A Forage-Based System of Production" by UK Animal and Food Sciences Professor Debra Aaron.

UK professors David Ditsch and Don Ely will discuss strategies during the grazing session for co-grazing sheep/goats with cattle. In the afternoon, the discussion will turn to parasites with presentations titled "Small Ruminant Parasite Control: The Rise of Resistance and the Fall of Traditional Methods" by Bob Storey, manager of the Large Animal Clinical Parasitology Lab at the University of Georgia and "Trial and Error: Designing a Year-Around Internal Parasite Control Program for Sheep" by Aaron, Ely and M. M. Simpson, UK animal and food sciences graduate student.

UK Agricultural Economist Lee Meyer will talk about Kentucky small ruminant production economics, followed by a marketing outlook from Tess Caudill, sheep and goat marketing specialist with the Kentucky Department of Agriculture's Division of Value-Added Animal Production.

Visitors may choose to stay an extra hour after the conference ends to participate in FAMACHA training for an additional $10 fee. Registration for the main conference is $15, and the deadline to register is Dec. 12. Mail registration fee along with name, address and phone numbers of attendees to UK Robinson Station, Attn: Jackie Allen, 130 Robinson Road, Jackson, KY 41339.

Sponsors of the conference are the UK Barnhart Fund for Excellence, Kentucky Sheep and Goat Development Office, Kentucky Goat Producers Association, Kentucky Sheep and Wool Producers Association and the UK Cooperative Extension Service.

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