Giddy-Up!
|
Due to unforseen circumstances, the start of the sheep and goat research program at the Western Maryland Research & Education Center (in Keedysville) will be delayed until next year. In addition, the Goat, Sheep, and Forage Field Day scheduled for Saturday, August 16 (announced in the June newsletter) will not be held until 2004.
August 16th Field Day Cancelled.
Should the Maryland Sheep & Goat Producer newsletter be expanded to include information for producers/owners of alpacas and llamas? The title of the newsletter could be changed to Maryland Small Ruminant News. More and more people are raising llamas and alpacas as companion animals, for show, fiber production, or predator control. Llamas and alpacas are small ruminants. They have many similarities with sheep and goats. Let us know what you think.
by Willie Lantz
MPWV 1st Vice President
The 4th Annual Mt. Top Boer Goat Show and Sale was held on Saturday, June 7
at the Garrett County Fairgrounds in McHenry, MD. The show was held in conjunction
with the McHenry Highland Festival and is sponsored and conducted by the MPWV
Meat Goat Producers Association. The MPWV also operated a food booth at
the festival, selling barbecue goat sandwiches.
The show began at 11:00 a.m. with a showmanship workshop and contest for youth.
The workshop was conducted by the show judge, Robert Hare from Winchester, OH,
and assistant judge, Rachel Free from Smock, PA. Robert Hare has been judging
livestock shows for nearly twenty years and has recently received certification
from the U.S. Boer Goat Association (USBGA) as an official judge. A market goat
class was also held in conjunction with the youth show. The Champion Market
Goat was exhibited by Nick Habina, and the Reserve Champion Market Goat was
exhibited by Jessica Stoots. Both Nick and Jessica received a bag of goat feed
from Nutrena Feeds and a 25 dollar gift certificate to Jeffers, Inc.
Over one hundred (100) animals were registered for the breeding goat show. Angel
Kontaxes from Perryopolis, PA exhibited the Champion Percentage Doe. Showing
the Champion Sr. Percentage Doe was Taylor Dunmire with Red Barn Boers from
Monongahela, PA. Winner of the Full Blood Jr. and Sr. Champion Doe as well as
the Jr. and Sr. Champion Full Blood Buck was Dick and Andrea Dixon from Mannington,
WV. The annual Boer Goat Production Sale followed the show. Twenty-five (25)
animals were offered for sale. Dick Dixon’s “Dixons BGF Captain”
was the top selling animal, selling to Joseph Evans from Oakland, MD.
Garrett College's Alternative
Agriculture Center hosted the 7th Annual Meat Goat Conference held on Sunday,
June 8. Approximately forty (40) participants took advantage of the hands-on
activities conducted during the morning session. Dr. Heidi Fritz and Susan Schoenian
conducted two workshops on worming and fecal sampling. Other workshops included
Pasture Management conducted by Don Swartz, Goat Management practices by Willie
Lantz, Goat Selection by Robert Hare, and Solving Kidding Problems by Dr. Heidi
Fritz.
The MPWV held their annual meeting on the afternoon of June 8. Members elected
officers for the upcoming year.
President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dick Dixon
1st Vice President . . . . . . . . Willie Lantz
2nd Vice President . . . . . . . .Brenda Mares
Secretary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Barbara Ferguson
Treasurer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Walter Schoenian
The group also discussed next year’s show and sale and other meat goat marketing opportunities. If interested in joining the MPWV Meat Goat Producers Association, contact Willie Lantz at (301) 387-3331 or wlantz@garrettcollege.edu. The next MPWV meeting will be Saturday, November 8 at Garrett College in McHenry, MD.
1Maryland-Pennsylvania-West Virginia Meat Goat Producers Association.
The Frederick County Extension Office will be holding a short course series on consecutive Wednesday evenings from September 3 through November 5. The first four-week course is designed to provide basic knowledge needed by new farmers as they begin the process of starting their new farming operation. The registration fee is $8 per person. The Sheep & Goat course is for those interested in raising sheep and/or goats. The registration fee is $6 per person. The bonus classes are free to those who register for one or both courses.
Beginning a Successful Small Farm Operation: Part II (Sept 3, 10, 17
and 24)
• Cover Crops: Field and Forage Crops on Small Farms (Terry Poole, Extension
Agent, MCE1)
• Farm Financial Management (Dale Johnson, Regional Farm Management Specialist,
MCE)
• Soil and Water: Quality/Cost-Share Programs (Mark Siebert, District
Conservation, NRCS2)
• Developing the Perfect Farm Enterprise: Marketing What You Produce (Poole)
Bonus classes (Oct 1, 8, and 15)
• Feeding Livestock (Stan Fultz, Extension Agent, Dairy, MCE)
• Weeds Commonly found in Pastures (Poole)
• A Review of Farm Animal Health Management (Dr. Raymond Ediger, retired
regional veterinarian, MDA3)
Sheep and Goats (Oct 21 and 28, Nov 5)
• Breeds and Breeding (Susan Schoenian, Area Agent, Sheep & Goats,
MCE)
• Facilities and Equipment (Schoenian)
• Sheep & Goat Management (Schoenian)
All classes will be held at the Frederick County Extension Office from 7 p.m.
to 9 p.m. Space is limited so early registration is recommended. For more information
or to register, contact Terry Poole at (301) 631-3576 or
tpoole@umd.edu.
1 University of Maryland Cooperative Extension
2 Natural Resource Conservation Service
3 Maryland Department of Agriculture
The Maryland Dairy Goat Association (MDGA) will be sponsoring a Buck Collection
Day and AI Clinic on November 29-30 at the Howard County Fairgrounds in West
Friendship. The instructor will be Vicki Pardee of Rosenthyme Farm Semen Processing,
Poughkeepsie, New York.
Registration forms and deposits are due November 15. There is a $20 reservation
fee per buck collected (+$2.75 per straw, 30 straw minimum). The cost of attending
the artificial insemination class is $25 per person, $15 for additional family
members. The AI clinic will include lots of hands-on activity and a booklet
to take home. In addition, the instructor will AI any doe in heat brought to
the class for the cost of semen.
For reservation forms and information, contact Vicki Pardee at (845) 485-3165
or vicki@rosethymefarm.com or MDGA
president Brent Dietrich at (717) 692-4648 or president@marylanddairygoat.org.
Links
http://www.marylanddairygoat.org/03aiday.html
http://rosethymefarm.com/
by Susan Schoenian
Western Maryland Research & Education Center
Docking and castrating are management practices that most sheep and goat producers
take for granted. However, these practices are coming under increased scrutiny
by animal rights and welfare groups, particularly in Europe, but also here in
the U.S. Recently, the University of Maryland’s popular “Lamb Watch”
class came under attack for performing these practices. This is also the first
year of the mandatory tail docking policy for 4-H lambs in Maryland.
As producers, we have a responsibility to educate the public as to why we perform
these practices. We need to make sure that we dock and castrate in the most
humane manner possible. We also need to ask ourselves if it is truly necessary
to perform these practices. In some situations, it may not be necessary to castrate
ram lambs or buck kids or dock lambs. The decision will vary by producer/operation
and will be affected by breed, management, and marketing.
Rationale for docking and castrating
The tail protects the ewe’s udder in extreme weather, helping to prevent
mastitis. It is also used to spread the feces when the sheep defecates. Tail
docking is performed to prevent wool contamination (by feces and urine) and
fly strike (which can kill sheep) and to facilitate shearing. To say that it
improves the appearance of a lamb is not a valid reason for docking. It is not
necessary to dock hair sheep (Katahdin, Dorper, St. Croix, Barbados Blackbelly
or Wiltshire Horn) or short-tailed breeds (Finn Sheep, Icelandic, Shetland or
Romanov). Tailed lambs may be discounted in the marketplace, because tails,
particularly if they are dirty, will reduce carcass yields (i.e. dressing percentage),
thus carcass value. However, this is less likely to occur today and in the East
where ethnic/religious markets predominate and oftentimes prefer and may require
tailed lambs.
Ram lambs and buck kids are castrated to prevent unwanted pregnancies and indiscriminate
breeding. Castrated males are easier to manage, especially as they mature. Castration
enables later weaning of lambs and kids, which is common with pasture-based
production systems. Castrated males can remain with their dams and female flock
mates for a much longer period of time than intact males, which should be separated
from females by the time they are three months of age. Castrated males can be
fed along side females in the feed lot without risk of pregnancy or reduced
weight gains due to sexual activity. Males sold as grazers or pets should always
be castrated.
Like tailed lambs, ram lambs may be discounted in the marketplace, especially
those marketed after July 1 and showing secondary sexual characteristics. However,
this is less likely to occur today and in the East where the ethnic/religious
markets oftentimes prefer and may require intact males. In addition, even if
ram lambs are discounted, it may still pay to leave them intact, since they
grow faster and more efficiently than wether lambs. In fact, if rams can be
marketed by the time they are six months of age, it makes sense to leave them
intact. There is no difference between the meat from young ram lambs and wether
or ewe lambs. With goats, the intact male is almost always preferred by the
buyers, which are almost all ethnic/religious. There is a particularly good
demand for large, older bucks. However, most youth shows require buck kids to
be castrated in order to be shown in market goat classes.
Humane docking and castrating
There is disagreement among producers and scientists as to which method(s) of
tail docking and castrating causes the most or least amount of pain or distress.
Surgical castration (using a knife or scalpel to remove the testicles) has been
shown to increase levels of cortisol in the bloodstream of lambs the most (an
indication of pain), whereas banding causes greater behavior changes. Pain can
be alleviated by using a general anesthesia for surgical castration or a local
anesthetic (e.g. lidocaine) for banding. The use of a clamp or “burdizzo”
to crush the spermatic cords prior to placement of the band will also help to
reduce pain when castrating. The use of a local anesthetic at the site of banding
is effective in reducing the pain associated with tail-docking. Docking with
a heated cautery iron (electric docker) produces the least changes in behavior
and cortisol levels. However, this piece of equipment is no longer commercially
available.
Since it is not practical for most producers to use a local anesthetic when
docking and/or castrating, elastrator (rubber) rings/bands should only be used
on lambs and kids that are less than 7 days of age. In fact, all techniques
of docking and castration should be performed on lambs/kids at an early age
(less than 2 weeks). Though lambs/kids should not be castrated during their
first 24 hours of life, as this interferes with mothering and bonding and may
affect newborn vigor. In the United Kingdom (UK), it is against the law to use
elastrator bands on lambs that are more than 7 days of age, and lambs that are
three months of age and older must be docked and castrated by a veterinary surgeon
under anesthesia. New Zealand animal welfare standards recommend that lambs
be docked and castrated during the first six weeks of life.
Short tail-docking
Extremely short (cosmetic) tail docking has been associated with increased incidences
of rectal and vaginal prolapses, due to muscle and nerve damage. In fact, research
has shown that there is a 10-fold increase in the incidence of rectal prolapses
in feed lot lambs that have been docked excessively short, as is common among
show lambs. In the UK, the length of tail must be left long enough to fully
cover the ewe’s vulva and the rams’ anus. Animal welfare standards
in Australia and New Zealand make the same recommendations. The American Veterinary
Medical Association recommends that lamb tails be removed at the point of the
distal end of the caudal tail fold. The new tail docking policy in Maryland
(and some other states) only requires that lambs have a tail that can be “lifted”
with a #2 pencil when the lamb is in the free-standing position. The primary
purpose of these mandatory tail docking policies is to eliminate “surgical”
tail docking. These policies probably do not not go far enough in improving
the welfare of lambs.
|
Docking/Castrating Practices
in US |
||
US |
East |
|
| % lambs docked | 91.7 |
81.2 |
| % lambs castrated | 77.4 |
|
| Avg. age of castration | 22.3 days |
|
| Source: USDA-APHIS National Animal Health Monitoring System, July 2002. | ||
by Dr. Scott Greiner
Extension Animal Scientist, Virginia Tech
The extremely wet weather that has persisted in the Mid Atlantic region this
spring has been conducive to foot rot and foot scald in sheep (and goats). Foot
scald is caused by a soil bacteria that is present in most environments and
manifests itself during very wet conditions. Foot scald causes lameness, frequently
on the front feet, and lesions are found between the hooves.
The tissue between the toes of a sheep/goat with foot scald are generally blanched
and white, or red and swollen. Foot scald is much easier to treat than foot
rot. Many times, placing sheep/goats on drier footing and out of mud will alleviate
the problems of the disease. Foot scald may also be treated topically by applying
a solution of copper sulfate (Kopertox). The simplest and most effective treatment
is use of a footbath containing 10% zinc sulfate solution (8 pounds zinc sulfate
to 10 gallons water). The frequency and severity of foot scald infection will
decline as drier weather returns.
Foot rot is a much more serious disease, as treatment intervention is necessary
to eradicate the disease. Foot rot is a highly contagious disease that is caused
by anaerobic bacteria that invade the sole of the hoof, causing deterioration
and separation of the horny tissue. Infected feet are characterized by grayish-white
matter and a strong foul odor. The foot rot organism thrives under warm, moist
conditions and may spread through the flock through contaminated ground, manure,
and bedding. Foot rot is typically introduced into a flock through the purchase
of an infected animal or exposure of the flock to infected
facilities. Persistently infected animals may carry the organism, which spreads
to the remainder of the flock when environmental conditions are favorable.
Since foot rot infects the hoof itself and is highly contagious, treatment protocols
are more extensive compared to foot scald. Treatment programs include foot trimming
and foot baths, and isolation of clean from infected sheep within the flock.
Research has demonstrated that the foot rot vaccine is also useful in eradicating
the disease from the flock (sheep).
Source: Virginia Livestock Update, July 2003.
Researchers at Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas, investigated the
effects of ralgro (zeranol hormonal implants) on the performance of feeder lambs.
One hundred and twenty Rambouillet lambs (wethers and ewes, avg. wt. 65 lbs.,
avg. age 195 days) were randomly assigned to three treatment groups: 1) no implant;
2) implant; and 3) double implant. On day 0, all lambs were weighed, vaccinated
for overeating disease, and dewormed. Lambs in treatment groups 2 and 3 were
implanted. Lambs in treatment group 3 were re-implanted at day 56. Lambs were
weighed on days 28, 56, 84, and overall and slaughtered when end weights of
119 pounds were reached.
Average daily gain was higher for implanted lambs as compared to non-implanted
lambs. Days on feed was less for implanted lambs. The feed-to-gain ratio was
lower for implanted lambs on day 56, 84, and overall. Carcass characteristics
were similar for treatment groups, though non-implanted lambs had a lower dressing
percentage, and double implanted ewe lambs had a lower percentage of choice
grade carcasses and higher percentage of no grades. Implanted ewe lambs also
had a higher incidence of prolapses. Implanted wether lambs had a higher value
and profit margin than implanted ewe lambs and control lambs based on actual
purchase price, feed cost, and carcass value.
|
No Implant |
Single Implant |
Double Implant |
||||
| Sex |
wether |
ewe |
wether |
ewe |
wether |
ewe |
| No. |
40 |
40 |
40 |
|||
| ADG |
0.53 |
0.64 |
0.65 |
|||
| DOF |
106 |
96 |
92 |
|||
| FE |
6.4 |
5.8 |
5.5 |
|||
| NG |
0 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
7 |
| Value |
$88.01 |
$89.88 |
$85.33 |
$97.66 |
$78.27 |
$93.00 |
| Profit |
$14.12 |
$15.99 |
$11.07 |
$23.40 |
$5.21 |
$19.94 |
|
No. = number of lambs in
treatment group ADG = average daily gain (overall), lbs/day DOF = days on feed (until 119 lbs. was reached) FE = feed efficiency, lbs. feed/lb. gain NG = number of carcasses which received no grade Value = average sale value of carcasses (minus discounts) Profit = carcass value minus (lamb cost + implant cost + cost of gain) |
||||||
Implications:
• Implanting wether lambs will increase feed lot performance.
• Implanting wether lambs will increase profit.
• Re-implanting lambs proved to have no benefit over a single implanting.
• Implanting ewe lambs will decrease carcass value and economic returns
as compared to implanted wethers and non-implanted lambs.
Researchers at North Carolina State University evaluated the effects of feeding
free choice minerals containing three different levels of copper on the copper
status of lactating does and their offspring. Fifty-one (51) pregnant does (Boer
and ¾ Boer) were separated into six equal groups 6 weeks prior to kidding
and assigned to one of three treatment groups: free choice minerals containing
either 0, 1,000, and 3,000 mg Cu/kg DM (dry matter). Does were fed a hay/grain
mix for 4 weeks and were then grazed on perennial pastures two weeks prior to
kidding until weaning (July 8). Intake of minerals was monitored weekly. Jugular
blood samples were taken from 24 does prior to kidding and from the same does
at weaning and from 15 kids at weaning. Kids were harvested at weaning to determine
liver copper concentrations.
From the start of the trial until the end of kidding, does consumed daily 22.3,
20.1, and 20.9 grams free-choice minerals, corresponding to respective copper
intakes of 0.0, 20.1, and 62.6 mg/day. While grazed with nursing kids, does
consumed daily 22.4, 23.4, and 21.9 g free-choice minerals, corresponding to
copper intakes of 0.0, 23.4, and 65.7 mg/d, respectively. Blood plasma copper
concentrations of does at the start of the trial, at weaning, and of kids at
weaning was not affected by treatment. Birth weights, weaning weights, average
daily gain, and carcass traits of kids was not affected by treatment. Liver
copper concentrations increased linearly with increasing dietary copper, but
liver lesions were minimal and not affected by treatment. Feeding these amounts
of copper for six months was not detrimental to nursing does and their kids
and did not affect kid performance.
Source: Journal of Animal Science, Volume 81, Supplement.
Northeast SARE1 conducts a Farmer/Grower Grant Program to support
producers who want to try something new on their farm – a technique for
adding value, a new crop, or a method of direct sales, for example. The goal
of the program is to help farmers explore sustainable and innovative production
and marketing practices that are profitable, environmentally sound, and beneficial
to the community.
There are three types of farmer/grower grants: 1) farm trial (adopt new practices);
2) grassroots (experimental); and 3) agroforestry (combining trees or shrubs
with crop and/or livestock production. All projects must have a technical advisor,
such as a country extension agent, university specialist, or NRCS staff. In
2003, the average grant size was $5,200. In 2004, the cap will be $10,000.
Any farmer in the Northeast SARE region can apply. The region is made up of
Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey,
New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, and Washington,
D.C. (SARE programs are also conducted in other regions of the U.S.) You do
not have to be a full-time farmer to be eligible for a grant, but your operation
should have an established crop or animal product that you sell on a regular
basis. Applications and more information about the requirements of the Farmer/Grower
Grant program are available on the Northeast SARE web site at www.uvm.edu/~nesare/.
You can also call 802/656-0471 to request a printed application. The proposal
deadline is December 8, 2003.
1 Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education
Program
by Dr. Niki Whitley
University of Maryland Eastern Shore
The objective of this preliminary study was to compare growth, lamb survival,
parasite resistance, and carcass traits of Dorper, Texel, and Suffolk-sired
Katahdin crossbred lambs that are raised primarily on pasture. Late last fall,
53 Katahdin ewes were injected intramuscularly with 7.5 mg PGF2a (Lutalyse;
1.5 cc) for estrus synchronization and grouped for mating with either a Dorper
(20 ewes), Texel (16 ewes), or Suffolk (17 ewes) ram for 28 days. At lambing,
birth weights of the lambs were recorded, and at approximately 10 days after
lambing, ewes and lambs were moved to pasture. Animals were moved to new pasture
(all pastures were fescue/clover or orchardgrass/clover) when grass height was
reduced to less than 6 inches. Ewes were supplemented from 30 days before lambing
to approximately 50 days after lambing.
Lamb body weights were measured at approximately 33, 51, and 75 days of age
and were corrected to 30, 50 and 70 days and adjusted for type of birth and
rearing, age of dam, and sex of lamb. Fecal samples for fecal egg count determination
were collected at approximately 75 days of age and again at weaning (approximately
96 days of age). Body weight (adjusted for 90 days) and ultrasound measurements
of rib eye area (muscling) and back fat thickness were collected at weaning
so that comparisons can be made among the breed crosses.
There were no differences in birth weights (average 8.36 lb.) or number of lambs
born per ewe lambing (1.8 lambs per ewe) between the three sire groups. Sire
breed had no influence on early pre-weaning growth performance with body weights
averaging 26 lbs. on day 30 and 42 lbs. on day 50 of age. On day 70, the Suffolk-sired
lambs were 6.4 lbs. heavier on-average than the Texel and Dorper-sired lambs
(which were similar in weight). Body weight at weaning for Suffolk-sired lambs
(averaged 72 lbs.) was approximately 6.8 lbs. higher than for Texel-sired lambs,
but was not really higher than Dorper-sired lambs, which were 68 lbs. Texel
and Dorper-sired lambs were statistically similar in body weight at weaning.
Lamb survival to weaning (lambs born alive minus lambs weaned) was similar between
the three groups averaging 97 percent. There was no influence of sire breed
on fecal egg counts at 75 days (averaging 112 egg per gram) or at weaning, though
FEC’s were higher at day 96, averaging 1,225 eggs per gram.
Editor’s note: this research is being funded by a NE-SARE Research and Education Grant.
Producers are eligible to receive payments for ewe lambs they retain or purchase,
as part of year 4 of the Lamb
Meat Adjustment Assistance Program (LMAAP) which ended on July 31. Applications
for ewe lamb payments are due to FSA offices by August 15. However, FSA will
not process checks/ payments until all applications through the end of the period
have been submitted. Thus, payments will be delayed until late September. In
addition, in the event that FSA receives more applications than it has available
funding, payments will be pro-rated to a lesser amount. Producers will receive
a maximum of $18 per ewe lamb.
The American Sheep Industry Association (ASI)
is seeking to extend the LMAAP for an additional year. Payments are also available
for feeder and slaughter lambs that meet specific criteria.
One of the lesser known competitions of the Maryland
Sheep & Wool Festival is the Live Animal and Carcass Contest, which
takes place the Sunday and Tuesday prior to the Festival. To increase participation
in the contest and give the contest more visibility at the Festival, the contest
will be changed from a live animal/carcass contest to a live animal evaluation
using real-time ultrasound technology. Contest results will be based on two
ultrasound carcass measurements: back fat thickness (measured between the 12th
and 13th rib) and rib eye area.
Though the details of the contest have yet to be worked out, there will be a
market lamb contest and a young sire evaluation. The market lamb contest will
be open to any breed or crossbreed of lamb weighing between 80 and 120 pounds.
There will also be an award given to the exhibitor of the lamb with the largest
rib eye (adjusted to 100 lbs.). The young sire evaluation will be open to ram
lambs of any breed or breed cross. There may also be a competition for people
whereby youth and adults will handle the lambs to estimate back fat and rib
eye.
by Susan Schoenian
Western Maryland Research & Education Center
The Dorper is a South African hair sheep, imported into the U.S. in 1995 via
embryo form from Canada. The breed was developed in the 1930's by crossing Dorset
Horn sheep with desert fat-tailed sheep (Black-headed Persians) in an attempt
for South Africa to regain export markets lost to New Zealand's “"Canterbury"lamb.
Dorpers are an easy-care sheep that require minimal labor. A purebred has a
white body with a black head and neck and is more common (in South Africa) than
a White Dorper, which has white hair all over its body. The skin of the Dorper
is covered with a mixture of hair and wool, which sheds naturally during warm
weather and does not require shearing. The Dorper has a thick skin (hide) which
protects it during harsh conditions. The skin is the most sought after sheep
skin in the world, and in South Africa is marketed under the name “Cape
Glovers.”
Dorpers are well adapted to a variety of climatic and grazing conditions, though
they were originally developed for arid regions. They do well under intensive
feeding conditions, but may be best suited to pasture-based production systems.
Dorpers have a long breeding season and under good forage conditions and good
management, can produce three lamb crops in two years. Dorper lambs grow rapidly
and attain high weaning weights. They have excellent carcass traits.
Many universities, including the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and Virginia
Tech, are conducting research with Dorpers to determine their potential for
use in commercial lamb production systems. At the University of Wyoming, Dorper-sired
lambs compared favorably with Suffolk-sired lambs, producing heavier-muscled
carcasses. Dorper sires were found to have a positive effect on lamb production
in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Studies conducted at Virginia Tech and the University
of Idaho have shown that Dorper lamb is more tender than the lamb from wooled
sheep (Dorset, Suffolk). Research conducted at Virginia Tech showed that while
Dorpers lack the parasite resistance (ability to limit infection) common to
other hair sheep breeds, they may possess a higher degree of parasite resilience
(ability to withstand infection) as compared to wooled sheep.
Because Dorpers are still relatively new to the U.S., they can still be quite
expensive, especially White Dorpers, which seem to be preferred in the U.S.
As a result many producers use fullblood Dorper rams to upgrade their flocks
or they purchase percentage Dorpers (e.g. ¾ Dorper x ¼ Katahdin).
http://www.dorperamerica.org/
From August 29 through September 27, Susan Schoenian will be in the former
Soviet republic of Kazakhstan. The University of Maryland received a grant from
the U.S. Department of State to develop a pilot extension program in Kazakhstan,
after having carried out a similar program in neighboring Uzbekistan. Susan
previously traveled to Kazakhstan in 1994 with fellow Maryland shepherd David
Greene and Eldon Gemmill. The trip was sponsored by Winrock International and
involved working with the sheep industry in southern Kazakhstan.
Susan has also been asked to speak at the 2nd International Symposium on Sheep
and Goat Production for Meat in João Pessoa, Brazil from September 30
through October 3. In March, Dr. Niki Whitley traveled to Jamaica to discuss
collaborative research between UMES and the Bodles Research Center in Jamaica.
The 8th edition of the Merck Veterinary Manual is online at http://www.merckvetmanual.com. Calling itself “the single most comprehensive reference for animal care information,” the manual includes over 12,000 indexed topics and 1,200 illustrations. It is searchable by topic, species, speciality, disease, or keyword. The manual is also available as a book or CD-ROM for those lacking internet access or preferring these mediums.
August 15
Deadline to sign-up for ewe lamb retention payments.
Contact: local FSA offices
August 23
Virginia
Performance Tested Ram Lamb Sale
Steele's Tavern, Virginia
Contact: Scott Greiner at (540) 231-9159 or sgreiner@vt.edu
.
September 1-November 5 (see article)
Small Farm (part II) and Sheep & Goat Short Course
Frederick County Extension office
Contact Terry Poole at tepoole@umd.edu.
September 27-28
ABGA Sanctioned Boer Goat Show (27) and ESMGPA Open Meat Goat Show (28).
New York State Fairgrounds, Syracuse, NY.
Contact: Kay Kotwica at (315) 363-7545 or kotland@dreamscape.com.
October 15-19
Katahdin Hair Sheep International Annual Meeting
Pineland Farm, Maine
Info: http://academic.bowdoin.edu/bio/sheep/
November 8
MPWV Meat Goat Producers Association Quarterly meeting, Garrett College, McHenry,
MD.
Contact: Willie Lantz
November 29-30 (see article)
MDGA Buck Collection
Day and AI Clinic
Howard County Fairgrounds, West Friendship
Contact Vicki Pardee at vicki@rosethymefarm.com.
Links are provided as an information service. They do not constitute an endorsement of any non-affiliated organizations, businesses, products or content of these pages by Maryland Cooperative Extension or the University of Maryland. Mention of product names is for information purposes only. It is the policy of Maryland Cooperative Extension that no person shall be subjected to discrimination on the grounds of race, color, sex, disability, age, religion or national origin
 The Maryland Sheep
& Goat Producer is published bi-monthly by University of Maryland
Cooperative Extension. It is written and edited by Susan Schoenian, Area
Agent for Sheep and Goats at the Western Maryland Research & Education
Center. Dr. Niki Whitley (UMES/(410) 651-6194, nwhitley@mail
.umes.edu) and Willie Lantz (Garrett College/(301) 387-3331, wlantz@garrettcollege.edu)
are regular contributors to the newsletter. To subscribe, contact Susan
at the Western Maryland Research & Education Center, 18330 Keedysville
Road, Keedysville, MD 21756, (301) 432-2767 x343, fax (301) 432-4089; e-mail:
sschoen@umd.edu. In lieu of receiving
a hard copy of the newsletter in the mail, you can be added to the e-mail
list to receive e-mail notification when the latest newsletter has been
posted to the web at http://www.sheepandgoat.com/news/. Comments and suggestions
regarding the newsletter are always welcome and appreciated. |
Go to Previous Issue of Maryland Sheep and Goat Producer.
Return to the Maryland Small Ruminant Page