Tri-State Meat Goat Conference set for Oct. 8-10 in Brookings
BROOKINGS, SD – The fourth annual Tri-State Meat Goat Conference is set for Oct. 8-10 in Brookings.
Registration for the events cost $50 per person. To register or for more information on the conference, call South Dakota Cooperative Extension Livestock Educator & 2010 Conference Coordinator Rebecca Schafer at 605-874-2681 or e-mail her at: Rebecca.Schafer@sdstate.edu. Or call or e-mail Brenda Postels, University of Minnesota Extension Educator, at 763-682-7381, or post0060@umn.edu; or North Dakota State University Extension Sheep Specialist Reid Redden at roy.redden@ndsu.edu or 701-231-5597.
Advanced hotel reservations are recommended. Organizers have reserved a block of rooms at the Staurolite Inn & Suites, 2515 E. Sixth St., Brookings. Reserve your room before Sept. 24 to receive the group discount, and ask for the “Tri-State Meat Goat Conference” rate. To make a reservation at the Staurolite Inn, call 605-692-3111.
The conference will be held at South Dakota State University in the Animal and Range Sciences Complex and arena. The complex is located at the corner of Medary Avenue North and North Campus Drive. On Friday evening the conference takes place at the Brookings County Resource Center, 826 32nd Ave., Brookings. The center is located in the Swiftel Center complex, just off Interstate 29 to the east of Brookings.
The event is organized through a cooperative effort of the Extension services of Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The three-day event includes FAMACHA training. This training is open to both sheep and goat producers and costs $15 per person or $20 per person if attending the training only.
Other topics include goat health, nutrition, reproduction and breeding management, the selection of meat goats for breeding stock, carcass evaluation, grazing and pasture management, marketing strategies and opportunities, and fencing.
This year’s keynote speakers include Tennessee Extension Small Ruminant Specialist An Peischel and Gamal Zayed, plant manager and partner of the Halal Farm Meat Plant in Shannon, IL. Other conference speakers include Susan McClanahan, University of Minnesota Small Ruminant Specialist; Dr. Joe Klein, DVM; Richard Olsen, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources; Stacy Salvevold of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; as well as several Extension educators and specialists.
In addition to the educational workshops and demonstrations, attendees will have an opportunity to visit vendors and to meet and socialize with other meat goat producers.
On Friday, staff will serve a Texas-style meat goat supper, the award-winning “Cabrito Carne Gassata” recipe prepared by graduate students from the SDSU Department of Animal and Range Sciences. The students participated in an “Iron Chef” style competition earlier this year at Texas Tech University and won first place for their goat recipe.
Saturday evening will conclude with a wine and cheese social. The conference wraps up with the inaugural 4-H/FFA Youth Open Meat Goat Prospect Show on Oct. 10. Registration is $5 per animal. Contact any conference organizer listed above for information about the Prospect Show registration.
