With lambing season right around the corner, individuals involved in sheep farming are looking for ways to make the process easier. This year the Missouri Livestock Symposium offers tips for success in the lambing barn for sheep producers.

Minnesota sheep producer Mike Caskey will be one of the speakers addressing this and other topics related to sheep farming at this year's event. The symposium will be held Dec. 6 and 7 at the William Matthew Middle School (formerly Kirksville Middle School) in Kirksville.

Lineup of sheep and meat goat programs

OFF TO A GOOD START: Sometimes lambs need a little extra help to get up and nursing. Mike Caskey will discuss how to make this year's lambing season a success at the Missouri Livestock Symposium.

According to Garry L. Mathes, Chair of the Missouri Livestock Symposium Planning Committee, the 2013 Sheep and Meat Goat programs on Saturday, Dec. 7 include Caskey with three talks—"Making Lambing Easier," "Building the right Ewe for You," and "Managing Ewe Feed Costs." Stan Potratz of Washington, Iowa, will address "The Future of the U.S. Sheep Industries—All Four of Them." Dr. Niki Whitley of North Carolina A&T State University will talk on "Parasite Resistance" and Dr. Michael Seipel of Truman State University will talk on "Grazing Sheep on Annual Forages: Preliminary On-farm Research.

GETTING A BOOST: Safeguarding growth in the sheep industry requires producers to start at an early age. Lambs are vaccinated early with CD-T toxoid. The CD-T toxid provides three-way protection against enterotoxemia caused by Clostridium perfringens types C and D and tetanus (lockjaw) caused by Clostridium tetani.

In the Meat Goat Section, Dr. Steve Hart from Langston University will give two talks—one on "Vegetation Management with Goats" and a second on "Look Before you Leap into Goats." Dr. Charlotte Clifford-Rathert from Lincoln University will talk on "Marketing Goats"; Whitley will address "The Art and Science of Feeding Goats"; and Linda Coffey from the National Center for Appropriate Technology in Fayetteville, Ark. will talk on "Hitting the Target: Whole Farm Planning." The Meat Goat Section will then conclude with all speakers participating in a panel discussion.

Hours for the 2013 Missouri Livestock Symposium are 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, Dec. 6 and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec.7. In addition to the free beef dinner at 6 p.m. Friday night and a free trade show, Dr. Garry Lacefield from the University of Kentucky, will be the keynote speaker when he talks on "Gratitude and Patriotism: A Personal Prospective."

Don't miss these stock dog talks

Mathes also points out that other talks of interest to both sheep and meat goat producers will be in the Forages and Stock Dog Sections of the Symposium. Lyle East of Clinton, Mo., gives three talks on working dogs including "Stock Dog Training—It's Not Rocket Science," "Pups vs. Started Dogs," and "Speaking the Language."

Go to the symposium's website for the full program lineup or to get additional information on all of the speakers.

Source: Missouri Livestock Symposium