Upcoming Events!!

Hi!
There's TONS going on around the North Country this spring in regards to goats and other livestock. Here's a sample:

Schedule for Adirondack Goat Club events: 
To get on the email list for the ADK Goat Club, please contact Rose Bartiss at rosesgoats@gmail.com.


1/26/13 - ADK Goat Club general meeting -- Free! Potluck lunch, please bring food to share. We will talk about getting ready for kidding and getting ready for spring. All are welcome! Email rosesgoats@gmail.com (Rose Bartiss) for directions and to RSVP. Location: Rose's farm in Vermontville, NY

4/6/13 (tentative) - Fecal Sampling and FAMACHA Certification Workshop --at Paul Smith's College. Coordinated by the Cornell Cooperative Extension Sheep and Goat program. Lecture on parasite management, learn to use a microscope to do fecal samples at home, become certified to use the official FAMACHA score card. Pre-registration required. Open to all goat and sheep owners in the North Country. There will be a fee for the workshop and for lunch. Stay tuned for more details.

Schedule for the St. Lawrence County Cornell Cooperative Extension in Canton, NY:
To get on the email list for the Cornell Cooperative Extension Sheep and Goat program, please contact Betsy Hodge at bmf9@cornell.edu.

Beef Discussion Group – January 30^th at 7 pm at the Extension Learning Farm.  Lynn Fountain, lawyer, will be the guest speaker.  Everyone welcome.

Strategic Marketing Course for Livestock Farmers - February 5, 12 and 19^th - $30.00 per farm – See article.  Pre-registration required. Extension Learning Farm

North Country Pasture Meeting –Friday evening February 22^nd, Copenhagen (Ron Kuck 788-8450 or rak76@cornell.edu) and Saturday February 23^rd 10:30 am Malone 911 Building, Bare Hill Rd.  Jenn Colby, Pasture Program Coordinator for the UVM Center for Sustainable Agriculture, break-out sessions for sheep and diary, reports on some North Country farm trials.  Contact Betsy Hodge at 315-379-9192 or bmf9@cornell.edu $30.00.

Sheep and Goat 101 – Saturday March 9^th, 10:00-3:00, A beginners basics course for those new to sheep and goats or wanting to get started in sheep and goats.  Lectures and hands on activities.  Kids and families welcome.  $10.00 per person or $20.00 per family.  Please register with the office – pay at the door.

Spring Beef Week – March 12-16^th – March 14^th in St. Lawrence County, Cooperative Extension Learning Farm, Canton at 6:30 pm.  Carol Gillis from the Beef Industry Council talking about what consumers want and Mike Baker on smart bull selection to produce quality beef.  $5.00 Contact Betsy Hodge 315-379-9192 or bmf9@cornell.edu Available in other counties during the week.

Pre-season training for Direct Marketers – March 23^rd – Food Safety for different venues and marketing channels.  Insurance – do you need it and what kind do you need.  Save the day! More details coming.

Bed & Breakfast Owners Guide to Working with Local Farmers – April 11, 1-4pm Extension Learning Farm.  We are looking for farmers interested in working with B & B owners and vice versa.  Most details coming.  Save the Date!

Schedule for Ward Lumber Educational Workshops and Seminars in Jay, NY:

To get on the email list for Ward Lumber please visit www.wardlumber.com.

2/19/13 - Equine Night 6:30pm - 9pm. Free! Pizza and refreshments provided. Guest speaker: Stephen Duran from Performance Horse Nutrition. Go to www.wardlumber.com for more information and to RSVP.

2/26/13 (tentative) - Swine Night 

4/2/13 (tentative) - Poultry Night

June 2013 - Chicken Harvest Workshop

Next meeting

I am currently looking for volunteers to host the next ADK Goat Club meeting in January or February. Let me know if you are interested.

Thanks.
-Rose

Basic Farm Finance Training by Cornell Cooperative Extension

News from Northern New York Regional Agriculture Initiative of Cornell
Cooperative Extension

PRESS RELEASE: November 19, 2012

Contact: Anita Deming, CCE Essex, 518-962-4810 x409; Anita Figueras, CCE St.
Lawrence, 315-379-9192; Peggy Murray, CCE Lewis, 315-376-5270

Basic Farm Finance Training Offered in Burrville, Canton, Malone, Plattsburgh,
and Westport; pre-register by Dec. 3, 10

The Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) associations of Northern New York are
offering a basic financial management training for farm business owners and managers.
Educators will cover the three basic financial statements every farm business should
use, recordkeeping systems, inventory management, cash flow vs. profitability, crop
insurance and risk management.

The 1pm-3 pm course qualifies for FSA Borrower Training Credits. Cost is
$10/class/farm or $25 for series of three classes.

This class is for beginning farmers and farmers who want to know more about basic
bookkeeping, and such tools as profitability measures, accrual accounting, and
depreciation. The small classroom setting allows for lots of questions and one-on-one
help from instructors.

Instructors Peggy Murray and Anita Figueras say at the end of the course participants
will be able to track income, expenses and inventory in the form of a farm business
summary and have a good start on a plan for improving farm profitability in 2013.
The Managing with Finance training will be offered in:

Plattsburgh: December 10, January 7 and January 21; CCE Clinton County office,
6064 NYS Rte 22. Pre-register by Dec. 3 with CCE Clinton County, 518-561-7450.

Malone: December 11, January 8 and January 22; Franklin County USDA Service
Center, 151 Finney Boulevard. Pre-register by Dec. 3 with CCE Franklin County, 518-
483-7403.

Burrville: December 12, January 9 and January 22; Farm Credit East, 25417 NY Route
12. Pre-register by Dec. 10 with CCE Lewis County, 315-376-5270.

Canton: December 12, January 9 and January 23; CCE St. Lawrence County
Extension Farm Learning Classroom, 2043B St. Hwy. 68. Pre-register by Dec. 10 with
CCE St. Lawrence County, 315-379-9192.

Westport: December 14, January 10 and January 24; CCE Essex County office, 3
Sisco Street. Pre-register by Dec. 10 with CCE Essex County, 518-962-4810 x0.

Cornell Cooperative Extension provides equal program and employment opportunities.
Learn more about Extension in Northern New York at www.ccenny.com. -30-

Sheep and Goat Programs for Clinton, Jefferson, and Franklin County This Week

Clinton County CCE: Peter Hagar, 518-561-7450
Jefferson County CCE: Ron Kuck, 315-788-8450
St. Lawrence County CCE: Betsy Hodge, 315-379-9192

NNY Sheep & Goat Care Programs Set for Watertown, Canton, Plattsburgh

The Northern New York Regional Livestock Team of Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) will hold Winter Sheep and Goat Care Programs November 27 in Watertown, November 28 in Canton and November 29 in Plattsburgh.

At each program a veterinarian will present good winter health practices and tasks for attention before the weather turns colder, and Cornell Cooperative Extension livestock specialist Betsy Hodge and a local CCE representative will talk about feed inventory and how different winter storage methods impact the amount of feed needed to keep sheep and goats all winter.

Hodge says, “Due to the dry North Country summer, many farmers harvested less feed than usual and the weather changed the quality of the feed. There is very little high quality second-cut hay available. Workshop participants will use worksheets to figure out how on-farm supply stacks up to the need for winter feed.”

The program fee is $5. Winter Sheep and Goat Care Programs will be held:
Tuesday, November 27: CCE Jefferson County office, Watertown, 6:30pm, 315-788-8450
Wednesday, November 28: CCE St. Lawrence County Extension Learning Farm, Canton, 7:00pm, 315-379-9192
Thursday, November 29: CCE Clinton County office, Plattsburgh, 6:30pm, 518-561-7450.

CCE Clinton County Agriculture Educator Peter Hagar says interest in programs for small livestock producers is growing across the region. Ten producers are already registered for the Plattsburgh program.

Cornell Cooperative Extension provides equal program and employment opportunities.

Clinton County Goat/Sheep Meeting

The Clinton County meeting will be held on Thursday, November 29^that 6:30 pm. 

Livestock Educator Betsy Hodge from CCE St. Lawrence will be presenting information on evaluating your feed inventory, choosing the proper supplements and buying hay.   Betsy manages both her own flock of sheep as well as the Cooperative Extension Learning Farm flock.

       

Dr. Sarah McCarter, a local veterinarian who raises both sheep and goats, will talk about keeping your sheep and goats healthy during the cold winter months. 

Please register in advance by calling the extension office at 561-7450 or email phh7@cornell.edu  There is a $5.00 registration fee that includes pizza & beverages.

Cornell Sheep and Goat Symposium

October 26 and 27, 2012 at Morrison Hall at Cornell University in Ithaca. On Friday 26 October from 11 am to 5 pm there will be a pre-symposium hands-on practical day (advance sign-up required) for novice sheep and goat farmers at the Cornell Sheep Farm in Harford, NY for $10/person including lunch. Additionally, a field necropsy workshop (advanced sign-up required) will be held at the Cornell Sheep Farm from 2:30 to 5 pm on Friday for farmers who have registered for Saturday’s Sheep & Goat Symposium. This workshop is geared towards farmers with some experience.

Deadline to register is October 17, 2012! Please go to http://www.sheep.cornell.edu/calendar/sgsymposium/index.html for more information.

September Meeting Summary

Summary: The topic of this meeting was “breeding”. Below is a quick summary of what was discussed:

Birthing/Delivery – Most births don’t need assistance. The time to intervene is when the kid is presented with only a nose and no front legs forward, head turned back, or total breech with the butt coming and no back legs forward. Be sure to wash your hands thoroughly and have your fingernails cut short. Remove all jewelry from hands. Put on gloves if available. Slowly insert a lubed hand into goat. Close your eyes for best visualization of kid parts. Try to pull a leg or both legs forward in order to facilitate delivery. Total breech and head turned back are most dangerous because kid will not be able to be delivered in this position. Push kid back inside in these cases in order to reposition.

Kid Care – Be sure to clip and then dip navel cords in iodine or betadine immediately after birth. Navel cords are a pathway for bacteria to directly enter the kid so they need to be disinfected after birth while they dry up. Put a good dowsing of iodine all over the cord and navel area. This will prevent navel ill that causes massive internal infection and death. When clipping the cord you can use cord clamps or dental floss or string to tie it off. Clip just below the knot or clamp. Leave a ½” or more of cord when clipping. Then dip in iodine/betadine.

Yearly Vaccinations – Goats are typically vaccinated for rabies and CDT. Rabies is present in this area and goats can get it. Symptoms of rabies in goats includes slobbering, drunken staggering, staring off into space. Rabies is fatal in goats and humans can get rabies from an infected goat. There is no approved vaccine for rabies in goats but the sheep-approved vaccine will work for goats. The CDT vaccine is recommended to be given to pregnant goats who are 4-6 weeks from delivery. This will transfer some immunity to the kids for enterotoxemia and tetanus through the colostrum. The kids are then vaccinated at 6 weeks old and then again 4 weeks later. Bi-annual revaccination is recommended from then on for life. Enterotoxemia and tetanus are fatal to goats and hard to treat once symptoms are noticeable. Kids are prone to entertoxemia more than adult goats. Tetanus can strike goats at any life stage.

Vaccination is a personal farm management decision. Some people are in favor and some are not. Do lots of research on the subject and make your own herd management decisions.

Tattooing – Tattoos are required for registration of goats. Goats must be registered in order to be shown. Ear tattoos are used in the Swiss breeds, Nigerian Dwarfs, and Nubians. Tail tattoos must be used in Lamanchas. The tattoo sequence is determined by the goat’s registration with the American Dairy Goat Association. When tattooing be sure to test the tattoo on a piece of paper before using it on the goat to make sure you have the numbers/letters in the right order. Make sure you tattoo the correct ear on the correct goat with the correct tattoo sequence. If the tattoo is incorrect, this will cause problems when checking the goat into a show because they will get identified at the show by their tattoos. To tattoo a tail on a Lamancha, clean your tattooing tools with alcohol before use. Wipe the goat’s tail with alcohol. Test the tattoo sequence on paper to verify. Place the tattoo in the center of the tail and press down hard enough to get the needles to go through the skin. Wipe any blood off of the tattoo. Apply tattoo ink and rub it in with a gloved finger. Repeat for second tattoo. Clean tattooing equipment with alcohol afterwards to prevent spreading diseases. When tail tattooing it is best to place the tattoos down the center of the tail and not in the tail web on either side. It is hard to read a tail web tattoo and distortion can happen as the goat grows which can make the tattoo illegible.

Blood Collection – Blood collection is good for testing for CAE, Johnes, CL, Brucellosis and pregnancy. To take a blood sample on a goat use a 5 mL syringe, a 22G X 1/2” needle, and a vacutainer blood collection tube. Clip the hair from the area around the jugular vein. Press slightly on the vein to cause it to pop out. With your other hand insert the needle into the vein, at a parallel angle, until you see blood in the syringe. Slowly pull plunger until you have enough blood, about 2 mL. Remove needle from goat and apply pressure to the site for a few seconds. Insert needle into vacutainer and empty syringe. Do this immediately before blood clots and gets stuck in the syringe.