By SHELLY STRAUTZ-SPRINGBORN
Michigan Correspondent EAST LANSING, Mich. — This year’s Ag Expo is going to the dogs – literally – as well as the livestock and the horses.
Jeanne Weaver of Williamston, Mich., will share her 30 years of experience in stock dog training during daily expo sessions. The stock dog training demonstration will cover topics such as teamwork between dog and handler, how to carry on a conversation with your dog using whistles and commands and how dogs interpret and understand livestock.
“I’ve always had livestock. So, for my first stock dog, I got an Australian shepherd and things just escalated from there,” Weaver said. “After that, I got into Border Collies, and I’ve been working with them for 15 years now.”
Weaver will bring a few of her dogs, ranging in age from one to eight years old, to demonstrate the proper teaching methods and use of stock dogs. The award-winning trainer has trained and competed with a total of 10 Australian shepherd and Border Collie champions, most notably the 2006 Canadian National Champion dog, Liz.
“You’ve got to have good timing,” Weaver said. “You have to be able to work with your dog instead of against it, and to learn to use its natural instinct. These dogs have the ability to save you lots of steps and time.”
The demonstration will take place at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. each day of the Ag Expo, in the designated Stock Dog Training Area.
In addition to dog handling, several other sessions are geared toward livestock producers. Healthy and well-cared-for animals are critical to any livestock operation.
With increased interest from the public in management and handling practices, and new regulations for livestock operations on the horizon, farmers have many questions.
Janice Siegford, assistant professor in the MSU Department of Animal Science, will lead the presentation “Taking Stock: Are You Prepared for Animal Agriculture’s Future?” This session is slated for noon, July 20-22, in the Farm Focus Tent on the Ag Expo grounds.
Kent Ames, DVM, will discuss cattle lameness – its consequences and its prevention – during “Cattle Lameness: Causes, Consequences and Prevention.” This session will take place at 2 p.m., July 20-22, in the Cattle Demonstration area of the Ag Expo grounds.
Infectious diseases such as Bovine Viral Diarrhea virus (BVD) and Johne’s disease in cattle are a risk to both cattle and public health and can financially affect farm operations. During the presentation “Good Herd Health is Infectious: Preventing and Controlling BVD and Johne’s,” MSU College of Veterinary Medicine faculty members will discuss how to control and prevent these two important infectious bovine diseases. This session is slated at 11 a.m., July 20-22, in the Cattle Demonstration area of the Ag Expo grounds.
The Pasture Dairy Center at the MSU W.K. Kellogg Biological Station combines robotic milking technology with a pasture-based dairy management system.
Development of this center allows MSU researchers to address the needs of small and mid-sized dairy farms in Michigan that are interested in pasture-based systems, robotic milking or a combination of the two.
Researcher Mat Haan will present “Pasture-Based Dairy Production in Michigan” at noon, July 20-22, in the Livestock Central area of the Ag Expo grounds.
Also during Ag Expo, the MSU Equine Team and My Horse University will conduct horse demonstrations to showcase the importance of selecting the appropriate hay quality and quantity for one’s horse, and deciding whether one should supplement the hay ration with grain, during sessions on July 22.
The teams also will discuss hay samples, selecting the right type of hay based on a horse’s nutritional requirements, how to keep feed costs low and nutritional status high and judging hay based on physical characteristics.
Visit www.agexpo.msu.edu to learn more about the educational sessions being offered at Ag Expo this year. |
