Purdue Extension will present a webinar sereis to educate goat and sheep farmers on feeding practices following the drought, managing forage shortages and the production of commercial versus show goats.The webinars will run 6:00-8:00 PM (CST) on Nov. 28 and Dec. 5 at various Extension county offices in Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky.
Goats and sheep are small ruminants, so they rely on forage-heavy diets. Indiana's extreme heat and drought this spring and summer greatly reduced forage supplies. Those challenges, combined with a growing interest in sheep and goat production, are the impetus behind the webinars.
"We'll be talking about what this year's drought did to pastures and the lack of feed for farmers," said Mark Kepler, Purdue Extension educator in Fulton County and webinar organizer. "More and more farmers are starting to raise goats and sheep because they require less space and maintenance than larger farm animals. We're gearing this program toward those who are novice or beginners, but the information is really important to all sheep and goat producers."
The Nov. 28 session will cover dealing with forage shortages and feeding sheep and goats following drought.
The Dec. 5 session will cover pasture management for 2013 and differences between raising show goats and commercial goats.
Current Purdue Extension county offices signed up to host the webinars are Brown, Dubois, Elkhart, Fulton, Hancock, Harrison, Hendricks, Huntington, Jasper, Jefferson, Kosciusko, LaPorte, Montgomery, Morgan, Owen, Spencer, Switzerland, Vermillion and Warrick.
The Spencer County location will be held at the Spencer County 4-H Fairgrounds in Chrisney, IN. The series is free-of-charge but pre-registration is requested by November 26. To register, contact Purdue Extension-Spencer County at (812) 649-6022 or nheld@purdue.edu.
More information about the webinar series is available on the Purdue Extension-Spencer County website at www.extension.purdue.edu/spencer.
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