2010 Goat Field Day

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Our annual Goat Field Day will be held on Saturday, April 24, 2010 at the Langston University Goat Farm with registration beginning at 8:00 a.m. This year's theme will be Bridging the Future and the Past.

Adult Activity (morning session): This year our featured speaker will be Dr. Frank Pinkerton (AKA The Goat Man). Dr. Pinkerton became The Goat Man at Prairie View A&M University in 1978. Here is the history, in his own words, of The Goat Man becoming the The Goat Man.

"... Frank was reassigned to develop the International Dairy Goat Research Center. He recalls that the interview for the new job was very short. The Dean asked him if he knew anything about dairy goats; yes, he said, they were those funny little cows with two tits. Close enough, said the Dean, and so it was that The Goat Man came to be. In '83, as the result of a bureaucratic political shuffle, he relocated to Langston University in OK, to do extension work in dairy, Angora, and meat goats. He retired in '93 to raise meat goats in east TX and do consultant work in goat management and marketing in TX, NY, VA, NC, and LA."

"During his 40 year career, Frank managed to publish 10 articles on Ruminant Nutrition and Milk Technology early on, then write 17 Extension Fact Sheets/Technical Bulletins on dairy, Angora, and meat goats, and prepare 41 articles on meat goat production, marketing, and meats for popular periodicals. He also did 13 international consultancies on livestock and goat nutrition and 16 domestic consultancies on goat management and marketing, not to mention conducting 5 large-scale goat-grazing demonstrations for vegetative control in public forests and grasslands in OK, AR, AL, NC and TN."

"Since March of 2005 it has been my [Frank's] pleasure to write a monthly question-and-answer column for The Goat Rancher and also to share occasional articles on various facets of the industry. As a retired Extension Specialist, these exchanges and offerings have allowed me to stay in touch with producers and to keep more or less abreast of events and developments affecting management and marketing of meat goats."

Adult Activity (afternoon session):In the afternoon session, participants will break into small-group workshops. There will be a total of twelve workshops; however, participants will only have time enough to attend three.

The afternoon workshops include:

• Frankly Speaking - noted Goat Rancher columnist will expound upon questions that are often asked including basic goat nutrition, feedstuffs, forage-only feeding programs, production economics, target marketing, on-farm testing, and many more with Dr. Frank Pinkerton.


• Basic Goat Husbandry - hoof trimming, body condition scoring, FAMACHA scoring, farm management calendar, etc. with Mr. Jerry Hayes (1:30 only).


• Basic Herd Health - herd health program including vaccinations, injection sites, and approved drugs with Dr. Lionel Dawson (2:30 only).


• Nutrition for Health and Production - calculation of energy, protein and feed intake requirements with Dr. Steve Hart (1:30 and 2:30 only).


• Internal Parasite Control - sustainable internal parasite control program with Dr. Steve Hart (3:30 only).


• Goat Reproduction - basics of goat reproduction and techniques and equipment for artificial insemination in goats with Dr. Dave Sparks.


• Goat Farm Budgeting - basics of budgeting and financial recordkeeping with Mr. Roger Sahs.


• Cheese-making Overview - basics of making cheeses from goat's milk with Mr. Neville McNaughton.


• Pack Goats - basic goat training as a pack animal and equipment needs with Mr. Dwite Sharp.


• Mortality Composting - basic composting techniques and equipment for disposing of goat mortalities with Dr. Roger Merkel.


• DHI Training - supervisor/tester training for dairy goat producers including scale certification with Ms. Eva Vasquez.


• USDA Government Programs - overview of USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service's work with goats and its cost-sharing program with Mr. Dwight Guy.

Fun Tent Youth Activity: Ms. Sheila Stevenson will host a full day of activities for youth ages 5-12 in the Fun Tent. This will allow the parents and older teens to enjoy the workshops knowing that their little ones are having fun in a safe environment. Last year, some activities included goat activities, pony rides, OKC ZooMobile, oklahoma wood-turners, leather working, pot your own plant, OKC Science Museum, and many others. This year's Youth Fun Tent activities have not yet been finalized but Sheila assures you that they will be as much fun as last year.

GPS Scavenger Hunt Youth Activity: Ms. Sheila Stevenson will also organize a ½-day GPS scavenger hunt on campus. Youth will learn the basics of GPS and will use a GPS unit to finds "hidden" objects.

Fitting and Showing Youth Activity: The Fitting and Showing workshop will not be held this year but will return in 2011.

Registration for the Goat Field Day is FREE but there is a $10.00 per person charge for the optional barbecued goat lunch. You can bring your own lunch and picnic on the grounds or you can pre-register for a lunch of barbecued goat.

For information regarding the 2010 Goat Field Day, contact Dr. Terry Gipson at (405)466-6126 or at tgipson@luresext.edu

Register online for the 2010 Goat Field Day