SAN ANGELO — The 26th Annual Sheep and Goat Field Day, which addresses a range of issues facing West Texas agriculture, is set for Sept. 2 at the Texas A&M University Research and Extension Center here.
The Center is located north of San Angelo on U.S. Highway 87. Registration begins at 9 a.m., followed by morning field tours at 9:30 a.m.
This year’s field day is being dedicated to the memory of Royce Jones who worked closely with the center as the agricultural writer for the San Angelo Standard-Times. Jones, 26, died last year on Sept. 3 following a sudden illness. A native West Texan, Jones was a personal friend to many of the staff here and at the Sonora Experiment Station.
Morning tours kick off the day under the direction of Jeff Ripley, Tom Green County Extension agent. The tour stops include an update on lambs undergoing a fiber quality trial. Speakers will be Drs. Chris Lupton and Ed Huston, Experiment Station researchers, San Angelo; and James Jennings, an Angelo State University graduate student.
Dr. Dan Waldron, research geneticist, San Angelo, will man a second tour stop. He plans to discuss tradeoffs in selection emphasis for meat and wool production. He will touch on important issues producers should consider when selecting breeding stock for genetic improvement at a time when relative economic values of meat and wool are changing.
“Dual Purpose Sheep and Hot-Carcass Grading” are the topics to be covered by Dr. Frank Craddock, Dr. Shawn Ramsey and Kraig Peel. Craddock is the San Angelo-based Extension sheep and goat apecialist, Ramsey is an assistant professor of animal science at Texas A&M University, College Station, and Peel is a Texas A&M University graduate student, also at College Station.
A fourth stop will deal with the status of an outbreak of vaccine-resistant soremouth that cropped up in several goat flocks earlier this year. Drs. Andres de la Concha and Butch Taylor, San Angelo-based Experiment Station researcher and Sonora Experiment Station superintendent, respectively, will explain the situation and give an update on its effect on the vaccine production at the Sonora Station.
An overview of the status of nature tourism to enhance ranch income will be given by Tamara Trail, Extension associate for conservation, San Angelo. She will offer some suggestions and guidelines for those considering this enterprise.
Lunch and industry updates are set from noon to 1:15 p.m. Caterers will be Faron Pfeiffer, a research associate at the center’s wool laboratory, and his father, Charlie, a retired farmer from Veribest.
The afternoon opens with the Royce Jones dedication and introduction of guests by Steve Byrns, Extension communications specialist at San Angelo. Dr. Carl Menzies, San Angelo Experiment Station resident director emeritus, will serve as the afternoon’s master of ceremonies. Dr. Butch Taylor will open the afternoon presentations with “Animal Selection Based on Dietary Preference.” He is followed by Kenneth Dierschke, a Wall cotton farmer. Dierschke will speak on Senate Bill 1: Regional Planning Group Efforts. The day’s final speaker is James Moore, assistant executive director of the Conservation Program of the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board at Temple. Moore will give an update on the North Concho Watershed Project.
The event will conclude at 3:30 p.m.
For further information, call the Texas A&M University Agricultural Research and Extension Center at (915) 653-4576.
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