FREDERICKSBURG – The Texas AgriLife Extension Service will present its annual Hill Country Multi-County Hair Sheep and Meat Goat Field Day  on May on 26 at the Gillespie County Fairgrounds in Fredericksburg.

Registration will be from 5-5:30 p.m., with the program presentations from 5:30-8 p.m.

“This program rotates annually between Blanco, Bandera, Kendall, Kerr and Gillespie counties, and this  year it is set for Gillespie,” said Decky Spiller, AgriLife Extension agent for agriculture and natural resources in Gillespie County.

“We’ll have a full program featuring experts who will present updates and topics of interest for both new and well-established sheep and goat producers in the Hill County.

Spiller said program presentations this year will be:

• Sheep and Goat Market Update and Outlook, Wayne Geistweidt, rancher and owner of Gillespie Livestock Auction, Fredericksburg.

• Use and Management of Livestock Guard Dogs – Bob Bucholtz, rancher, Eldorado.

• Anthelmintic Use in Small Ruminants and Parasite Resistance, Dr. Laird Lawrence, DVM, practicing veterinarian, Fredericksburg.

The program will be moderated by Dr. Rick Machen, AgriLife Extension livestock specialist from the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Uvalde.

“Mr. Geistweidt has his finger on the current market trends in the sheep and goat industry and will have some perspective on what the future holds, Spiller said. “And Bob Bucholtz has used livestock guard dogs in his sheep and goat operation for the past 25 years and has some unique insight into use and managing these dogs.”

He noted that livestock guard dogs are a viable option for producers toward minimizing the impact of the growing predator problem in the Hill Country.

“As for Dr. Lawrence, he has years of experience in the Texas Hill Country with sheep and goat production and is on the leading edge of dealing with internal parasites and the problems associated with product resistance,” he said.
Spiller added that Machen “is a tremendous resource for sheep and goat producers in Texas and his ability to communicate timely science based information the producer is a real benefit to this programming effort.”  

Please call the Gillespie County Extension office for pre-registration  and fee for this program.

Attendees with a Texas Department of Agriculture private applicator licenses will be able to earn two continuing education units in Integrated Pest Management.

For more information or to pre-register, contact the Spiller at AgriLife Extension office for Gillespie County, 830-997-3452, dtspiller@ag.tamu.edu .