Purdue Farm Animal Hospital clinicians put out the welcome mat on a recent Saturday morning for goat and sheep producers from across Indiana as well as Illinois who were looking for practical help and guidance in their roles as commercial and show stock producers. A special half-day Small Ruminant Producer Workshop hosted by the Purdue University Veterinary Hospital on November 23 attracted more than 60 attendees, representing 28 farms. They found just what they were looking for as the team of Purdue experts who participated addressed a variety of topics.
The workshop was organized by a Purdue Veterinary Medicine alumna, Dr. Laura May, of the DVM Class of 2019, who serves as a visiting assistant professor of farm animal internal medicine. “Our goal was to bring together sheep and goat producers with Purdue Extension educators to discuss topics applicable for both commercial and show stock producers,” Dr. May said.
The program included presentations on a variety of topics. The engaging line-up of featured speakers included:
- Dr. Camilla Jamieson, clinical assistant professor of large animal emergency and critical care, who gave a talk entitled, “Urolithiasis Management and Prevention,” and also helped with planning the workshop.
- Dr. Heather Bornheim, farm animal medicine and surgery clinician, who spoke on the topic of “Parasite Management in your Herd.”
- Cora Reinbolt, Purdue extension educator for Community Development and Agriculture and Natural Resources for Bartholomew County, who gave a presentation highlighting Indiana Farm Extension Resources.
The workshop also featured a detailed trailer safety demonstration led by Robin Ridgway, PhD, director of environmental health and safety regulatory compliance in Purdue’s Environmental and Ecological Engineering Department. With a trailer hitched to a heavy duty pick-up parked adjacent to Lynn Hall as a teaching aid, Ridgway covered everything from pointers about the hitch assembly and properly hitching the trailer to a vehicle, to tire safety and trailer care and maintenance, to emergency trailer brakes and safety chains.
Attendees also had the opportunity to tour the Farm Animal Hospital. The successful workshop was made possible through a sponsorship by the Indiana Dairy Goat Association.