MEREDITH MCGLAMORY
EACH YEAR THE Expo brings a crowd of
people to the dairy barn for the various
events but one, in particular, is the Cow
Milking Contest. The idea was adopted by
long-time Sunbelt Ag Expo board member
and Livestock Section Coordinator Bill Patten
as a way to raise awareness for agriculture
while having a good time.
Over the years, the Expo has had college
deans, commissioners of agriculture, Farm
Bureau presidents, and even pageant queens
participate. However, this year, the Expo is
putting a spin on the Cow Milking Contest
with it being an all-female competition.
The contest will feature the women in ag
from southeastern colleges and universities.
Contestants get to show off their skills at
hand milking a cow. Since this event only
happens once during the expo, it is normally
packed as attendees gather to cheer on their
favorite contestant, university and state.
If you are looking for an udderly good
time, make sure you are at the dairy barn on
Tuesday at 2: 30 p.m. for some good friendly
competition.
Another popular event is the Mobile Dairy
Classroom where attendees see a cow being
milked and learn additional information
about the dairy cows and the products that
come from milk.
All the classroom demonstrations will be
performed by Nicole Karstedt from the Agricultural Commodity Commission of Milk (ACCM).
She is very passionate about educating people
on the health benefits of dairy products and
the importance of supporting local dairies.
There will be four 25- to 30-minute presentations beginning at 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. and
each day to choose from, but don’t be late as
seating fills up quickly.
Because dairy farming is such an important commodity in Georgia, Sunbelt Ag Expo
offers numerous fun and exciting seminars
that will be educational to both children
and the producers. So make sure you stop
by the seminars or events that will be held
on Tuesday through Thursday in building F- 7
next to the Mobile Dairy Classroom.
Faculty from the University of Georgia
and University of Florida will give presen-
tations throughout the week on topics of
interest that will address consumer issues as
well as provide information for anyone man-
aging cattle. Some popular topics include
providing care to young calves, cooling
cows, genetics, mastitis management, and
artificial insemination.
Other topics include how calcium gets
into milk and affects the health of the cow
and consumer and separating fact from
fiction about dairy farming. Faculty will be
available through the week to answer ques-tions attendees have related to dairy production or the dairy industry.
Seminars will begin on 10 a.m. Tuesday,
Oct. 15, at the Mobile Dairy Classroom.
At 10: 30 a.m. Dr. Corwin D. Nelson from
the University of Florida will be presenting,
“How does calcium get into milk? Implications for healthfulness of milk and health
of the cow.” This will be a great educational
session to attend if you are interested in the
health aspects of dairy as well as newcomers
wanting to learn more.
Please see page 11 of the Schedule of
events for information on additional Educational Dairy Seminars.
Dairy specialists from the Universities
of Georgia and Florida will be available to
answer questions at the seminars throughout
the day. Dairy cows and calves will also be on
display throughout the three-day event for
attendees to see.
First-ever all-woman cow milking contest
LIVESTOCK
DAIRY
tion being taught this year. It will be
addressing, Emergency/Disaster Preparedness brought to you by Henry
Dorough from Alabama Cooperative
Extension System. Then, there will also
be a seminar concerning the economics of small ruminant production with
Whitley, Paula Burke, Extension agent
at the University of Georgia, and Angela
McKenzie-Jakes from Florida A&M University (FAMU). This particular seminar
will be conducted each day at 10 a.m.
Another daily seminar will be
geared more toward health and diseases. The demonstrations will include
proper animal care such as body condition scoring, hoof care, trimming
vaccinations, and living conditions.
This portion of the event will be led
by either Dr. Mike Purvis, Extension
Veterinarian at FAMU, or Whitley from
FVSU, at 1:00 p.m.
Other seminars and demonstra-
tions taking place will be fencing for
small ruminants at 10: 45 a.m. daily
with Mike Taylor from Stay Tuff Fencing
and Gallagher, shearing at 11: 30 a.m.
on Oct. 15 and 16, and a Nutrition/
Forages seminar that will be at 2 p.m.
on Oct. 15 and 16 with Jeremy Kichler
from UGA and on Oct. 17 with Dr. Nar
Gurung from Tuskegee University.
All sheep and goat exhibits will
be held at the north end of the block
F- 8, called the Will R. Getz Small Ruminant Section. It is named after Getz, in
honor of his dedication to the Sunbelt
Ag Expo for coordinating this portion
of the three-day event as an Extension
Animal Scientist at FVSU for many years.
