The goat industry currently stands alone among Ontario livestock in attracting new producers to agriculture. This has created an air of excitement and a need for information, both of which will be present at this year’s International Goat Symposium in Stratford on Aug. 12, 13 and 14.

TRADESHOW OPPORTUNITIES
Get your products or services noticed by your targeted industry. Reserve your Booth Space today!

The stars have aligned for staging what promises to be the biggest goat show if its kind ever in the newly constructed Agriplex - a magnificent multipurpose building designed for hosting major agriculture events.- at a time when agriculture supply companies are eager to meet the goat industry.

On display will be the latest equipment and services which have allowed the establishment of many new large goat herds. Providing instruction on how best to take care of the goats will be a diverse range of speakers, from feed specialists provided by the Nutreco feed company in Holland to a forage specialist from a top research station in the United States to advice on raising newborns from milk replacer manufacturer Grober based in Cambridge, Ontario. Experienced goat farmers will reveal their secrets for success during a panel discussion.

The program will be updated with more info. Check back often.

  Farm Tours
  8:15 am – 9:45 am Boarding Buses & departures at timed intervals
  4:30 pm – 5:30 pm Buses return at varying times
  5:30 pm Buffet style meal
  7:00 pm Official Opening Ceremonies
    Wine & Cheese & Trade Show opens
  8:00 am Registration, Coffee & Trade Show
  8:30 am Kick Off of Program & Welcome
Bob Reid, Symposium Chair
  8:40 am Success through Management of your Feeding System
Peter Jan Baakker, Hendrix & Nutreco
  9:40 am Refreshments & Exhibit visits
  10:10 am Quality Forages through Harvest, Storage & Feed Management
Ev Thomas, Miner Institute, Chazy, New York
  11:10 am Managing Young Stock – the Foundation of my Herd
Speaker TBA
  12:10 pm  Lunch & Exhibit visits.
Caprine Classic begins - dairy & meat shows will run concurrently
  1:10 pm Concurrent sessions begin – 40 minute sessions with 10 minute move opportunities
     
  1:10 pm Managing Feeding Programs for Kid Goats on Milk Replacer
Kathleen Shore, Grober Nutrition Inc. Cambridge
    Pasture Management equals Quality Forages for Goats
Ev Thomas
    ACGI Producer Survey results
Tracy-Lynn Reside & Murray Hunt, ACGI
  2:00 pm Succession Planning Peter Coughler, Succession Planning & Business Agreements Program Lead, OMAFRA
    Goat Industry Successes in Europe
    Animal Welfare and the Goat Industry – speaker TBA
  2:50 pm Refreshments & Exhibit Visits
  3:30 pm Using CIDR’s in Breeding Management Programs -Speaker TBA
    Take a Walk on the Financial Side
Speaker TBA
    Understanding the Ontario Market for Goats
Speaker TBA
  4:10 pm Managing Udder Health for Milk Quality – Allyson MacDonald, DVM, Ostrander Vet Clinic, Tillsonburg
    Tapping the Market Local Wave Speaker TBA
    Presentation TBA
  6:30 pm Social at Stratford Festival Inn beginning with cocktails
    Guest Speaker – Paul Mussell, Comedian / Farmer
  9:00 am Welcome & Opening Remarks
  9:10 am Club 1200
Franz Hensellhoff, Nutreco
  10:10 am Industry Roundup
Buck Classic
Scrapie Tagging Project
National ID  & Traceability Program
Centre of Excellence for Small Ruminants feasibility study.
Kawartha Management Club Pilot
  10:30 am Refreshment Break
  11:00 am Management Ideology for Success in the Goat Industry - Producer Panel
Henry & Anja van der Vlies
Bill Alexander
TBA
  12:10 pm Closing Remarks  - Wrap Up, what it all means and share a thread that will introduce the theme for 2009 – Marketing/value add – speaker TBA
Lunch on your own
  1:00 pm Caprine Classic Sale
     
 

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