Hands on Herd Health for Small Ruminants

Dr. Brian Faris will lead the “Hands on Herd Health for Small Ruminants” workshop at the new state-of-the-art K-State Sheep and Meat Goat Center, 2117 Denison Avenue, Manhattan, from 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM, Saturday, November 22.

The new facility, designed with animal care and handler safety in mind, contains design features and handling procedures that can be adapted to a producer’s current facilities. Workshop participants will experience the luxury of the new facility, and be allowed hands on experience like trimming hooves, FAMACHA evaluations, and perform sonograms on pregnant ewes.

Classroom time will cover herd health, vaccinations, body condition scoring, fecal egg counts, and how to create safe working facilities with what producers currently have on their operation. The workshop will also cover the FAMACHA practice, which helps producers evaluate the lower eyelid to check for anemia determining individual animals in need of parasite treatment to help reduce animal resistance to dewormer products.

Dr. Faris, who grew up in Texas, has spent his entire life in the sheep and goat industry, and has extremely valuable information to share with producers. Faris received his undergraduate degree from Texas A&M and received his doctorate in Animal Science at New Mexico State. Prior to moving to Kansas, he served as a 4-H Youth Livestock Specialist in North Carolina.

There is no charge for the workshop.

FAMACHA evaluation cards will be available for purchase at the workshop for $15.00. Please indicate on the registration form whether you would like to purchase a set of cards at the workshop.

Attendees are asked to RSVP by November 15 to help in planning for handouts, cinnamon rolls, and other refreshments. Lunch will not be provided.

Along with Kansas Farmers Union and the Kansas Graziers Association, Amazing Grazing II partners include: Kansas NRCS, Kansas Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education, Kansas Center for Sustainable Agriculture and Alternative Crops, Kansas State Research and Extension, Farm Credit, and the Kansas Grazing Land Coalition, with funding from North Central Extension Risk Management Education Center and USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.