The Texas Livestock Guardian Dog Association’s, TLGDA, first Livestock Guardian Dog Field Day in conjunction with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will be held June 10 in Caldwell.
The event will be at the Burleson County Fairgrounds, 905 Texas Highway 36 S. The program will start at 8 a.m. and conclude around 4 p.m. Morning refreshments and lunch will be provided.
Registration is $30 for an individual or $50 per couple before June 2. After that date, the cost is $40 and $60, respectively. June 9 is the last day to register. Members of the TLGDA will receive a $5 per person, $10 per couple discount on registration fees.
Advance registration is required. Contact Bill Costanzo, Texas A&M AgriLife Research livestock guardian dog, LGD, specialist, San Angelo, at 325-657-7311 or bill.costanzo@ag.tamu.edu to register for the field day.
A breeder panel focusing on breed characteristics will be one of the event highlights. Vendors and LGD breeders will also be onsite for producers to speak with.
Predation prevention
“The biggest single loss in livestock production is predation,” said Michael Annuziato, TLGDA president, South Plains. “The problem is not going away and, in many areas, it’s increasing rapidly. I think this event will be very helpful to producers with little or no LGD experience.”
The workshop is part of the association’s ongoing effort to help producers adopt the age-old practice of keeping specially bred and trained dogs with livestock as a deterrent to predation, said Costanzo.
“Using LGDs can be very effective to control predation,” he said. “The TLGDA can provide producers with assistance in using the dogs for sheep, goat, poultry and cattle. They are also looking to help producers bond dogs to exotic species.”
Field topics and speakers
The featured topics with speakers for the LGD field day are:
- Bonding LGDs to Cattle, Dan Macon, University of California Cooperative Extension livestock and natural resources adviser and county director for Sutter, Yuba, Placer and Nevada counties, Auburn, California.
- Using LGDs with Poultry, Joy Combs, Providence Farm director, McLeansville, North Carolina.
- Ranch Fencing, David Whipple, Liberty Steel and Wire Company vice president of sales, Peoria, Illinois.
- Bonding and Training LGDs, Louise Liebenberg, Grazerie Ranch owner, High Prairie, Alberta, Canada.
- GPS Trackers, Thomas Remmert, LoneStar Tracking co-founder, The Woodlands.
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Author: Susan Himes
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