One of the topics at the upcoming annual meeting for Ontario Goat farmers will be the growth in the demand for goat milk in Ontario.
According to Ontario Goat officials, new producers are getting into goats and existing producers are looking at ways they can increase their milk yields.
One of the important things to understand is goat udder health and how it relates to quality of milk production. A goat's mammary system is unique and officials say a farmer cannot simply take established dairy cow practices and shrink them down.
Dr. Paula Menzies from the University of Guelph will speak about mastitis and goat udder heath. She will also launch her new manual, A Guide to Udder Health for Dairy Goats, which comes out of extensive research and industry collaboration.
The agenda also includes educational presentations from Dr. Bradley White from Trent University, on genetic resistance and susceptibility to scrapie disease.
The Ontario Goat AGM and Producer Education Day is February 24 at Goff Hall in Woodstock.
Registration is free to OG members; non-members and industry partners are $45.
Pre-registration is required.
Contact the Ontario Goat office at 519-824-2942 or by email at info@livestockalliance.ca.
