Michigan State University will be hosting a 6-part webinar series called “Optimizing sheep nutrition: a virtual management series”. It will be held on Tuesday evenings from 7-9pm (Eastern time) from May 6 until June 10.
The series will focus on nutritional management of the flock. The instructors will bring a wealth of knowledge gained from years of research and practical experience working with producers on the nutritional management of sheep. This program will be of interest to both beginning and experienced producers and will discuss feeding systems and management approaches for both small flocks and large-scale commercial farms. Participants will receive access to all seminar recordings, a ration balancing program, and will be mailed a compendium of articles on the nutritional management of sheep as supplemental program material.
Sessions will be recorded, and a link to the recording will be sent approximately two days after each session. You do not need to be present at the live session, but viewing live allows you to ask questions in the Q&A. We do our best to answer all questions during the session.
Program agenda
Session 1: May 6. Forage quality. What is it and why does it matter for flock nutrition? Flock feeding systems.
Session 2: May 13. Understanding flock nutritional requirements and how they influence nutritional management.
Session 3: May 20. Strategic nutritional management of the ewe throughout the production cycle.
Session 4: May 27. Feeding for growth: markets lamb and flock replacement ewe feeding strategies.
Session 5: June 3. The importance of supplements: minerals, vitamins and cocciodiostats.
Session 6: June 10. Putting it all together with diet formulation for different feeding phases and production systems.
The cost is $30 per household. Each participant will be mailed a spiral bound compendium on sheep nutritional management as a reference to reinforce course concepts. International postage will be an extra charge.
Thank you for your continued participation in MSU programming!
MSU Small Ruminant Team