MP3 $1.25
2008 Organic Farming Conference La Crosse, WI
Livestock
Back to the Basics: Building a Foundation for Holistic Animal Health
Rather than a litany of how to treat animal health problems, forty-year veteran veterinarian, Richard Holliday, prefers to look at a regimen to enhance animal health. Join him for this exploration of the true causes of disease, including the role of domestication as a predisposing factor to animal disease and how to use knowledge of the innate nature of livestock to improve animal health.
Practical Fly Control
KOW Consulting’s Tom Weaver will discuss how to prevent high fly populations using knowledge about the reproductive cycles of various fly species, their food, and their habitat needs. Walk-through fly traps for pasture use, best placement of sticky tapes and zappers as well as other types of physical controls will also be covered in detail.
Basics of Organic Hog Production
Thinking about beginning or transitioning your hog operation to organic to meet the strong market demand? Join CROPP pork consultant, Tracy Harper, to learn about housing, genetics, animal health and management practices that are used by many successful organic hog producers.
Yes, You Can Balance a Dairy Ration
Getting in the driver’s seat on your dairy herd’s nutrition management can make a great difference in feed, vet, and replacement costs. KOW Consulting’s Tom Weaver will show you how to separate common sense from the overwhelming terms and numbers that dairy supplement marketers send your way by using low-input, high forage, sustainable rations.
Raising Organic Poultry on Pasture
With relatively low startup costs, improved pasture fertility, and an in-demand, fantastic-tasting end product, pastured poultry can prove enjoyable and profitable as an additional farm enterprise. Join organic pastured poultry producers, Julie and Vince Maro, of Coon Creek Family Farm for a look at the techniques they use to produce and market broilers and turkey on pasture.
Utilizing Your Grass Resource
Many farmers raising ruminants look at pasture as a place to keep the animal rather than a cost-effective source of animal nutrition. Organic beef grazier, Jim Munsch and dairy beef grazier, Jim Goodman, will focus on ways to manage pasture for the best economic balance of the output of plant nutrition and the inputs of labor and cost.
Managing Health on Organic Dairy Farms
This workshop by dairy veterinarian Hubert Karreman will focus on various angles of preventing health problems as well as a multi-prong approach to dealing with problems should they arise. Dr. Karreman will also present DHIA information that compares organic and conventional farms and organic management practices that yield good DHIA data.
Parasite Control for Small Ruminants
Managing parasites may well be the largest challenge in organic small ruminant production. Ann Wells DVM, will outline management techniques and strategies she has found successful in both her own flocks and herds, from her holistic veterinary practice and through research she has conducted.
Mastitis on Organic Dairies: Advanced Tools and Techniques
Mastitis remains the number one disease problem on dairy farms today. Organic guidelines specify that preventative measures are required to limit the number of medical problems requiring treatment. Holistic veterinarian, Guy Jodarski, and veteran organic dairy farmer, Darlene Coehorn, will highlight the preventive measures they have found useful for reducing mastitis. as well as treatment options available to organic dairies.
Meeting the Methionine Needs of Organic Poultry with Corn
The amino acid methionine plays a crucial role in rations for healthy and productive chickens, but the NOP will no longer allow synthetic methionine after 2008. Join Michael Fields Agricultural Institute research director, Walter Goldstein, and Organic Valley egg pool coordinator, Nick Levendoski, for a look at the development of high-methionine corn varieties suitable for use in poultry rations.
Mother Knows Best: Suckling Systems for Organic Dairy Farms
From birth to weaning, dairy calves born in a mother-nurtured grazing system are stronger and healthier then their counterparts who are raised separated from their mothers. Mother-nurtured calves exposed to the herd’s social structure during the early part of life seem to be calmer and more herd-oriented. Join 2007 MOSES Organic Farmers of the Year, Dave and Florence Minar, for a look at Cedar Summit Farm’s system for raising dairy calves.
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Your White Meat – The Joys and Pitfalls of Organic Hog Production
Tracy Harper Thinking about “the other white meat”!? It is easier than you think. Organic hog production is not only in demand, but can be a successful addition to your organic farm. You can raise hogs profitably without antibiotics, hormones, and even on pasture! Learn the management practices that are used today by many of the successful organic hog producers.
Organic Herd Health and Parasite Control
Ann Wells, DVM - Internal parasites can be a major challenge for livestock producers. In this session, 15-year organic veterinarian Ann Wells will talk about preventative strategies that keep livestock healthy. Ann believes that animal wellness is intrinsically tied to soil and plant health and that there are effective alternative ways to manage parasites and advocates a whole-system approach that includes nutrition, immunity, pasture management, stress-reduction, and understanding of beneficial soil organisms.
Healthy Pastures, Healthy Animals
Ann Wells, DVM - After more than 15 years of experience as a veterinarian specializing in organic livestock production, Ann’s philosophy is: Focus on health. In this session, she’ll talk about the controlled grazing management approaches and stress reduction techniques and strategies that she believes are key to keeping livestock healthy.
How to Raise 100% Grass Fed Beef
Todd Churchill -The market for 100% grass fed beef is growing! Come learn how to select the right genetics, develop a holistic herd health program, and fatten/finish cattle on grass.
Organic Dairy Buyers Panel
Mike Bandstra, Dale Johnson, Greg Welsh, Marvin Hinnenkamp, and Steve Pechacek - These Midwest organic dairy buyers will share their assessment of the dairy market, their companies’ positions, and the opportunities they offer to organic dairy farmers.
A Peep into Poultry – Growing and Selling Organic Birds and Eggs
Mike and Jennifer Rupprecht and Sue Peterson - Mike and Jennifer Rupprecht have a certified, diversified farm in Winona County and one of their enterprises is poultry. Come and learn about their experiences growing, processing, and direct marketing certifi ed organic chickens and turkeys. Sue Peterson is in the middle of a three-year study comparing Leghorns, the industry standard, to alternative and heritage breeds of laying hens. She will talk about her results, including information on laying, feed consumption, and customer egg preferences by breed