A weekly report prepared by the staff of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA). If you require further information, regarding this report, call the Elora Resource Centre at 519-846-0941. Office hours: 8:30am to 4:30pm. For technical information, call the Agricultural Information Contact Centre at 1-877-424-1300 or visit the OMAFRA website: www.ontario.ca/omafra
North American Dairy Sheep Symposium
The 21st Annual Dairy Sheep Association of North America (DSANA) Symposium will be held in Madison, Wisconsin on Nov. 5 to 7, with a pre-symposium sheep milk cheese-making course on Nov. 4. Important deadlines are fast approaching: Oct. 3 for reduced rates on hotel reservations and Oct. 16 for early symposium registration at a reduced rate.
Twelve presentations by 16 animal scientists, dairy sheep producers, veterinarians, and sheep milk cheese makers and marketers will be held on Nov. 5 to 6 at the Pyle Center on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.
A sampling of topics and presenters are: “Milking Machine Basics and Special Considerations for Small Ruminants” by Dr. Doug Reinemann, University of Wisconsin-Madison; “Impacts on Non-GMO Labeling on Artisan Cheese Production” by Cathy Strange, Global Cheese Buyer, Whole Foods Market, Austin, Texas; “Best Practices for Raising Lambs on Milk Replacer” by Dr. Tom Earlywine, Land O’Lakes, St. Paul, MN; and “Principles of Dairy Nutrition” by Dr. Michel Wattiaux, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Tour buses on Nov. 7 will take participants to Cedar Grove Cheese in Plain, Wisconsin operated by Master Cheesemaker, Bob Wills, and to Hidden Springs Creamery in Westby, Wisconsin where participants will visit the modern dairy sheep farm and artisan cheese plant operated by Dean and Brenda Jensen.
The pre-symposium sheep milk cheesemaking course will be offered on Nov. 4 at the Center for Dairy Research on the UW-Madison campus for symposium participants and DSANA members for an extra fee. The complete program and registration and hotel information can be accessed at the DSANA web site (www.dsana.org) or the University of Wisconsin-Madison Sheep and Goat Extension web site (http://fyi.uwex.edu/wisheepandgoat/) or by contacting Bill Halligan, DSANA Treasurer, P.O. Box 96, Bushnell, NE 69128 (308-235-5900, bill.halligan@hotmail.com) or Dave Thomas, UW-Madison, 1675 Observatory Dr., Madison, WI 53706 (608-263-4306, dlthomas@wisc.edu).
Contact: Dave Thomas by e-mail dlthomas@wisc.edu or call 608-263-4306.
COMING EVENTS
Oct. 29 – OMAFRA 2015 Sheep Seminars, Nottawasaga Inn Resort and Conference Centre, Alliston. Call Ontario Sheep Marketing Agency to register: 519-836-0043 or e-mail – admin@ontariosheep.org or visit the website – www.ontariosheep.org
Nov. 4 and 5 – 5th Annual Eastern Ontario Local Food Conference at Travelodge in Belleville. For more information and to register, please see website www.eastontlocalfood.ca.
Nov. 9 – Ontario Food Tourism Summit, The Westin Prince, Toronto, Ontario. For more information, please see website https://ontarioculinary.com/octasummit/.
