Stock person's school appeals to entire cattle industry

Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food

School may be heading into the home stretch for young people across Saskatchewan, but it’s just gearing up for people involved in the cattle industry.

The annual Stock Person’s School will be taking place May 9 at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) on the University of Saskatchewan campus in Saskatoon.

The event provides a great opportunity for pasture riders, beef producers and others who work in the industry to come together and learn from some of the leading experts in the field.

The event is organized by the Farm Animal Council of Saskatchewan (FACS) and the WCVM. It is sponsored by Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food, Schering Ploughs pharmaceutical company, Westway Feed Products and The Western Producer.

Adele Buettner, the Executive Director of FACS, says it is the seventh year her group has participated in hosting the event, and they always strive to make sure the issues discussed are interesting and topical for those in the industry.

“Every year, we work quite diligently with organizations like the PFRA in putting together an agenda that’s timely and addresses issues that people in the business want to hear about,” she noted.

“We also base our agendas on questionnaires from the previous year, where we ask participants what they feel is of value and what they want us to focus on next year, because it’s really their school.”

Buettner says this approach has greatly broadened the appeal of the seminar over the years. “It’s grown beyond the pasture riders and the PFRA crowd to include 4-H clubs, cattle feeders, stock growers and even dairy people. There’s an incredible amount of information they can all use in their operations,” she stated.

“Our audience has also expanded over the course of the last half-dozen years, and we get people attending not only from Saskatchewan, but Manitoba and Alberta as well.”

This year’s Stock Person’s School will have two primary themes. The morning sessions will be devoted largely to horse health, while the afternoon segments will focus mostly on cattle care.

Among the topics being covered during the day are first aid for ranch horses, horse teeth care, an anthrax update, cattle market forecasts, trends in veterinary care, what to do when antibiotics don’t work, and the how and why of administering drugs to animals. Experts from the WCVM, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food will all be on hand to conduct presentations.

Buettner says there’s always a lot jam-packed into the session, but the goal of organizers is to give industry stakeholders as much up-to-date information as they possibly can in a single-day workshop.

“It’s a great program, very interactive, always plenty of inquiries, and full of terrific presentations,” she stated. “It’s an opportunity for people to ask questions of leading experts and experienced veterinarians. It’s a great exchange of information for all involved.”

Attendance at the annual event is usually around 100 people, including many who come back year after year.

Including taxes, registration for the full-day session is $106 per person before May 2, and $137.80 after that date, including a continental breakfast and lunch.

Additional information and registration forms are available from the FACS website at www.facs.sk.ca, or by calling the FACS office at (306) 249-3227.

For more information, contact:
Adele Buettner, Executive Director
Farm Animal Council of Saskatchewan
Phone: (306) 249-3227
E-mail: facs@sasktel.net
Website: www.facs.sk.ca