USA - Register now for August small-herd swine breeding workshop

The first "Boar Semen Collection/Processing Workshop for Small Scale Farms" will be held at the University of Missouri Trowbridge Livestock Center, August 8-9, 2005. "We're talking small herds," said Tim Safranski, MU swine reproduction specialist. "That means herds with one or two boars." Methods to be taught by Safranski and Wayne Singleton of Purdue University are the same as taught to stud managers at the largest swine farms in the country. That is, the biology is the same. "We'll scale back the $10,000 lab equipment to what is available to a backyard breeder," Safranski said. Meeting planners hope to attract owners of rare, even endangered, breeds of swine, including once-popular breeds such as Hereford and Tamworth, and rarer breeds like Gloucester Old Spots, Mulefoot, Red Wattle, and Saddleback. The latter are on the "critical" list of the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy. After attending the workshop, breeders can share semen from their boars with the USDA National Animal Germplasm Program at Fort Collins, Colorado. At the meeting, breeders will learn to collect and preserve the semen for use in artificial insemination. Breeders could then share their boars' genetics across the country to help maintain diversity in rare breeds. Producers are encouraged to bring a boar to the workshop to learn the collection process. Boars will be available for practice. Registration fee for the workshop is $100. Swine producers who contribute two boar semen collections to the national germplasm center get in free. For details, contact Safranski at 573/884-7994 or SafranskiT@Missouri.edu.