Animal Crackers 2020

Animal Crackers 2020 - Bovine, Sheep and Swine - How Devine! Join us Saturday, May 2.

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CANCELED: Animal Crackers 2020 - Bovine, Sheep and Swine - How Devine!

  • Saturday, May 2, 2020, 9:00 AM - 3:15 PM

Registration required. Deadline to register is Friday, April 24. 

Register online: CANCELED

(If you are unable to access the internet, please call CCE Seneca at 315-539-9251)

This year’s program will highlight dairy, beef, swine, and sheep topics. 

4-H youth 9-12 years old or those with beginner to intermediate knowledge of the covered species are invited to participate.

Interesting, educational, hands-on activities are planned to make Animal Crackers a memorable learning event. Participants will have the opportunity to learn about dairy or livestock care, biology, and management while having fun participating in a variety of interactive activities, with 4-H’ers from across NYS.

Participants must bring their own lunch and drinks.

Chaperones - Please review the chaperone information sheet on the Animal Crackers website: http://4h.ansci.cornell.edu/events-2/animal-crackers/.

Dairy Workshops

Workshop 1: Holy Cow

Here’s your chance to feel a rumen in motion as you stick your arm into a fistulated cow. Learn more about how the most efficient “green machine” and rumen bugs work together.

Workshop 2: Liquid Gold

You’ve milked your fresh cow and now it is time to feed your newborn calf its colostrum. It looks good, but does it have enough antibodies to protect your calf from germs? The colostrum quality meter is here to help.

Workshop 3: Grooming for Greatness

Learn about clipping and fitting your calf for a show, visitors or just to make her feel like a million bucks. What should I have in my show bucket to make getting her beautiful easy?

Workshop 4: Repro Depot

Check out the repro tract and try your hand at artificial insemination.

Workshop 5: Yum Yum – P You….Are These Forages Good for You

Our animals need good quality forages that taste good…..can you pick the best ones and why?

Workshop 6: Dairy or not Dairy….it’s a moostery

Will you be able to taste your way through and solve the dairy product mystery?

Beef, Sheep and Swine Workshops

Workshop 1: Fiber Science with Felting

Livestock provide people with food, fiber, milk, draft power, and other bi-products. This workshop will present information about fiber. Learn to select fiber for different projects and make a felted item that you can take and share with your family. Explore some fiber science and other available resources for making future projects at home. Instructed by Holly Harwood, CCE Wyoming County

Workshop 2: Quality Assurance and You

Whether you raise cattle, sheep, swine or another food producing animal, what goes in and on your 4-H project matters. Learn more about what you can do to protect the food supply and other fun and fascinating facts that can help you become a 4-Her who understands what quality care of animals means before they go to market. Instructed by Amy Pyra, CCE Wayne County

Workshop 3: Meat Science – Everything You Need to Know about Ground Beef

Learn to identify common and uncommon edible products from farm raised livestock. Meat quality is measured by color, marbling and skeletal maturity or age. From what retail cut is ground beef made? What does 80/20 mean? What does grass-fed vs. organic mean? You’ll learn all this and more including label lingo, safe handling, grinding, and cooking techniques. Be prepared to put on gloves, an apron and a hair net for this hands-on experience. Instructed by Jessica Waltemeyer, CALS Animal Science

Workshop 4: RFID Ear Tags – What are they and how do they work?

Ear tags are not all alike. Learn more about why it is important to identify your 4-H project animal. RFID tags have a tiny radio transponder, a receiver and a transmitter. An RFID reader, can read digital data about an animal. Just like bar codes you might see in a grocery store or on a product you buy, livestock managers and veterinarians use RFID tags and readers to uniquely identify an animal quickly. Instructed by Dr. Chad Wall, DVM

Workshop 5: From Pasture to Pork

Learn more about the process of raising pigs on pasture from a local KuneKune Pig Farmer. Learn how to identify some common and unusual characteristics of this heritage breed. Although still quite rare in the United States, the breed is growing in popularity for their friendly nature and their ability to graze, turning grass into meat. Instructed by Jenn Bassman, CCE, NYS 4-H Youth Development

Station 6: Assessing your Livestock

Your animals can’t use words to tell you how they are doing. In “Say Bah”, we’ll check out the health and parasite status of sheep by monitoring vital signs and conducting quick health exams and 5 point checks. In “Knowing the Score”, we’ll use tools such as body condition scoring on beef cattle to determine how likely they are to meet your growth targets for show, market or breeding. Instructed by Lily Berghorn, Niko Kochendoerfer and tatiana Stanton


Additional information can be found here: 

http://4h.ansci.cornell.edu/events-2/animal-crackers/

Fee

$15 per youth. Adult chaperones are free.

Contact

Rachel Williams
4-H Youth Development Issue Leader
rrw33@cornell.edu
315-539-9251

Location

Cornell campus (Morrison Hall)
507 Tower Rd
Ithaca, NY 14853

Last updated March 25, 2020