Annual Jim Schumacher Memorial Livestock Day on February 1

The annual Jim Schumacher Memorial Livestock Day will be held Friday, February 1 starting at 11:00 a.m. at the Great Northern Lodge room. The Malta Area Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture will be hosting the lunch. The following is a list of speakers and times.

○ 11 a.m. Dr. Chris Thomsen will discuss Johne's Disease-history, prevalence, disease progression, and finally diagnostic testing and control measures. He will speak primarily about Johne's Disease as it affects the beef industry.

Dr. Thomsen was raised in central South Dakota and attended South Dakota State University and Kansas State University for undergraduate training. After graduation from Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Thomsen spent three years in large animal private practice in western Kansas focusing on feedyard consultation and cow-calf practice. He next spent 12 years as a partner in a mixed animal practice with a focus on cow-calf production medicine. Dr. Thomsen joined Merck Animal Health in 2015 and lives in Belle Fourche, SD. He enjoys hunting, fishing, camping and spending time with his wife and four children.

○ 12 noon Dr. Anne Johnson will re-visit the VFD topic. There seems to be lots of confusion about that, and the powers-that-be will be getting a bit tougher on the use, records, and other issues related to VFDs in the coming years.

○2:15 to 1:00 p.m. Lunch Sponsored by the Malta Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture

○ 1 p.m .Ann Henderson, Allflex will discuss EID and RFID, what is a block chain, and how can producers benefit from the technology.

Ann is a Nebraska Sandhills native. She spent 15 years in ag publishing before turning to pharmaceutical sales. She has been with Allflex for 4+ years. She now lives in Arizona, but covers AZ, NV, UT, MT and southern CA. Customer base is feedlot, ranch and dairy.

○ 2 p.m. Dr. Rick Funston, Beef Specialist University Lincoln Nebraska: Increasing production efficiency, the importance of early conception and factors influencing!

Dr. Funston is a professor and Reproductive Physiologist at the University of Nebraska. He received his BS from North Dakota State University, MS from Montana State University his PhD from the University of Wyoming and completed a Post Doc at Colorado State University in Reproduction/Biotechnology. He divides his time between extension and research. His research on lighter heifer development is receiving national attention/adoption; research on fetal programming effects on postnatal calf performance including carcass characteristics and reproduction has received national and international recognition; and he is a team member of nationally recognized beef systems research. In the extension capacity, he provides leadership and subject matter expertise for educational programs in cow-calf production management for the West Central District and statewide expertise in beef reproductive management programs.

○ 3 p.m. Biologist Fish, Wildlife, and Parks Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). CWD is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, neurological disease of Cervids (deer, elk, moose and caribou). It has spreading across the area with recent findings in Phillips and Valley County. FWP Biologist will discuss the biology, how it is spread and distribution across the region. There is also concerns that this being a prion disease that the disease can jump to other species including humans.