COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State University Extension's Lamb 509 short course is being offered again after a two-year absence. The program is tailored to producing and marketing quality lamb products.
"This will be the fifth time that we have offered the Lamb 509 course. It may be several years before we have the opportunity to offer the program again," said Roger High, the OSU Extension state sheep program specialist. "There is a participation limit of 32 spaces, so it will be first come, first served."
Lamb 509 will take place Dec. 12-14 at the Department of Animal Sciences Building on the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences campus. Registration is $125 per person and covers meals, program materials and parking passes. Participants are encouraged to register by Nov. 26.
The program runs from 1 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 12, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Dec. 13, and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Dec. 14.
The objectives of the course are to improve the competitive position of Ohio lamb producers through marketing high quality, consistent lamb products; educate through hands-on training the factors that influence prices received for market lambs and lamb products; provide an overview of muscle-quality attributes affecting lamb; discuss the management, environment, nutritional, and genetic factors that contribute to muscle-quality differences; and enhance the understanding of the production chain between producer and consumer.
"The program is intended to provide the necessary information to better understand meat quality and marketing so that producers can make informed decisions that will improve profitability and increase competitiveness and wholesomeness of the food products they are producing," said High.
Topics scheduled for Dec. 12 include live animal evaluation, ultrasound evaluation, grid pricing, lamb harvest, taste panel evaluations, and a quality and product quiz. The Dec. 13 schedule includes grading procedures, carcass and retail fabrication, processing and product development, and quality and the consumer. The program will wrap up on Dec. 14 with such topics as measuring muscle quality, microbiology and food safety, influencing tenderness, carcass and retail values, reviewing processed products, and a question and answer session.
Lamb 509 is made possible through the collaboration of the Ohio Sheep and Wool Program, the Ohio Sheep Improvement Association, OSU Extension and the Ohio State University Department of Animal Sciences. For more information, download the document at http://extension.osu.edu/~ansci/lamb509.doc, or log on to http://sheepgoatmarketing.info/PageLoad.cfm?page=event_detail.cfm&ID=451. Interested parties can also contact Roger High at (614) 292-0589, or e-mail high.1@osu.edu, or Henry Zerby at (614) 688-4584, or e-mail zerby.8@osu.edu.