Delta Farm Forum set for March 2
February 22, 2019
The 47th annual Delta Farm Forum will take place March 2 in Delta Junction.
The forum features the latest agricultural news, recommendations and research. It’s also a community event. The forum will begin at 9 a.m. in the Delta High School small gym and run until about 4:30 p.m.
Topics will include the livestock industry, the Alaska Farmers Co-op's new seed-cleaning service, reindeer and red meat production, a new Fairbanks fiber mill, produce safety, and nontimber forest products permits.
Dr. Robert Gerlach, the state veterinarian, will talk about Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae, or M. ovi, a respiratory pathogen that affects domestic and wild sheep, goats and musk ox. Gerlach will provide background on the pathogen and talk about how Alaska’s situation is different than the Lower 48, where a strain of the pathogen has caused disease and death in bighorn sheep. He will discuss research results and discuss options the state and livestock producers have to mitigate the threat of transfer between livestock and wildlife.
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game says the pathogen has been detected in a small number of Dall sheep and mountain goats, in healthy moose and caribou, and in a small number of domestic sheep and goats, which did not show signs of illness.
A potluck lunch will take place at noon. The University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service, the Salcha-Delta Soil and Water Conservation District and the Partners for Progress in Delta Inc. co-sponsor the forum. For more information, contact Delta Extension at 907-895-4215 or pnkaspari@alaska.edu, or call the conservation district at 907-895-6279.