Cooperative Extension Service Communications and Technology Department 3354 1000 E. University Ave. Laramie, WY 82071 (307) 766-2540 • fax (307) 766-3998 • www.uwyo.edu

 

For Immediate Release

 

Contact: Robert Waggener, Editor

Phone: (307) 766-3571

E-mail: robertw@uwyo.edu

 

Date: Feb. 13, 2006

 

Laramie hosting inaugural Ag Technology Trade Show Feb. 25

            New agricultural technologies and ways to enhance natural resources on private and public lands will be showcased at the inaugural Ag Technology Trade Show Feb. 25 at the Albany County Fairgrounds south of Laramie.

The event is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the public is welcome. Lunch will be served free of charge.

It is sponsored by the Laramie Rivers Conservation District (LRCD) in cooperation with the University of Wyoming’s Albany County Cooperative Extension Service and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

            “The whole reason behind this is to showcase new technologies and proven methods that will enhance the natural resources on private and public lands. It’s also a good way to bring together many vendors who have a direct effect on agriculture today,” said Robert Safranek, resource specialist with the LRCD.

            The event is the idea of Mark Shirley, district conservationist for the NRCS in Laramie.

            “In addition to the new technology demonstrations, we have a large number of vendors who have committed to the show. Pipe-welding demonstrations for stock-water systems, new brush-management techniques, animal science demonstrations, weed control and seeding, forage harvest equipment and conservation-easement alternatives should provide something for everyone,” Shirley said.

Brett Moline, area CES educator for Albany and Carbon counties, is helping to organize the show.

“This will be an excellent avenue for local producers to see the latest in technology available, both from the public and private sectors,” Moline said.

Businesses, government entities and others will have exhibits on seed, fencing, pivot irrigation, sagebrush management, “boomless” weed sprayers and “guzzlers” – naturally maintained wildlife watering systems that utilize rain and snowmelt.

            Also involved is the UW College of Agriculture’s Department of Veterinary Sciences and the Wyoming State Veterinary Laboratory.

Donal O’Toole, head of the veterinary sciences department and director of the WSVL, will present a poster to introduce agricultural producers to the veterinary laboratory and its functions.

            “The poster also will highlight how the state veterinary laboratory fits into the national animal health surveillance picture for high-impact diseases,” O’Toole said.

“One of the points of emphasis is that we are now gearing up to test for introduced diseases, such as foot and mouth disease (FMD) and classical swine fever as part of a state-federal effort to ensure enough national laboratory ‘surge capacity’ testing in the event of a disease emergency,” O’Toole noted.

He explained that surge capacity is a nation’s ability to go from “routine testing” (thousands of samples) to “high gear” (hundreds of thousands of samples) as needed.

“This was one reason why the FMD outbreak in the United Kingdom got out of hand. The UK laboratories had not worked out a mechanism to go into high, high gear by dropping other stuff, and having laboratory protocols in place for emergency diseases,” O’Toole said.

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