News
Department of Animal Science

By F. Abel Ponce de León

This semester, over 110 new students have chosen the Animal Science Major. Let me express a warm welcome to each and every one of our new students. Please join me in wishing our new students and the returning ones a successful semester. This is the largest Animal Science new high school students and transfer students class in 10 years! Another warm welcome goes to Ms. Sharon Thielen who is joining the College of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences as Student Adviser and Recruiter for the Animal Science Major.

In the last few months, we have been busy focusing on two important issues. The first is The Governor’s Livestock Taskforce, which was appointed to provide recommendations about the revitalization of animal agriculture in Minnesota. Taskforce recommendations can be accessed at the Minnesota Department of Agriculture web site: http://www.governor.state.mn.us/documents/MNAgricultureReport.pdf. The second is our departmental and graduate program review by USDA-CSREES scheduled for October 11 through October 15. In preparing for the review, our faculty developed a comprehensive analysis of our work over the last five years and a strategic plan of action for teaching, research and extension. If you are interested in learning about the latter, please visit of department’s web site at http://www.ansci.umn.edu/review/review.html and peruse the departmental report to the review team. The review team includes:

• Larry Miller, Team Leader, National Program Leader, Animal Science, USDA-CREES
• Ellen Jordan, Professor & Extension Dairy Specialist, Texas A&M
• Donald Beitz, Professor, Animal Science & Biochemistry, Iowa State University
• Terry Etherton, Head & Distinguished Professor, Animal Nutrition, Pennsylvania State U
• Brian Kirkpatrick, Professor, Animal Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison

One of the objectives of the review is to have an evaluation and learn about what we do well and what we do not do as well, or what we need to do to maintain our competitiveness. The schedule is posted in our web site. All meetings are open to the public with exception of meetings that are specifically set for the review team and administrators and, review team deliberations.

A special “thank you” to our staff for their efforts to type, format, edit and publish the departmental report submitted to the USDA-CSREES review committee.
  

Department of Animal Science Professor Emeritus Raymond L. Arthaud passed away on July 8, 2004 at 83 years of age. Dr. Arthaud was best known for his work in beef cattle management and his close working relationship with producers.

Ray was reared on a general livestock farm near Cambridge, Nebraska. He received his B.S. degree from the University of Nebraska in 1947 with a major in Animal Science and a minor in Zoology. In 1952, Ray received a Ph.D. degree in Population Genetics from the University of Missouri. He then accepted a position as Geneticist at the Front Royal (Virginia) Beef Cattle Research Station on a joint appointment with the Agricultural Research Service-USDA and Virginia Polytechnic Institute. There he helped develop the procedures for the first state beef cattle improvement program in the U.S.

Ray joined the Animal Science Extension faculty at the University of Minnesota as Assistant Professor in 1959, promoted to Associate Professor in 1961, and Professor in 1964. Ray retired in 1989.

During his tenure at the University of Minnesota, Ray developed, organized, and helped instruct several educational programs including Area Swine Days, Swine Short Courses, and Area Beef Cow-Calf Days. For 10 years he was editor of the annual Beef Cow-Calf Days Report. Ray also served as Superintendent of the Minnesota State Fair cattle department for 28 years. A goodwill ambassador for the fair’s livestock program, he knew and talked to just about everyone involved in livestock at the fair and was truly loved and respected by cattle exhibitors.

Ray believed in a total enterprise, multidisciplinary system of education for livestock producers and he involved them in demonstrating desirable practices. He was a member of the TVA Demonstration Farms (200 farms) team for 10 years, and was co-chairman of the Upper Great Lakes Demonstration Farm/Ranch Project, which was partially funded by $400,000 in Federal Grants. In all, more than 300 farmers and ranchers participated as demonstrators.

Young people were always high in Ray’s priorities. He initiated the 4-H Animal Science Workshop (now Extravaganza) and served as its coordinator from its inception until he retired. Ray participated in interviewing 4-H Livestock Achievement Award candidates for 25 years. He was coordinator of the 4-H State Fair Sheep Show and 4-H Lamb Market Show (6 years) and filled the same role for 4-H Swine (4 years). These are only a few examples of his involvement with youth.

Dr. Arthaud received numerous awards over the years; among them: Fellow of the American Society of Animal Science; Honorary Life Membership in the State Agricultural Society; Honorary Membership on the Minnesota State Fair Board of Managers; Honorary Member of the Swine Honor Roll; and in 1998, he was inducted into the Livestock Breeders Hall of Fame.

There will always be a special place for Ray in the hearts of his many friends and colleagues.
  

U of MN Exhibits State Fair Champions

The University of Minnesota Swine Teaching Unit continues its winning success at the 2004 Minnesota State Fair by exhibiting grand champion in two divisions of the show. The breeding stock shows were held on Tuesday, August 31. The U of MN Yorkshire gilt entries were selected as grand and reserve grand champion finals. A litter mate boar to the champion gilt also stood second in class. In the all-breeds sale the two gilts sold for $1,200 and $1,150. On Wednesday the Production Derby Barrow show was held. For this event over 400 pigs from 65 Minnesota herds were weighed and identified in mid-April. Producers could then enter these pigs in the Derby Show at the State Fair where a final weight was taken to establish the rate of gain of each pig exhibited from mid-April to August 30. The U of MN entry was the fastest growing pig of the show and weighed 326 pounds in just 5-1/2 months of age. This barrow won the heavy weight class and was later selected as the grand champion over-all. He also had the highest Production Index (combining carcass measurements and growth rate) of the show and was awarded the Henry Zavoral Trophy

Swine teaching herd manager Tiffany Bobendrier cared for, fitted and exhibited the U of MN entries with the help of employee Lindsey Beach. Nearly $800 in prize money was won and four breeding stock animals sold for $3,200.

Congratulations!
  

Results of Two U of MN Dairy Cattle Judging Contests

Accelerated Genetic Intercollegiate Dairy Cattle Judging Contest
Viroqua, WI
September 19, 2004

MINNESOTA:
7th Team Overall (of 21 teams)
3rd Team Jersey
5th Team Guernsey
5th Team Milking Shorthorn

INDIVIDUALLY (of 81 contestants):
Morgan Shaff - 12th Overall, 3rd Placings, 3rd Holstein
Katy Drinkall - 17th Overall, 8th Placings, 7th Jersey
Nate Schwab - 8th Guernsey
Team members Jonnie Schefers, Tracy Nelson and Holly Tuman also participated.

National Intercollegiate Dairy Cattle Judging Contest
World Dairy Expo, Madison, WI
September 27, 2004

MINNESOTA:
2nd Team Overall (of 25 teams)
2nd Oral Reasons (by 1 point)
1st Red and White
2nd Ayrshire
2nd Holstein
2nd Jersey
5th Brown Swiss

INDIVIDUALLY:
Andy Sheehan – 3rd Overall, 2nd Oral Reasons, 1st Red and White, 3rd Brown Swiss
Sarah Olson – 12th Overall, 5th Oral Reasons, 2nd Jersey
Trent Olson – 13th Overall, 4th Ayrshire, 5th Holstein
Erin Wacker – 3rd Red and White (50 on Reasons)

Twenty-five students representing ten Midwestern universities participated in the 2004 Poultry Science Center of Excellent (COE) Scholarship Program held in July at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The COE offers 18 poultry science credits in two 6-week summer school sessions. Problem solving and state-of-the-art training in laboratory settings are integrated with industry field trips, which compliment the lectures and discussions. The program offers students an intensive emphasis in poultry science and gives them the opportunity to work with researchers and faculty from throughout the upper Midwest. Classes are limited in number and instructors are selected from land grant universities in the 13-state Midwest Poultry Consortium area. Drs. Jacqueline Jacob and Sally Noll of the Department of Animal Science conducted the Breeder and Hatchery Management course and the Poultry Nutrition course, respectively.

The COE Scholarship Program began 8 years ago to promote careers in poultry science. The program is funded entirely through industry donations.

University of Minnesota students Hope Kassube, Peter Sonstegard and Yasmin Yasis participated in this year’s COE program.

In the photo at right, hatchery manager and students examine the chicks at the Gold N Plump hatchery in Arcadia, WI.

Upcoming U of MN Poultry Events

The National Poultry Ventilation School will be held on the St. Paul Campus of the University of Minnesota October 5-6, 2004. This class is intended for poultry farm owners, managers and personnel, service representatives and those in allied industries. Topics will include ventilation principles, ventilation and flock performance, ventilation and air emissions, operation and maintenance of equipment, and problem solving. Space will be limited to the first 80 people who register. The cost of the school is $275. Registration information is available by calling (800) 380-8636.

The conference is sponsored by the University of Minnesota Extension Service, and the Departments of Animal Science, Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, and Veterinary Pathobiology.

Turkey Media Day will be held at Rosemount's UMore Park, Turkey Research Unit on November 17, 2004. Turkeys and turkey production methods will be on display for the news media and Rosemount community at an event sponsored by the Minnesota Turkey Growers Association and the University of Minnesota. Participants will be able to interview representatives of the turkey industry and university representatives, and get up close to the flock of tom turkeys.

For additional information about these events, please contact Sally Noll at 612-624-4928 or nollx001@umn.edu.
  

Four ScAg students from Animal Science presented posters at the 18th Annual College of Biological Science's Undergraduate Research Symposium held in the Great Hall of Coffman Memorial Union on April 28, 2004.

• Erin Bequette (advisor Jim Mickelson) presented "Comparative genome mapping of human chromosome three to equine chromosome sixteen."
• Aili Salo (advisors Scott Fahrenkrug and Doug Foster) presented "Green fluorescent protein transfection in primary pig fetal fibroblast and immortal pig endometrial glandular epilthelial cells."
• Meghan Richardson (advisor Doug Foster) presented "Analysis of cell cycle genes in primary and immortal chicken cells."
• Eilene Kerkhoven (advisor Doug Foster) "Isolation of putative chicken embryonic stem cells." Eilene received two awards for her poster; one for Best Layout; the other for Organization. Way to go, Eilene!

Dr. Marshall Stern presented an invited paper during the symposium on “Science of ruminant nitrogen metabolism and its application to feeding cows” at the annual meeting of ADSA/ASAS held in St. Louis, Missouri in July 2004. Marshall’s presentation entitled “Nitrogen metabolism in the rumen” was one of several symposia presentations chosen to be recorded. The audio recording and a transcript of his presentation will be synchronized with the video portion and will be available on the Society web pages and also available on CD.

I have completed my Ph.D. and accepted a postdoc position at the University of Minnesota, Hormel Research Institute in Austin, Minnesota. I thank all the people of the Animal Science Department especially my fellow graduate students. I wish them all good luck.
  

Farm Beginnings classes will start on Saturday, October 23 and run twice a month until mid-March. This Land Stewardship Project is a hands-on program for new and transitioning farmers who practice innovative, low-cost farming techniques that sustain both farm families and the land. Course topics include goal setting, financial planning, business plan creation, and alternative marketing. Beyond the classroom, on-farm tours and one-on-one mentorships with experienced farmers give participants first hand opportunities to learn about management intensive grazing, deep-straw bedding for hogs, CSA farms and other examples of innovative stewardship farming.

The course fee is $400, which covers 34 hours of class time and on-farm education including the farm tours and one-on-one mentoring. Graduates of the program will be eligible to apply for the no-interest Livestock Loan, which was established through Heifer International. After March, course participants will have the opportunity to attend a series of on-farm educational field days.

For information on Farm Beginnings or serving as a mentor, contact Amy Bacigalupo in LSP's western Minnesota office (320-269-2105). In southeast Minnesota, contact Karen Stettler (507-523-3366).
  

The 9th Annual National Poultry Waste Management Symposium will be held in Memphis, Tennessee on October 25 and 26. The theme for this year’s symposium is “Balancing Economic and Environmental Issues”. Topics include: Societal Concerns, Waste and Nutrient Management, Legal Implications of the Clean Water and Clean Air Acts, Community Relations, Air Quality and Emissions, CAFO Compliance Around the Country and more.

The symposium, designed for poultry waste management specialists, environmentalists and agency personnel, covers both the production and processing sides of the commercial poultry and egg industries. This meeting is an opportunity for participants to share challenges, find solutions and solve problems.

You may register on-line at http://www.alabamapoultry.org, or by phoning the Alabama Poultry and Egg Association at 334-265-2732. A block of rooms is being held at the Holiday Inn Select, Memphis International Airport. To reserve a room from the block, please call 888-444-7789.
  

Minnesota Dairy Days is an annual program and major educational forum presented by University scientists and Extension educators. Minnesota Dairy Days are held at eight Minnesota locations in January. Dates and locations for the 2005 Minnesota Dairy Days are listed below. Topics and speakers have not yet been finalized, and registration information is not yet available. Details, as they become available, will be posted on-line at http://www.ansci.umn.edu/dairy/calendar/dairycalendar.htm.

• January 4 - McIntosh Community Center, McIntosh
• January 5 - Ottertail Community Center, Ottertail
• January 6 - Padua Community Center, Padua (7 miles south of Sauk Centre)
• January 7 - American Legion, Royalton
• January 11 - Pizza Ranch, Edgerton
• January 12 - Eyota
• January 13 - Grandpa's Garage, Cannon Falls
• January 14 - FVW, Hutchinson

The University's Legislative Network debuted the "Vote for the U" campaign at the Minnesota State Fair by collecting signatures of those who pledge to vote on Tuesday, November 2nd for candidates who support the U and higher education... and then to hold that candidate to his or her promises once elected. Currently, the campaign has approximately 2,500 signatures. The goal is to collect 10,000 pledges by election day.

The "Vote for the U" campaign is intended to draw political attention to the U and higher education, and build support for the U at the capitol and within Minnesota's communities. State legislative support is crucial to the U, which in the past has represented about one third of the U's budget but is now only slightly more than one quarter. This decrease in state funding makes it necessary to raise tuition and take other cost-cutting measures. The University is one of Minnesota's greatest assets; it develops cures and conducts research to improve our quality of life and build a stronger economy; it provides more choices and opportunities for students seeking a world-class education; it is a source of knowledge and innovative ideas that is necessary to the success of our future.

What can you do? Pledge to vote - show candidates that you care about the U. Register to vote - save time at the polls by registering to vote now. Encourage friends to pledge to vote - help build support with people you know.

For more information about the "Vote for the U" campaign, see http://www1.umn.edu/groots/vote/.
  

The University Police Department has a new police-related, non-emergency phone number: 612-624-COPS (2677), which is answered 24 hours a day. The old number (612-624-2575) is no longer being answered and will be disconnected by December 31.
  

Claude Hebron

Claude Hebron was born and raised in Saskatchewan, Canada until he was 16 and then moved with his parents to Los Angeles, California. He received his B.A. degree in Criminology/Political Science from California State University, Northridge. Claude’s area of interest was in juvenile delinquency and gang behavior. As an undergraduate student, Claude was heavily involved in student government working as an entertainment director. He also worked part-time at a small animal clinic where he became interested in veterinary medicine. After Claude graduated, he was hoping to work as a probation officer for the county of Los Angeles but due to budget problems, no positions were available.

With his passion for music and background as an entertainment director, Clause was able to make a few contacts that helped him land a job in the music industry. At the height of the music download craze, Claude decided to leave the music industry and return to school to pursue a career in veterinary medicine.
A majority of Claude’s pre-veterinary classes were taken Los Angeles Pierce College, an agricultural community college with a 280-acre farm facility in the heart of the city. There, students could have the experience of working with sheep, cattle, pigs or chickens. Claude’s interest in poultry began with a small egg layer project. He enjoyed the process of getting fresh eggs everyday and selling them for $4 a dozen to the public. Later Claude traveled with a couple of local poultry veterinarians, which sparked an interest in poultry medicine. His life was changed after receiving a great opportunity – a summer internship at Foster Farms Poultry Company in Central California where he worked with turkeys. After his internship, Claude was fortunate enough to work with the California Department of Agriculture on their Exotic Newcastle Disease Task Force to help eradicate the virus that caused 12 million birds to be put down. The experience of working with the Task Force made him realize how much he wanted to make a difference in the area of poultry medicine.

Needing a change in his life, Claude decided to come to the University of Minnesota to pursue an M.S. degree in poultry nutrition. One of the reasons he came here is that he likes the agricultural ties that the University of Minnesota has with industry.

After completing his M.S. degree, Claude hopes to attend veterinary medical school to work on an M.S. in Avian Medicine. Claude’s long range plan is to work as a poultry veterinarian for a large poultry company.
  

In September, Doug Foster was appointed Director of Graduate Studies for the Department of Animal Science.

Computer programmer John Garbe left us in September for a position as a fuel operator with the US Antarctic Program at McMurdo Station, Antarctica. Stay warm, John!

Senior Office Specialist Marcia Hill accepted a position with Jared The Galleria of Jewelry in Maplewood, MN. Her last day with us was September 17th.

Jon Holt passed his defense of his MS thesis in August. He plans to start a Ph.D. program in swine nutrition at North Carolina State University.

Dr. Carol Ishimaru, formerly of the Department of Plant Pathology and Weed Science at Colorado State University, has accepted the position of Head of the U of MN's Department of Plant Pathology. Dr. Ishimaru will begin November 1, 2004.

Jeffrey Knott completed his Ph.D. in June and is now employed as a swine nutritionist with tech services at Ralco Mix in Marshall, MN.

Nicole London received her Ph.D. and accepted a teaching position at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN.

Kim Reno gave birth to a healthy 7 lb 8 oz baby girl, Kiley Lynn, on Friday the 13th of August. Kim will be on maternity leave until the first of the new year.

Kelly Sheehan, Admissions and Advising Counselor, left the Department of Animal Science in August. Kelly landed a job with Accelerated Genetics working with the bull book and print advertisement.

Mindy Spiehs completed her Ph.D. and accepted a job as a Regional Extension Educator with the University of Minnesota Extension Service. Her office is located in Morris, MN.

Pedro Urriola was wed to Maria Pieters on September 28, 2004 by a local judge. The couple plans to hold a formal wedding with family and friends back in Venezuela this winter.

Science in Ag student Libby Wagner, class of 03, graduated with honors and was accepted into Medical School at UMN-Duluth. Libby plans to go into family practice. Doug Foster was her advisor.

Dr. Robert Washabau, formerly professor of medicine in clinical studies in the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, has been named Chair of the U of MN Veterinary Clinical Science Department.

Mark Whitney completed his Ph.D. and accepted a position as a Regional Extension Educator with the University of Minnesota Extension Service. His office is located in Mankato, MN.

Jie and Guowu Xu are the proud parents of a new baby boy. Peter, 5 LB 11 oz,, was born prematurely on Monday, September 20, 2004. He will remain in intensive care for about one month. Jie is home now and doing fine.
  

Yang Da was awarded an additional $100,000 from Cargill, Inc. to continue his study entitled “Pedigree analysis for large complex populations.” Period: 11/1/03-9/30/05.

Mohamed El Halawani received a $385,314 grant sponsored by USDA-CSREES entitled “Modulation of fertility by monoamines in the domestic turkey”. Period: 9/1/04-8/31/07.

Doug Foster received $32,346 for his study on “Production and testing of high titer avian pneumovirus.” Sponsor: Iowa State University (Midwest Poultry) – USDA Prime. Period: 7/1/04-6/30/05.

Sally Noll received $42,642 from the US Poultry and Egg Association for her research on “Effects of beak trimming and feed form on turkey poult feeding behavior and growth”. Period: 8/1/04-8/1/05.

A 3-year grant entitled “Comparing US and E.U. Biotechnology, food safety and regulatory policies” was awarded to Abel Ponce de Leon, Jean Kinsey and Mike Sadowsky. This grant from the US Department of Education Fund for the improvement of Secondary Education will support faculty exchanges in developing course/curriculum content and travel plus student exchanges. European partners are the Institute of Applied Microbiology, Universitat fur Bodenkultur, Vienna, Austria; Department of Plant Production, Universita degli Studi DI Udine, Udine, Italy; and International Relations, Universitaet Hoehnheim, Stuttgart, Germany.

The National Pork Board awarded $46,539 to Gerald Shurson for his study “Evaluation of the effects of diet formulation method and inclusion of DDGS and phytase on manure phosphorus excretion of grow-finish pigs and on the concentration and forms of P in manure amended soil”. Period: 6/15/04-6/15/05.
  

The Department of Animal Science seminars are held on Mondays at 3:00 p.m. in Room 365 Haecker Hall. Everyone is welcome. Upcoming seminars are listed below.

October

4 - Jamie Larson, graduate student, "Embryonic mortality in beef cows"

11 - Peter Davies, Professor, CAPS, "Importance of salmonella contamination in feed"

18 - G. Alan Harrison, Ph.D., Alltech, Inc., "Glycomics redefining the role of carbohydrates in nutrition"

25 - Gang Xi, graduate student, "The role of IGFBP-3 on the proliferation and differentiation of L6 myogenic cells"

November

1 - Mark Engstrom, Ph.D., Diamond V Mills, "Trends in yeast feeding in animal agriculture"

8 - Mark Wilson, Minitub, Madison (title TBA)

15 - Eberhard F. Morgenroth, Assistant Professor, Environmental Engineering; Beckman Fellow at the Center for Advanced Studies, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Department of Animal Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (title TBA)

22 - Scott O'Grady, Professor, Animal Science, "Asthma: Eosinophil activation gone bad"

29- JoAnna (Asia) Lukas, graduate students (title TBA)
  

Is the University opening a branch in California? What are UM Calories? Is this a new cauliflower? Then what is UMCal?

On June 1, 2004, the University launched its university-wide calendaring system, which they've dubbed UMCal. This calendaring option is available to faculty and staff as well as some students. The University wanted a calendaring system that was affordable and could be integrated into the current infrastructure. The winning system was Oracle's Corporate Time Calendar.

This system allows individuals to maintain a schedule, set-up meetings, and manage resources and conference rooms. It is easily synchronized with the Palm OS and Pocket PC-based PDA devices, and can be integrated into Outlook. Through the privacy controls, you get to decide how much or how little others are able to see your calendar and appointments, and you are able to share your calendar with select individuals who help you to maintain it. In addition, you can send appointments to and receive them from other individuals, and your calendar automatically receives the University's holiday schedule each year.

What do I do if I'm on another calendaring system (e.g., Meeting Maker or GroupWise)? Well, the University does have some migration tools to help, but unfortunately, these transitions are often not very clean and make us techies shudder. Any move can be painful, some more than others. Having a PDA makes this transition much smoother. If you have a system that works for you right now, our suggestion is to stick with that for the time being. However, if you are without a calendaring system or are using Outlook, then the UMCal may be for you. To see if your UMCal account has been activated, go to http://www1.umn.edu/twincities/index.phpvalidate and log in.

Select "Update Accounts", under "Other Accounts", choose "Calendar Account Options" and follow the instructions. The Department of Animal Science should be setup for our staff and faculty to be able to activate their accounts. Check it out and see what you think. If you the type of person that needs a bit more hands-on training, Training Services (http://www1.umn.edu/twincities/index.phputtc) offers some hour-long orientation sessions as well as some more advanced classes for the UMCal adventurous users.

Take some time to explore and see what you think.

For more information about UMCal, check out the July 2004 OIT Newsletter - http://www1.umn.edu/oit/newsletter/about_acrobat.html or visit the UMCal website - http://www1.umn.edu/umcal/info/.
  

October

1-31 - Community Fund Drive. For more information or to make a pledge on-line, see http://www1.umn.edu/twincities/index.phpcfd.

12-15 - Department of Animal Science CSREES Review.

16-23 - Homecoming 2004. For more information, see http://www.homecoming.umn.edu.

16-Nov 15 - Open Enrollment for Employee Health Plans. This year, Open Enrollment will be on-line through Employee Self-Service. For more information, see http://www1.umn.edu/twincities/index.phpohr/eb.

17 - Fall Fest 2004 (10:30 am to 5:00 pm), St. Paul Campus. Free and open to the public. Family activities. For more information, see http://www1.umn.edu/twincities/fallfest/, call 612-624-4770, or email ejohnsto@cbs.umn.edu.

21-24 - Minnesota Beef Expo, Minnesota State Fairgrounds, St. Paul. More information is available by phone at 651-643-6476 or email at info@mnbeefexpo.com.

November

2 - Election Day.

2-5 - Ninth Annual DISCOVER Conference on Food Animal Agriculture: Protecting and Managing Animal Genetic Resources for Future Generations - The Next Steps. The Plains Hotel, Cheyenne, WY. Contact ADSA DISCOVER Conferences at 217-356-5146 for additional information.

8 - Siehl Prize for Excellence Award ceremony, 4:00 p.m. in McNamara Alumni Center, 200 Oak Street SE, Minneapolis, MN. General information: 612-624-7583.

9 - Minnesota Agri-Growth Council's Annual Meeting - Thunderbird Hotel and Convention Center, Bloomington, MN. For more information, contact MAGC by phone 651-905-8900 or email MAGC@agrigrowth.org.

20 - Minnesota Fall Harvest Sale. McLeod County Fairgrounds, Hutchinson, MN. Sale Manager: Minnesota Holstein Association. Call 320-259-0637 for more information.

25-26 - The U (Twin Cities) is closed for the Thanksgiving holiday.

30 and Dec 1 - Layer School I (for poultry farm owners, farm managers and personnel, service reps and allied industry), St. Paul Campus. For more information, see http://www.cvm.umn.edu/outreach/events/ls1/.

30- DEC 1 - Midwest Dairy Expo and Minnesota Milk's Annual Meeting, St. Cloud Civic Center, St. Cloud, MN. Contact Eir Garcia-Silva, MN Milk Producers Association, at 320-203-8336 for more information.

December

1 - Minnesota Dairy Leaders Roundtable Meeting, St. Cloud Civic Center, St. Cloud, MN. Held in conjunction with the Midwest Dairy Expo. Contact Ed Frederick at 507-835-3422 for more information.

24 and 27 - The U (Twin Cities) is closed for the Christmas holiday.

31 - The U (Twin Cities) is closed for New Year's Day observance.