Cow-Belles Ag Expo April 25, 26 at UW teaching arena

Nearly 400 Albany County third graders and their teachers will learn about everything from honey bees and ruminant animal stomachs to noxious weeds and West Nile virus at the 10th annual Albany County Cow-Belles Ag Expo.

The event is April 25 and 26 at the University of Wyoming's Cliff and Martha Hansen Livestock Teaching Arena two miles southwest of Laramie on Highway 230.

Family night is 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. April 25, at the teaching arena. The public is welcome to join the Cow-Belles for a beef dinner. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students. Winners of a poster contest sponsored by the Laramie Rivers Conservation District (LRCD) will be announced.

The Cow-Belles started the expo in the mid-1990s to teach students about agriculture in general and the importance of the industry in Albany County and Wyoming.

"The expo is geared toward all of the third graders in Albany County, including those who attend private and public schools and those who are home-schooled," said the expo's chairwoman, Lindsay Galey, wife of Frank Galey, dean of the UW College of Agriculture.

"It has been shown that third graders really begin to grasp facts about their communities, their health and the environment. At the expo, we teach them a little about biology, nutrition and health, the local communities, the environment they live in, and water cycles," Mrs. Galey said.

Activities and stations include:

--Tour of farm animals including goats, pigs, sheep, cows and calves, horses, mules, llamas, rabbits, chickens and ducks, led by Brett Moline, former Albany County Extension educator now with the Wyoming Farm Bureau. "These animals are brought into us by 4-Hers, local ranchers and the UW stock farm," Galey said.

--How a ruminant animal's stomach works and why rumen animals such as cattle are important in our daily lives, presented by Associate Professor Jim Waggoner, range livestock nutrition specialist in the College of Agriculture. "It's quite a show when all the kids are here," Waggoner said. "Every 10 to 12 minutes we get a new group of third graders at our station."

--Riparian areas, Wyoming Game and Fish Department and LRCD.

--Noxious weeds, Albany County Weed and Pest Control District.

--Animal health, UW Pre-Vet Club.

--Mosquito control to help contain West Nile virus, city of Laramie. "This is a fun one because the kids act out different stages of a mosquito's life," Galey said.

--"By-product bingo," which teaches the students about how all the parts of a beef animal can be used, Albany County 4-H.

--Beekeeping, Shellie Starks.

--How cattle are shipped, Carolyn Durand, trucking company owner and professional truck driver.

--Sheep dog demonstration, Billy Pickel.

--Draft horse driving demonstration and how draft horses can be used on the ranch, Clydesdale owners Ray and Mary Beth Garson.

Date: 4/19/06

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