The Department of Veterinary and Animal Husbandry Extension Education of Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU) Ludhiana organized a specialized training on goat farming from 24-26 March, 2014 for the farmers of Jammu and Kashmir which was sponsored by Indian Army. Dr. R.S. Sahota, Director of Extension Education informed that with the changing life style and eatery habits, people have started diversifying from the traditional patterns of livestock rearing. He further added that after getting such training from the university, the unemployed youth can start their own enterprise, which on one hand can provide the needed employment and on the other hand bring diversification in agriculture. Dr. Jaswinder Singh Bhatti, Head of Department and Course Director said that trainees were given knowledge about housing, nutrition and feeding management practices. Apart from these issues, they were trained to handle newborn kids and methods of weaning, care and management. Participants were also given training on the value addition of goat byproducts. Role of regular vaccination, deworming and hygiene in prevention of diseases was stressed. The farmers were trained to differentiate between healthy and sick animals. Dr. S. K. Kansal, course coordinator said that all the farmers learnt new techniques enthusiastically. It is important to mention that all these trainings are conducted under the able guidance of Dr. R. S. Sahota, Director of Extension Education, GADVASU Ludhiana and the Veterinary University is organizing such trainings programmes regularly. University is providing trainings in all the important livestock professions of this region like dairy farming, poultry farming, goat farming, pig farming and fish farming.
