By Ashlyn Thompson, 2025 Sunbelt Ag Expo Social Media Intern
The Sunbelt Ag Expo visitors enjoyed hands-on experiences with aquaculture, dairy, sheep and goats, beef, and poultry through a wide variety of livestock exhibit area seminars.
At the Beef Pavilion, visitors learned about proper cattle management and ways to improve stewardship across the farm. Weaver Livestock hosted demonstrations on how to prepare cattle for showmanship, which also included sessions on fitting goats for shows.
Over at the Dairy Pavilion, people were taught about milking and general care for dairy cows. The Milking Competition attracted a large number of visitors and generated excitement throughout the week. Nicole Duvall also led the Georgia Mobile Dairy Classroom Demonstration, sharing educational facts about milk production, nutrition, and cow management.
In the Aquaculture building, pond owners received guidance on improving pond management and fishing techniques. Gary Burtle, a retired UGA Associate Professor, also focused on helping kids understand the fundamentals of using a rod and reel. Burtle emphasized the importance of teaching kids how to fish. Around lunch, the Aquaculture building hosted a catfish cooking demonstration with UGA Extension, which always draws a good crowd.
At the sheep and goat seminars, visitors were taught how to properly prepare and cook lamb meat by Fort Valley State University. Visitors were also able to test their knowledge at the medical equipment identification station.
Georgia Poultry Lab Seminars in the Poultry Pavilion educated poultry owners about different diseases and parasites. They were able to learn more about how to care, treat and identify sicknesses in their birds. Visitors were also taught how to mix and formulate feed to increase overall flock production.
The Sunbelt Ag Expo was full of hands-on learning experiences for visitors of all ages. It was a great week filled with opportunities for attendees to take new knowledge and techniques back to their farms at home.
