For the 31st year, a team of veterinarians and 35 trained students from the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine will staff the California State Fair's livestock nursery around the clock to make sure that the farm animals born at the fair and their mothers are healthy and well cared for. The veterinary team also will perform health checks for all 7,000 animals at the event, which runs Aug. 17 through Sept. 3.

Fairgoers can observe the births and learn about other aspects of farm life, while the veterinary students gain valuable clinical experience.

Dr. Ben Norman, a Cooperative Extension veterinarian emeritus from UC Davis and founding nursery coordinator, continues to direct activities at the nursery exhibit, which is supported by the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory, UC Davis' animal science department and by regional agricultural producers.

The nursery is located just south of Building C at the fair and is also accessible online. Anyone who can't make it out to the fair can keep an eye on the pens where cows, pigs, goats and sheep are giving birth, changing the focus and direction of the webcam for hours of fascination. Look for the webcast at http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/statefair/.