Small Ruminant Resource Training Manual Available

at a workshop in Mulberry, Arkansas, Dr. Joan Burke of Agricultural Research Service and Linda Coffey of NCAT train agents in the FAMACHA technique to assess anemia in goats. This technique helps to diagnose Haemonchus (parasite) infection and enables farmers to medicate only those animals that need treatment

After fielding numerous calls from producers and educators about goat and sheep production, Linda Coffey, Program Specialist for the National Center for Appropriate Technology  (NCAT), decided it was time address the educational needs of the burgeoning small ruminant industry.  With funding from a southern region Sustainable Agriculture and Research Education (SARE) professional development grant, Coffey teamed up with NRCS, Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, university faculty, and sheep and goat producers to develop the Small Ruminant Resource Manual CD, available for no charge by calling 800-346-9140.

In States where goats are included as a conservation practice, the resource manual will be especially helpful for NRCS staffers assisting small ruminant producers. The manual, or any relevant portions of it, can be handed out during workshops or simply during a farm visit.

“In the last few years, the goat and hair sheep industry has just taken off, and we were finding that educators needed resources,” said Coffey, who also organized workshops on small ruminant production and produced the Small Ruminant Sustainability Check Sheet, which is included in the manual.

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Small Ruminant Sustainability Check Sheet

The manual, 590 pages long, is organized into the following general topics:
• Assessing plant and soil resources
• Whole farm planning and evaluating sustainability
• Sheep and goat production
• Sheep and goat health
• Facilities (fencing, housing and equipment)
• Forage utilization
• Marketing and economics

Within each topic area, the manual features Appropriate Technology Transfer to Rural Areas (ATTRA) publications, articles and Extension fact sheets on a range of sustainable sheep and goat production practices, including predator control, integrated parasite management and multi-species grazing.

“Producers like the manual on CD because it alleviates the problems encountered by users of dial-up when trying to download lengthy publications,” said Coffey.

The rapid growth of the small ruminant industry has been fueled by an increasing demand for goat and lamb meat, particularly among immigrants, improved prices, and the introduction of better stock such as Boer goats from South Africa, a meaty and fast-growing breed.

Small ruminants fit into small and sustainable operations in a number of ways. They do well on a wide range of forages, and feed on weeds, brush, and other plants that cattle often won’t eat (multiflora rose and pigweed for example).  Because of their smaller body size, sheep and goats are less likely to cause pugging on wet soils, and need less equipment.  Finally, they can be integrated into an existing cattle livestock system, and many ranchers are finding small ruminants to be a valuable tool in managing rangeland weeds.

“Cattle and sheep and goats all work well together since the small ruminants can be used for brush and weed control,” added Coffey.  “They are prolific and productive animals. But producers need to know how to raise them in a way that improves the land and is profitable and satisfying for the family; NRCS field staff are in a position to help, and we are glad to offer this manual to assist educators and producers.”

The manual, produced by NCAT, is available from ATTRA, a national sustainable agriculture information service managed by NCAT.  ATTRA is funded by a grant from USDA’s Rural Business-Cooperative Service and provides information and other technical assistance to farmers, ranchers, Extension agents, educators, NRCS and others involved in sustainable agriculture in the United States.  ATTRA has specialists to answer phones Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Central Time, and all of its publications are available for free, either on-line, or by calling 800-346-9140.

About SARE
Since 1988, SARE has helped advance farming systems that are profitable, environmentally sound and good for communities through a nationwide grants program. The program, administered by  CSREES and USDA, funds projects and conducts outreach designed to improve agricultural systems and natural resources.

NRCS field office professionals frequently collaborate on SARE-funded projects and are valuable partners to the SARE program. NRCS staff serve on SARE’s national Operations Committee, on regional Administrative Councils, on State committees and are actively engaged as technical advisers and collaborators on SARE-funded research grants around the U.S.

For more information, visit the SARE website or for more information about the regional SARE programs, click on the region area of the map below.

Your contact is Diana Friedman, SARE research associate, at 301-504-6422.