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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.
The following report requires Adobe Acrobat.
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.
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