DEVELOPMENT OF A PRECISION ANIMAL HEALTH AND FORAGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR IMPROVED UTILIZATION OF SERICEA LESPEDEZA AS A NUTRACEUTICAL FORAGE FOR YEAR-ROUND GRAZING/FEEDING OF GOATS AND SHEEP

Goals of this project:1) To determine the appropriate balance between nutritional quality and anti-parasitic bioactivity of sericea lespedeza (SL; Lespedeza cuneata) in different forms (fresh, dried, preserved as silage) fed to goats and sheep.2) To optimize establishment/production/utilization practices for SL for small ruminant production systems in different climates and geographic areas using precision agriculture.3) To determine the concentration, chemical structure, and bioactivity of CT in different species and accessions within a Lespedeza germplasm collection.4) To develop cellphone-based decision support model (APP) to efficiently deliver precision SL forage management/animal health information to producers.