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<p>The primary goals will be: 1. To provide research-based information and educational programs for sheep and goat producers, particularly small-scale producers and limited-resource farmers involved in local food systems. 2. To help sheep and goat producers, particularly small-scale producers and limited-resource farmers, adopt practices that are sustainable- economically, socially and environmentally. 3. To unify farmers and consumers in an attempt to develop local markets and expand community access to quality and healthy Alabama grown and processed lamb and goat meat products. The specific objectives will be: 1. To make research findings more visible and disseminate practical information about sheep and goats through on-site workshops, field days, and tours. 2. To demonstrate growth of stocker meat goats and hair sheep under mixed-species grazing. 3. To demonstrate forage utilization by stocker meat goats and hair sheep under mixed-species grazing. 4. To demonstrate integrated parasite control strategies used in stocker meat goats and hair sheep under mixed-species grazing. 5. To demonstrate the potential economic advantages of stocker meat goats and hair sheep production under mixed-species grazing. The expected outputs will be: 1. Undertake a series of field projects to demonstrate forage utilization and performance of meat goats and hair sheep grazing together to prove the technical viability together with the possible economic advantages. 2. Through demonstration projects, workshops, field days, tours, technical publications and websites, the UANNP unit will disseminate its information to government agencies, interest groups and individuals. The broadly-based and objective information will be include: a) Basic sheep and goat sciences. b) Parasite control methods that stress the use of FAMACHA, fecal egg counts, and other integrated parasite control strategies. c) Forage-based feeding system for grazing that meets the nutrient requirements of sheep and goats. Record-keeping of individual performance of animals to rank animals with superior genetics for the production potential of various sheep and goat breed types and crosses under low-input, forage-based production systems. d) Animal genetics, sheep and goat handling, feed purchasing, record-keeping, production of meat without residue of animal health products, and the HACCP system. e) The scheme for strengthening the marketing infrastructure for sheep and goat producers in Alabama.</p>
<p>Animal and Forage Management: The Kiko goat and the Katahdin and Dorper sheep will be used in these projects. Three grazing groups will be implemented: (1) control (Kiko goats grazing by themselves); (2) co-grazing (Kiko goats and Katahdin sheep grazing together); and (3) co-grazing (Kiko goats and Dorper sheep grazing together). A total of 60 Kiko wether kids (30/year), 10 Katahdin wether lambs, and 10 Dorper wether lambs will be used in these demonstration projects. Upon arrival, wether kids and lambs will be placed in a single paddock, vaccinated, dewormed, tagged, and weighed. Animals will also be fed an acclimatization diet for at least 21 days and observed daily for signs of morbidity. Kids and lambs outside of the desired weight range (about 25 kg) and those with visible health concerns will be eliminated from the project prior to assignment to pasture. The remaining animals will be grouped by breed and body weight and assigned to two paddocks (4 acres/paddock) containing three-sided pasture sheds measuring 400 square feet each. During the first year, a control grazing group (20 Kiko wether kids) and a co-grazing group (10 Kiko wether kids and 10 Katahdin wether lambs) will continuously graze an 8-acre plot of sericea lespedeza from June 15 to September 15, and an 8-acre plot of forage chicory from September 15 to November 15. During the second year, another control grazing group (20 Kiko wether kids) and another co-grazing group (10 Kiko wether kids and 10 Dorper wether lambs) will also continuously graze an 8-acre plot of sericea lespedeza from June 15 to September 15, and an 8-acre plot of forage chicory from September 15 to November 15. Forage growth and composition will be determined by use of cages placed in the field and subsamples clipped prior to and after each grazing. Initial, bi-weekly, and final weights of animals will be recorded, and average daily gains determined. Fecal and Blood Collection: Fecal samples will be collected for nematode egg count (FEC) from each animal immediately before the beginning of each grazing year. Blood samples (0.5 ml) will also be collected via jugular venipuncture in sodium-heparinized Vacutainer Tubes for packed cell volume (PCV) determination. All animals will then be treated for gastrointestinal parasites. During each demonstration project, fecal samples will be collected for FEC from 10% of the total number of animals at 15-day intervals. These animals will also be subjected to the FAMACHA test and withdrawal of 0.5 ml of blood samples for PCV determination. Parasite eggs will be counted using the McMaster technique. FAMACHA and PCV records will indicate prevalence of anemia caused by Haemonchus contortus infection. Based on the FEC and FAMACHA results, wether kids and lambs will be treated for internal parasitism as needed. The UANNP unit will make the final results available to policymakers, government agencies, interest groups and individuals through a series of workshops, symposia, conferences, print and web publications, and its website. Also, educational seminars regarding project outcomes will be presented to academic units.</p>
<p>2011/09 TO 2012/08<br />
OUTPUTS: On Friday, December 16, 2011, Alabama A&M University (AAMU) assigned a BANNER account to the above mentioned project. One month into the 2012 calendar year, the project director and co-project directors began preparations for implementation of phase 1 of ALAX-ACES-CBG0111. This phase entailed the erection of sheds to protect the animals from the basic elements and erection of pasture fences to keep the animals where they belong and protect them from dogs and other predators. Unfortunately, the project director and co-project directors have been unsuccessful in procuring vendors that respond to the Request for Quotation (RFQ) sent out by the Purchasing Department at AAMU. To this day, no vendors have responded back with quotations with prices to 5 RFQs concerning phase 1 of the above mentioned project. As clearly explained on Proposal No. 2011-02590, phase 1 must be completed before phase 2 (grazing demonstrations) and phase 3 (farmer education) can begin. For the next RFQ, the project director and co-project directors will once again encourage vendors to respond back and will ask the Purchasing Department at AAMU to extend considerably the deadline for submission of quotations. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. </p>