Progress report for WPDP22-012
Project Information
Guam and the North Mariana Island are islands that are located on the pacific ocean. This WSARE Professional Development Program grant proposal requests funds to increase the awareness of Heat stress(HS) and Animal Nutrition to the professionals in hope to educate the trainers and promote the sustainability of local livestock production and the awareness of animal welfare.
The CNMI and FSM are islands that are located close to the equator, with a limited amount of land and resources. In 2019, it was reported that in Guam over 90% of the food consumption was imported from the US. Since covid, with the increased cases of delay of supply shipment and the soaring price of shipping cost, it wasn’t long to figure out just how fragile the food security and agriculture production is for the island. Livestock production among the CNMI and FSM are often limited by a couple of factors. 1. Limited land resource that is suitable for livestock production. 2. Reliance on import for feed causes a higher cost compared to US mainland producers. But even with the challenges and higher cost of production, there is still a strong demand for fresh protein sources which includes both eggs and red meat. Back door farming is quite common, especially for egg production, which people often view as a way of getting fresh eggs and a source of fun and fulfillment as well as a source of extra income.
The purposes of this project are to 1. increase awareness of HS to improve animal production and increase awareness of animal welfare of the region. 2. Education on animal nutrition for basic knowledge to use local supplements in formulating well-rounded nutritional feed to further decrease the cost of production without sacrificing the quality of production.
- To increase ag professionals' knowledge and awareness in heat stress and animal welfare.
- To increase ag professionals' knowledge in animal nutrition and formulation of feed.
- To increase the sustainability of livestock production and further increase food security for the CNMI and FSM islands.
- Heat Stress fact sheet and Nutritional fact sheet will be produced. PI and collaborator will meet and decide on the data and formatting of the fact sheet. PI will be in charge of the production/printing of the fact sheets. By June/2022
- HS and Nutritional workshop: Workshop content will be prepared and coordinated by PI and collaborator. The workshop will be held for 2 days at UOG. Partners involved in the delivery of the outreach message will include project PI, project extension associate, and agricultural advisors from the University of Guam Cooperative Extension. Audience groupings should include but are not limited to, Government agencies, livestock producers, backdoor farmers. Outreach of workshop should start by May/2022. The expected workshop should be held by the end of August/2022.
- In case of unexpected restrictions of traveling or group gathering activities, an online-based conference will be held by the end of August/2022
- HS and Livestock nutritional workshop survey, a modification of theWestern Sare Survey, will be provided before and after the workshop for immediate feedback and evaluation of the satisfaction of the workshop.
- HS and livestock nutritional brochures will be made according to the workshop. PI will be in charge of the production/printing of the fact sheets. By October/2022
- Youtube video: A series of youtube videos will be produced surrounding the topic of the workshop. 1st video by February/2023, 2nd video by March/2023
Education
A two-day workshop was held at Yigo Station and a 1-day farm trip to local poultry production including Yigo Triton Farm, and Familan K Farm.
Education & Outreach Initiatives
1. Establish an understanding of Animal Welfare. Learning how Animal welfare and Heat stress contribute to the sustainability of a livestock production.
2. Establish a basic concept of nutrition for poultry/egg and swine production. Apply strategic feeding that can improve the sustainability and efficiency of feed.
3. Introducing the importance of data management of production and how it contributes to building a baseline understanding of a production site then utilize that information to improve the production, practices, and sustainability of the farm.
Swine workshop 9/11/2023:
Topics: 1. Swine welfare Overview 2. Swine Heat Stress 3. Swine Nutrition 4. On-Farm Data Collection 5. Wrap-up session.
Poultry Workshop 9/12/2023:
Topics: 1. Poultry Welfare Overview 2. Poultry Heat Stress 3. Poultry Nutrition 4. On-Farm Data Collection 5. Wrap-up session.
Field day.
Yigo Triton farm and Familan K Farm.
- Farmers have a better understanding of heat stress and it's impact on livestock production. Now knows how to identify heat stress signs on different livestock and can adjust practices accordingly to alleviate heat stress at a low cost.
- Introduced credible online sources: Feedipedia and Hothog app that can help identify ideal local feed supplementation and heat stress detection.
- Provided samples of daily farm forms to assist with data collection.