Project Overview
Annual Reports
Commodities
- Agronomic: grass (misc. perennial), hay
- Additional Plants: native plants
- Animals: goats, sheep
Practices
- Animal Production: feed/forage, parasite control, animal protection and health, grazing - continuous, feed rations, mineral supplements, grazing - multispecies, pasture fertility, pasture renovation, preventive practices, range improvement, grazing - rotational, vaccines, watering systems
- Education and Training: demonstration
- Farm Business Management: whole farm planning
- Production Systems: holistic management
- Sustainable Communities: new business opportunities, sustainability measures
Abstract:
This three-year project developed a checksheet to help farmers and educators assess and improve the sustainability of a sheep or goat farm. The checksheet was written and tested by a group of farmers, educators, and researchers, presented to Extension agents in Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, and North Carolina during on-farm workshops, and distributed along with a resource manual to help agents in their work with sheep and goat farmers. The materials developed during this project are available from the National Center for Appropriate Technology through the ATTRA service, by calling 800-346-9140 or by accessing the Web site, www.attra.ncat.org.
Project objectives:
Producers and educators cooperatively designed a sheep and goat checksheet and used it as a tool to assess the sustainability of sheep or goat enterprises.
Through workshops, demonstrations, and farm visits, educators’ knowledge increased, and they improved their ability to work with small ruminants.
Through the establishment of a listserv, educators and producers in the Southern region engaged in communication about research needs, educational opportunities, and practical methods of overcoming challenges to small ruminant production.