Regional Meat Goat Production and Marketing Project: Phase 2

Regional Meat Goat Production and Marketing Project: Phase 2

Objectives/Performance Targets

Behavior Based Objectives and Their Evaluation
Providing education on sustainable meat goat production and economic systems to agricultural professionals, paraprofessionals, non-profits, state and federal agencies, veterinarians, and farmer mentors, when combined with farmer listening forums should result in these behavior changes.
Objective 1. Agricultural professionals accept meat goats as sustainable farm enterprises for small farmers. They will initiate farmer education and hands-on demonstration programs on sustainable goat production including feeds/forages, breeding programs, parasite control, brush control and environmental aspects, and economics. They will facilitate efforts to develop sustainable systems for meat goats and facilitate efforts to develop farmer cooperatives, goat associations, and to identify potential markets for goats and goat products.
Objective 2. Agricultural professionals target educational programs to nontraditional producers and consumers including Middle Eastern, Hispanic, African American, women, youth (4-H and FFA), religious groups, small and limited-resource farmers. In delivering educational programs, professionals become sensitive to social and environmental issues as well as the economic and production aspects of the goat industry. As a result, the professional strengthens his/her social and outreach skills leading to the inclusion of diverse groups in programming.
Objective 3. Agricultural professionals and farmers share expertise to: 1) develop and strengthen multi-state, multidisciplinary collaboration (agencies, 1890, 1862, and farmers) and 2) provide cross-state educational programming in sustainable goat production/economic systems. Agricultural professionals broaden their scope and become “system thinkers”.
Objective 4. Continue the work of the Phase I project, including the clearing house of information for the region and to provide web-based information that has been proofed by professionals.

Accomplishments/Milestones

1.Kentucky State University established a cool season and warm season grasses component to the Research and Demonstration Farm in 2005. These were used in the March 2006 and July 2006 “Third Thursday” training meetings with 245 participants.
2.Tennessee State University had a “Third Tuesday” goat workshop in April 2006 with 175 participants.
3.Several workshops are planned for the summer of 2006 at partner universities