Kentucky Sheep and Goat Herder Curriculum - Phase I

Kentucky Sheep and Goat Herder Curriculum - Phase I

Summary

The Kentucky Sheep and Goat Herder Curriculum – Phase I project (KSGH) is designed to empower Extension educators, Small Farm Assistants, farmer-instructors, and other agriculture professionals to teach small ruminant production and marketing topics in the field. An online version of the curriculum will expand the potential audience to those who wish to study the materials electronically at their own pace.

Objectives/Performance Targets

Due to a six-month delay in availability of funds, the behavior-based objectives, which are based upon training and course delivery, have not been realized yet. Curriculum development and review is in progress.

Accomplishments/Milestones

What work has been accomplished to date?

The 2nd Kentucky Sheep and Goat Summit was held at Natural Bridge State Resort Park June 12-13, 2007. Nearly 50 participants, representing the state’s land-grant universities, regional universities, sheep and goat associations, and independent producers attended. Participants rated the overall Summit as good-excellent, and strongly agreed the Summits are helpful to the Kentucky sheep and goat industry. Nine participants agreed to serve on the advisory panel for KSGH, and eleven producers/production teams volunteered or were nominated to serve as farmer-instructors. A robust discussion of the project resulted in the addition of a fourth, introductory module (“So You’re Thinking of Raising Sheep or Goats?”).

As a result of the 2nd Summit, over a dozen University of Kentucky (UK) professionals with expertise in various disciplines related to small ruminant production and marketing met twice (July and October 2007) to assist in curriculum development. Specialists in forages, nutrition, and veterinary medicine agreed to peer-review primary author’s content.

Since proposal submission, the intended location for the online course (Cooperative Extension Curriculum Project, or CECP) has been superseded by an eXtension domain (courses.extension.org) and a new course management system (Moodle). Project members obtained appropriate training and populated a course shell with KSGH content.

Project members identified and engaged three farmer-instructors from separate geographic regions of the state, and also selected four additional industry representatives. All of these individuals will serve as the KSGH advisory panel.

Slide sets, a web-based Facilitator’s Guide, and a Producer’s Manual are currently being developed.

What work is left to do?

The 3rd Kentucky Sheep and Goat Summit has been rescheduled from April to September 2008 to allow project members to present a finished project for stakeholder evaluation. Based upon a consensus request from 2007 Summit attendees, the 2008 Summit will be held in Frankfort to facilitate tours of the Kentucky State University (KSU) research and demonstration farm (goats) and the nearby (Woodford County) UK Animal Research Center (sheep).

Face-to-face professional development training sessions (two rather than three due to the reduction in funding requested) will be scheduled after the 2008 Summit to allow time to incorporate any curriculum revisions agreed upon by Summit attendees, the advisory panel, and the project team.

Two pilot field presentations and an optional hands-on session will be provided after the face-to-face trainings. A no-cost extension will be requested if pilots cannot be completed before the termination of the grant cycle (4/30/09).

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

Since the 2006 Sheep and Goat Summit and submission of the preproposal for KSGH, the Kentucky Sheep and Wool Producers Association received a $184,000 grant from Kentucky’s tobacco settlement monies (Agricultural Development Fund, or ADF). ADF funding established the Kentucky Sheep and Goat Development Office; a full-time executive director coordinates Office activities, which maintain Kentucky’s leadership in the production and marketing of small ruminants. Active, early involvement in KSGH helped stakeholders build leadership capacity to achieve this step forward for Kentucky’s small ruminant industry.

Additionally, KSU recently submitted a joint Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education/Southern Risk Management Education Center proposal for a project that will include symposium-based education utilizing KSGH products.

Ultimately, the online course, professional development training, and field-deliverable curriculum materials will amplify the efforts of a limited cadre of state small ruminant specialists to extend education to producers in Kentucky and other Southern Region states.

Collaborators: