In-service Training and Decision-Making Tools for Optimizing Livestock Mortality Management

In-service Training and Decision-Making Tools for Optimizing Livestock Mortality Management

Summary

Mortality management threatens the sustainability of livestock production in many ways. In recent years, concerns about mad cow disease reduced the availability and increased the cost of rendering services. Alternatives are needed that protect the environment from contamination and prevent the spread of pathogens from mortalities to living, productive animals. These alternatives must be affordable and ideally would also create jobs in rural America. Composting mortalities is an alternative that holds promise for the achievement of environmental protection, economic sustainability, and job creation.

The project team includes: Extension and NRCS personnel with expertise in animal science, economics, and soil science; feedlot and dairy producers; and producer groups from Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. The team will meet annually face-to-face and monthly by conference call in order to facilitate cooperation in achieving project goals.

Four educational products will be developed:
• a decision aid spreadsheet that evaluates the costs of mortality composting against other mortality disposal options,
• a how-to-manual on mortality composting,
• a video illustrating on-the-ground mortality composting, and
• a PowerPoint presentation describing the spreadsheet, how-to-manual, and video and explaining mortality composting principles.

These products will be disseminated through in-service training for Extension and NRCS personnel, field days on cooperating farms, and web-based training. We estimate that this project will reach over 400 extension educators, NRCS staff and Technical Service Providers, consultants, producers, landfill managers, and small processors. These 400 professionals will increase their knowledge about mortality management and learn how to share their new knowledge with others through the use of the WSARE-developed educational tools. In the long-term, many of them will use the new products to extend the dissemination of this information to a broader audience.

Evaluation of short-term outcomes will take place through pre-tests prior to in-service trainings, field days, and web-based tutorials followed by the identical post-tests taken after the sessions. Medium-term outcomes will be assessed through a questionnaire that measures the preparedness of educators to train others in mortality management. Long-term outcomes will be quantified through Survey Monkey questionnaires emailed to trainees several months after the training regarding their use of the educational materials and audience sizes.

Objectives/Performance Targets

• To provide professional development opportunities for land grant extension faculty, NRCS field staff, and NRCS Technical Service Providers in the area of livestock mortality composting.
• To develop tools for use by extension and NRCS professionals in extending mortality management information and decision-making tools to livestock producers.

Accomplishments/Milestones

• Planning Meetings – Team meetings have been held in October of 2009 in Las Cruces, NM, and November 2010 in Bozeman, MT. Ongoing conference calls are conducted as needed. A PBworks virtual workspace and document sharing system has been implemented throughout the project to facilitate collaborative development of deliverables.
• Decision Aid Spreadsheet – Draft completed and under internal review.
• How-to Manual on Mortality Composting – Draft completed and under internal review.
• Video – Footage obtained in NM, CO, and MT. Production is on-going.
• PowerPoint Presentation – work has not started since it will be based on the completed manual and other products.
• Events and Field Days – A field day was conducted in July at the MT Ag Experiment Station in Havre. Video and still footage of calf and cow mortality composting bins was obtained as well as narrative clips. Four presentations were given at the mortality composting research area to over 90 total participants including county Extension agents, NRCS staff, producers, congressional staff, Extension Specialists and stakeholders. Other trainings are being planned for year 2.

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

Our primary audience is educators, technical service providers, and consultants. Short-term outcomes include increased understanding of mortality management concerns such as environmental protection and bio-security, mortality management practices, and composting livestock mortalities as a sustainable practice. In the medium-term, they will develop their abilities to teach and advise on livestock mortality management options and provide technical details on composting as an option and to work in multi-agency and multi-institutional groups to promote sustainable mortality management practices.

In the long-term, livestock producers and managers of livestock operations will increase their awareness and knowledge of proper mortality management options, including composting as a bio-secure and environmentally sustainable method. Eventually, this will lead to increased use of cost effective and proper mortality management practices, with composting as a primary method when applicable, and a decreased threat to water quality and bio-security due to poor mortality management.

Collaborators: