Enhancing Meat Goat Production through Controlled Woodland Browsing

Enhancing Meat Goat Production through Controlled Woodland Browsing

Summary

This project was initiated to determine how to enhance meat goat production while using the goats to control woody interfering plants in mature forests. Goats were placed in hardwood forests, with a well-developed understory of interfering wood species (i.e., American Beech and Striped Maple) that had undergone vegetation sampling. 125 goats were randomly sorted into nine groups. There were one control and eight treatment groups. All combinations of two stocking rates plus two feed protocols with one replicate of each defined the treatment groups. Preliminary results indicate that the goats can gain weight while consuming interfering vegetation, and that preferences for plant species are reflected in varying degrees of control. Striped maple is effectively controlled while American beech is controlled to a lesser extent.

Objectives/Performance Targets

Wisely controlled browsing of Northeast woodlands by goat herds will increase incomes and reduce costs to goat owners, decrease woody plant control costs to woodlot owners and reduce the forest area treated with herbicides. The goal of this project is to eliminate the last information and communication barriers to widespread adoption of wise browsing by Northeast goat and woodland stewards. This project integrates research and demonstration in the Twin Tiers region of New York and Pennsylvania by assessing operational protocols designed to optimize meat goat weight gain while concurrently controlling interfering woody vegetation in forests.

• The Cornell University Arnot Forest is serving research and extension needs with experiments that assess goat feeding systems and stocking rates in woodlands.

  Within the Twin Tiers region, four “off site” teams of goat producers and woodlot owners will expand the demonstration/extension capacity of the project during the second and third project years.

  All of the team members and leaders will pool data and experience to produce an operational enterprise budget.

  Twin Tier goat producers, woodlot owners, foresters and county agents and agency personnel will visit a site and learn about woodland goat browsing with 10% initiating similar projects within a year of their visit.

Accomplishments/Milestones

The project purchased 130 goats from 22 producers, yet had a mortality rate of only 2.3% because of three deaths. We assigned goats to one of five different treatment groups. The control group of 13 (plus spares) was located in large paddocks in the sugar bush. The remaining 100 goats rotated through quarter-acre woodland paddocks within one of four replicated treatment groups. Treatment groups represented all combinations of two types of feeding regime and two stocking levels. The two feeding regimes were supplemental feeding with a total mixed ration versus rotational with goats spending one week in the woods and two weeks in pasture per cycle. The two stocking rates were 5 versus 20 goats per quarter-acre paddock. No goats were permanently lost and few goats experienced minor treatable injuries and illnesses; all fully recovered. We had no goats neurologically compromised by P. tenuis (deer brain worm) or experience toxic plant reactions. When in the woodlot paddocks, goats more effectively girdled striped maple (estimated greater than 90% mortality of saplings) than American beech (estimated less than 40% girdling of saplings). The goats experienced minimal to modest weight gain while in the research paddocks. In late summer, all goats were transferred to pasture with supplemental feed and experienced substantial weight gain, often doubling their woodland gain in half the time. All goats were healthy and sold at competitive market prices. By reviewing the samples and data collected during the summer months we are continuing to explore management options that will encourage consumption of American beech while producing healthy goats.

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

Preliminary analyses of our data suggest a slight variation of weight gain among the three breeds, with boer greater than dairy which was greater than Spanish. Paddocks with the higher stocking rate experienced higher levels of stem girdling than paddocks with 5 goats. Goat producers who purchased goats or participated in a field day or private tours, all commented on the remarkable health and vigor of the goats. As an example of their enthusiasm for involvement, several goat producers have asked for details with the anticipation of putting goats in their own woodlots to familiarize themselves with protocols in advance of project-related collaborative research.

Collaborators: