Transcript Regional Educational Outreach Program For Producers Of

Regional Educational Outreach Program For
Producers Of Small Ruminants In South
Alabama
Presented By Regional Extension Agents
Anthony Wiggins
&
Ken Kelley
Why’s of the Outreach Program
•
Increased number of calls
• More calls concerning small ruminants than traditional livestock
•
Limited information available for producers
• Information was dated
• No previous educational efforts made for small ruminants
•
Increased number of ranchettes conducive to small ruminant
production
• < 5 acre ranchettes not large enough for traditional livestock production
and the associated costs
•
Producers with little livestock experience
• Inexperienced producers raising small ruminants as hobbies or as
therapy
•
•
Increased demand by ethnic groups
Food safety concerns
• Many producers had given little thought to the fact that they were raising
food
How to Reach Producers?
• No mailing lists
• No organized producer groups
• Who had small ruminants (goats)?
??????
How to Reach Producers?
• Livestock Sale Barn
Goats
What Information Was Needed?
• Order buyers/State Marketing Agents
• Marketing/Genetics
• Producers
• Challenges
• Observation
• Information producers needed to know
• Designed a program from information gathered
Programs
• Regional Multi-state Mini-workshops
(AL,FL)
• 3 monthly 1 hour workshops held on sale day
• Topics
• Marketing/Genetics
• Parasite & Disease Management
• Meat Goat Quality Assurance
Programs
• Marketing/Genetics
• What buyers are looking for in a goat
• When/What to sell
• How to produce a no. 1
Programs
• Parasite & Disease
Management
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•
Prevention
Vaccinations
Treatment/VCPR
Parasite control
products
• Managing parasites
with cultural practices
Programs
• Meat Goat Quality Assurance
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Injection sites (where, how, lesions)
Veterinarian/Client Patient Relationships
Handling
Drug Residues
• Goats are Food! Would you eat what you sell?
What Did We Accomplish?
• Base clientele (mailing list)
• Evaluations
• Producers learned from the mini-workshops
• Producers needed more information
• Next step
• Regional Multi-state Field Day
Regional Multi-State Field Day
Farm Day; Meat Goat Management
• Publicized in the
panhandle of FL. and
S.W. AL
• Speakers from A.U.,
U. of FL, and FL.
A&M
• All day event
• Used classroom and
hands-on training
Regional Multi-State Field Day
Farm Day; Meat Goat Management
• Topics
• Feeding the Goat
Herd/Nutritional
Requirements
• Reproductive Management
• Forages
• Toxic Plants
• Meat Goat Quality
Assurance
• Managing
Parasites/Diseases
• FAMACHA Training
FAMACHA Training
• Very Informative
• Producers had another parasite management
tool
Small Ruminant Pocket Guide
www.aces.edu
Evaluation
• 92% learned something they could
implement to improve management
practices on their farm
• Using rotational grazing and implementing
the FAMACHA system to aid in managing
parasites rated the most useful
• 100% interested in having more of similar
programs
Questions?