Progress 09/01/10 to 08/31/14
Outputs
Target Audience:Tree growers, goat producers, scientists, graduate and undergraduate students, extension workers, policy makers, and other stake holders Changes/Problems:Challanges faced Tuskegee University: Severe drought during 2011 in the Tuskegee and the Federation of Southern Cooperatives sites in Epes, and excessive rains in the subsequent years in both locations created major challenges to accomplish the desired objectives on time. Excessive rains were the major reasons for severe internal parasite infestations in goats. We lost many goats due to internal parasite namely Haemonchus contortus.However, we were able to accomplish most of the objectives in 2014 and 2015. Problems faced by Florida A & M University (Collaborating Partner): In 2010 and 2011 when the project was first initiated considerable efforts were made to purchase enough goats for the project. By the middle of 2012, about 120 goats had been purchased and ready for introduction of goats at the tree/pasture configurations. However, just prior to introducing the goats, there was a severe disease problem including caprine arthritis encephalitis (CAE) and several internal parasites like coccidian andMonieza expansiathat killed 70 % of the goats. This resulted in a new strategy (see ppt by Kamilyah Miller) for handling incoming goats to the research farm. It also led to the establishment of a quarantine unit within the Veterinary Technology facilities at the FAMU-REC. This was a major outcome for this project. Challanges faced by the Federation of Southern Cooperatives, Epes, Alabama: The Federation was unable to obtain research information on the research outcomes from Tuskegee University and Florida A & M University to pass on to landowners on timely manner. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Two training workshops on Sustainable Agroforestry Practices in the Southeastern Region were conducted on October 28-29, 2014 and September 11, 2015. The objective of training was to educate forest landowners, farmers, and agricultural professionals, and eventually make them able to incorporate goats into pine silvopasture systems to implement sustainable agroforestry practices to efficiently utilize their resources in order to benefit current as well as future generations. Experts from Tuskegee University, Alabama A&M University, and Alcorn State University were invited. Twenty-one participants attended the training workshop in 2014 while 33 attended in 2015. The AM session was devoted to PowerPoint presentations while the afternoon session was focused on hands-on aspects of the training. The participants also visited the agroforestry demonstration sites established at the Tuskegee University campus. Participants gained the following skills and knowledge on how to grow different types of forages under pine plantations, facilities for goats, grazing management and other relevant aspects of goat silvopasture systems. Florida A & M University provided the following trainings: Onokpise, O.U. 2014. Managing goat silvopasture systems: Enhancing productivity with legume forages in between tree rows. Agrosilvopasture Workshop, Federation of Southern Cooperatives, Epes, Alabama. August 14-15, 2014 Onokpise, O.U. 2014. Meat goat silvopasture with cowpeas and bahia grass in planted pine trees. Agroforestry-Silvopasture Workshop, Tuskegee University, Alabama, May 3, 2014. Onokpise, O.U. 2013. Silvopastoral systems for goats. 2013 National Goat Conference, Greensboro, North Carolina. September 15-18, 2013. Bell, A.N. 2013. Examining the efficacy and benefits of silvopastoral grazing systems in the United States: Forage, Livestock Production, Marketing and Environmental Impact. M.S. Thesis. College of Agriculture and Food Sciences, Florida A&M University. Tallahassee, Florida, USA Kelly, S., A. Bell, and O. Onokpise. 2013. Capra hicus performance on a silvopasture system. Association of Research Director (ARD), 17th Biannual Symposium, Jacksonville, Florida. April 6-10, 2014. Forde, A.S., O.U. Onokpise, G. Nurse and A. Mckenzie-Jakes. 2013. Meat goat silvopasture with loblolly pine, cowpeas and bahia grass. ARD, 17th Biannual Symposium, Jacksonville, Florida. April 6-10, 2014. Onokpise, O.U., A. Lorenzo and C. Blanche. 2013. Agroforestry systems in North America: Implications for sustainable development in the Phillipines. Proceedings of the 33rd Philippines Academy of Science and Engineering (PAASE) Annual Meeting and Symposium. Mariano Marcos State University, Laoag City, Ilocos Norte, Philippines. January 30 - February 3, 2013. Miller, K.R. 2012. The effectiveness of antihelminths in caprines: cydectin pour-on for cattle vs cydectine oral for sheep. ANS 3905, College of Agriculture and Food Sciences, Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, Florida December 12, 2012 Miller, K.R. 2012. The importance of pre-purchase examination in goats. ANS 3923, College of Agriculture and Food Sciences, Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, Florida. October, 2012 . The following is a list of activities the Federation of Southern Cooperatives (FSC) has carried out with respect to the NIFA Grant Sub-award # 3622091287. Federation of Southern Cooperatives, Epes, Alabama Workshops/Field Days: On February 14, 2014 the FSC organized and hosted a silvopasture workshop in Albany GA. Participants were invited from the FSC's membership and others interested farmers from Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. Preparations included mailing letters and flyers to forest landowners. The presenters for the workshop were from Tuskegee University, Florida A&M University, the FSC and US Forest Service. Over 20 farmers participate in this workshop. Another event took place at Tuskegee University on April 26, 2014. The FSC mobilized and transported goat producers to attend Tuskegee University Annual Goat Conference in Tuskegee University. In addition, Tuskegee University organized and hosted an Agroforestry-Silvopasture workshop on May 3, 2014. The Federation again organized farmers interested in Silvopasture and transported them to Tuskegee University to attend the workshop. The FSC staff also presented at this workshop. Farmers gain information through presentations, hands-on demonstrations and field tours. Brochure: The FSC continued to discriminate the FSC's Agroforestry Center Brochure to farmers at different workshop events. The Goat Silvopasture Research Brochure was also printed and are being distributed as well. In these brochures, the collaborative research project between the FSC, Tuskegee, Alabama A&M and Florida A&M Universities were reported. Education and training to Students: The FSC hosted a 4-day Summer Camp for Students from Alabama A&M University n May 5-8, 2014. Some of the activities the students participated in at the goat silvopasture research plots included tree mensuration, identification and tagging. They had experiences in both classroom teaching and field tours at the RTRC in Epes. Summer Forestry Camps for high school students at the RTRC in Epes, AL is a 5-day long camp. It started on June 8 and it is ongoing until June 12, 2014. During this period, among other activities, students will have the opportunity to tour the loblolly pine Goat Silvopasture Research plots. The students' education involves the components of goat silvopasture, the goat stocking rates and the purpose for the research project as well as the collaborative effort involved in setting up and carrying out the research. Travel and Farm Visits to Goat Producers The FSC continue to visit goat producers to provide technical assistance and to mobilize farmers for workshops and meetings events. As a result of providing technical assistance to these farmers, one of the farmers was awarded a SARE Producer grant to study the effect of pine barks as a dewormer in goats in a silvopasture setting. This is one of the measures of landowners' awareness and acceptance to adopt goat silvopasture on their farms. A Goat Cooperative was instituted as a result of this GBG with Tuskegee University. This cooperative attend monthly meetings and has used the loblolly pine goat silvopasture research at the RTRC in Epes, AL on several occasions for training and educational purposes. During Workshop events, the FSC used funds for traveling to organized farmers as well as transported farmers to the events. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Tuskegee University: Abstracts: Howard, I., A. S. Kumi,N. K. Gurung, U. Karki, R. Smith, S. G. Solaiman, W. H. McElhenney, and B. R. Min. 2012. Impact of different stocking rates of goats under pine silvopasture systems on understory biomass, crown cover density, and animal productivity. J. Anim. Sci. Vol. 90, Suppl. 3/J. Dairy Sci. Vol. 95, Suppl. 2. p. 382. D. D. Bowie, A. S. Kumi, B. R. Min, W. H. McElhenney, U. Karki, R. C. Smith, A. W. Elliott, and N. K. Gurung. 2014. Usage of meat goats to control understory vegetation in Long leaf pine (Poster) presented with Ms. Deirdre Bowie at the American Forage and Grassland Conference in Memphis Tennessee, January 12-14-2014. Karki, U., J. Idassi, S. R. Mentreddy, N. Gurung, C. Christian, G. Boyd, O. Onokpise, L. Karki, Y. Diabate, and S. Bambo. 2015. Trainers' training in agroforestry practices in the Southeastern Region: 1890 Agroforestry Consortium initiative. 14th North American Agroforestry Conference. June 1-3, Ames, Iowa. (Abstract and poster presentation) Book Chapter, Handbook and Proceedings: Gurung, N., S. Hart, and A. Peischel. 2015. Suitable Animal Species and Facility Requirements for Grazing in a Silvopasture System. In: Uma Karki (ed.): Handbook for Training Field Extension and Technical Assistance Personnel: Sustainable Agroforestry Practices in Southeastern Region. Tuskegee University Cooperative Extension Program with 1890 Agroforestry Consortium. pp. 41-58. Journal Article: Kumi, A. S. I. Howard, R. Smith, N. Gurung, and A. Elliott. 2015. Impact of Using Different Stocking Rates of Goats Under Pine Plantation on Plant Species occurrences and Animal Productivity," Professional Agricultural Workers Journal: Vol. 2: No. 2, 5. Available at:http://tuspubs.tuskegee.edu/pawj/vol2/iss2/5. Florida A & M University: Bell, A.N. 2013. Examining the efficacy and benefits of silvopastoral grazing systems in the United States: Forage, Livestock Production, Marketing and Environmental Impact. M.S. Thesis. College of Agriculture and Food Sciences, Florida A&M University. Tallahassee, Florida, USA. Onokpise, O.U. and S. Bambo. 2014. Establishment and management of trees in silvopasture systems. In: U. Karki. Training Handbook for Silvopasture. SARE/Tuskegee University/Agroforestry Consortium What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Tuskegee University: We trained several undergraduate students in the project. The projects included as to how goats can be integrated into silvopasture systems, collect soil and understory vegetation samples, determine understory species identification, measure browse canopy cover, measure tree heights and diameter at breast height. One studentalso successfully completed her MS research projectin this project and graduated. We have a tree grower in Selma Alabama who has integrated goats into pine stands. A field day was organized at the Selma site where we invited many tree growers, goat producers and other stake holders. A training workshop on Sustainable Agroforestry Practices in the Southeastern Region was held on September 11, 2015. The objective of training was to educate forest landowners, farmers, and agricultural professionals, and eventually make them able to incorporate goats into pine silvopasture systems to implement sustainable agroforestry practices to efficiently utilize their resources in order to benefit current as well as future generations. Experts from Tuskegee University, Alabama A&M University, and Alcorn State University were invited. Thirty-three participants attended the training workshop. The AM session was devoted to PowerPoint presentations while the afternoon session was focused on hands-on aspects of the training. The participants also visited the agroforestry demonstration sites established at the Tuskegee University campus. Participants gained the following skills and knowledge on how to grow different types of forages under pine plantations, facilities for goats, grazing management and other relevant aspects of goat silvopasture systems. A study entitled "Debarking behavior of Kiko goats on fairly-grown southern-pine trees" was conducted to determine if goats inflict any damage on fairly-grown southern-pine trees.The study was conducted at the Atkins Agroforestry Research and Demonstration site in Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, ALabama. Impact: Findings have provided a new insight and caution in using goats in systems containing fairly-grown longleaf pine trees. The following publications were generated from Tuskegee University: Abstracts: Howard, I., A. S. Kumi, N. K. Gurung, U. Karki, R. Smith, S. G. Solaiman, W. H. McElhenney, and B. R. Min. 2012. Impact of different stocking rates of goats under pine silvopasture systems on understory biomass, crown cover density, and animal productivity. J. Anim. Sci. Vol. 90, Suppl. 3/J. Dairy Sci. Vol. 95, Suppl. 2. p. 382. D. D. Bowie, A. S. Kumi, B. R. Min, W. H. McElhenney, U. Karki, R. C. Smith, A. W. Elliott, and N. K. Gurung. 2014. Usage of meat goats to control understory vegetation in Long leaf pine (Poster) presented with Ms. Deirdre Bowie at the American Forage and Grassland Conference in Memphis Tennessee, January 12-14-2014. Karki, U., J. Idassi, S. R. Mentreddy, N. Gurung, C. Christian, G. Boyd, O. Onokpise, L. Karki, Y. Diabate, and S. Bambo. 2015. Trainers' training in agroforestry practices in the Southeastern Region: 1890 Agroforestry Consortium initiative. 14th North American Agroforestry Conference. June 1-3, Ames, Iowa. (Abstract and poster presentation) Book Chapter, Handbook and Proceedings: Gurung, N., S. Hart, and A. Peischel. 2015. Suitable Animal Species and Facility Requirements for Grazing in a Silvopasture System. In: Uma Karki (ed.): Handbook for Training Field Extension and Technical Assistance Personnel: Sustainable Agroforestry Practices in Southeastern Region. Tuskegee University Cooperative Extension Program with 1890 Agroforestry Consortium. pp. 41-58. Journal Article: Kumi, A. S. I. Howard, R. Smith, N. Gurung, and A. Elliott. 2015. Impact of Using Different Stocking Rates of Goats Under Pine Plantation on Plant Species occurrences and Animal Productivity," Professional Agricultural Workers Journal: Vol. 2: No. 2, 5. Available at: http://tuspubs.tuskegee.edu/pawj/vol2/iss2/5.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/10 to 08/31/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Development of silvopasture systems involving meat goats under pine plantation for enhancing economic and environmental competitiveness of limited-resource farmers and small-scale landowners Objectives 1, 2 and 3: (1)To determine the impact of using varying stocking rates of meat goats on the understory plant species composition and biomass changes, tree growth and the browse or woody vegetation regrowth under loblolly pine plantation. (2)To measure body weight gain, fecal egg counts, and body condition score changes on grazing goats, evaluate diets selected by meat goats and, (3)Provide education and training to students, farmers and other clients based. Southern pine growers are facing financial difficulty due to weakened pulpwood market. Development of silvopasture systems incorporating meat goats offers both short-term and long-term income opportunities. Besides, the understory weeds which could serve as fuels for bush fires are rather used as feed for the meat goats; rendering the farmers having multiple advantages over having to control weeds with either chemicals which can be injurious to the environment, enabling them to have short sources of income when the goats are sold on annual basis whilst waiting for the pines to mature for sale and sometimes minimal or no expenditure on feed for the goats. The manure from these animals could also serve as nutrient sources for these pine trees in the long run. Study Location The study site is strategically situated in an area characterized by small farms owned and operated by minority and limited resource landowners. The Federation's Rural Training and Research Center (RTRC) located in Alabama Black Belt region, in Epes, AL. The Federation developed a Silvopasture Demonstration site over 7 years ago. The Silvopasture Demonstration site is a 6 acre 12 year old loblolly pine stand. The loblolly pine stand has been thinned, pruned and fenced into 12 one half acres plots. Three different stocking rates were used in a randomized complete block design (high, medium and low, with a control) in pine saw log silvopasture system. Three plots were used as controlled plots (no animals) while the stocking rates of 12 goats (high), 8 goats (medium) and 4 goats (low) per acre were randomly selected and put in plots from July through October of 2011. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
Outcomes/Impacts Results from the study had been used by the two students for oral and poster presentations at the 69th Professional and Agriculture Workers Conference, (PAWC of 2011) where most limited resource and small land owners from the US converge for deliberation on sustainable agricultural issues. The summary results are as follows: Since all these observations were determined from one year of research, further observations are required to draw meaningful conclusion by accounting for climatic variability. Soil Compaction:Though there was reduction in soil compaction due to animal stocking, there was no significant difference among treatments. Volumetric Moisture Content:Similarly, there were no significant differences in volumetric moisture content among treatments. Crown Density: No significant differences were observed among treatments in percent crown density cover at the start of the study, however, post-grazing values for control and low stocking rates were similar. Similarly, the medium and high values were similar. However, the control and the low stocking rate percents were different from the medium and high stocking rates, as expected. Animal Growth: The average daily gains of goats were similar among different stocking rates; however, the animal gain was very low due to animals being infected with parasites. The blood urea nitrogen values were not different among treatments when both the initial and the final values were compared. Quality of the diet selected. There was a linear decrease in percent DOM and CP as the stoking rate increased. Students 1.One graduate student India Howard is working towards her Master of Science program undertaking this study and has collected most of the data for her thesis. She is expected to complete her program by the end of spring semester 2012. 2.Two undergraduate students; Ms. Sherlita Robinson and Mr. Brandon Powell completed their work-study programs for the year 2011 under this project. Ms. Robinson has presented her work at the 2011 69th PAWC conference held at Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, Alabama in December. 3.Dr.Anthony Kumi has been hired as a post-doctoral research associate to carry out the research activities and accomplish the objectives listed in the project. 4.Mr. Brandon Powell will present his work-study results in the 2012 PAWC conference to be held at Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, Alabama in December of 2012.
Publications
- Howard, I., A.S. Kumi, R. Smith, U. Karki and N.K. Gurung. 2011. The Impact of Using Different Stocking Rates of Goats under Pine Plantation on Plant Biomass and Species Diversity. Presented at the 69th Professional and Agricultural Workers Conference, Tuskegee, Alabama.
- Robinson, S., I. Howard, A.S. Kumi, R. Smith, U. Karki and N.K. Gurung. 2011. Effects of Using Different Stocking Rates of Goats under Pine Plantation on Understory Vegetative Cover and Soil Physical Properties. Presented at the 69th Professional and Agricultural Workers Conference, Tuskegee, Alabama.
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