USING ANTHELMINTIC FEED INGREDIENTS AND NOVEL MANAGEMENT TO DIMINISH IMPACTS OF INTERNAL PARASITES ON SHEEP PRODUCTION IN THE MIDWEST U.S.

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: AFRI COMPETITIVE GRANT
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1011774
• Grant No.: 2017-68008-26337
• Cumulative Award Amt.: $296,614.00
• Proposal No.: 2016-08656
• Project Start Date: Apr 1, 2017
• Project End Date: Mar 31, 2021
• Grant Year: 2017
• Program Code: [A1701]- Critical Agricultural Research and Extension: CARE

Recipient Organization
OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
1680 MADISON AVENUE
WOOSTER,OH 44691

Performing Department
Animal Sciences

Non Technical Summary
In the Midwest, internal parasites present significant challenges to lamb health, growth, and forage utilization. A sustainable sheep industry needs management strategies to reduce internal parasites, the use of commercial anthelmintic products, and anthelmintic resistance. We hypothesize that the use of feed ingredients with natural anthelmintic properties, combined with lamb-rearing practices and on-farm training, will eliminate or diminish the negative impacts of internal parasites on foragebased lamb production.Although the origination of the specific trial ideas came from discussions with producers, due to the nature of the testing procedures it is more appropriate for the research studies to be conducted on a research farm. . However, during discussions, it became obvious that many producers need training in procedures to manage sheep with internal parasite infestations such as FAMACHA, as well as how to set up pastures for rotational grazing and the potential to use delayed weaning and protein and mineral supplementation to reduce the impacts of internal parasites. Thus, our plan is to combine outreach education with research to address the issues associated with internal parasites. Supplementation of lambs grazing forage and novel weaning strategy studies will be conducted using the 350-ewe flock at The Ohio State University to give adequate replication to assess the potential to reduce the negative impacts of internal parasites with forage-fed systems.Lamb grazing studies will be conducted using novel feed ingredients known to improve the health of the intestinal lining and/or having anthelmintic properties that will be supplemented to lambs grazing forages, thus, reducing the negative impact of internal parasites. Novel weaning age and management strategies will be assessed to determine the impact of milk nutrient intake on growth and parasite resistance with lambs finished on pasture. All procedures in this proposal will be conducted according to the guidelines for animal care outlined by FASS (1998), as well as an approved institutional animal care and use committee (IACUC) protocol.

Animal Health Component

90%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

(N/A)

Applied

90%

Developmental

10%

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
307	3610	1010	100%

Knowledge Area
307 - Animal Management Systems;

Subject Of Investigation
3610 - Sheep, live animal;

Field Of Science
1010 - Nutrition and metabolism;

Keywords

anthelminitic

extension

forage

internal parasites

sheep

Goals / Objectives
Specific Objectives:Identify feed ingredients with natural anthelmintic properties and test these with lambs in grazing systems.Combine recent research with novel weaning management strategies that have resulted in increased gain while lambs were on pasture, and which may alleviate the negative impacts of internal parasites, to determine differences in feed required for lambs to reach a marketable weight following grazing. Determine the potential of an alternate lambing season, combined with the use of harvested forages, to alleviate the negative impacts of internal parasites, and develop Extension fact sheets that include the economic impact of these systems.Determine the impacts of management strategies on the histopathology of the abomasum of lambs at harvest, and assess the correlation of the histopathology results with each lamb's treatment record.Develop a program for on-farm assessment of management in relation to known best management practices of internal parasite remediation using demonstration farms, and evaluate each farm's progress with an annual analysis of lamb and ewe treatment records, growth performance records, and incidence of death loss.Determine an effective strategy to communicate current and new tools to producers (including appropriate Extension publications, web pages, webinars, and curriculum for use by the program manager, county Extension educators and other non-profits) for effective implementation to alleviate the negative impacts of parasites and lessen the dependence on anthelmintics

Project Methods
Growth and Meat Characteristics Studies: Experimental ProceduresExperiment 1. Hampshire x Dorset Crossbred lambs (n=96; initial BW 22 to 25 kg) and their dams (n=48; initial BW 81 to 91 kg) will be used in a completely randomized block experiment to determine the effects of delayed weaning on performance, carcass traits, and parasitism of the lamb. The treatments will be: 1. weaned lambs grazing permanent fescue pasture; 2. nursing lambs and ewes grazing permanent fescue pasture; 3. weaned lambs grazing red clover pasture; 4. nursing lambs and ewes grazing red clover pasture. Four treatments will be used, with four replicates of each treatment and six lambs (with six ewes in the respective nursing treatments) per replicate. The experiment will be initiated in July and the grazing portion will be ended in September.After d 63, all lambs will be weaned and placed in a confinement barn and fed the same concentrate ration designed to achieve gains of 0.27 kg/d gain. Lambs will be selected for harvest to achieve equal carcass weights across treatments when they average 58 ± 1.5 kg. Lambs will be harvested, and carcass as well as meat characteristics will be evaluated at The Ohio State University Meat Laboratory in Columbus, Ohio.Histopathology At harvest, the abomasum will be dissected along the greater curvature and contents within the abomasum will be evaluated by microscopy to determine total mucosal damage, hyperplasia and hemorrhage.Experiment 2.Experiment two will use Hampshire x Dorset Crossbred lambs (n=96; initial BW 22 to 25 kg) in a randomized block design with a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement of treatments to determine the effects of supplemental feed ingredients on performance, parasitism, carcass composition, and muscle characteristics of lambs in new versus infected pastures. The factors tested will be perennial pasture (infected versus 'safe') and supplement (none versus protein supplement with feed additives). The treatments will be: 1. grazed mixed perennial pasture for the finishing period; 2. grazed 'safe', mixed perennial pasture for the finishing period; 3. grazed mixed pasture with supplement; 4. grazed 'safe', mixed perennial pasture with supplement. The 'safe' perennial pasture designation will be pastures that are new forages in a newly fenced field that has never been grazed by sheep, and the lambs will only graze for one three day event, and never revisit. The 'safe' pasture will be managed by mechanical forage harvesting and will not have sheep grazing it outside of the trial. The supplement used will contain corn gluten feed, dry distillers grain, an Aspergillus oryzae fermentation extract and rumen-protected butyrate. The supplementation will be daily and provide 113 g protein per head. The purpose of the 'safe' field is to determine the potential of having grazing occur in fields managed to minimize the opportunity for infection and reinfection.Four treatments will be used, with four replicates of each treatment and six lambs per replicate.The experiment will be initiated in July and ended on a per replicate pasture basis when the animals in a pasture average 58 ± 1.5 kg, or until the forage cannot support further grazing. In treatments 1 and 3, the forages will be rotationally grazed such that the lambs will be moved every three days and each paddock has approximately 35 d to allow for re-growth between grazing periods. In treatments 2 and 4, the lambs will be moved every 3 days, but the re-growth will be mechanically harvested, not re-grazed.The grazed paddocks will be rotationally grazed using electronet such that the animals will be moved every three days with each paddock having approximately 35 d to allow for re-growth between grazing periods. Stocking densities will be kept the same for all replicates. Target forage mass will be 2400 kg/ha at turn in and 1200 kg/ha at animal removal. Ad libitum access to water and minerals will be provided in each paddock. The supplement will be provided each day, to the respective treatments, at 8:00 a.m. in a 3 m portable trough located near the water, each lamb will have access to at least 0.3 m of feed bunk space.Lambs will be selected for harvest to achieve equal carcass weights across treatments when they average 58 ± 1.5 kg. Lambs will be harvested,and carcass as well as meat characteristics will be evaluated at The Ohio State University Meat Laboratory in Columbus, Ohio. Carcass and histopathology evaluations will be the same as in Experiment 1.Experiment 3.Experiment three will be conducted to evaluate the potential of a different lambing season with lambs grazing forages. Fall-born Hampshire x Dorset Crossbred lambs (n=72; initial BW 22 to 25 kg) will be used in a completely randomized block experiment to determine the effects of grazing winter available forages on performance, parasitism, carcass composition, and muscle characteristics of lambs. The treatments will be: 1. grazed turnips followed by grazed cereal rye; 2. grazed oats; 3. grazed stockpiled pasture. Three treatments will be used, with four replicates of each treatment and six lambs per replicate. The experiment will be initiated in November and the grazing portion will be ended when the forage becomes limiting. Since these are annuals or dormant plants the forages will be strip grazed such that the lambs will be moved every three days and will not be revisited. At the termination of grazing, groups will be moved into confinement, kept in the same groups as they were in on pasture, and to fed the same finishing diet to harvest. Experimental procedures regarding placing animals in confinement following grazing, animal harvest and histopathology will be the same as in Experiment 1.The Extension portion of this integrated project will start after notification of approval. A producer panel will be formed from interested producers to help evaluate the Extension material currently produced to discuss the practicality of, and limitations to, the implementation of the management strategies discussed. The Extension work will occur in all 3 years of this project with the hiring of a program manager with a master's degree in animal sciences occurring as soon as possible after funds are received. The program manager will work with the PI's to conduct on-farm assessments, and training for producers, in procedures to manage sheep with internal parasite infestations such as FAMACHA, as well as how to set up pastures for rotational grazing and the potential to use delayed weaning and protein and mineral supplementation to reduce the impacts of internal parasites. Follow-up surveys will be conducted, annually, with cooperating producers to determine the impact of techniques such as FAMACHA, efficacy of protein and mineral supplementation, and the use of rotational grazing to minimize exposure to heavily infested pastures. The program manager will work with the PI's and coordinate the production of appropriate Extension publications, web pages, webinars, and curriculum designed to educate sheep producers on management strategies available to alleviate the negative impacts of parasites and lessen the dependence on anthelmintics. By year two, we will begin to incorporate the information learned from the research conducted in this project about animal performance, parasite data, and carcass compositional analysis, with more developed analysis becoming available in year 3. It will also incorporate economic information and the development of enterprise budgets for the various production systems.

Progress 04/01/17 to 03/31/21

Outputs
Target Audience:This report will help scientists and veterinarians working in sheep production.In addition the report is targeted at sheep producers. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Dr. Braden Campbell was awarded a PhD from the Ohio State University. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The sheep page website has been created and will continue into the future. The website provides documented advice for sheep producers What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The Ohio State University has employed Dr. Brady Campbell as a small ruminant extension Assistant Professor. Dr. Campbell will continue to extend knowledge to sheep producers in Ohio and the midwest of the USA in his new role.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? 1. We identified feed ingredients that may have an anthelmintic effect. These feed ingredients were then formulated into a supplement and fed to lambs. The supplement ingredients and specifications are published in the following publication, Campbell, B.J., Marsh, A.E., Parker, E.M., McCutcheon, J.S., Fluharty, F.L. and Parker, A.J. 2021. The effects of protein supplementation and pasture maintenance on the growth, parasite burden, and economic return of pasture-raised lambs. Translational Animal Science. https://doi.org/10.1093/tas/txab113. 2. Delaying the weaning age of lambs increases their body weight. We have demonstarted the positive effect of increasing the digestibility of the lambs diet on the lambs body weight and parasite resilience. Sheep producers may also use the strategy of grazing annual forages in the late autumn and early winter to increase lamb body weight and improve the lambs resilience to parasites. In the studies completed for this grant greater economic value was achieved through supplementation compared to lambs grazing a new pasture however, these stragegies yielded a greater return than grazing lambs on an established and heavily infected pasture. 3. We determined no effect on histopathology of the abomasum because of supplementation. We did detect a stark difference in histopathology between lambs that grazed a new pasture and lambs that grazed an established pasture. The histopathology aligns with the total nematode counts from the two pasture types in that lambs grazing the new pasture had a small number of nematides however the lambs that grazed the established pasture recorded an abundance of nematodes. 4. We held field days to educate sheep producers in the FAMACHA eye score system and in fecal nematode counts. 5. A website for sheep producers has been established and will continue into the future

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Campbell, B.J., Marsh, A.E., Parker, E.M., McCutcheon, J.S., Fluharty, F.L. and Parker, A.J. 2021. The effects of protein supplementation and pasture maintenance on the growth, parasite burden, and economic return of pasture-raised lambs. Translational Animal Science. https://doi.org/10.1093/tas/txab113
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2021 Citation: Campbell, B.J., Marsh, A.E., McCutcheon, J.S., Fluharty, F.L. and Parker, A.J. 2021. Weaning age affects the growth of lambs grazing chicory (Chicorium intybus) pasture. Small Ruminant Research.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Campbell, B.J., Gelley, C.H., McCutcheon, J.S., Fluharty, F.L. and Parker, A.J. 2021. A comparison of annual forages and stockpiled pasture on the growth and health parameters of grazing fall-born lambs. Small Ruminant Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smallrumres.2021.106335
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Campbell, B.J., J.S. McCutcheon, F.L. Fluharty, A.J. Parker. 2020. Connecting with the Next Generation of Shepherds  an Online Sheep-based Webpage Serves as an Additional Tool in Extension Education. 2020 Annual Meeting, Midwest section of ASAS.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: 26. Campbell, B.J., J.S. McCutcheon, F.L. Fluharty, A.J. Parker. 2020. PSV-19 - Pasture history and supplementation effect on parasite status of na�ve lambs in grazing systems. 2020 Annual Meeting, Midwest section of ASAS.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: 28. Campbell, B.J., C.H. Gelley, J.S. McCutcheon, F.L. Fluharty, A.J. Parker. 2020. Fall grazing of annual forages with fall born lambs may improve animal growth and total protein concentrations when compared to stockpiled pastures. ASAS-CSAS 2020 Annual Meeting and Trade Show. https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaa278.786
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Campbell, B.J., J.S. McCutcheon, F.L. Fluharty, A.J. Parker. 2021. PSIII-5 - Delaying Weaning Age of Lambs Grazing Chicory (Cichorium Intybus) Increases Body Weight. Annual Meeting, Midwest section of ASAS.

Progress 04/01/19 to 03/31/20

Outputs
Target Audience:This report is targeted at scientists, veterinarians and sheep farmers Changes/Problems:The Covid-19 pandemic and restrictions on travel. The resaon for the restriction on movement was because of government mandated orders. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Braden Campbell is completing his PhD studies How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results have been disseminated in the Ohio State University sheep page Website. In addition the preiminary results have been presented at the Mid west section conference for the American Society of Animal Science. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The covid-19 pandemic restricted the movement of people working on this project. An extension was granted to allow the final project to be undertaken

Publications

• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: 25. Campbell, B.J., J.S. McCutcheon, F.L. Fluharty, A.J. Parker. 2020. 69 - Connecting with the Next Generation of Shepherds  an Online Sheep-based Webpage Serves as an Additional Tool in Extension Education. 2020 Annual Meeting, Midwest section of ASAS
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: 26. Campbell, B.J., J.S. McCutcheon, F.L. Fluharty, A.J. Parker. 2020. PSV-19 - Pasture history and supplementation effect on parasite status of na�ve lambs in grazing systems. 2020 Annual Meeting, Midwest section of ASAS.

Progress 04/01/18 to 03/31/19

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience consists of sheep producers, allied industry personnel who provide products and services to the sheep industry, extension educators and researchers who work in small ruminant production, and veterinarians who work with sheep. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?In addition to the continuation of the online sheep team web page, Mr. Campbell has taken classes toward his docotrate degree. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results have been communicated through the revamped OSU sheep team web site: https://u.osu.edu/sheep/ What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The summer grazing study will be continued in 2019. The validation of the tool to measure parasite abundance on pasture will be continued. In vitro studies that will investigate the anthelmintic effects of novel feeds and forages will be conducted in 2019.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Research outcomes In 2018 we investigated the effects of byproduct supplementation and newly established perrenial pasture or the grazing of an infected sheep pasture on weaned lamb growth rates and the incidence of infection with parasites in a summer grazing system. Thirty of the 96 lambs from the the experiment were harvested at The Ohio State University meat laboratory. Gastrointestinal tracts were removed for assessment of histopathology of the abomasum, parasite identification and total adult parasite counts. The data is still being collected and analysed. The second year of the fall grazing study was attempted. Forages were planted and established, however, severe inclement weather caused the early removal of the lambs from the experiment on the grounds of animal welfare. On farm validation of a novel technique to assess and quantify pasture parasite abundance to be used as a management tool has started. Further data collection is required and will be continued next year. Extension/ Outreach Outcomes Since its official relaunch in October of 2017, The Ohio State University Sheep Team has been the information source for Ohio's shepherds to find the latest information regarding sheep production, industry outreach, and daily management. In addition, the OSU Sheep Team webpage offers a listing of current events and programs focused on industry outreach and education, research summaries of published manuscripts from The Ohio State University sheep research, a library of resources, as well as a contact list of 28 members who specialize in specific production areas whom are passionate in sustaining Ohio's sheep industry. All of the aforementioned information and more can be found online at http://u.osu.edu/sheep/. After being inactive for several years, the newly re-established webpage has received a lot of attention during its first year of re-activation. Below you will find a list of our teams most recent accomplishments and successes during our first year of re-activation. According to USDA NASS, as of January 31, 2018 Ohio had a total of 119,000 head of sheep and lambs which are managed by over 3,400 shepherds. When compared on a national level, Ohio ranks 12th for the total number of sheep in the United States. Ohio is the largest sheep producing state east of the Mississippi River. When considering state sheep association membership, Ohio ranks among the top three in the nation, furthering demonstrating the importance and relevance of our efforts of the OSU Sheep Team to support Ohio shepherds. In less than just a year, our newly revised webpage has received 57,500 page views with an average visit duration of nearly three and a half minutes. Our greatest following comes from web searches originating in the United States, but we have received interest from Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, India, Peru, Brazil, and South Africa as these locations account for nearly 5,000 page views. In an effort to demonstrate the importance of the land grant university system and to highlight the amount of work and research conducted at The Ohio State University, the OSU Sheep Team has set out to provide our viewers with short summaries of research published in scientific literature. These research summaries are written to highlight the importance of each research project as well as outline how the findings from each project can be implemented successfully on-farm. As shown by the webpage statistics program, the top three most viewed research summary posts are those highlighting delayed weaning, the effects of diet and weight on lamb performance, carcass characteristics, and flavor, as well as the effects of management practices on the flavor intensity of lamb. These three summaries account for over 3,000 page visits. The information that our team has shared and provided has gone beyond the bounds of our webpage. Research summaries and extension notes have been featured in several extension notes and Ohio publications including Ohio Farmer, Ohio's Country Journal, Ohio's Country Journal Podcast, and Farm and Dairy. In addition, our articles have been featured on in and out of state extension webpages including the OSU Beef Team as well as the Maryland Small Ruminant page. Furthermore, our information has been published in national publications such as The Banner Sheep Magazine, Texel Times, The Stock Exchange News, Sheep Industry News, and the Shepherd magazine. All shepherds in the nation that are a member of their respective states association (i.e. Ohio Sheep Improvement Association) receive the Sheep Industry News magazine, whereas the Shepherd magazine is a sheep industry produced magazine that can be received through a paid subscription. Within the great Buckeye state, many of the OSU Sheep Teams members have been asked to highlight and share their research and knowledge within the sheep industry with our stakeholders by attending and presenting at the annual events such as Ohio Sheep Day and Buckeye Shepherds Symposium supported by the Ohio Sheep Improvement Association. In addition to these programs, OSU extension has put together a Southeastern Ohio Sheep and Goat School where many OSU Sheep Team members have been asked to present at. Posts on the webpage Since relaunch (August 2017) - 188 posts Aug. 2017 - 1 Sept. 2017 - 3 Oct. 2017 - 16 Nov. 2017 - 11 Dec. 2017 - 13 Jan. 2018 - 15 Feb. 2018 - 12 Mar. 2018 - 12 Apr. 2018 - 12 May 2018 - 15 June 2018 - 12 July 2018 - 15 Aug. 2018 - 12 Sept. 2018 - 12 Oct. 2018 - 15 Nov. 2018 - 12 Posts written by Brady Campbell - 38 (~2.5 articles a month) Parasite management posts - 41 posts that are related to parasite and forage management to reduce the negative effects of parasitic infection. Posts since April - 105 (23 are parasite/forage management related) Speaking events for Brady Campbell Young Shepherd's Assembly - December 1, 2017 (20) Buckeye Shepherd's Symposium - December 2, 2017 (250) Farm Foundation (Tarrytown, New York) - January 10, 2018 (300) Sheep Production Class (Lectures and Labs) - 40 students (34 in lab) SEO Sheep and Goat School Session 2 - March 8, 2018 (30) Muskingum Co. Lamb Banquet - April 9, 2018 (250) Licking Co. Lamb Banquet - April 19, 2018 (150) SEO Sheep and Goat School Session 5 - September 6, 2018 (30) SEO Sheep and Goat School Session 6 - November 8,2018 (30) ASAS-CSAS Annual Meeting - July 10, 2018 (50) Ohio Sheep Day - July 14, 2018 (250) NSIP Eastern Regional Sale - August 11, 2018 (200) Ohio Farm Bureau: Humane Officer Training - October 29, 2018 (15) Sheep Behavior and Welfare (AS 4400) - November 20, 2018 (40) Buckeye Shepherd's Symposium - December 1, 2018 (200 registered)

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Campbell, B.J., Pairis-Garcia, M.D., Campler, M.R., Moraes, L.E., McCutcheon, J.S., Fluharty, F.L. 2017. An investigation of oral moxidectin carryover to nursing lambs via milk. Small Ruminant Research. 154, 9-12.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Campbell, B., Parker, A.J., McCutcheon, J. and Fluharty, F. 2018. The sustainability of grassfed lamb in the eastern united states. ASAS_CSAS Annual meeting. Vancouver, Canada
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Brady Campbell, Program Coordinator, OSU Sheep Team. 2018. Grass fed lamb: How producers can meet consumer demands through alternative management practices. Farm Foundation Round Table Winter Meeting Cultivator. Tarrytown, New York. Poster Presentation.
• Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: https://u.osu.edu/sheep/?s=Brady+Campbell

Progress 04/01/17 to 03/31/18

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience consists of sheep producers, allied industry personnel who provide products and services to the sheep industry, Extension educators and researchers who work in small ruminant production, and veterinarians who work with sheep. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?In addition to his development of the online sheep team web page, Mr. Campbell has taken classes toward his docotrate, as a full-time employee at The Ohio State University. In addition, Mr. Campbell has conducted three educational sessions for sheep producers regarding grazing and weaning management. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results have been communicated through the revamped OSU sheep team web site:https://u.osu.edu/sheep/ What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Summer grazing studies will be conducted, and on-farm training sessions will be implemented.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? A project coordinator, Mr. Brady Campbell, was hired to oversee research projects and take over The Ohio State University's Sheep Team Web Page.https://u.osu.edu/sheep/. Since August 23, 2017, there have been 81 separate postings of timely articles relevant to sheep production. In addition, seven research articles have been added to the research page. All of the research was conducted at The Ohio State University over the past few years. Summer educational programs are now being planned with county-level Extension educators. I addition, the first year of a fall grazing project has been completed. This wil be conducted two more years, and the results of the combined three-year study will be analyzed.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Campbell, B. N., A. N. Pullin, M. D. Pairis-Garcia, and F. L. Fluharty. 2017. The effects of alternative weaning strategies on lamb health and performance. Small Ruminant Research. 156:57-65.