Goat Parasite Problem Worsening with Wet and Warm Weather

Introduction

After a long drought, southeast US is getting some rainfall and making the pastures green. Livestock producers are happy, so are animals because of having access to something to graze on. However, there are couple of things producers need to be aware of and manage grazing properly to minimize potential parasite problem, especially gastrointestinal parasites in small ruminants such as sheep and goats (more so in goats than in sheep). Additionally, when animals are suddenly exposed to young, lush pasture, various digestive and metabolic problems may develop. To avoid this situation, animals should be gradually exposed to the lush pasture, and they should have access to a good quality hay and mineral mixture before allowed to graze the lush pasture and while in the lush pasture field. When lush pasture is wet, it will be more problematic. So, let it dry before letting the animals graze such pastures. Read the Full article and take an appropriate action on time to prevent any loss from parasites.

If you cannot access the 'Full article' link, post comment on this page.

Protect Your Herd from Johne's Disease

Introduction

Emaciated cattle with Johne's disease

 Source: http://www.johnes.org/biology/index.html

Johne’s disease is incurable, chronic, infectious disease of ruminants. Cattle are mostly affected, and sheep and goats are less affected. Major symptom of this disease is progressive wasting in all clinical cases although the infected animals eat normally. Shooting diarrhea (continuous or intermittent) is common in infected cattle, but only occassionally seen in sheep and goats.

How does the disease transmit?

• Fecal contamination from the affected animals; if there is one affected animal in the herd, the environment is contaminated and there is a chance that all susceptible animals get infected
• Colostrum and milk from infected dam
• Dam to fetus through placenta

How soon an animal get infected?

• Fetus gets infected before birth if the dam is infected
• Healthy newborns born to a contaminated environment get infected within 30 days of birth from contaminated colostrum, milk, water, food, etc. 

Emaciated goat suffereing from Johne's disease
Source: http://www.johnes.org/goats/faqs.html

 When does the infected animal show disease symptoms?

• This disease has a long incubation period showing clinical symptoms after two years of age and beyond
• Disease symptoms can be commonly seen in 2-6 years age group

How do you protect your herd?

• There is no effective treatment for this disease
• PREVENTION is the only way to protect the herd 

 Disease Prevention

• Buy animals only from sources with ‘Johne’s disease free’ status
• Unknown history does not mean no disease
• Get your herd tested for Johne’s disease
• If positive cases are found in your herd, take the following steps: 

1. Identify and remove the positive animals or depopulate all the herd
2. Give at least one year of rest to the contaminated pastures as the bacteria causing this disease can survive in the environment for a year or longer
3. Thoroughly clean all the facilities
4. Start over with 'Johne’s-disease-free' herd after enough rest for the contaminated pastures  

• If no positive cases found, get ‘Johne’s disease free’ status 
• Maintain a close herd

'AL Johne's Newsletter Beef- Summer2012' presents how Johne's disease is trammitting from herd to herd. Appropriate actions need to be taken now to protect your herd from this severely wasting disease. 

Tests for Johne's Disease and Certification of Your Herd

Contact Johne's Coordinator at your state. Contact inforamtion is availalable for coordinators from all US States at this link:  http://www.johnesdisease.org/State%20Contacts-Info.html; click the state of your interest in the map to view the contact inforamtion for the coordinator and other Johne's contact persons in the state. Moreover, this site contains several educational articles you can take advantage of.

'Johne's Disease Newsletter, Fall 2012' - read and take necessary precautions to protect the livestock herd and the possible environmental contamination.

New - 'Johne's Disease Newsletter, Winter 2013' - discusses precautions that need to be taken while buying bulls, testing for Johne's disease, and management strategies to minimize the prevalence of Johne's disease. Take advantage of reading this newsletter and apply necessary precautions to protect your livestock. 



Updated - Jan. 11, 2013

Save your animals from heat stress

Heat Stress in Animals

Animals need to be in a "comfort zone" to perform well. Comfort zone is a temperature range in which animals do not have to spend any energy to maintain their normal body temperature. Comfort zone differs depending on animal species, breed, and age. However, temperature ranging from 60oF to 80oF is comfortable to most of the livestock species. Environmental temperature higher than 85oF combined with high humidity is stressful to farm animals. In this kind of environment, animals try to minimize heat stress by seeking shelter, drinking cool water, wallowing in water, panting, increasing respiration rate, sweating (if they have sweat glands), minimizing feed intake, and so on. Heat stress may cause reduced animal performance, abortion in pregnant animals, and even death.



Cattle congregated under trees on a hot day, Union Springs, AL



Current situation and animal care

Currently, most part of USA is experiencing heat wave. Livestock producers have to pay particular attention to take care of their animals to minimize the loss that may occur from existing weather condition. Few tips are presented below to minimize heat stress in animals.

• Make sure animals have access to shelter or shade all the time. Natural shade from trees have a great value to protect animals from heat and direct sunlight 
• Provide enough cool, fresh drinking water to animals
• Let the animals graze in the cooler portion of a day – early morning and late afternoon or evening
• During the hot portion of a day, provide a good quality hay and other supplementary feeds as necessary under the shade if you determine that grazing on pastures during the cooler portion of a day is not going to be enough for fulfilling the nutrient demand of the animals
• If animals are housed in a constructed structure, sprinkling water couple of times during the hot portion of a day will facilitate the evaporative cooling and minimize heat stress

Master Goat Producer's Certification Training Program

Tuskegee University Master Goat Producer's Certification Training Program will be conducted from August 5 to 7, 2013 at Caprine Research and Education Unit of Tuskegee University. Early registration ($75) deadline is July 16 with late registration $100 thereafter. Lodging scholarships are available for the first 10 registrants (outside 60 mile radius of Tuskegee, AL). Program detail and registration form are available at this link: http://www.tuskegee.edu/academics/colleges/caens/master_goat_producer_training.aspx

 

AgriTREK/S​ciTREK and AgDiscover​y at Tuskegee University

Summer Program Opportunit​ies at Tuskegee University for High School Students - AgriTREK/S​ciTREK and AgDiscover​y

Tuskegee University to host high schoolers 14-17 years or 9th-12th grades (See program details) this summer through two residential programs - AgriTREK/SciTREK and AgDiscovery.

The program dates are June 9 - June 23,2012.

These USDA and NSF supported program provide high schoolers interested in science, technology engineering, agriculture, and mathematics an opportunity to perform find out about careers in these fields as well as participate in mini-research projects under the guidance of graduate student and faculty mentors in a variety of life and natural science fields, including biology, chemistry, animal science, plant science, soils sciences, engineering, and more!

There is NO COST to attend either of these programs; however, parents/guardians are responsible for bringing scholars to the program and retrieving them on the designated day and time. Students may be eligible to receive up to $200 to help defray the cost of transportation to the program. Scholars receive complimentary housing in a Tuskegee University dormitory as well as meals at the university cafeteria.

Visit the program website (http://www.tuskegee.edu/agritrek.aspx) to find out more about the programs and to obtain the program brochures, applications, FAQs, etc. Please note that there are separate application processes for each program. Individuals are encouraged to apply to both programs to increase the probability of selection.

The application deadline is Thursday, March 15, 2012.

For additional information, please contact the Program Assistant, Ms. Marilyn Hooks at mhooks@mytu.tuskegee.edu or 334-727-8453 or visit the program website indicated above.

Tuskegee University - Year-round Pasture Field Days

Sustainable Livestock Production through Year-round Pasture

 



Summer pasture in June 2011, Selma, AL

Ruminant-livestock production in Alabama is based on pasture. Highly productive and quality pasture persisting throughout a year or most of the year is important for sustainable livestock enterprises. Most of the livestock producers in Alabama have warm-season perennial pasture that produce from April to October and have negligible or no production from November to March, when farmers need to invest much on supplementary feedstuffs like hay, commercial feed, and agricultural byproducts to sustain their livestock. Feeding purchased feed for 5-6 months each year is not cost-effective. Therefore, every producers who are seriously involved in livestock farming must develop year-round pasture and implement appropriate grazing practice. Tuskegee University Cooperative Extension Program (TUCEP) has been providing education and technical support to livestock producers who are interested in improving their pastures and grazing practice. Following are imminent two field days on ‘Year-round pasture production and grazing/browsing management’ that livestock producers can benefit from.

 Winter pastures in January 2012, Phenix City, AL

March 24, 2012 (Saturday, 9 A.M. to 3 P.M.) - The Central Ala. Farmers Co-Op. 2519 U.S. highway 80 west Selma, Al 36701



April 7, 2012 (Saturday, 9 A.M. to 3 P.M. Central time) - 508 14th Street, Phenix City, Alabama (Russell County Extension Office Auditorium)

  

Major topics of the field day

•  Soil test, lime and fertilizer application, land preparation
• Forage selection and plantation
• Grazing management
• Supplementation of the grazing animals
• Listen to the lead farmer
• Group discussion - share your ideas
• Demonstration and hands-on in the afternoon session

 Demonstration and hands-on topics

Visit Mr. Gregory Scott’s Farm, Selma, AL on March 24 field day, and perform the following activities:

• Soil sample collection and make a composite sample for lab test
• Measuring the forage height
• Identification of different forages
• Observation of the planting equipment
• Take a tour of the pastures

 2. On April 7 field day, we will visit Mr. Nimrod Stephens’s farm and perform similar activities as listed for the Selma field day.

How can you participate in the field days?

Fill the Registration Form and submit it by March 10, 2012 as indicated in the form.

For more information, contact Dr. Uma Karki at karkiu@mytu.tuskegee.edu; Phone:(334) 727-8336









Tuskegee University Goat Day - April 20, 2013

Tuskegee University Annual Goat Day will be held on Saturday April 20, 2013 from 8:30 am to 3:00 pm.  "Dairy Goat" is our theme for this year’s Goat Day. Morning session will be held at Patterson Hall Auditorim.  Then we will move to Caprine Research and Education Unit for lunch and afternoon sessions. If you plan to attend, please register by April 1 for the discounted registration rate of $15.00. Registration form can be downloaded from this link  - Registration Form
For more information, see the Goat-Day Flyer

If you need help, contact Dr. Nar Gurung @334-727-8457, 334-421-8620 or email: ngurung@mytu.tuskegee.edu.  Vendors/Exhibitors, please contact Mr. Danny Williams at 334-401-9472.


Updated March 22, 2013

Year-round Pasture Production and Management Workshop

July 29, 2011

Union Hill Baptist Church

434 County Road 59, Union Spring, AL 36089

Ruminant livestock production in Alabama is based on pasture. Highly productive and quality pasture persisting throughout a year or most of the year is important for profitable livestock enterprises. Most of the livestock producers in Alabama have warm-season perennial pasture that produce from April to October and have negligible or no production from November to March, when farmers need to invest in supplementary feedstuffs like hay and agricultural byproducts to sustain their livestock. Feeding supplement for 5-6 months each year is not cost-effective. The purpose of this workshop is to educate and train Extension professionals and livestock producers on pasture improvement, grazing management, and conservation and proper use of surplus forage biomass produced.

For more information please look at the workshop flyer at the following link:
Workshop flyer with registration form

Useful links

For educational materials and updated information about farming and different other aspects of your life, please visit this link: eXtension

Silvopasture Workshop - June 15, Tuskegee, AL

Silvopasture Practice

June 15, 2011

Macon County Commission Chamber, 205 N Main Street, Tuskegee, AL 36083



Southern Pine Silvopasture



Silvopasture is a sustainable agroforestry practice where trees and forage crops are grown together in a single piece of land, and grazing animals are introduced into the system to utilize the forages. Forage and livestock components provide regular short-term income while waiting for trees to be ready for sale. Studies have shown that, if properly managed, silvopasture can be more beneficial economically and environmentally than either tree or pasture mono-crop. This workshop will aware and train participants on establishing, managing, and utilizing silvopasture system. For more information and registration form, please look at the workshop flyer.

Workshop Flyer (Reduced-fee registration deadline is June 3.)

Workshop Agenda will be made available soon.