This presentation discusses strategies that small ruminant farmers must employ to ensure profitability in these uncertain times of high grain prices, logistic issues and war in Europe. Agriculture Goats Market analysis Management Strategies Nutrition Strategies Conclusion

1. Nutrition Strategies for Small
Ruminant Farmers
Tanika O’Connor-Dennie, PhD

2. Tanika O’Connor-
Dennie, PhD
Strategies for Small Ruminant
Farmers
• The young couple invited their elderly pastor
for Sunday dinner. While they were in the
kitchen preparing the meal, the minister
asked their
son what they were having.
"Goat," the little boy replied.
"Goat?" replied the startled man of the cloth,
"Are you sure about that?"
"Yep," said the youngster. "I heard Dad say
to Mom, 'Today is just as good as any to
have the old goat for dinner.'

3. Tanika O’Connor-
Dennie, PhD
Strategies for Small Ruminant
Farmers
• Why did the ram run over the cliff?
*****He didn't see the ewe turn.

4. Tanika O’Connor-
Dennie, PhD
Strategies for Small Ruminant
Farmers
Overview
• Market analysis
• Management Strategies
– Nutrition Strategies
• Conclusion

5. Tanika O’Connor-
Dennie, PhD
Strategies for Small Ruminant
Farmers
Market Analysis
• Historical build up to high grain prices
• China's pig population started recovering
from African swine fever
• Production of crystalline amino acid
increased corn acts as a substrate for the
fermentation process

6. Tanika O’Connor-
Dennie, PhD
Strategies for Small Ruminant
Farmers
Market Analysis
• For the 2022 Winter Olympics China had a
clear skies program to decrease pollution
from manufacturing industry
– Reduced days of production per week
• COVID-19 logistical issues plus the Suez
Canal fall out had not been resolved

7. Tanika O’Connor-
Dennie, PhD
Strategies for Small Ruminant
Farmers
Market Analysis
• Chemical shortage for fertilizers and
phosphates production
– 40 to 45% increase in costs
• Increase fertilizer prices passed on to feed
industry

8. Tanika O’Connor-
Dennie, PhD
Strategies for Small Ruminant
Farmers
Market Analysis
• Now the war in Ukraine
– Grain, mining and oil impacted
• Higher prices are here for the foreseeable
future

9. Tanika O’Connor-
Dennie, PhD
Strategies for Small Ruminant
Farmers
Management Strategies: Land
Management
• Leaf meals as fertilizers
• Legumes for soil fertility
• Use of the strip method for ensuring
proper fertilization rate
• Soil testing
• Management of the organic matter

10. Tanika O’Connor-
Dennie, PhD
Strategies for Small Ruminant
Farmers
Land Management: Fodder
composition
• Composition of the forage bank is key
• No need to reinvent the wheel
• Bodles has conducted training sessions on
silvopastoral system popular in Costa Rica
Cuba Colombia and Brazil
• The Forestry Department has published a
very good book on the system

11. Tanika O’Connor-
Dennie, PhD
Strategies for Small Ruminant
Farmers
Land Management: Fodder
composition
• Trees good for this system [farmers
already know the plans their goats love]
– Bodles has a data
• Harvest intervals planted distance
harvesting methods no need to be
implemented

12. Tanika O’Connor-
Dennie, PhD
Strategies for Small Ruminant
Farmers

13. Tanika O’Connor-
Dennie, PhD
Strategies for Small Ruminant
Farmers

14. Tanika O’Connor-
Dennie, PhD
Strategies for Small Ruminant
Farmers

15. Tanika O’Connor-
Dennie, PhD
Strategies for Small Ruminant
Farmers
Land Management: Fodder
composition
• For example, mulberry plant planted 2 foot
apart harvesting intervals to be determined
based on a case-by-case basis
– Soil conditions fertilization rate and rate of
irrigation

16. Tanika O’Connor-
Dennie, PhD
Strategies for Small Ruminant
Farmers
Annual DM production (ton/ha)
of mulberry
Spacing Cutting Fraction
Leaf:
Stem
(cm) Height Frequency Whole
Stems Leaves
Ratio
(cm) (days) Plant
60 30 56 18.3 7.1 11.2 1,60
60 30 84 25.1 11.4 13.7 1,20
60 30 112 40.6 21.6 19 0,88
60 60 56 24.4 9.2 15.3 1,75
60 60 84 35.8 16.3 19.5 1,19
60 60 112 30.9 15.8 15.1 0,94
90 30 56 10.2 4 6.2 1,63
90 30 84 16.5 7.8 8.6 1,11
90 30 112 26.8 14.5 12.3 0,85
https://www.fao.org/livestock/agap/frg/mulberry/Papers/HTML/Boschini.htm

17. Tanika O’Connor-
Dennie, PhD
Strategies for Small Ruminant
Farmers
Land Management: Fodder
composition
• Hybrid system most know about life
fencing but the value the volume needed
for dry leaf meal is tremendous
• Forage calculator
• Select forage base on soil type:
• Clay
• Sandy loam
• Soil with high saline intrusion

18. Tanika O’Connor-
Dennie, PhD
Strategies for Small Ruminant
Farmers
Scale
• One of the most overlooked aspects of
nutrition
• We feed according to stage of production
and weight
• Tape measure method is good
• But even better is using a manual or
electronic scale
• Load cells can be purchased

19. Tanika O’Connor-
Dennie, PhD
Strategies for Small Ruminant
Farmers
Scale
• Simple portable design
• With knowledge of the weights forage
calculation is possible
• Concentrate required can be turned be
determined accurately to prevent waste

20. Tanika O’Connor-
Dennie, PhD
Strategies for Small Ruminant
Farmers
Selection for efficiency: long
term strategy
• Select dose that give birth to two and three
kids most importantly weans them
successfully
• Animal with superior weight conversion
• Resistance to external parasites
• Bodles has a method for performance
testing their offices are willing to assist

21. Tanika O’Connor-
Dennie, PhD
Strategies for Small Ruminant
Farmers
Parasite control
• Rotation of available products
• Development of a treatment program with
a local veterinarian
• Using the correct amount

22. Tanika O’Connor-
Dennie, PhD
Strategies for Small Ruminant
Farmers
Management Strategies:
Colostrum
• Colostrum three Q’s
– Quality
– Quantity
– Quickly
• Handheld milk pump helps in this process
– it is sanitary ensures orphan kids receive
colostrum allows for storage

23. Tanika O’Connor-
Dennie, PhD
Strategies for Small Ruminant
Farmers

24. Tanika O’Connor-
Dennie, PhD
Strategies for Small Ruminant
Farmers
Why colostrum
• Reduces the amount of nutrient devoted to
maintaining the immune system
• Ensures development of the intestine
which is not only 40% of the animal's
immune system, but has bacteria that
improves feed efficiency

25. Tanika O’Connor-
Dennie, PhD
Strategies for Small Ruminant
Farmers
Artificial Colostrum
• 3c. Warm Cows Milk
1 Beaten Egg
1teaspoon Cod Liver Oil
1Tablespoon Sugar

26. Tanika O’Connor-
Dennie, PhD
Strategies for Small Ruminant
Farmers
Nutrition Management
• Aim is to reduce mistakes, especially
these three:
– Timing
– Protein versus Energy
– Poor Diagnosis

27. Tanika O’Connor-
Dennie, PhD
Strategies for Small Ruminant
Farmers
Use of Concentrate Supplements
• It's a matter of timing
• Pre-weaning to developed rumen
• During steam up to maximize egg
production
• During pregnancy to increase fetal growth

28. Tanika O’Connor-
Dennie, PhD
Strategies for Small Ruminant
Farmers
Use of Concentrate
Supplements
• Stomach should be filled with forage
before feeding concentrate should never
be fed on an empty stomach
• Risk of acidosis which reduces productivity

29. Tanika O’Connor-
Dennie, PhD
Strategies for Small Ruminant
Farmers
Timing: Rumen Development
• Provide young kids with concentrate feeds
for maximum villi development
https://extension.psu.edu/photos-of-rumen-development

30. Tanika O’Connor-
Dennie, PhD
Strategies for Small Ruminant
Farmers
Timing: Stage of Development
• During the kids
stage the animal is
most efficient at
converting nutrients
into muscle
• The weight at
weaning determines
the final weight for
slaughter and the
age at first breeding
http://www.agrivantage.co.nz/goat-kid-rearing/

31. Tanika O’Connor-
Dennie, PhD
Strategies for Small Ruminant
Farmers
Know your concentrate
• Concentrates are for supplement only
• They can be either energy concentrates or
protein concentrates
• Selection of the right type of concentrate is
critical
• Concentrates should not be relied on in
times of drought

32. Tanika O’Connor-
Dennie, PhD
Strategies for Small Ruminant
Farmers
Know your concentrate
• In the case of energy concentrates over
reliance results in acidosis
• For protein concentrates select
supplements with high bypass protein
ingredients such as dried distillers green
• bypass protein increases milk production
fertility and weight gain

33. Tanika O’Connor-
Dennie, PhD
Strategies for Small Ruminant
Farmers

34. Tanika O’Connor-
Dennie, PhD
Strategies for Small Ruminant
Farmers
Feed curve utilization
• Supplements are not appropriate for all
times of the year
• Utilize the information provided about
rainfall and quality and quantity how far it
is to determine if supplementation is
needed at all

35. Tanika O’Connor-
Dennie, PhD
Strategies for Small Ruminant
Farmers
Timing: Division of Year
0
50
100
150
200
250
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Feed Curve Calculator
Rainfall Forage Quality

36. Tanika O’Connor-
Dennie, PhD
Strategies for Small Ruminant
Farmers

37. Tanika O’Connor-
Dennie, PhD
Strategies for Small Ruminant
Farmers
Multi-nutrient Blocks
• Excellent source of nutrients
• Hot or cold methods are available
• Method depends on preference and
storage and mixing conditions
• Multi-nutrient blocks facilitates the
digestion of low-quality foragers

38. Tanika O’Connor-
Dennie, PhD
Strategies for Small Ruminant
Farmers

39. Tanika O’Connor-
Dennie, PhD
Strategies for Small Ruminant
Farmers
Access to water
• Animals should drink at least 10% of their
body weight daily
• This number increases to as much as 16%
in the summer
• Restriction of water reduces feed
efficiency and compromises rumen
function

40. Tanika O’Connor-
Dennie, PhD
Strategies for Small Ruminant
Farmers
Conclusion
• Multiprong approach needed to maintain
profitability in the face of raising feed cost
• Management is paramount
– Land Management
– Herd Management
– Nutrition Management

41. Tanika O’Connor-
Dennie, PhD
Strategies for Small Ruminant
Farmers
Thank You