Resources

Archived Meat Goat Event / Program Handouts and Videos
UW Extension Small Ruminant Clinic, Baldwin, Wis., April 20, 2015 

University of Wisconsin Livestock Resources 

• UW-Extension Wisconsin Beef Information Center 
• UW-Extension Agriculture Safety & Health 

• UW-Extension Poultry 
• UW-Extension Poultry & Rabbits (Adam Hady, UW-Extension Richland County) 
• UW-Extension Sheep & Goats 
• UW-Extension Swine 

Presentations (PDF Files) 

• Remodeling Retired Dairy Barns for Sheep Housing St Croix April 2015 
• Marketing Judy Moses St Croix April 2015 

UW Extension Youth Livestock Programs – meat goat webinars and archives 

Best Management Practices for Dairy Goat Farmers -pdf of the book 

GrassWorks https://grassworks.org/   GrassWorks is a grassroots membership organization that provides leadership and education to farmers and consumers for the advancement of managed grass-based agriculture to benefit present and future generations. GrassWorks links farmers with the resources they need to be successful graziers. It has a number of resources applicable to managed grazing of livestock including the Grazing Guide. The Grazing Guide costs $45.00 (includes shipping and handling). To order just download, fill in and send  Individual Order Form with your payment. 

Take a look inside! 

• Table of Contents, Introduction and “Why Grazing?” 
• “Increasing Pasture Quality and Sward Density” by Dennis Cosgrove, University of Wisconsin Extension Forage Specialist UW-River Falls 
• “Beef on Grass from Start to Finish” by Rhonda R. Gildersleeve, UW Extension Grazing Research Specialist 
• “Small Scale Pastured Hog Production” by Bridget O’Meara, GrassWorks 

• “Top 10 Mistakes of New Graziers” by Paul Daigle, Marathon County, WI, Grazing Specialist 
• Pastures for Profit: a guide to rotational grazing by Dan Undersander, Beth Albert, Dennis Cosgrove, Dennis Johnson and Paul Peterson (produced by Cooperative Extension Publishing) 

GrassWorks https://grassworks.org/ Fact Sheets Explain the Many Benefits of Grass-Based Farming and Grass-Fed Farm Products.  

•  Earth Friendly Farming. This brochure documents the multiple environmental benefits of raising dairy and beef cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry on managed pastures. It cites over 20 research studies on the topic. 
• Less Saturated Fat, More Omega-3 Fatty Acids. Grass-fed products have been shown to be both leaner and higher in essential healthy fats. Learn more about the grass-fed difference. 

• More Vitamins and Disease-Fighting Antioxidants. Because grazing animals enjoy superior nutrition and good health, their eggs, meat and dairy products contains more vitamins and antioxidants than their conventional counterparts. 
• Better Farming, Better Food. This brochure introduces managed grazing and provide an overview of how this method works to improve the quality of the food we eat. 
• Healthy Soils. This brochure provides an overview of how grass farmers conserve and build soil resources using managed grazing. 

ATTRA-National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service – ATTRA provides information and other technical assistance to farmers, ranchers, Extension agents, educators, and others involved in sustainable agriculture in the United States. More than 300 easy-to-read titles covering organic production, livestock, horticultural crops, business and marketing, farm energy, water and pest management and more. 43 fact sheets available in Spanish 

SARE-Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education – SARE has an extensive database on projects and research that advances farming systems. The program, part of USDA’s Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, funds projects through grants for projects that show profit potential, are environmentally sound and good for communities through nationwide research and education grants program.  

New York State 4-H Youth Goat Programs –This site includes an introduction to goat care, housing, behavior, kidding and more. Great information for all ages.  

 Langston University http://www.luresext.edu/– Research focuses on dairy goat production and includes some information about cashmere fiber goats and meat goats. Some of Langston resources include: 

Methods of Livestock Research on Smallholder Farms Handbook –  http://www2.luresext.edu/goats/library/OFR.html 

Meat Goat Production Handbook order form – http://www.luresext.edu/sites/default/files/handbookorderform-1.pdf 

Meat Goat Production Basics order form –  http://www.luresext.edu/sites/default/files/MGPB_orderform.pdf 

Web-based training and Certification Program for Meat Goat Producers – http://www2.luresext.edu/goats/training/qa.html 

Langston Goat Nutrient Requirements Calculators – http://www2.luresext.edu/goats/research/nutr_calc.htm 

Maryland Small Ruminant Website https://www.sheepandgoat.com/ is an information portal for sheep and goat producers. It has an extensive amount of information for beginning, advanced and professional learners It was developed and is solely maintained by Susan Schoenian, Sheep & Goat Specialist for University of Maryland Extension. 

Maryland Small Ruminant Webinar Series Small Ruminant Webinar Series Archives contains webinars under a variety of topics including: Pasture management for small ruminants, Sheep and goat health, Ethnic marketing of lamb and mutton, Breeding better sheep and goats, Hoof helath, Nutrition and feeding short course, Ewe and doe management and other special topics. 

Purdue University Small Ruminant Webinar Channel - https://vimeo.com/channels/249449/videos has over 20 videos. 

Cornell University Sheep and Goat program. Sheep Webpage – http://blogs.cornell.edu/newsheep/ Goat Webpage – http://blogs.cornell.edu/goats/ 

National Agriculture Library www.nal.usda.gov The National Agricultural Library is one of four national libraries of the United States and houses one of the world’s largest collections devoted to agriculture and its related sciences. 

Funding Ideas 

Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE)
SARE is a program provides grants to farmers and ranchers, researchers, agricultural educators, and students in the U.S. These grants help farmers answer questions for themselves, on their own farms, by providing some support for the work involved. Farmers can use the funds to buy a small piece of needed equipment, or some seed, or some other materials needed to be able to compare two or three management systems. Find out more about SARE grants: http://sare.org/ncrsare/prod.htm. 

Value Added Producer Grants (VAPG)
Grants may be used for planning activities, for working capital to market value-added agricultural products, and for farm-based renewable energy. Eligible applicants are independent producers, farmer and rancher cooperatives, agricultural producer groups, and majority-controlled producer-based business ventures. Although smaller projects may be funded, multi-year and larger projects can also fit this program, however a large match of funds is required. For more info about the program go to the https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/value-added-producer-grants