February 2002Inside this issue |
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This is the debut issue of the Maryland Sheep & Goat Producer, which will be published quarterly by the University of Maryland Cooperative Extension - Western Maryland Research & Education Center (WMREC) in Keedysville. The intent of the newsletter is to provide timely information on sheep and goat production and marketing to producers in Maryland and surrounding states.
In addition to the printed copy of the newsletter, there will be a web-enhanced, online version of the newsletter. The url for the newsletter will be www.sheepandgoat.com/news.html . To help reduce costs, persons with access to the Internet may choose to view the newsletter online in lieu of receiving a hard copy in the mail. An e-mail message will be sent to web-subscribers when a new newsletter has been posted to the web. Please let me know if this is a viable option for you. Furthermore, if you are receiving this newsletter in the mail and do not wish to, please let me know so that your name can be removed from the mailing list. I also ask that you share the newsletter with other producers (youth and adult) and interested persons who are not on the mailing or e-mail list, but may wish to receive the newsletter or e-mail notification.
Your comments, questions
and suggestions regarding the newsletter will always
be welcomed.
Susan Schoenian
Area Agent, Sheep and Goats, WMREC
As of November 22, 2001, new regulations went into effect which will seek to control the interstate movement of sheep and goats. The new regulations will require most sheep and some goats to carry official USDA identification to move through interstate commerce. Veterinary health papers will also be required for interstate shipment. The new rules are part of a new federal program to eradicate scrapie from the United States in ten years and to have the U.S. declared "scrapie-free" in another seven years.
Scrapie ( image ) is an always fatal, degenerative disease of the central nervous system of sheep and goats. It is not very common in sheep in the U.S. and is rarely found in goats, but because it has been "linked" to mad cow disease and mad cow has been "linked" to a human spongiform disease (in Europe), scrapie has been targeted for elimination by USDA-APHIS.
All sheep and goat producers, including youth, regardless of species, flock size or production emphasis will be affected by the new regulations. During the first several months of the program, the emphasis will be on education and not enforcement, to give states and producers ample opportunity to implement the new requirements.
Which animals need
official ID?
All breeding sheep regardless of
age will be required to carry official USDA identification.
All sheep over 18 months of age will require identification.
All sexually intact sheep and goats used for exhibitions such
as fairs, shows, demonstrations and petting zoos will be required
to carry individual identification numbers and have health certificates
to cross state lines. Breeding goats will need to be identified,
except for low-risk commercial goats, which includes:
Identification is not required of any goat sold for slaughter. No official ID is required for sheep under 18 months of age, if they move directly to slaughter. Ewe lambs will require ID if they have previously lambed or are pregnant. Ewe and ram lambs sold at public livestock auctions will require ID, if there is a possibility that they will be purchased for breeding. Breeding animals sold via private treaty should be tagged, since it is not known if the new owner will eventually move the animal into interstate commerce.
All producers need to contact their local area USDA-APHIS office to request a flock identification (premise) number and ear tags. In Maryland, the contact is:
Dr.
Freeda Isaac
Veterinary Medical Officer
USDA, APHIS, Vet Services
1598 White Hall Road, Suite A
Annapolis, MD 21401
PH: (410) 349-9708, cell (410) 279-3041
Freeda.E.Isaac@aphis.usda.gov
There are a choice of identification systems. For the first two years of the program, USDA-APHIS will supply metal clip-style and/or white plastic rotary-type ear tags (and an applicator) free of charge. Producers should request a 2 to 3 year supply of tags. The tags will carry a sequential alphanumeric digit or the premises ID number and a serial number; or individual animal number that producers can select. Producers may also use tattoos or order their own tamper-resistant tags (from approved vendors). Registration tattoos are acceptable ID if tattoo numbers are recorded with the National Scrapie Database and animals are accompanied by their registration certificates. Ear tags should not be applied to animals until they leave the premises (farm of origin).
Other program requirements
In addition to the tagging requirements,
all breeding and sexually-intact sheep and goats will
be required to have Certificates of Veterinary Inspection
(health certificate) when crossing state lines. These certificates
must be issued within 30 days of interstate shipment. There will
also be a five year record keeping requirement, even if animals
are slaughtered or have died.
The purpose of the new scrapie regulations is to be able to trace scrapie-positive sheep back to the flock of origin and to determine if other animals and farms are at risk for having scrapie. The movement of scrapie-positive, exposed, high-risk and/or suspect animals will be restricted. Indemnity payments will be made to producers whose flocks have to be depopulated. Increased slaughter surveillance (of cull ewes) is expected to show a higher incidence of scrapie than previously thought.
Become "scrapie
free"
While all producers must comply with
the new interstate scrapie regulations, the Voluntary
Scrapie Flock Certification Program (VSFCP) is the only way
for producers to have their flocks declared "scrapie-free."
The VSFCP was initiated in 1992 and underwent significant changes
in 1997. It monitors flocks for incidence of scrapie and declares
them "scrapie-free" after five years of monitoring. Enrolled flocks
are the only source of
"scrapie-free" breeding stock
in Maryland and the U.S. The requirements
of the Scrapie Flock Certification Program are not much
more involved than the new ID and record-keeping requirements
imposed by USDA-APHIS. More producers should enroll their flocks
in the program and use their enrollment status to help market their
animals. Contact Dr. Freeda Isaac for information.
Read more about
it:
www.animalagriculture.org/scrapie
www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/scrapie.htm
www.sheepandgoat.com/scrapie.html
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced in October 2001 that it will extend the Lamb Meat Adjustment Assistance Program for an additional year, through July 31, 2003. USDA has allocated an additional $37.7 million for extension of the program. Of that amount, $26 million will be allocated to a new ewe lamb expansion payment for years 3 and 4.
Year 1 payments of the Lamb Meat Adjustment Assistance Program were for facility improvements (20% cost share) and new ram purchases ($100 per ram). Years 2 and 3 provide(d) payments for feeder and slaughter lambs meeting certain quality criteria.
To be eligible for the planned new ewe lamb expansion payments,
a sheep and lamb operation must have been purchased or a ewe lamb retained
to expand the sheep flock during the period August 1, 2001, through July
31, 2003. The producer would also have to certify that ewe lamb(s) meet
the following eligibility criteria:
Payments for retaining or purchasing qualifying ewe lambs during years 3 and 4 are targeted at $18 per ewe lamb. Payments will be issued through local FSA offices. As of February 20, sign-up dates had not been announced.
Read more about it:
www.fsa.usda.gov/dafp/psd/
lamb.htm
www.ams.usda.gov/lsg/201lamb/201.htm
The 2002 Maryland Goat Conference will be held Saturday,
March 30, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Carroll County Ag
Center in Westminster. The program emphasis will be on meat
goats, but the program should be of interest to all goat owners.
Click here to view the program.
Commercial exhibits and door prizes will be included in the day's activities.
The cost of attending the conference is $25 per person. Checks should be made payable to the Carroll County EAC and sent to the Carroll County Extension Office, 700 Agricultural Center, Westminster, MD 21157, tel. (888) 326-9645 (toll free), fax (410) 410-876-0132. The registration fee includes conference proceedings, breaks and lunch. Registration deadline is March 25.
For more information, contact Susan Schoenian at
(301) 432-2767, ext. 343, or
ss80@umail.umd.edu
.
by Dr. Niki
Whitley
Livestock Specialist
University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Several years ago, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) dispersed its dairy cow herd and established research and teaching herds of beef, sheep and meat goats, to go along with its 50 sow farrow-to-finish unit.
The cattle were of Wye Angus breeding and have since been pared back to a herd of seven (7) brood cows and one (1) bull. The goat herd now numbers seventy-five (75) breeding does and includes Boer (some registered), Nubian (2), Spanish crosses and registered Myotonic purebreds and crosses. Herd sires include two full blood Boers (one from Texas, one registered South African Boer from Georgia), two 50% Boer crosses, a Nubian and a registered Myotonic (a.k.a. Tennessee Meat Goat - from Texas).
The original sheep flock (Dorset x Montadale) came from the University of Maryland College Park, but was eventually replaced with hair sheep. UMES has an expanding flock of purebred Katahdins and White Dorper crosses, now numbering thirty-seven (37), plus three (3) Barbados Blackbelly crosses. Flock sires include a purebred Katahdin who sired some nice rams recently exported to Trinidad and a newly purchased ¾ blood White Dorper from North Carolina.
I am the faculty member in charge of the livestock program at UMES. Though I was originally hired as a swine specialist, my research, teaching and extension efforts involve all species. I have a particular interest in small ruminants. For the past two years, we have been carrying out feed trials utilizing pelletized broiler litter as a protein supplement for meat goats and sheep. In the initial trials, the goats and lambs did too much sorting of feed ingredients, thus the latest feed trial will utilize a complete feed in which poultry litter is an ingredient. The Maryland Department of Agriculture (Animal Waste Fund) and Perdue Farms (through Perdue AgriRecycle) are supporting the research.
I am a reproductive physiologist by training and my future research efforts will involve increasing the reproductive efficiency of sheep and meat goats. We have already conducted an out-of-season breeding trial and early post-partum re-breeding trial with goats and plans to do the same with the hair sheep.
The university farm is very beneficial to the educational program at UMES, helping to make UMES a great place to get a college education in agriculture. Students in the Department of Agriculture at UMES can specialize in Animal and Poultry Science (pre-vet or business) and get a lot of hands-on experience with livestock, while enjoying small class sizes and personalized learning. Bachelor (B.S.) and Master of Science (M.S.) degrees are awarded in Agriculture/Food and Agricultural Sciences, and a new doctoral program is available for studies to pursue a Doctoral degree (Ph.D.) in Food Science. I have two students in the graduate program and two others interested in applying who will work on meat quality projects. Construction has begun on the new Food and Agricultural Science Building and is projected to be completed in March 2003. The new building will have a livestock slaughtering facility and livestock pavilion.
The University of Maryland Eastern Shore is located in historic Princess Anne in Somerset County on the Lower Eastern Shore. It is one of two land grant universities in the state. UMES was created in 1890 as a historically black institution. UMES is recognized as having one of the most beautiful college campuses in America.
To learn more about UMES's small ruminant program
or about attending college at UMES, contact me at (410) 651-6194
or
nwhitley@mail.umes.edu
.
Maryland and Delaware Cooperative Extension, the Maryland Sheep Breeders Association, Inc. and the Delaware Sheep and Wool Producers are teaming up to sponsor sheep shearing schools for producers in Maryland, Delaware and surrounding states. The beginner or novice shearing school will be held Friday and Saturday, March 22 and 23 at Ridgely and Harvey Thompson's farm in Westminster. The advanced school will be held on Saturday, April 6 at the same location.
The beginner's school is open to anyone over the age of 16 who wants to learn the New Zealand method of shearing sheep. Students will also learn how to adjust and care for hand-held shearing machines, how to set and adjust blades, and how to properly handle wool after shearing. The advanced school is for persons who have attended previous schools and sheared at least 150 sheep and want to refine their skills and increase their speed. The instructors for both schools are David Greene, retired extension agent from Carroll County, and Dr. Rich Barczewski, Animal Science professor at Delaware State University.
The cost of the beginner's school is $50 per person;
the cost of the advanced school is $25 per person. The registration
deadline is March 15 for the beginner's school and March 29
for the advanced school. Class size is limited to the first 25 for
the beginner's school and the first 10 for the advanced school.
Registrations should be mailed to David L. Greene at 2014 White
Hall Road, White Hall, MD 21161-9712. David's e-mail is
greelamb@bcpl.net
. Checks should be made payable to
Carroll County Extension Advisory Council (EAC).
To be eligible for exhibition after December 31, 2002, in Maryland 4-H shows, market lambs and breeding sheep must be docked so that the tail is healed and can be lifted from the exterior with the sheep in the freestanding position. Sheep that have no tail will not be eligible for exhibition in Maryland 4-H shows after December 31, 2002. Breeding animals born before January 1, 2003, are exempt from the new policy.
To clarify the new rule, the tail must be liftable at a minimum,
with a quarter-inch round (standard) pencil from the sheep's
free-standing position. The new tail-docking policy is being
adopted because
The ruling is supported by research at The Ohio State University, Iowa State University, University of Wisconsin and Texas A&M University, which shows a significant decrease in rectal prolapses with increased length of tail. The incidence of prolapse was 9.1% in the extremely short-docked lambs, while lengthening the tail reduced the incidences to 4.7% (1½ vertebrae) and 1.9% (3 vertebrae).
Read more about it:
www.wvu.edu/~agexten/youth/talldockg.pdf
(requires PDF viewer)
The fantastic growth of the U.S. meat goat industry can be attributed to a large extent to the introduction of the South African Boer goat ( image ) to the United States in 1994. Trade sanctions and disease fears prevented Boer goats from being imported directly from South Africa to the U.S., thus the first Boer goats came to the U.S. via New Zealand. They had reached New Zealand via smuggled embryos from Zimbabwe. The original Boers cost about $50,000 each.
The Boer goat was developed in South Africa. It is the result of fifty years of intensive selection and breeding for meat production. Boers evolved from indigenous African goats and introduced European stock. The term "Boer" refers to the descendants of Dutch immigrants or Boers, most of them farmers, who settled the country. Thus, Boer goat simply means "farmer's goat."
The Boer goat is a horned breed with lop ears. Though Boer goats may be of different colors and color patterns, South African breed standards stipulate the ideal color of a Boer to be white with a red head and blaze. A pigmented skin is also preferred.
Boer goats are adaptable to a variety of climates. They were originally selected for low maintenance and hardiness. A kidding rate of 200% is common for Boer does. Boers have an extended breeding season, making three kid crops in two years a good possibility. Boer goats are not as large-framed as many dairy goat breeds, but they have superior muscle and body mass. Mature Boer bucks can weigh in excess of 300 pounds while the largest does will exceed 200 pounds. Boer goats grow slower than sheep, but are capable of average daily gains of 0.44 lbs. per day or more. More standard performance would be .3 to .4 lbs. per day.
Read more about it:
www.boergoats.com
www.ibga.org/
by Beth McFadin
Ph.D. Candidate
University of Missouri
Foot rot ( images ) is not a word most people like to hear. Foot rot is a disease common to sheep and probably goats, though I am not sure on that. Foot rot is caused by the synergetic actions of two bacteria. Synergetic simply means that they have to both be present to cause a noticeable problem or become systemic to the animal. One bacteria is common to the gastrointestinal tract of the sheep whereas the other bacteria lives in the soil. If you are unfortunate to have both, then you have probably seen your animals limping or even walking on their knees.
Foot rot will become most prominent if the soil is moist. I was born and raised in the deserts of Texas, the only time I had ever heard of foot rot was in a college sheep production class and even then, only briefly. Once I became the sheep farm manager at the University of Missouri, I was brought up to speed on the problems of foot rot.
How do you recognize foot rot? Foot rot is what it sounds like, the outer covering of the hoof rots away from the foot. As with anything that is rotting, foot rot smells. Perhaps that is one of the most noticeable characteristics of foot rot. It is something that once you smell, you never forget. Just try getting the smell off of your hands after a day of hoof trimming, which, by the way is the best way of controlling foot rot.
So, how do you get rid of foot rot? The obvious answer is sell your sheep. I mean it. Get them off the pasture for several weeks. Let the pasture dry out. Even better, ship the sheep. Sell off. Yea, I know harsh words and if you were to ask me if I would actually get rid of my sheep if they had foot rot, I would probably tell you no, but as advice to others, sell them. Do it quickly and without remorse. After a few weeks, go to a legitimate sheep breeder and buy some that are foot rot free. Set the sheep up between your legs and take a good look between their toes. If you see any pink or smell anything other than maybe a little sheep manure, pass on those. The pink could be the beginnings of foot rot or foot scald. I sort of think of a sheep with foot scald as a sheep that is susceptible to foot rot, but perhaps hasn't quite come down with it yet or perhaps is lucky enough to have a strong immune system and will perhaps never come down with foot rot. But, are you willing to take that chance? Please say NO.
If you have sheep and do not want to sell them, then this is the best method of treatment . . . trim their feet and I mean trim, get rid of any part of the foot that even looks like it has foot rot. Remember, all bleeding stops eventually. Any pocket of foot rot that is left unexposed to the air, will cause severe foot rot. After you trim, do one of the following: 1) Coppertox the foot; 2) spread industrial strength zinc powder on it; or 3) drizzle formaldehyde on the foot. The zinc can be dry or you can mix it with water. Use the formaldehyde in a spray bottle or the like and go about 2/3 water, 1/3 formaldehyde. Yes, formaldehyde and zinc both burn the foot but they dry it out, which remember . . . foot rot doesn't like dry conditions. Watch out that you don't get either compound on your hands or eyes (talk about burn). A foot bath is also a good idea but not necessarily eco friendly. Now, if some sheep start to get better and some are still limping around after you have honestly been trying to manage your foot rot, compromise and sell the ones that are still limping. They could be carriers. Oh, and some Pen G or LA-200 isn't a bad idea either, but don't get carried away with it.
Ok, that is my one page note on foot rot. Good luck!
Read more about it:
www.sheepandgoat.com/footrot.html
Control,
Treatment and Elimination of Footrot from Sheep
The featured web site is "Dairy Goat Information of the Serious Kind" at http://www.saanendoah.com/goatss.html . The author of the site is Joyce Lazzaro, owner of Saanendoah Dairy Goats.
Serious Goats includes an ever-expanding list of articles on such topics as ketosis, copper deficiency, floppy kid syndrome, CAE, parasites, fecal testing, colostrum, milk quality and mastitis. My favorite part of the web site is "Basic medications and equipment for dairy goats," which contains up-to-date information on antibiotics, vaccines, extra label drug use, unit conversions and more.
Be sure to check out this terrific web site!
www.saanendoah.com/goatss.html
February 27
"Biosecurity of our Food Sources: On-Farm Livestock Safety Measures"
University of Maryland Eastern Shore
farm classroom, 7 p.m.
Contact: Dr. Niki Whitley at (410)
651-6194 or nwhitley@mail.umes.edu
March 22-23
Beginner's Sheep Shearing School
Westminster, Maryland
March 30
Maryland Goat Conference
9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Carroll County Ag Center, Westminster,
Maryland
April 6
Advanced Sheep Shearing School
May 4-5 - always the first full weekend in May
Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival
Howard County Fairgrounds, West
Friendship, Maryland
Contact: (410) 531-3647
info@sheepandwool.org
;
www.sheepandwoolfestival.org
June 26-27
Maryland-Delaware Wool Pool (Images
)
State Fairgrounds, Timonium, Maryland
Contact: Dr. Rich Barczewski at
rbarczew@dsc.edu
or (302) 739-4997
Upcoming meat goat programs in Virginia
March 9 - Richmond County - call
(804) 333-3420
March 18 - Lee County - call (540
) 346-1522
March 19 - Wythe County - call (540)
223-6040
March 20 - Tazewell County - call
(540) 346-1522
April 13 - Vet School, Blacksburg
- Virginia Meat Goat Association call (540) 828-6577
Links are provided as an information service. They
do not constitute an endorsement of any non-affiliated organizations,
businesses, products or content of these pages by Maryland
Cooperative Extension or the University of Maryland. Mention
of product names is for information purposes only. It is the policy
of Maryland Cooperative Extension that no person shall be subjected
to discrimination on the grounds of race, color, sex, disability,
age, religion or national origin.
The Maryland Sheep and Goat Producer
is published quarterly by the Western Maryland Research
& Education Center, 18330 Keedysville Road, Keedysville,
Maryland 21756. It is edited by
Susan Schoenian
, Area Agent for Sheep and Goats in Western Maryland.
Dr. Niki Whitley
, Livestock Specialist at the University
of Maryland Eastern Shore will be a regular contributor.
Call or e-mail if you would like to be notified by
e-mail when a new newsletter
has been posted to the web or if you would like to be added
or removed from the mailing list. My phone number is (301)
432-2767, ext. 343.
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