196 Animal Nutrition: How are we serving our clientele through Extension?

Abstract

Abstract Nutritional management is a crucial component of animal production and enterprise economic sustainability. Nutritional value of feedstuffs and nutrient requirements of livestock are often misunderstood by producers and feedstuff providers. Extension specialists support the continuing education of the livestock industry by communicating nutritional research results to county agents and clientele. A survey of Extension specialists in the ASAS Southern Section was conducted to understand the current state of nutritional education strategies in the region. The goal was to identify: 1) specialist background knowledge, 2) industries specialists serve, and 3) processes, tools, and resources used to maximize nutritional efficiency. The survey was answered by 25 specialists from 13 states. Among the 13 states, 1 state has 5 or more specialists providing nutritional assistance, while 6 indicated only 1 or 2, and the average number of specialists was 2.8 per state. Of the specialists, 13% indicated their background was feedlot nutrition, 47% forages, and 40% both. Animal industries supported included 85% for beef cattle, 3.5% for sheep and goats, and the remainder for other species such as dairy and horses. Currently, 9 states offer forage/feed analysis, and in the states that do not offer the service, specialists indicated that commercial laboratories were utilized. More specialists indicated they may require a forage analysis (70%) compared to grain/byproduct feeds (55%) before providing recommendations. When formulating feed recommendations, specialists indicated that 33% were performed by hand and 67% by computer program. All states indicated that they perform at least 1 agent and (or) stakeholder training per year on ration balancing. Additionally, when asked to characterize the nutritional knowledge of agents, specialists indicated 16% were capable of handling most nutritional issues, 23% could handle some issues, 41% had minimal familiarity with animal nutrition, and 19% were considered focused on other areas. These results indicate specialist knowledge base and tools to understand feedstuffs are present in the region. Stakeholders may benefit by understanding information required for nutritional assessment and recommended changes to meet production goals. Additionally, there is potential to work across state lines to utilize expertise in specific areas.