Abstract
Small and limited resource farmers are raising goats on pastures in the southeast USA. Nevertheless, many of these farms do not have productive and quality pastures to support the nutrient requirements of their animals. Information on forages that are suitable to improve goat pastures and sustainably grazing those pastures with goats is still lacking. Study objectives were to (1) find winter forages suitable for goats, (2) evaluate the productivity and quality of these forages and (3) assess the benefits farmers would receive from pasture improvement and grazing management. Two separate studies were conducted, one in Selma and another in Phenix City, Alabama, USA in 2012 and 2013 (September/October-April). Each study was designed as a randomized complete block with three replications. Five legumes: Arrowleaf clover (Trifolium vesiculosum Savi), berseem clover (Trifolium alexandrinum L.), crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum L.), hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth) and winter peas (Pisum sativum L.) were grown with Marshall ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) in 40:60 legume: Grass ratio on separate strips. A sole Marshall ryegrass strip was planted as a control. Goats’ preference for and productivity and quality of forages and benefits associated with winter pasture and grazing were evaluated. Goats readily grazed all forages but winter peas at the very first exposure; from the second exposure onwards, goats grazed winter peas well. The mixtures of crimson clover and Marshall ryegrass and hairy vetch and Marshall ryegrass produced the most. The cost of goat production was significantly reduced because of the development and management of winter pastures. Raising goats on pastures can be much more beneficial than raising them on purchased feeds.
Highlights
Raising meat goat is becoming popular among the small and limited resource farmers as a part-time business, since it requires a low initial investment in comparison to many other agricultural enterprises
Treatment consisted of a mixture of Marshall ryegrass with one of the five legumes: Arrowleaf clover (Trifolium vesiculosum Savi), berseem clover (Trifolium alexandrinum L.), crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum L.), hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth) and winter peas (Pisum sativum L.)
In Phenix City, crimson clover produced a higher biomass than arrowleaf and berseem clovers (Fig. 4)
Summary
Raising meat goat is becoming popular among the small and limited resource farmers as a part-time business, since it requires a low initial investment in comparison to many other agricultural enterprises. Goat meat has a niche market for different ethnic and faith-based groups: Asians, Hispanics, Africans, Muslims and people from the Caribbean (Kebede, 2005). This market is growing with the increasing ethnic population (Jones, 2003; Solaiman, 2007). Despite the increasing popularity and market of meat goats, the production practices are still not very sustainable. Supplementary feeding is more costly than grazing because of costs involved in purchased feeds and storage facilities, additional time involved in feeding goats and loss of feedstuff during storage and feeding. Ball et al (2007) highlighted that
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