35th Annual Student Research Conference
Effect of Goats on Forages in Northeast Missouri Pasture Land
Melina C. Mansfield*, Molly L. Menne, Noah A. Ennis, Jonathon D. Dable, and Blake D. Curry
Dr. Kelly Walter and Dr. Bob Johnson, Faculty Mentors
Cattle and goats have complementary grazing behaviors, with goats selecting a wider variety of forages, consuming more mature plants, and browsing weeds that cattle would not consume. The objective of this study is to utilize goats (n = 5) in a rotational grazing system and monitor forage quality (observed as decreasing ADF and NDF analysis) and yield (observed as increasing dry matter, DM) before and after grazing a 5 x 5 m area for a period of 48 hours, and resting the area for 5 days of regrowth. We hypothesize the goats will consume species undesirable to cattle and improve the quality of forages available to cattle grazing after the goats. The results collected during this experiment will be used to help investigate permanently incorporating goats into the Truman State University farm.
Keywords: Pasture Management, Sustainability, Animal Science, Goats
Topic(s):Agricultural Science
Presentation Type: Asynchronous Virtual Presentation
Session: 3-5
Location: https://flipgrid.com/d54e4a1e
Time: 0:00