Title: Goat Nutrient Requirements, Management Practices, and Production Systems

Type: CSREES project

Project Number: OKLX-SAHLU

Period: 2001-2006

Investigators: T. Sahlu, A. L. Goetsch, R. Puchala, and S. P. Hart

Institution: Langston University

Objective:

• Study goat nutrient requirements, management practices, and production systems in order to increase the level and efficiency of goat productivity for increased profitability from goat production and lower costs to consumers of goat products.

Title: Tethering for Detailed Study of Grazing Ruminants

Type:USDA-CSREES-NRI 03-03289

Project Number:OKLX-GOETSCH

Period: 2003-2005

Investigators: A. L. Goetsch¹, R. Puchala¹, T. Sahlu¹, and C. R. Krehbiel²

Institutions: ¹Langston University and ²Oklahoma State University

Objectives:

• Validate use of tethering to study responses of meat goats to grazing conditions by investigating effects of grazing unrestrained versus tethered on grazing behavior, energy expenditure, forage intake, and composition of forage selected by meat goats on pastures with low and high forage quality and available mass.

Title: Use of Goats for Sustainable Vegetation Management in US Grazing Lands

Type: USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education

Project Number: LS01-119

Period: 2001-2004

Investigators: A. L. Goetsch, S. P. Hart, T. A. Gipson, and R. C. Merkel

Institution: Langston University

Collaborators: Caddo Nation, Cherokee Nation, Choctaw Nation, Greater Seminole Nation, Osage Nation, and Sac and Fox Nation

Objectives:

• Increase appropriate employment of goats in sustainable vegetation management in grazing lands of the south-central US, with particular emphasis on Native American Nation tribal lands or lands of tribal members.
• Investigate effects of various goat management methods for vegetation rehabilitation/control in different grazing land settings in the south-central US.
• Demonstrate and display appropriate means of vegetation management with goats, as well as to provide education in other related management areas.
• Develop an information package on optimal use of goats for grazing land vegetation management to ensure long-term, sustainable, and widespread project impact.

Title: Energy for the Productive Caprine

Type: USDA 1890 Institution Research Capacity Building

Project Number: OKLX0003833

Period: 2000-2003

Investigators: T. Sahlu¹, A. L. Goetsch¹, H. C. Freetly², and G. E. Carstens³

Institutions: ¹Langston University, ²USDA ARS Meat Animal Research Center, and ³Texas A&M University

Objective:

• Determine key energy requirements for different classes of goats reared in the US (maintenance energy requirements; energy costs for live weight gain or growth; energy use in gestation with different litter sizes; energy required for lactation; energy demands for mohair fiber growth).

Title: Diet Selection and Performance by Sheep and Goats Grazing Mixed Pastures

Type: USDA 1890 Institution Research Capacity Building

Project Number: OKLX-0003832

Period: 2000-2003

Investigators: A. L. Goetsch¹, G. E. Aiken², T. Sahlu¹, and M. Powell³

Institutions: ¹Langston University, ²USDA ARS Dale Bumpers Small Farms Research Center, and ³Winrock International

Objectives:

• Evaluate stocking rate effects on pastures that contain various forbs and grasses being co-grazed by goats and sheep.
• Measure growth performance of kids and lambs on pastures containing a complex mixture of grasses and forbs, and pastures that are alley cropped with mimosa.
• Determine the quality and productivity of mimosa as browse in pastures co-grazed with goats and sheep.
• Study the interaction between stocking rate and time in affecting the quantity and quality of major botanical components, animal weight gain, and diet selectivity.
• Determine the most suitable stocking rate that provides the highest gain per unit land area with the least amount of change in botanical composition.

Title: Metabolic Changes Affecting Utilization of Poor Quality Diets by Goats

Type: USDA 1890 Institution Research Capacity Building

Project Number: OKLX-1999-04159

Period: 1999-2003

Investigators: R. Puchala¹, A. L. Goetsch¹, S. W. Coleman², and T. Sahlu¹

Institutions: ¹Langston University and ²USDA ARS Grazinglands Research Laboratory

Objective:

• Determine influences of supplementation of poor-quality forage diets with rumen-protected betaine on energy and nitrogen metabolism in goats.

Title: Quality Characteristics and Yield Predictive Models of Goat Milk Cheeses

Type: USDA 1890 Institution Research Capacity Building

Project Number: OKLX-1999-04114

Period: 1999-2003

Investigators: S. S. Zeng¹, E. N. Escobar¹, D. L. Van Hekken², and S. E. Gilliland³

Institutions: Langston University, USDA ARS Dairy Products Research Unit, and Oklahoma State University

Objectives:

• Determine the effects of milk composition and somatic cell counts on the quality and yield of goat cheese and develop yield predictive models for goat cheeses.
• Characterize different goat cheeses in terms of composition, microstructure, rheological properties, protein profiles, and sensory characteristics as affected by seasonal variations of milk composition and property changes during cheese storage.

Title: Sustainable Dairy Goat Milk Production from Forages

Type: USDA 1890 Institution Research Capacity Building

Project Number: OKLX-1999-04146

Period: 1999-2003

Investigators: S. P. Hart¹, T. Sahlu¹, and L. D. Satter²

Institutions: ¹Langston University and ²Dairy Forage Research Center

Objectives:

• Study milk production, composition, animal health, and inputs for a grass-based dairy system as compared with a conventional confinement dairy.
• Determine the response in milk production of grass-based dairy goats to different levels of concentration supplementation.
• Model the effect of forage intake and concentrate supplementation on milk production and changes in body weight.

Title: Nutrient Requirements of Goats: An Update and Reevaluation

Type: USDA 1890 Institution Research Capacity Building

Project Number: OKLX-9803092

Period: 1998-2003

Investigators: A. L. Goetsch¹, T. Sahlu¹, M. L. Galyean², C. L. Ferrell³, F. N. Owens⁴, and Z. B. Johnson⁵

Institutions: ¹Langston University, ²Texas Tech University, USDA ARS Meat Animal Research Center, ⁴Pioneer Hi-Bred International, and ⁵University of Arkansas

Objective:

• Develop a database of available data from publications on goat feeding and nutrition to develop accurate expressions of energy and protein requirements of goats.