INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Research from the Southern Section of the American Science 2 Scrapie Update 3 Goat Twilight Tour & Tasting 3 US Sheep, Goat Inventory Declines 4 Webinar Recordings: Sheep & Goat Health 4 Accepting Nominations for 2014 Goat Test 5 Pen vs. Pasture Study Funded for Third Year 5 New Extension Director 6 Herbal De-wormer Fails to Control Parasites 6 Preparing for Ethnic Holidays 7 New Resources from NCAT/ATTRA 7 New Product: Electric Hoof Knife 8 Junior Sheep & Goat Skillathon 8 MPWV Spring Educational Conference 9 Recipe: Grilled Lamb Sirloin 9 Abomasal Bloat 10 Calendar of Events 11 SPRING 2014 VOLUME XIII ISSUE II Wild & Woolly The University of Maryland Extension programs are open to any person and will not discriminate against anyone because of race, age, sex, color, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, religion, ancestry, national origin, marital status, genetic information, political affiliation, and gender identity or expression. The National Sheep Im- provement Program (NSIP) is a quantitative genetic selection tool designed to help sheep and goat producers make beer breeding decisions. NSIP is in the business of calculating EBVs and helping producers use EBVs to their best advantage. EBV is the acronym for “estimated breeding value.” An EBV esti- mates the genetic worth of an animal. It is a description of an animal’s performance as compared to the average of the flock or breed. It predicts future performance of off- spring. What is an EBV? EBVs can be calculated for any trait that can be measured or scored. A variety of EBVs are calculated for sheep and goats. EBVs are usually separated into trait categories, such as growth, reproduction, carcass, and wool. An EBV can also be calculated for disease resistant traits, such as fecal egg counts (parasite resistance). Estimated breeding values are calculated from the animal’s own performance, perfor- mance from genetically-related traits, and performance of relatives for those traits. The accuracy of EBVs is influenced by several factors, but improves with genetic linkages. EBVs are calculated using a computational procedure known as BLUP (Best Linear Un- biased Prediction). Because BLUP takes en- vironmental influences into account, EBVs can be compared across flocks, so long as they are genetically-linked. At the farm level, differences in manage- ment are accounted for by comparing ani- mals in the same contemporary group. A contemporary group is a group of animals, of similar age, that are fed and managed the same. Large contemporary groups improve the accuracy of EBVs. For small flock own- ers, the size of contemporary groups is a limiting factor. Selection indexes simplify EBVs by combin- ing numerous traits into one number. What traits to include in the selection index and the weight to apply to each trait depends upon the importance of the trait(s) to the breed or production system. For example, the selection index for a maternal breed is very different than the selection index for a terminal sire breed. Breeding Better Sheep and Goats (Continued on Page 11) National Webinar Series: NSIP The NSIP Relaunch Commiee will be holding a series of webinars in May and June to teach sheep and goat producers about the National Sheep Improvement Program (NSIP). NSIP is a quantitative genetic selection tool designed to help sheep and goat producers make good breeding decisions. (Continued on Page 4)
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I N S I D E T H I S
I S S U E :
Research from the Southern Section of the American Science
2
Scrapie Update 3
Goat Twilight Tour & Tasting 3
US Sheep, Goat
Inventory Declines 4
Webinar Recordings:
Sheep & Goat Health 4
Accepting Nominations
for 2014 Goat Test 5
Pen vs. Pasture Study
Funded for Third Year 5
New Extension Director 6
Herbal De-wormer Fails
to Control Parasites 6
Preparing for Ethnic Holidays
7
New Resources from NCAT/ATTRA
7
New Product: Electric Hoof Knife
8
Junior Sheep & Goat Skillathon
8
MPWV Spring Educational Conference
9
Recipe: Grilled Lamb Sirloin
9
Abomasal Bloat 10 Calendar of Events 11
S P R I N G 2 0 1 4 V O L U M E X I I I I S S U E I I
Wild & Woolly
The University of Maryland Extension
programs are open to any person and will
not discriminate against anyone because of
race, age, sex, color, sexual orientation,
physical or mental disability, religion,
ancestry, national origin, marital status,
genetic information, political affiliation,
and gender identity or expression.
The National Sheep Im-
provement Program
(NSIP) is a quantitative
genetic selection tool
designed to help sheep
and goat producers
make better breeding
decisions.
NSIP is in the business of calculating EBVs
and helping producers use EBVs to their best
advantage. EBV is the acronym for
“estimated breeding value.” An EBV esti-
mates the genetic worth of an animal. It is a
description of an animal’s performance as
compared to the average of the flock or
breed. It predicts future performance of off-
spring.
What is an EBV?
EBVs can be calculated for any trait that can
be measured or scored. A variety of EBVs
are calculated for sheep and goats. EBVs are
usually separated into trait categories, such
as growth, reproduction, carcass, and wool.
An EBV can also be calculated for disease
resistant traits, such as fecal egg counts
(parasite resistance).
Estimated breeding values are calculated
from the animal’s own performance, perfor-
mance from genetically-related traits, and
performance of relatives for those traits. The
accuracy of EBVs is influenced by several
factors, but improves with genetic linkages.
EBVs are calculated using a computational
procedure known as BLUP (Best Linear Un-
biased Prediction). Because BLUP takes en-
vironmental influences into account, EBVs
can be compared across flocks, so long as
they are genetically-linked.
At the farm level, differences in manage-
ment are accounted for by comparing ani-
mals in the same contemporary group. A
contemporary group is a group of animals,
of similar age, that are fed and managed the
same. Large contemporary groups improve
the accuracy of EBVs. For small flock own-
ers, the size of contemporary groups is a
limiting factor.
Selection indexes simplify EBVs by combin-
ing numerous traits into one number. What
traits to include in the selection index and
the weight to apply to each trait depends
upon the importance of the trait(s) to the
breed or production system. For example,
the selection index for a maternal breed is
very different than the selection index for a
terminal sire breed.
Breeding Better Sheep and Goats
(Continued on Page 11)
National Webinar Series: NSIP
The NSIP Relaunch Committee will be holding a series of webinars in May and June to
teach sheep and goat producers about the National Sheep Improvement Program (NSIP).
NSIP is a quantitative genetic selection tool designed to help sheep and goat producers
make good breeding decisions. (Continued on Page 4)
P A G E 2
W I L D & W O O L L Y
Research form the Southern Section of the American Society of Animal Science
hair sheep (St. Croix and Barbados Black-
belly) rams.
At Fort Valley State University (in Geor-
gia), lambs and kids fed pelleted sericea
lespedeza had lower fecal egg counts and
(coccidia) oocytes counts at various times
during a 21-day confinement trial. How-
ever, there were no differences in packed
cell volume (PCV) and none of the lambs
or kids required treatment for coccidio-
sis. The researchers were also evaluating
the efficacy of sericea lespedeza pellets
made in different years. They concluded
that year may affect pellet efficacy. Seri-
cea lespedeza has been shown to be effec-
tive at reducing barber pole worm infec-
tions in sheep and goats.
Researchers at Lincoln University
(Missouri) found no differences in perfor-
mance and reproduction among
Katahdin ewes and fall-calving Angus
cows grazing stockpiled endophyte-
infected tall fescue when grazed either
together or sequentially (sheep followed
by cattle).
Researchers at North Carolina State Uni-
versity evaluated the effects of the addi-
tion of clovers to tall fescue pastures. Re-
search plots included three replications
of tall fescue mixed with ladino white
clover; tall fescue mixed with red clover;
tall fescue fertilized with nitrogen (N);
and tall fescue with no additional N.
Within each main treatment plot, there
were grazed and mowed subplots. In the
spring, the plots were grazed by does
and their kids. In the fall the plots were
grazed by wethers. Average daily gain
did not differ in spring or fall, but gain
per acre was higher for the clover treat-
ments in the spring. White clover fixed
more nitrogen than red clover. Unferti-
lized fescue had the lowest yield in the
spring, whereas white clover had a lower
Researchers at Virginia State University
supplemented hair sheep (St. Croix and
Barbados Blackbelly) lambs grazing
MaxQ® tall fescue pastures with soy hulls
at 0, 1, 2 or 3% of their body weight (BW).
Body weights and average daily gain
(ADG) increased linearly with increasing
levels of soy hull supplementation. After
80 days, the lambs consuming 3% soy hulls
were approximately 18.5 lbs. heavier than
the lambs that did not receive any supple-
mentation. Supplementation had no effects
on parasites loads, as no lambs required
deworming.
Researchers at Southern University (in
Louisiana) are evaluating the impact of
sequential grazing on forage production
(Bermuda grass pastures) and doe and kid
performance. Preliminary data suggest
that cattle should follow goats in an inten-
sive rotational grazing system.
At West Virginia University, an experi-
ment was conducted to determine the
effects of three sources of protein supple-
mentation on the growth rate of parasi-
tized organic lambs grazing predominant-
ly fescue pastures. Forty-five Suffolk-cross
lambs were supplemented with either 1)
alfalfa pellets (1.28% BW); 2) corn and soy-
bean meal (1% BW); or 3) corn, soybean
meal, and fish meal (1% BW). The results
suggest that supplements containing great-
er rumen bypass protein (e.g. fish meal)
may support higher growth. However,
there were no differences in parasite loads
for the lambs receiving the different pro-
tein supplements.
Researchers at Virginia State University
evaluated sire breed differences in preg-
nancy rate of hair sheep ewes, following
vaginal insemination with liquid semen.
While pregnancy rates were lower than in
previous trials, Dorset semen produced
fewer pregnancies than the semen from
Vaginal Insemination (image by
Virginia State University)
Recording weights for research
(Continued on Page 3)
P A G E 3 V O L U M E X I I I I S S U E I I
W I L D & W O O L L Y
The February 2014 report for the National Scrapie Eradication Program
has been posted to www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/
animal_diseases/scrapie/downloads/monthly_report.pdf. Published by
the U.S. Department of Agricultureʹs Animal and Plant Health Inspec-
tion Service (APHIS), the report reviews the current progress of scrapie
eradication in the United States.
Since the start of Regulatory Scrapie Slaughter Surveillance (RSSS) in
fiscal year (FY) 2003, there has been a 90-percent decrease in the number
of positive sheep found in samples at slaughter, adjusted for face color.
As of Dec. 31, 2013, the percent of cull sheep found positive at slaughter
and adjusted for face color was 0.015 percent.
Eight source flocks (including two goat herds) and three infected flocks
were designated in FY 2013. One source flock and three infected flocks
have been designed in FY 2014.
Before the United States may be declared ʺscrapie free,ʺ remaining cases
must be found. Sheep and goats that are slaughtered outside the com-
mercial slaughter facilities are being missed in the routine scrapie
slaughter surveillance. Submission of samples from sheep/goats over 18
months of age found dead or euthanized on farms is critically important.
Without these submissions, scrapie-infected animals will go undetected,
costing the sheep and goat industries anywhere from $10 million to $20
million annually.
To learn more about submitting samples, visit www.aphis.usda.gov/