Virtual toolbox empowers sheep and goat farmers with information

With demand for their meat, milk and fiber growing, sheep and goats offer an appealingly solid return on investment, particularly for beginning, small-scale and limited-resource farmers. But there is a lot to learn, so success can be a challenge. "Information is power. You can make a lot of mistakes if you don't under stand small ruminants," says Linda Coffey, a National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) specialist.

Now, farmers and Extension educators have an expansive new resource available to them in theSmall Ruminant Toolbox. The toolbox is a collection of practical, proven materials covering a wide variety of topics, including pasture and herd management, marketing, pest management, qual ity of life and whole-farm sustainability.

Toolbox materials are free to access online or can be purchased on a USB flash drive atwww.sare.org/ruminant-toolbox.

Coffey and a team of sheep and goat specialists created the toolbox through a 2008 Southern SARE grant, with limited distribution of the USB. Due to the toolbox's popularity, NCAT and SARE have now partnered to reissue the USB and post the materials online.

To read more on the benefits of the toolbox, please click on the following link: Virtual toolbox empowers sheep and goat farmers with information

Adapted from The Prairie Star