Date of Graduation

Spring 2014

Degree

Master of Natural and Applied Science in Agriculture

Department

College of Agriculture

Committee Chair

Elizabeth Walker

Abstract

A survey of goat producers in Arkansas and Missouri was conducted to assess the current state of the goat industry. The hypothesis was that meat goat and dairy goat producers would differ in terms of reason for raising, years involved in the industry, and age. Production data from 206 producers (response rate of 21%) were examined in order to determine areas needed for education, future research, and outreach activities. The survey was conducted primarily as web-based via email through Survey Monkey© with a hard-copy option. Of the total respondents, 94.3% use anthelmintics as a part of their deworming program whereas 38.3% use culling and animal selection. Producers with less than five years of experience use other goat producers for information; whereas, producers aged between 61-70 and 71-80 are more likely to use group meetings as an informational sources. Dairy goat producers are less likely than meat goat producers to use farm visits, farm field days, group meetings, and university/extension staff as informational sources. Dairy producers are also more likely to use the internet as a source of information. Based upon our results, producers need to lower their reliance on anthelmintics to reduce internal parasite resistance and rely more on sustainable production practices. Understanding how age, education level, years involved, and farm type influence the type of resources used to gain further knowledge of new practices and informational sources could allow the development of education programs more suited for the population. Awareness of current production practices will assist educators, extension, and industry collaborators in conducting appropriate educational programming.

Keywords

goats, survey, production, Arkansas, Missouri

Subject Categories

Agriculture

Copyright

© Kelsey Faye Cole

Download

Campus Only

Share

COinS