Transitioning to organic sheep and goat production

S. Schoenian 2/11/12

Transitioning to organic
production of sheep and goats

SUSAN SCHOENIAN
Sheep & Goat Specialist
Western Maryland Research & Education Center
sschoen@umd.edu - www.sheepandgoat.com

What is organic?
• Organic refers to the way
agricultural products—food
and fiber—are grown and
processed.

• "Certified Organic" means
the item has been grown
according to strict uniform
standards that are verified by
independent state or private
organizations.

Transitioning to organic sheep and goat
production 1


Organic certification
• In order to sell agricultural
products in the United States as
organic, they must be grown, handled,
processed, and labeled in accordance
with the U.S. Department of
Agriculture National Organic
Program (NOP) standards.

• If you produce more than $5,000
worth of organic products each year,
your operation must be certified
by a USDA-accredited organic
certifying agent.

• There are two cost-sharing programs for organic certification.

Organic livestock standards
• Has been harder to define
organic standards for
livestock.

▫ Differences in species.

▫ Disagreements about animal
health and welfare.

▫ More issues (?).

▫ Open to interpretation.

▫ Fear of commercialization.

production 2


Organic sheep and goats
• Not many sheep and goats in the U.S. are certified
organic. Why?
? Standards are written more for
mainstream animal agriculture
than sheep and goats. Certified organic livestock, 2008
Other animals 6,860
? Conventional sheep and goat Sheep 7,445
production has a better public Beef cows 63,680
image than poultry, dairy, beef,
Other cattle 144,817
and pork production
? There is less of a demand for Dairy cows 249,766
certified organic sheep and Hogs and pigs 10,111
goat products. Poultry 15,518,075
1. Low demand for all products
2. Demand is mostly ethnic

Organic sheep and goats
It is harder to raise sheep and goats organically
than other animals.
Example: controlling internal parasites (worms)

Fiber production is not Organic sheep and lambs
addressed in much detail 9,000
8,000

in NOP standards. 7,000
6,000
5,000
4,000
• No standards for fiber 3,000
2,000
processing. 1,000
-
2000

2002

2003
1994

2004
1997

2006

2007

2008
2001
1992

2005
1993

production 3


Why go organic?
Economic Non-economic

• Organic is one of the fastest • Because organic standards
growing sectors of the food match your philosophy of
and agricultural industry. agricultural production.

• Retail consumer sales have
been growing 20% per year.

• Consumers are willing to pay
premium prices for certified
organic products.

Is organic going to be profitable?
Organic farms were (on average) more profitable than the average of all farms in the
U.S. (in 2008), according to results of the first-ever federal census of organic agriculture.

Higher costs Higher
and/or lower market
production prices

Do a business plan.

production 4


Before going organic
• Decide which part of your sheep
and/or goat enterprise is going to be
organic: meat, milk, and/or fiber.

• Identify a source of organic feed,
supplements, and bedding.

• Find a veterinarian who will treat
organic livestock.

• Identify a processing plant that is
certified for organic slaughter.

• Identify potential market(s) for your organic meat, milk, or fiber.

USDA Organic Standards for livestock

1. Origin of livestock

2. Pasture and living conditions

3. Feeding

4. Health care

5. Management

6. Transport and slaughter

production 5


Origins of livestock
REQUIRED

• Sheep and goats sold for organic
meat must be raised under organic
management from the
last third of gestation through
slaughter.

• Fiber-producing animals must be fed
and managed organically from the
last third of gestation.

• In order to sell organic milk, all
production animals must be fed and
managed organically for the previous
12 months.

Origins of livestock
ALLOWED

• Rams and bucks do not need to be
certified organic unless they will
be sold as slaughter animals or
used for fiber production.

• The offspring from females that
are used to produce organic milk
(or fiber) do not need to be raised
organically.

PROHIBITED
• Organic breeding animals cannot
be brought in and out of organic
production.

production 6


Pasture and living conditions
REQUIRED
• Access to outdoors
• Assess to pasture
• Minimum of 30 percent of
DMI from grazing for at least
120 days in a calendar year.
• Access to shade or shelter

ALLOWED
• Temporary confinement
• Feeding areas (yards, pads, PROHIBITED
and lots) during non-grazing
• Continuous, total confinement
season.

Pasture management
REQUIRED PROHIBITED
• 36-month transition period • Synthetic fertilizers
• Organic seeds or plants • Synthetic pesticides
• Crop rotation • Sewage sludge (biosolids)
• Plant biodiversity • Residues of prohibited
• Buffer zones substances exceeding 5%
of EPA tolerance.

ALLOWED

• Lime (naturally-mined)
• Organic fertilizers, including
animal manures (with certain
restrictions).
• Organic pesticides

production 7


Housing
REQUIRED PROHIBITED
• Express natural behavior • Non-organic bedding
• Minimum space • Overcrowding
• Ventilation, fresh air
• Lighting
• Bedding
• Adequate
• Organic
• Edible or chewable
• Non-edible or chewable

ALLOWED

• Temporary confinement

Feeding
REQUIRED ALLOWED
• 100 percent organic • Natural minerals
[certificate of organic status] • Natural vitamins
• Organic milk replacer • DFM - probiotics

PROHIBITED
• Non-organic feed or feed
additives.
• Non-organic vitamin and
mineral supplements
• Animal by-products
• Urea or NPN
• GMOs

production 8


Health care
REQUIRED

• Preventative health care
practices:

▫ Selection of appropriate species
and breed of livestock

▫ Meet nutritional requirements

▫ Appropriate housing, pasture
conditions, and sanitation
practices.

▫ Freedom of movement, exercise

Health care
ALLOWED
• Natural therapies
• Homeopathic remedies
• Approved vaccines
• Sample of other approved
materials
1) Disinfectants
2) Electrolytes
3) Glucose
4) Dextrose
5) Iodine
6) Baking soda
7) Oxytocin (muscle relaxant)
8) Poloxalene (anti-bloat)
9) Aspirin (anti-inflammatory)

production 9


Health care PROHIBITED

• Therapeutic antibiotics
[Penicillin, LA-200, terramycin]
• Sub-therapeutic antibiotics
[coccidiostats, oxytetraclines]
• Hormones (except oxytocin)
• Anthelmintics (dewormers)
[Exception: Ivermectin may be administered
to breeding stock, except during their last
third of pregnancy.]
• Many conventional treatments
[e.g. propylene glycol]

• Withholding medical treatment
to preserve the organic status of
an animal is prohibited.
However, if an animal is treated
with a prohibited material, it
cannot be sold as organic.

Management
ALLOWED PROHIBITED

• Physical alternation • Growth promotants (Ralgro®)
[judicious and humane] • Hormonal manipulation of
• Artificial insemination reproduction (e.g. CIDRs).
Timed Laparoscopic [?] • Embryo transfer
• Livestock guardians
• Herding dogs [?]

REQUIRED

• Individual animal identification
• Detailed record keeping

production 10


Transport and slaughter
REQUIRED

• Low-stress transport [?]
• Organic slaughter
[certified slaughterhouse]

ALLOWED

• Sell live animal as organic
• Religious slaughter

PROHIBITED

• Non-organic slaughter

Timeline for transitioning to organic
LAND
Prohibited Certified
materials 36 months organic
last applied pasture

ANIMALS Organic
slaughter

Organic
Conception Birth fiber
First 2/3 Last 1/3
gestation gestation

12 months Organic
dairy

Adapted from ATTRA: Pastures: going organic

production 11


Selection of breeding stock
for organic production
1. Land resource
• Improved pasture
• Woodland, browse
• Predator risk
• Fencing

2. Intended markets
• Meat
• Milk
• Fiber
• Other

3. Adaptability
• Climate
• Diseases
• Production system

Type of grazing land
SHEEP GOATS
• Type of ruminant: • Type of ruminant:
roughage eater intermediate
• Feeding behavior: • Feeding behavior:
intermediate browser
• Diet selection: • Diet selection:
Forbs grass Browse grass

Both species are susceptible to predation and require excellent fencing.

production 12


Intended markets
• Sheep and goat breeds tend to
excel in the production of either
meat, milk, or fiber, seldom
more than one.

• There are no “best” breeds.
Each breed has characteristics
which make it suitable or
unsuitable for a particular use or
production system.

• Crossbreeding balances the
traits of different breeds and
results in “hybrid vigor.” It is
the recommended breeding
practice.

Adaptability - climate
• Breeds that evolved or were
developed in similar climates
will be best-adapted to
Virginia and similar places.

Sheep
Medium wool sheep
Hair sheep

Goats
Indigenous goats
In general, goats are less-adapted to
Kiko warm, moist climates than sheep.
Dairy

production 13


Adaptability - disease resistance
• Hoof problems
▫ There are differences
between and within breeds
with regards to hoof growth
and health.

• Internal parasites
▫ There are between species,
between breed, and within
breed differences with regards
to resistance to internal
parasites.

• Scrapie
▫ Individual differences:
genotype determines
susceptibility of animal.

Breeds more resistant to parasites
SHEEP
• Hair sheep (tropical origin)
St. Croix
Barbados Blackbelly
Katahdin
• Gulf Coast or Florida Native

• Kiko
• Indigenous goats
▫ Myotonic
▫ Spanish or brush

GOATS [ ? less data]

production 14


Adaptability – production system
Low intensity (mostly forage)
• Large-to-medium frame size • Small-to-medium frame size
• Higher reproductive rate • Low to moderate
reproductive rate.
• Higher milk production
• Low to moderate milk
• Higher growth potential production
• Good mothering ability
Intensive or semi-intensive
• Good foraging ability
• Low to moderate growth rate
• Parasite resistance

What about rare, heritage,
and primitive breeds?
May be particularly well-suited to forage-based organic production systems.

St. Croix Myotonic

production 15


Forage-based livestock production
• Conventional sheep and goat
farming is already largely
forage-based, especially in
Virginia.

• Concentrates and other
supplements are fed to meet the
nutritional deficiencies of forage
diets.
▫ Late gestation
▫ Lactation
▫ Growth

• Supplemental feeding is also
used to increase productivity ($)
▫ Milk production
▫ Growth rates

The biggest difference is how lambs
and kids are fed for market
GRAIN (+ FORAGE) GRAZING
• Earlier weaning • Later weaning
• Faster growth rates • Slower growth rates
• Shorter time to market • Longer time to market
• Heavier carcasses • Lighter carcasses
• Reduced parasitism • Increased parasitism
• Reduced predator risk • Increased predator risk
• Less expensive [?]

• Fatter carcasses • Leaner carcasses
• Better “quality” meat • More omega-3 fatty acids [?]
• Less omega-3 fatty acids [?]

production 16


Choosing the right genetics
for pasture finishing
• Pasture will more easily
meet the nutritional needs
of early-maturing lambs
vs. late maturing.

• Pasture will more easily
meet the nutritional needs
of meat-type and
indigenous goat breeds
than dairy kids.

• In addition, some breeds
are better-adapted to
pasture-rearing.

The biggest challenge in organic
management of sheep and goats will
be dealing with internal parasites.

production 17


Sheep and goats can be potentially
infected by many internal parasites.

HELMINTHS ABOMASUM

• Nematodes - roundworms
▫ Strongyle-type
Haemonchus contortus
Trichostrongylus
Teladorsagia
▫ Lung
▫ Meningeal
Haemonchus contortus
• Cestodes - tapeworms BARBER POLE WORM
• Trematodes - flukes

Causes of parasite problems
LESS PROBLEMS MORE PROBLEMS
• Sheep • Goats
• Resistant breeds • Susceptible breeds
• Resistant animals • Susceptible animals
• Mature animals • Young animals
• Dry animals • Lactating females
• Zero grazing • High producers
• Supplementation • Pastured animals
• Low stocking rates • High stocking rates
• Winter, early spring, late fall • Summer

production 18


Traditional control of parasites has
relied heavily on anti-parasitic drugs.
ANTHELMINTICS DEWORMERS

Integrated parasite management (IPM)

SELECTIVE DEWORMING
with FAMACHA© • Pasture management
• Grazing management
• Nutritional supplementation
• Zero grazing
• Management
• Genetic selection
• Doing fecal egg counts
• Effective anthelmintic use
• Strategic deworming
• Testing for drug resistance

production 19


Controlling parasites with pasture
and grazing management
• Low stocking rates
• Rotational grazing with
sufficient rest periods
• Leader-follower system
• Mixed or multi-species grazing
• Clean pastures
• Minimum grazing heights
• Taller forages
• Forage legumes
• Tanniferous forages
• Bioactive forages
• Browsing

What about natural “anthelmintics?”
Withholding medical treatment to preserve
• An anthelmintic acts to the organic status of an animal is prohibited.
expel or destroy parasitic
worms.

• Using this definition, there
aren’t any consistantly
effective “natural”
anthelmintics.

• An animal that is clinically
parasitized should be treated
with a “chemical” dewormer.
Bottle jaw

production 20


What about natural “anthelmintics?”
• They may not treat a
clinically-parasitized animal,
but they may reduce the
number of animals that
require treatment.

▫ Disruption of parasite
life cycle (on pasture)
Eat larvae or eggs
Inhibit larvae development
Inhibit egg hatching
▫ Strengthening of the
immune system.

An increasing number of scientific studies are being conducted to identify compounds which
may have anthelmintic-like properties. Current claims are largely antidotal.

Anthelmintic-like properties
• Herbal dewormers
[oils and seeds]
▫ Artemisia genus (Wormword)
▫ Garlic Papaya
▫ Paprika Ginger
▫ Pumpkin Mustard

• Condensed tannins
Sericea lespedeza
• Nematode-trapping fungus
• Copper oxide wire particles [?]

• Copper sulfate
• Tobacco (nicotine sulfate)
Sericea lespedeza

production 21


Copper oxide wire particles (COWP)
Currently not approved for worm control in organic production

• Repackage copper supplement
for cattle into smaller doses to
treat lambs and kids for adult
infections with the barber pole
worm.
As little as 0.5 g
Up to 5 g (for adults)

Though researchers haven’t
experienced any issues with
copper toxicity in sheep, the
risk should always be
considered.

Sericea lespedeza
• Warm season legume that
contains condensed tannins.

▫ Reduces pasture contamination
by reducing fecal egg count and
development of larvae into
infective stage (L3).
▫ Animals consuming sericea
lespedeza have higher packed cell
volumes and fewer abomasal
worms.

• Efficacy not affected by form:
1) Grazed forage
2) Harvested hay
3) Leaf-meal pellet

production 22


What about coccidia?
Another common and potentially deadly internal parasite

• Single-cell protozoa
▫ Host-specific
▫ Sheep and goats affected
by Eimeria spp.

• Damages lining of small
intestines.

• Common symptoms: scours
(diarrhea) and ill-thrift.

• Adults animals are mostly
immune, but serve as
reservoir for infection.

Prevention of clinical coccidiosis
CONVENTIONAL ORGANIC
• Coccidiostats in mineral, feed, • Adequate colostrum intake
and/or water.
Bovatec® • Good sanitation/management
Rumensin® ▫ Dry bedding
Deccox® ▫ Clean, well-designed feeders
Corid ▫ Overcrowding/stocking
• Treat with Corid or sulfa
antibiotics. ▫ Pasture congregation
• Natural therapy: garlic (?)
organic methods

production 23


Marketing organic food
1. Direct to the consumer
Farmer’s markets
CSAs
On-farm store
Mail order/internet
Whole carcasses

2. Retail
Grocery store chains
Co-ops
Regional grocery stores

3. Food service
Upscale restaurants
Restaurant chains

Marketing direct to consumers
• Tell consumers what’s
different about your
product that they can’t
get in the local grocery
store.
▫ To make specific
nutritional claims, get
samples tested at a lab.

• Tell your “story” to
consumers.

• Provide cooking
instructions.

production 24


Thank you for your attention.

production 25

Transitioning to organic sheep and goat production

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