Small Ruminant Program

Cooperative Extension Small Ruminant Program

Small ruminants are grazing mammals, such as sheep and goats. The advantage of these animals, compared to large ruminants (cattle), is their low cost, small size, and marginal land use, which convert into high-quality animal products. Since sheep and goats are relatively cheaper to keep, and the demand for alternative products has risen, farmers have expressed growing interest in small ruminant production and management.

Lincoln University Cooperative Extension (LUCE) Small Ruminant Program is here to help underserved, limited-resource farmers succeed in their small ruminant farming ventures.

Sheep and Goat Operations Survey Invitation

A group of scholars and extension specialists in small ruminant production and marketing from Lincoln University and the University of Missouri is working on a USDA project to understand the cost, profit, and marketing channels of goat and sheep production. The project is titled “Assessing Opportunities and Challenges of the Small Ruminant Industry.”

We are collecting information for educational guides to assist small ruminant operators and need your input. We invite you to participate in our survey in September. Your responses will be used to create a detailed report, including the small ruminant industry and its economic impacts on Missouri’s economy, and help advise policy making. Your survey input will be anonymous and grouped with other responses so that no individual producers are identified.

We will also publish our report on Lincoln University's Small Ruminant Animals official website, which you can download and use the information for your production and marketing decisions. You can help us with the following three steps:

• Collect your production information using the Small Ruminant Production Worksheet (a PDF and an Excel worksheet provided below).
• Fill out the survey online here.
• Attend future programs to learn about how our industry supports Missouri!

We sincerely appreciate your help!

Small Ruminant Research Group at Lincoln University

Small Ruminant Production Worksheet (EXCEL)

Learn more about managing scrapie in sheep and goats

Challenges of Small Ruminant Production

• Parasites and animal welfare
• Nutrition and pasture management
• Marketing and risk management
• Animal breeding and selection
• Lack of business models and strategic plans
• Limited engagement between producers and the livestock industry

Opportunities of Small Ruminant Production

• Improved production efficiency and optimization
• Enhanced pasture management, including multispecies grazing
• Niche markets, exporting and value-added products
• Entry into the livestock industry for beginning and advanced farmers
• Climate-Smart commodities

Small Ruminant Program Strategy

The Lincoln University Cooperative Extension (LUCE) Small Ruminant Program provides research-based educational programs to underserved, limited-resource sheep and goat producers. Topics are designed to help small farmers make decisions based on various factors: data from markets, health regulations, value-added products, adequate management pasture-animal, systems to set up breeding and selection, and strategic infrastructure for small-farm systems. We aim to help underserved sheep and goat producers succeed by increasing their knowledge and skills necessary for the profitability, sustainability, and development of small ruminant farm systems.

The Lincoln University Small Ruminant Extension Program provides education to increase knowledge in small ruminant production and management. Small farmers benefit from a combination of instruction and hands-on-learning experiences.