New England Small Ruminant IPM Working Group

The New England Small Ruminant Working Group
The New England Small Ruminant Working Group

The New England Small Ruminant Working Group.

This working group will bring together stakeholders in New England small ruminant production (veterinarians, educators, farmers, and extension and government agencies) to share information, best practices, technical assistance, and other expertise on integrated pest management strategies for small ruminants. The group will gather input from working group members, farmers, and other stakeholders in order to determine the most pressing IPM challenges facing small ruminant producers in New England, the scope of these challenges, and what IPM strategies, if any, are currently being employed to address them.

  • Membership: View the list of working group leaders and members.
  • Reports: View reports generated by this working group.

2015 Updates

Workshops

There were several workshops in the region offered to producers that incorporated and addressed IPM practices for internal parasites in small ruminants.

  • Vermont
    • June 25, 2015 at Sterling College. The workshop focused on small ruminant parasite identification and biology, dewormers and drug resistance, integrated parasite control practices, and FAMACHA.
    • June 26, 2015 in Putney, VT. A FAMACHA/IPC training workshop was held.
  • Rhode Island
    • July 23, 2015 at URI Peckham Farm. The workshop focused on FAMACHA, FEC’s, and condensed tannin plants.
    • There is an upcoming sheep/goat nutrition workshop in Foster, RI on November 15, 2015 with Jeff Mattocks. The working group is reaching out to the organizers to see if it would be possible to incorporate some IPM components.
  • New York
    • September 13, 2015 in Otsego County. A natural care for small ruminants workshop was held by Alethea Kenney.
    • October 2–4, 2015 at Cornell University. The 2015 Cornell Sheep and Goat Symposium covered IPM practices for internal parasites.
  • Massachusetts/Maine
    • Planning is underway for a hands-on IPM workshop for producers. The workshop may be held in October/November at the Tufts Vet School in Grafton, MA, or early spring at Pineland Farms (North Star Sheep Farm) in New Gloucester, ME. It has been suggested that spring is a better time to schedule workshops so producers who are entering pasture season can immediately put knowledge to practice.

Working Group Meeting

Among the goals for this working group are getting together in person to discuss IPM issues of importance to the group, collaborating, and sharing best practices in the region. The working group will discuss further collaboration, key management issues of concern for producers, research interests, and other topics of choice. The next meeting is currently being scheduled by members to be held in November.

Reinvigorating the Listserv

The working group currently has 106 subscribers to the Small Ruminant Listserv. Posts this spring/summer have primarily consisted of workshop announcements. Working group members have been tasked to post key issues or resources, and to send an email or two to the Listserv over the coming months to spark additional conversation. Working group members can send an email to: smallruminant@elist.tufts.edu.

Producer-shared use of FEC microscopes/McMaster kits

To date, this has not happened in Massachusetts. At the fall working group meeting, members will be discussing how this may be working in other states. Members will discuss whether producers have been able to successfully use and make decisions using these monitoring tools.

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