The Northeast US is blessed with an abundance of grazing land, which is ideal for pasture rearing of goats and sheep. However, regional surveys of goat and sheep farmers confirm that internal parasites are a major health problem contributing to animal death and lower production. The problem is particularly acute for organic farms and those marketing “grass fed” products because they don’t have the option of chemical dewormers and/or concentrate feeding. These farms need to achieve good production in spite of parasite challenges. Conventional farmers also need to reduce their reliance on less and less effective chemical dewormers in the face of dewormer resistance.
We created this site to provide information about the research that has been conducted on goat and sheep parasites by the Cornell Sheep & Goat Program in cooperation with NY farmers and other land grant universities. It also provides resources to help extension educators train farmers in small ruminant integrated parasite management and helpful links for farmers and youth wanting to learn more.
Research covered on this site has been funded by:
- Beekman Fund for Research in Meat Goat Health
- Federal Capacity Funds for Cooperative Extension from Cornell University
- Federal Capacity Funds for Research (Hatch funds) from Cornell University
- Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education grants
- Northern New York Agricultural Development Program
- The Department of Animal Science at Cornell University
- The USDA Organic Agriculture Research Extension Initiative
