Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** production of sheep and goats is…

Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** production of sheep and goats is growing in the united states, mainly with small and limited resource farmers in the southeast.however, several things are limiting the growth of the small ruminant industry in this region. These include marginal soils unsuitable for high-input forage production, infection with internal parasites, and lack of farmer access to expert assistance on pasture production, animal health, and parasite management. Through artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, a team of plant and animal scientists, parasitologists, extension specialists, agriculture engineer and computer modelers will work together to develop an automated decision support system (adss) for forage and parasite management that farmers can access through their cellphones. The work will include a computer model to show farmers the best places to grow sericea lespedeza, an anti-parasitic forage plant, based upon soil properties, rainfall, and other climatic parameters. We will also develop a smartphone APP for farmers to identify and treat parasite-infected animals based upon their movement on pastures. We will train farmers on how to use the adds to grow high-quality forages that can keep their animals healthy, and finally, we will install a new AI computer laboratory for use by scientists and students at fort valley state university to support this work.