Research Projects (2017-Present)

  • Combating Anthelmintic Resistant Parasitic Nematodes in the Small Ruminant Industry
  • A Respiration Calorimetry System for Study of Energy Use and Methane Emission by Small Ruminants in Production Settings
  • Management Practices for Production of Goats in the South-central U.S.
  • Relationships Between the Microbiome and Internal Parasitism in Goats
  • Sky Wrangler: Smart Application of Precision Livestock Farming for Grazing Animals and Pasture Management
  • LINC 2.0 – Enhanced Goat Management and Education Tool
  • Sustainable Use of Saline Water by Ruminant Livestock Species
  • Effects of nutritional plane before breeding and during gestation on performance of hair sheep
  • Characterizing the behavior of sheep for enhanced grazing strategies in Algeria
  • Targeted research and extension interventions for enhanced goat production in Jamaica

    • Title: Combating Anthelmintic Resistant Parasitic Nematodes in the Small Ruminant Industry

    Type: USDA 1890 Institution Research Capacity Building

    Project Number: OKLU419207

    Period: 2017-2021

    Investigators: Z. Wang1, A. L. Goetsch1, S. P. Hart1, T. Sahlu1, J. Zhao2, and W. Davis3

    Institutions: 1Langston University, 2AZ Nature Art LLC, and 3Washington State University

    Objectives:

    • Develop alternative approaches to diminish the use of chemical anthelmintics that the parasites in small ruminants already have developed resistance to.

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    Title: A Respiration Calorimetry System for Study of Energy Use and Methane Emission by Small Ruminants in Production Settings

    Type: USDA AFRI Foundational Equipment Grant

    Project Number: OKLXWANG10

    Period: 2018

    Investigators: A. L. Goetsch, R. Puchala, T. A. Gipson, and T. Sahlu

    Institutions: Langston University

    Objective:

    • Long-term goal: Use an indirect open-circuit calorimetry system with groups of small ruminants in free-moving settings to enhance efficiency of use of nutrients and energy, decrease ruminal emission of the greenhouse gas methane, and develop optimal grazing management strategies.
      Objectives: Acquire and set up the system and conduct research to determine optimal experimentation conditions, namely appropriate numbers and times of daily measurements and numbers of individual animal observations.

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    Title: Management Practices for Production of Goats in the South-central U.S.

    Type: USDA NIFA Evans-Allen

    Project Number: OKLUSAHLU2017

    Period: 2017-2022

    Investigators: T. Sahlu, A. L. Goetsch, R. Puchala, R. C. Merkel, T. A. Gipson, S. P. Hart, S. Zeng, Z. Wang, E. Loetz, and L. J. Dawson

    Institutions: Langston University

    Objective:

    • Study goat management practices and product technologies to increase the level and efficiency of goat productivity for increased profitability from goat production and lower costs to consumers of goat products.

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    Title: Relationships Between the Microbiome and Internal Parasitism in Goats

    Type: UUSDA NIFA Evans-Allen

    Project Number: OKLUTILAHUN2018

    Period: 2018-2023

    Investigators: Y. Tilahun, Z. Wang, T. A. Gipson, E. Loetz, A. L. Goetsch, L. J. Dawson, and P. R. Hoyt

    Institutions: Langston University

    Objectives:

    • Provide genetically identified microbial flora to combat Haemonchus contortus for the goat industry.

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    Title: Sky Wrangler: Smart Application of Precision Livestock Farming for Grazing Animals and Pasture Management

    Type: USDA 1890 Institution Capacity Building – Research

    Accession Number: 1018964

    Project Number: OKLU-GIPSON-SKY-2018

    Period: 2018-2021

    Investigators: T. A. Gipson, M. White, and R. Puchala

    Institutions: Langston University

    Objectives:

    • Overall goal: Develop a smart but inexpensive unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV, or drone) that provides useable and concise feedback for livestock producers to manage their pastures and animals
    • Specific objectives:
      1. Assess pasture biomass and nutritive status (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, or NDVI)
      2. Determine effects of presence (distance and duration) on animal stress and behavior
      3. Inventory grazing animals

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    Title: LINC 2.0 – Enhanced Goat Management and Education Tool

    Type: USDA 1890 Institution Capacity Building – Integrated (Research, Extension, and Teaching)

    Accession Number: 1018078

    Project Number: OKLUPUCHALA2018

    Period: 2019-2022

    Investigators: R. Puchala1, T. A. Gipson1, A. L. Goetsch1, R. C. Merkel1, S. Zeng1, C. Williams1, and M. L. Galyean2

    Institutions:1Langston University and 2Texas Tech University

    Objectives:

    • Overall goal: Improve accuracy and functionality and increase usage of the Institute’s web-based goat nutrient requirement calculation system (i.e., Langston Interactive Nutrient Calculation system, or LINC)
    • Specific objectives:
      1. Develop accurate means of predicting positive and negative feedstuff associative effects in goats
      2. Upgrade LINC to LINC 2.0 by improving accuracy of adjustments for associative effects in supplemental concentrate and total mixed ration calculators and updating with findings of other research conducted since LINC was created
      3. Increase usage of LINC 2.0 through an array of outreach activities

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    Title: Sustainable Use of Saline Water by Ruminant Livestock Species

    Type: USDA 1890 Institution Capacity Building – Research

    Accession Number: 1018179

    Project Number: OKLUGOETSCH2019

    Period: 2019-2022

    Investigators: A. L. Goetsch1, D. L. Lalman2, R. Puchala1, T. A. Gipson1, L. J. Dawson1,2, T. Sahlu1, and S. Zeng1

    Institutions: 1Langston University and 2Oklahoma State University

    Objectives:

    • Overall goal: Gain a better understanding of factors affecting the utilization of brackish/saline water by ruminant livestock species so that most appropriate management practices can be identified and adopted
    • Specific objectives:
      1. Determine responses of goats, sheep, and cattle to different levels of total dissolved salts (i.e., TDS) in drinking water as varying with water source and NaCl (sodium chloride, or salt) additions<.li>
      2. Identify factors affected by drinking water high in TDS that may affect performance of ruminant livestock
      3. Determine water intake by and requirements of goats, sheep, and cattle and how they vary with water TDS characteristics

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    Title: Effects of nutritional plane before breeding and during gestation on performance of hair sheep

    Type: Borlaug Fellowship Program. USDA Foreign Agricultural Service

    FAIN Number: FX19BF-1077R005

    Project Number: BFP19 Algeria (Belkasmi) Animal Health@LG

    Period: August 1, 2019 – July 1, 2021

    Investigators: A. L. Goetsch, R. Puchala, T. A. Gipson, and T. Sahlu

    Institutions:Langston University

    Objectives:

    1. Provide training to Borlaug Fellow from Algeria in nutritional management research with hair sheep.
    2. Determine effects of different nutritional planes during breeding and gestation on body weight and condition and performance of different breeds of hair sheep.
    3. Foster future research collaboration in Algeria.

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    Title: Characterizing the behavior of sheep for enhanced grazing strategies in Algeria

    Type: Scientific Cooperation Research Program. USDA Foreign Agricultural Service

    FAIN Number: FX20SR-10961R001

    Project Title: SCRP20 Algeria Grazing Strategy@Langston

    Application ID: APP-11563

    Period: January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2023

    Investigators: A. L. Goetsch, T. A. Gipson, and R. Puchala

    Institutions: Langston University

    Objectives:

    1. Develop procedures for construction of inexpensive measurement units to characterize behavior and movement and distribution of small ruminants.
    2. Provide training to Algerian collaborators in unit construction and data handling and analyses.
    3. Demonstrate improved accuracy of estimates of distances traveled and location in grazing areas and develop equations to predict behavior from data of tri-axial accelerometers.
    4. Construct measurement units in Algeria and select future study sites.
    5. Characterize behavior of sheep under varying grazing conditions in Algeria, determine most constraining production practices, and disseminate findings.

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    Title: Targeted research and extension interventions for enhanced goat production in Jamaica

    Type: Center of Excellence for International Engagement and Development (CEIED); administered by The University of Maryland Eastern Shore

    Award Number: 2020-38427-31514

    Period: August 21, 2020 – June 30, 2022

    Investigators: A. L. Goetsch1, R. C. Merkel1, T. A. Gipson1, D. O’Brien2, R. Logan3, and M. Brown4

    Institutions: 1Langston University, 2Virginia State University, 3College of Agriculture, Science and Education of Jamaica, and 4Rural Agricultural Development Authority of Jamaica

    Objectives:

    1. Develop resources, tools, and aids for extension agent use in training goat producers and associated businesses.
    2. Identify suitable means of determining the nutritional quality of available feedstuffs and promote use of the information with a freely available supplement and diet formulation aid.
    3. Characterize current feeding management practices for goats and quantify benefits from use of feedstuff composition information and of a goat nutrient requirement and supplement/diet formulation system.

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