Year 2 Progress Report

Objective 1: Producers currently lack integrated tools to assess how management decisions affect both economic performance and sustainability in dairy goat systems. To address this need, a systems-based framework was developed to represent whole-farm interactions across feed production, animal performance, manure management, and resource use. During this reporting period, a modular life cycle assessment (LCA) and bioeconomic modeling approach was designed, and a user-friendly life cycle inventory (LCI) questionnaire and guidance manual were developed and are currently being distributed to producers for data collection. This work establishes the foundation for linking resource management and economic analyses in dairy goat systems. As data collection progresses, the resulting model will enable producers to evaluate trade-offs and make more informed decisions to improve profitability and long-term resilience of their operations.

Objective 2: Dairy goat producers face multiple herd health challenges that are difficult to address due to a lack of available research data to support evidence-based decision making specifically related to respiratory disease, failure of passive transfer and mastitis. During this reporting period, for Obj 2.1, we initiated data collection for respiratory disease at the 2025 American Dairy Goat Association (ADGA) National Show held in Grand Island, NE, July 13-18, to gather a representative sample from dairy goats across the US. Samples from a total of 105 animals from 32 farms were used to identify the most common bacterial and viral pathogens present that could cause respiratory disease in goats to begin to identify prevention and treatment options to address this threat on farms. Sampling supplies were also shared with several dairy goat veterinarians for ongoing submission of samples as cases were encountered in practice. Additional banked samples were used to further investigate the role of Mannheimia haemolytica and Mycoplasma bacteria in pneumonia in goats. The data generated thus far was then used to identify target pathogens that will be used to develop an experimental model (Obj 2.3) during summer/fall 2026 for goat respiratory disease that will allow us to test various interventions to determine what may be most useful on farm to improve prevention, treatment and control. To begin to address the mastitis challenge (Obj 2.6), planning was initiated for several animal studies to be completed during summer 2026 to generate data related to appropriate use of the antimicrobial ampicillin in dairy goats, including investigation of intramammary, intramuscular, and intravenous use which will allow determination of best practices for drug dosage protocols and withdrawal times.

Objective 3: Limited data and stakeholder engagement capacity can restrict efforts to understand and support dairy goat production system development at farm and community levels. During this reporting period, project capacity was strengthened through the hiring of a research scientist to support data collection, analysis, and stakeholder engagement. Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval was obtained to enable human subjects research. Two farm visits were conducted to document perceived constraints, success factors, and development opportunities within dairy goat operations. To further engage stakeholders, the project team facilitated three sessions at the October 2025 ADGA National Convention, each attended by approximately 25 participants, covering breeding, international perspectives, and interactive discussions on successful production systems. Insights from these activities informed expansion of engagement, resulting in five virtual focus groups with producers across the United States. The project team also supported delivery of a 1-credit undergraduate course on dairy goat production (more details below), integrating social, economic, and environmental perspectives. These efforts substantially expanded stakeholder engagement and established a stronger foundation for qualitative data collection. The resulting insights will inform research, education, and outreach strategies aimed at improving producer success, strengthening dairy goat operations, and supporting efficient growth of the industry.

Objective 4: Limited opportunities exist to provide structured education and workforce development for young people entering the dairy goat industry. To address this need, a 4-hour youth workshop was held on July 14, 2025, at the ADGA National Show in Grand Island, NE (Obj. 4.1). The workshop, facilitated by the SDGA team, engaged 9 participants ranging from 9th grade through second-year college students and covered herd health, milk quality, nutrition, and career pathways in the industry. Post-workshop evaluations indicated increased participant knowledge and motivation to adopt improved biosecurity, testing, and management practices within their family operations. Building on this effort, curriculum for the summer 2026 youth workshop to be held at the ADGA National Show was developed and finalized, with a focus on business and financial management. Two veterinary students participated in the Iowa State University (ISU) College of Veterinary Medicine Summer Scholars Program, assisted with youth programming and worked on respiratory disease projects under the mentorship of co-PIs (Obj. 4.2). In addition, ANS 1030X: Introduction to Dairy Goat Production, a 1-credit undergraduate course at ISU, was developed and approved, with its first offering in Spring 2026 (Obj. 4.4). The course reached 23 students from multiple disciplines within the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and was led by two co-PIs. These efforts enhance workforce development and educational capacity within the dairy goat industry by equipping youth and students with practical knowledge and skills. This project supports the development of future producers and professionals, strengthening the long-term longevity and competitiveness of the industry.

Objective 5: Limited access to region-specific financial benchmarks and outreach resources can hinder decision making and profitability in dairy goat operations. To address this need, during this reporting period financial benchmarking data collection and Extension outreach activities were expanded across multiple regions. From April-June 2025, farm visits supported financial benchmarking (Obj. 5.1), with data from 17 Iowa farms (16 usable datasets) used to produce the Profitability of the Iowa Dairy Goat Industry 2024 report. These resources were shared through the SDGA newsletter and website. Outreach (Obj. 5.2 & 5.3) included 4 producer sessions and 6 veterinary continuing education (CE) sessions at the 2025 ADGA National Convention, along with additional programming throughout the year reaching 41 participants in North Carolina, 32 Amish producers and beginners from Iowa and Indiana, 19 ISU veterinary students, and 107 educational contacts at a workshop in Kalona, IA all led by SDGA co-PIs. A quarterly newsletter series was launched in Fall 2025 and distributed digitally and in print to share project events, results, and relevant information. The Dairy Goat Webinar Series delivered 9 webinars with approximately 220 registrations and 273 live attendees representing producers and professionals working with nearly 250,000 goats. Recordings shared via the ISU Extension Dairy YouTube channel reached audiences in 39 states and 25 countries. These efforts expanded access to financial benchmarking information and strengthened national outreach, supporting improved decision-making, increased adoption of best management practices, and enhanced producer profitability.

Four graduate students are working on aspects of this project under the mentorship of a co-PI. Two post-doctoral scholars were engaged in the planning phase of various animal health projects, and a third veterinary post-doc responsible for conducting animal health studies was hired and this individual will start work on the project after their graduation in May 2026. An undergraduate student assisted with developing our Year 2 youth workshop curriculum through ISU's Science with Practice program. Two veterinary students were involved in the ISU College of Veterinary Medicine Summer Scholars Program and assisted with youth programming and worked on respiratory disease projects under the mentorship of co-PIs; three more students are planned for Year 3 to assist with respiratory and mastitis related projects. Three co-PIs delivered 7 veterinary CE sessions at the American Association of Small Ruminant Practitioners (AASRP) conference during the ADGA National Convention in October 2025. Members of our Extension team conducted multiple outreach events and webinars throughout the reporting period, all described in more detail under the Other Products sections of the report.

In 2025, the Dairy Goat Webinar Series continued to share information with current or prospective dairy goat producers, industry representatives, nutritionists, veterinarians, educators, and students interested in dairy goats. The program was evaluated with a pre-post retrospective tool at the conclusion of each webinar. Total webinar registrations were approximately 220, with a total of 273 attending the live webinars. These webinars not only reach Iowa participants, but also 38 other states, and internationally with 25 different countries. Those that responded stated they were herd owners, educators, veterinarians, nutritionists, or industry representatives that in total manage or consult with over 244,742 goats in their work (2024=182,000 and 2023 = 114,000). Depending on the topic being presented, most participants were dairy goat producers, veterinarians, or hobbyists, with the remaining mix of educators, students, industry, or just interested in learning more about goats. A website has been developed and launched for this project that also includes information for a previously funded USDA NIFA project supporting dairy goat production. The reason we incorporated materials from the previous website are twofold: 1) to keep as much dairy goat production resources in one place as possible for ease of discovery and 2) three of the co-PIs were also part of the previous project. We also launched the SDGA Facebook page where we post about project progress, accomplishments, and upcoming events.To drive more broad engagement with goat producers, at the 2025 ADGA National Convention, project members had an info table set up to distribute information about the project to attendees from all over the United States. During the reporting period, we also launched our quarterly newsletter and have distributed three issues so far via mail and email. The newsletters cover current project work, upcoming events, and best dairy goat management practices.

Objective 1: During the next reporting period, the project will build on established modeling frameworks by advancing farm-level data collection and integration using the LCI questionnaire. This will support model development, calibration, and validation, followed by scenario analysis across representative farm systems (small, medium, large, and Amish). The team will also complete development of a manure management and biomethane production framework and begin translating results into a decision-support tool.

Objective 2: For the Animal Health team, planned activities during the next reporting period include continued advancement of several research objectives. During the summer 2026, several animal studies will be completed to generate data related to appropriate use of the antimicrobial ampicillin in dairy goats, including investigation of intramammary, intramuscular, and intravenous use which will allow determination of best practices for drug dosage protocols and withdrawal times (Obj. 2.6). Due to the unexpected withdrawal of the VIMCO mastitis vaccine from the US market in February 2026, the research team will also investigate the potential to import the vaccine under a USDA research license to complete the research trial as planned in the grant proposal (Obj. 2.6). Conversations with industry have indicated that there is strong interest in regaining the ability to use this vaccine in the US dairy goat industry. During late summer 2026, a preliminary animal trial will be completed to test an experimental model for goat respiratory disease induction using Mannheimia haemolytica and Mycoplasma co-infection. Completion of this preliminary trial will then position us to complete a full-scale experimental study during the following reporting period that will allow us to test various interventions for respiratory disease to determine what may be most useful on farm to improve prevention, treatment and control (Obj 2.3). Respiratory disease sampling from affected farms across the country will also continue to be ongoing throughout the next reporting period; from the bacterial isolates already collected, several will be selected for whole genome sequencing (Obj. 2.1). In addition, work will be initiated to develop a caprine-specific cell culture line capable of sustaining growth of caprine respiratory viruses which has proven challenging with existing bovine and ovine cell lines (Obj. 2.1).

Objective 3: For the Community Capitals team, planned activities include continued producer engagement as part of the Community Capitals Assessment to reach the targeted number of producers. Upon completion of data collection, the project will transition to qualitative data analysis and report preparation, with the goal of synthesizing findings to support subsequent dissemination and application of results. A literature review that is currently in the works is expected to be completed as well.

Objective 4: Our second youth workshop (Obj. 4.1) at the ADGA National Show is scheduled to take place in June 2026. Over the next reporting period, we will also work on developing the curriculum for the next youth workshop. We have three ISU veterinary summer scholars (Obj. 4.2) planned to assist with respiratory and mastitis work in summer 2026, and plan to hire more for the following summer 2027. We are currently in an active search to hire a new Learning Development Specialist (LDS) and plan to have this individual continue where our previous LDS left off with developing the producer (Obj. 5.4) and veterinary (Obj. 4.3) training modules. We also plan to continue with our undergraduate dairy goat course (Obj. 4.4), refining and updating materials as research develops.

Objective 5: For the next round of financial benchmarking studies (Obj. 5.1), the team plans to collect data in person on Iowa farms and hopes to collect data for California farms over Zoom, if time allows. For North Carolina and Tennessee farms, a spreadsheet is being developed to include on-farm processing and use the Dairy Gauge Program (https://utdairy.tennessee.edu/dairy-gauge-program/) to analyze dairy profits. Data from these studies will be integrated into the life cycle assessment (Obj. 1). Numerous presentations and outreach events (Objs. 5.2 and 5.3) are planned including: networking with producers, Dairy Goat Field Days, two workshops in December, assistance with ISU dairy veterinary classes, and we plan to send project members as speakers to the 2026 ADGA National Convention and AASRP meeting to deliver presentations to producers and veterinarians. We are also exploring the possibility of developing and holding a dairy goat artificial insemination training workshop aimed at helping producers improve their genetics, and ultimately resiliency and profitability. The Dairy Goat Webinar series is also going to continue - with two webinars already presented for Year 3 and more planned for later in the year. The Extension team will also continue to assist with collecting responses for the LCA. We have hired a photographer/videographer and plan to begin developing and producing Producer Stories (Obj. 5.5) in the upcoming reporting period. Finally, we have formed our advisory council, a well-rounded group consisting of 5 members from different parts of the dairy goat industry (veterinarians, extension professionals, producers, and industry professionals). Our first meeting with them is planned for May 2026. The advisory council will help provide insight and keep our project moving forward and relevant to different stakeholders across the industry.