Small ruminants, such as sheep and goats, fit well into smallholder farming systems: cheap to buy and maintain, easy to work with and to market, they are widely distributed throughout the world, but policy-makers and administrators tend to overlook their contributions to the economy and rural and peri-urban livelihoods.

Sheep and goats have served poor people's most reliable livelihood resource since their domestication during Neolithic Revolution. Worldwide over 100 million people in arid areas, have only possible source of livelihood by grazing small ruminants. Grazing sheep and goats can improve soil and vegetation cover and plant and animal biodiversity. Sheep and goats thrive well in varied climatic conditions, get adapted easily to environment, require less care and management and are suitable for meat, milk, wool, skins and manure production. Mutton and Chowan is consumed throughout the country without involving any religious taboo. Together, the goat and sheep rearing households constitute 15 per cent of the total number of households in the country. The book contains a package of farm practices encompassing housing, handling, feeding, health care, record keeping, fodder and manure management as well as project reporting for sheep and goats. This precise package of practices hopefully shall benefit all the farmers engaged in small ruminant farming as well as all those educated entrepreneurs that are willing to take livestock rearing as their career option. It will guide through all aspects of sheep and goat farm management. It is hoped that the book will help farmers in managing their livestock and teachers equally in imparting academic instructions to veterinary graduates.

Sheep and goats have served poor people's most reliable livelihood resource since their domestication during Neolithic Revolution. Worldwide over 100 million people in arid areas, have only possible source of livelihood by grazing small ruminants. Grazing sheep and goats can improve soil and vegetation cover and plant and animal biodiversity. Sheep and goats thrive well in varied climatic conditions, get adapted easily to environment, require less care and management and are suitable for meat, milk, wool, skins and manure production. Mutton and Chowan is consumed throughout the country without involving any religious taboo. Together, the goat and sheep rearing households constitute 15 per cent of the total number of households in the country. The book contains a package of farm practices encompassing housing, handling, feeding, health care, record keeping, fodder and manure management as well as project reporting for sheep and goats. This precise package of practices hopefully shall benefit all the farmers engaged in small ruminant farming as well as all those educated entrepreneurs that are willing to take livestock rearing as their career option. It will guide through all aspects of sheep and goat farm management. It is hoped that the book will help farmers in managing their livestock and teachers equally in imparting academic instructions to veterinary graduates.

The objectives of this study are to assess the role of small ruminants (sheep and goats) in the food production systems of developing countries, examine their advantages and disadvantages, analyze the constraints limiting their further contribution to the welfare of small farm/low income rural producers, prescribe measures for overcoming these constraints, and make recommendations related to potential donor involvement in support of the development of sheep and goat production. Small ruminants are viewed as an integral, but not dominant component of complex agricultural systems. Particular emphasis is placed on sheep and goats in mixed herds grazing dry rangelands and in small mixed farm systems in medium to high rainfall areas. An analysis of major constraints -- ecological, biological, policy, and socio-economic -- leads to recommendations on the need for a balanced production system approach for research, training and development programs, and for a combination of support activities such as herd health programs, and formulation of favorable credit, marketing and pricing policies for small ruminants and their products.

Ecology and distribution; Breeding; Reproduction; Maintenance and growth; Pregnancy; Lactation of suckling ewes and does; Nutritional diseases; Infectious diseases of sheep and goats; Internal parasites of sheep and goats; External parasites of sheep and goats; Growth and characteristics of wool and hair; Wiik grading and marketing; Livestock and meat marketing and grading; Carcase and meat qualities; Milk production in sheep and goats; Systems, biological and economic efficiencies; Very extensive systems; Extensive grazing systems; Intensive grassland systems; Intensive arable systems; Very intensive systems; Government controlled systems; Migratory (Transhumance) systems; Nomadic systems; Village and smallholder systems; List of contributors.

This book is focused on the challenges to implement sustainability in diverse contexts such as agribusiness, natural resource systems and new technologies. The experiences made by the researchers of the School of Agricultural, Forestry, Food and Environmental Science (SAFE) of the University of Basilicata offer a wide and multidisciplinary approach to the identification and testing of different solutions tailored to the economic, social and environmental characteristics of the region and the surrounding areas. Basilicata’s productive system is mainly based on activities related to the agricultural sector and exploitation of natural resources but it has seen, in recent years, an industrial development driven by the discovery of oil fields. SAFE research took up the challenge posed by market competition to create value through the sustainable use of renewable and non-renewable resources of the territory. Moreover, due to its unique geographical position in the middle of the Mediterranean basin, Basilicata is an excellent “open sky” laboratory for testing sustainable solutions adaptable to other Mediterranean areas. This collection of multidisciplinary case studies and research experiences from SAFE researchers and their scientific partners is a stimulating contribution to the debate on the development of sustainable techniques, methods and applications for the Mediterranean regions.

A wonderful resource for goat breeders, Raising Meat Goats for Profit includes Information about the Meat Breeds, How to get started with meat production, Easy to use feed ration tables, Real advice for new breeders, Kidding and Raising Kids, How to sell your goats, Up-to-date informations about health and diseases, Recipe book, 250 pages of user friendly information!