Adaptation of the Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System to Northeast Sheep Dairy Operations

View the project final report

Commodities

• Animals: sheep

Practices

• Animal Production: feed additives, feed formulation, feed rations
• Education and Training: extension, on-farm/ranch research
• Farm Business Management: budgets/cost and returns
• Production Systems: holistic management
• Sustainable Communities: sustainability measures

The Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System (CNCPS) is a nutritional model developed for cattle, and the farmer will explore adopting it to dairy sheep and to the environmental conditions of the Northeast. Ewe weight, body score condition, wool depth, milk production and composition, forage and concentrate characteristics, and environmental factors will all be collected and entered into a CNCPS spreadsheet, and the CNCPS predictions for animal changes will be compared to actual ones. This will lay the groundwork for adapting the CNCPS to dairy sheep.