AFSRC scientists are studying non-traditional plant resources for grazing ruminants in Appalachia and identifying plant resources and plant management strategies that can help control gastrointestinal worms which infect small ruminants. Forage plant research in controlled environments like greenhouses is important because it provides fast results for narrowing down the most promising treatments for field scale evaluation. In this photo, Biological Science Technician Sean Green is growing prairiegrass (Bromus catharticus Vahl.) seedlings that will be used to study the ecology of the free-living stage of the small ruminant gastrointestinal worm Haemonchus contortus.

Photo by Susan Boyer