Richard Browning, Jr., Ph.D.

Welcome to the Animal Physiology Lab @ TSU

Home of the Meat Goat Breed Evaluation Project

Site established: December 2006

Last updated: Feb 20, 2012

This laboratory, part of the TSU Institute of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Research, has been involved in ruminant animal research since 1995. Up to 2002, research concentrated on tall fescue endophyte toxicosis in beef cattle with a particular interest in the use of heat-tolerant breed genetics. A transition began in 2001 that lead to the emergence of a new research area, meat goat production.

Presently, meat goats represent the research focus with genetic evaluation for performance and fitness in the southeastern US as the general theme of this TSU small ruminant effort. The research herd is comprised of approximately 250 breeding does and herd sires on 70+ acres of pastureland representing diverse sets of Boer, Kiko, Spanish and Myotonic genetics; all part of the meat goat breed evaluation project.

Update (Feb 2012): The final kid and carcass reports from Phase One of the evaluation are now available.

Directory of Supplemental Pages

Are you raising goats for profit  OR  for fun and games?

The link below may be helpful in answering this question when tax time comes around.

 To view a valuable series of research-based meat goat extension publications, be sure to visit the web page of my research and life partner:

 Maria L. Leite-Browning, DVM  at  Alabama A&M University

A permanent partner in the research activities of this lab, Dr. Maria is the former (initial) State Extension Specialist for goats at TSU and now serves in the same capacity as Extension Animal Scientist for the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.

Training sessions and seminars featuring the latest in TSU meat goat genetics research are often in joint programs with Alabama A&M and Alabama Cooperative Extension under the direction of Dr. Maria.

Overview on the potential of Brahman genetics to overcome fescue toxicosis.