6 days ago
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Thirteen livestock officers with the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) have received training to use the Langston Interactive Nutrient Calculator, (LINC).
The software, developed by Oklahoma-based Langston University, aids in the analysis and comparison of forage and feed formulations, to increase the efficiency of how livestock are fed while minimising costs.
Senior Livestock Officer with RADA, Maxine Brown, said the software is free to access on the Langston University website; however, the RADA officers were specially trained to navigate the website should farmers need assistance.
Ms. Brown informed that training was done in batches with the eastern and western zones in March of 2024 and January of 2025.
“The calculator would allow farmers to do a least cost analysis, looking at the forages here, and putting some dollar figure to what it cost us to say, well, if we had to do a ton of king grass or we had a ton of king grass, what would it cost if a farmer had to purchase that? Once you plug all of that in then it will – with a nutritional breakdown of the different forages – tell you the different combinations that you can utilise to get,” she stated.
“Say you’re trying to formulate a 14 per cent protein meal for the animal, it would tell you which forages and quantities that you would need to combine to get that sort of output,” she added.
Ms. Brown told JIS News that though the impact of the calculator is promising, it highlights some of the challenges faced in Jamaica.
“One of the big ones was that we do not have a lab to do the analysis. We have to be sending the samples overseas to be analysed and that can be costly in itself, which I think it’s something for us to now look at our situation and to start to put measures in place now, to ensure that we can have this for ourselves,” she stated.
“Because it is not just for small ruminants, it’s for the cattle industry as well and for any animal that is going to feed on forages or for farmers to do proper feed formulation. It is critical data that you need to have, so how can we now make Jamaica resourceful in terms of doing that?” she added.
Ms. Brown also highlighted one possible approach to overcoming the challenge, by way of the Bodles Research Station.
“Work is now being done to refurbish the station and expand its services. So, they’re actually trying to build out their nutrition lab which will be able to do some of these tests. So, far, they’ve been able to do some minor tests,” she said.
Meanwhile, the collaboration between Langston University and RADA continues to be strengthened with consistent support in other areas from the team overseas.
With more frequent visits to the island, support has come by way of sharing critical equipment and expertise.
“They have also gifted RADA with laptops for the livestock officers to utilise because they will be using software to collect data. To provide efficient services to farmers, we need to be using different technologies and software, to provide them with more precise information. There was also another gift in the form of an ultrasound machine that they gave to a farmer. This can detect pregnancy in goats,” she said.
The University has also provided support in the form of security cameras to some farmers to assist with efforts at protecting their farms.
For more information on how RADA supports farmers islandwide, persons can visit rada.gov.jm and to access the nutrient calculator, persons can visit https://40.65.112.141/.
English (US) ·