OJC Press Release ID: 2484

Monday, March 14, 2016

OJC Ag scholar works with Worldwide Goat Project Nepal

People always talk about networking; how important it is to one’s future to connect with people. Otero Junior College Ag Sciences student and recipient of an OJC Foundation Ag Premier scholarship, Jordan Roggen, started making her connections at a very young age.

While showing dairy goats through the American Dairy Goat Association, Roggen met Dan Laney, a judge for the ADGA. Because he was one of her favorite judges, Roggen spent time talking with Laney and soon found that they had other common interests, one being Nepal.

As a young child, Roggen travelled to Nepal with her mother, who was completing a mission trip. Study of world population, food production and distribution, problems and opportunities concerning population and global food interdependence reignited her interest in Nepal and other developing countries.

One project in Global Interdependence required students to write a grant for a project in a developing country. Roggen wrote her project on Niger.

The main idea of her proposal focused on the idea that, often, projects in other countries revolve around handing people technology or tools that they cannot continue to use once the project is over. What if a project took goat DNA to them and learned from their current practices as they learn from ours?

As it turns out, Laney was working on putting together just that sort of project: the Worldwide Goat Project Nepal. The mission of this proposed project is to establish a self-sustainable increase in the milk/meat production of native livestock in Nepal. The goal will be met through use of artificial insemination (AI) techniques, using semen from bucks in the USA, and by teaching current sound herd management practices to Nepalese farmers.

The overarching goal is to benefit the health of the general population of Nepal by increasing the amount of inexpensive and readily available protein for their daily consumption.

“The main point here is that it is not a one-way street,” said Roggen. “It will not be the U.S. pushing its livestock and methods on Nepal, but Nepal and the U.S working together as a joint project. We don’t want them to lose what they already have. Their goats are hardy and survive in harsh climates. Currently, Dan [Laney] is researching different breeds to determine which will produce the best hybrid vigor.”

One of the first steps will be to determine current practices. A survey form is in development to gather information from farms and ranches who may be potential partners. Laney will head to Nepal to complete some preliminary work this spring.

The group is working on forming a nonprofit to support the project. Currently the group has a Go Fund Me page, found at https://www.gofundme.com/s5hk28 .

Roggen plans to be involved with the project as much as she can, working around classes as she continues her education. After graduating from OJC in April with her associate’s degree in animal science, Roggen plans to continue her education at Colorado State University-Fort Collins.

Wherever her path takes her in the future, Roggen will surely use her connections to make a difference in the world.

To learn more about the Ag Sciences programs at OJC, contact Ag Sciences faculty Brooke Matthew at 719-384-6964 or Martina Murray at 719-384-6930 or visit the program’s web page at www.ojc.edu/AgriScience.aspx .

Jordan Roggen, OJC Ag Sciences scholar, cares for her goats at her home in Rye. Her interest in dairy goats and early experiences in Nepal connected her to the Worldwide Goat Project Nepal; a project that hopes to establish a self-sustainable increase in the milk/meat production of native livestock in Nepal. To learn more about this project, visit their Go Fund Me page at https://www.gofundme.com/s5hk28.