Geospatial Engineering and Technology Supported Climate Sensitive Sericea Lespedeza Fodder Production Suitability Analysis Modeling in the Southeastern United States

Apathy of professionals towards rural communities has severe repercussions with respect to healthcare for both humans and animals. It is observed among the small ruminant (goats and sheep) production community (farmers, research scientists, veterinary doctors, and managers) in the southeastern United States that sericea lespedeza (SL; Lespedeza cuneata), a drought-tolerant fodder, has nutraceutical (nutritional + health) value as a forage for goats and sheep. One of the climate changes (CC) consequences due to global warming is the development of erratic droughts in a temporal manner worldwide. A positive impact of CC is the availability of more land for SL cultivation and increased farmers’ interest towards small ruminant rearing in lieu of cattle. The goal of this study is to develop a geospatial engineering and technology supported SL production suitability model to determine potential areas for cultivation to support profitable small ruminant production. Although SL fodder is a low-maintenance and less climate, terrain, and soil quality sensitive crop, its successful cultivation has specific requirements with respect to weather suitability, such as higher minimum temperature, and soil characteristics, such as non-clay soil with lower bulk density, and open land cover. As the preliminary objective, an automated geospatial model was developed in ArcGIS Pro ModelBuilder platform to determine SL production spatial suitability. As the second objective of this study, this modeling process was followed to determine the suitable SL production locations in the southeastem United States, whose minimum/maximum temperature spatial and annual variation is in an upward trend. A webGIS site was developed as an ArcGIS Online dashboard format, so that farmers interested in switching to small ruminant production in lieu of cattle farming can obtain SL production suitability decision support for their land. This fodder production suitability study in CC scenario would support pasture managers of other countries in the world with similar environmental (weather, climate, soil, and land use) characteristics, as mentioned.