American Consortium for Small Ruminant Parasite Control

Richard Ehrhardt has been the small ruminant specialist at Michigan State University since 2009 holding a joint appointment between the departments of animal science and large animal clinical sciences.  He received his M.S. and Ph.D. (1997) from Cornell University where he studied pregnancy biology in sheep.  After post doctoral appointments, he returned to Cornell as a research associate studying metabolic regulation in cattle and sheep.  This work included the study of leptin regulation and action as well as the central regulation of appetite and metabolism in these species.  His interest in outreach and applied research were fostered by his experiences managing his own flock of commercial ewes on an accelerated lambing program for the past 11 years, shearing professionally since his early teens, raising purebred sheep through his college years and doing field research in New Zealand and Australia.  His current interests revolve around increasing production efficiency in small ruminants through strategic nutritional management and preventative health programs.  His specific interest in parasite management is to develop feasible, integrated approaches to control parasites in commercial production.