Welcome Dr. Braden Campbell!
Dr. Braden Campbell will be joining the Animal Sciences Department as an Assistant Professor on September 15, 2021. Braden has been serving in the Department of Animal Sciences as the Program Coordinator of the OSU Sheep Team. He received all three of his degrees, B.S. (2015), M.S. (2017), and Ph.D. (2021) in the Department of Animal Sciences here at OSU. He is a fourth generation sheep and swine producer from Waterford, Ohio. In 2019, he was one among a group of Extension educators to receive the Ohio Distinguished Team Award sponsored by Ohio Epsilon Sigma Phi Alpha Chapter/Ohio Joint Council of Extension Professionals. The team was recognized for the development and implementation of FAMACHA and Fecal Egg Counting Workshop for small ruminant producers.
In moving forward with his own collaborative research program, he intends to continue investigating alternative forage-based small ruminant production systems. Currently, Ohio has 66,000 acres approved for solar power development. As land once used to produce grain for both human and animal consumption is converted to power generation, we must investigate alternative food production systems. Grazing small ruminants may be a viable solution. In addition, he is also interested in identifying the management needs of Ohio small ruminant producers while creating readily implementable solutions on-farm. The implementation and adoption of technology new to small ruminant stakeholders (i.e., remote data collection devices, RFEID, and ultrasound) may serve as an additional “farm hand” in either detecting the early onset of disease or identifying superior individuals within a flock or herd, thus reducing animal production losses with fewer labor inputs and improving system efficiency.
He chose to join the CFAES faculty to make a positive impact on the production efficiencies of Ohio and Midwest small ruminant production systems. Being an Ohio native and sheep producer myself, he is intimately familiar with the excitement and hardships of livestock production. During his time as a student at Ohio State, he was not only provided an education, but also the opportunity to learn more about myself and connect with others passionate about livestock production in the Buckeye state. He hopes to give back to the university that helped mold him into the person he is today as well as help others, both students and producers, become more efficient, productive, and sustainable in their production systems.