Ben Lehfeldt, ASI President
It has been another few months of uncertainty within the federal government and subsequent adjustments for all of those directly or indirectly affected.
Thanks to all the states and individuals who have reached out to express the importance of different federally supported sheep related operations. It is crucial to highlight the local importance of individual sheep programs and communicate that directly to local officials – especially your federal representatives and senators. ASI is happy to follow up on those local issues, but the greatest effect seems to take place when the constituents that are directly affected have their say on the issues.
Speaking of constituents, we were excited to see the large contingent of sheep producers that were able to join us for the ASI fly-in to Washington, D.C. It was a telltale sign of the passion of our sheep producers and the urgency of change that is needed for operations to continue. I think that our time for the fly-in was ideal, since not only were appropriations asks from offices still active, but President Donald Trump’s announcement of retaliatory tariffs was only one week away from being public. Thanks to our producers, we visited with a multitude of congressional offices and came away with numerous contacts that we could follow up on after our visits.
We were also able to meet with the United States Trade Representative’s office to communicate the impact of imported lamb product on our American producers. Other individuals made progress on some short-term fixes for H-2A labor, discussed issues with Wildlife Services, and met with all the congressional staffs associated with writing the Farm Bill.
There is no doubt that producers and constituents can have the greatest impact of change through their local congressional offices. The only problem is that the pressure on the offices needs to be constant and in-person. Overall, I felt like we came together more as a united industry and delivered messages that were heard on the hill. Thank you to everyone who gave their time to communicate our message and thanks to our lobbyist for hosting our lamb reception once again. Cornerstone Government Affairs did a great job in setting up our meetings for all four segments of the agriculture committees and preparing those ag staffers for sheep priorities in the Farm Bill. We look forward to Cornerstone continuing to follow up on our lamb priorities and communicating the needs of our industry.
Our import competitors are great at manipulating their currency advantage and have a much lower cost of production to replace our domestic lamb’s market share. The most recent large year-over-year increases in imported lamb tonnage indicated the extent of the issue. If any other domestic industry sector faced what the lamb industry is facing from our import competitors, the call for repairing the situation would be huge.
The United States has saddled our producers with unfunded federal mandates – labor, regulatory, endangered species restrictions, etc. Not to mention the normal predation that we as producers face daily only serves to accentuate the advantage of our competitors.
As we continue to lose sheep producers, we also lose American wool. Lose American wool and we lose the lambs. Lose both and the small amount of ag-supported rural communities might be impacted drastically. These impacts not only break American producers, but the communities that are reliant on their existence. This does not even consider the loss of feedyards, harvesting facilities, spinners and millers that are reliant on domestic production.
The rest of the world would love to have our domestic market be a captive market that is reliant on them as importers. We as American producers just want the ability to compete through fair trade and to continue to build and maintain our local communities and the U.S. economy.
At the time of this writing – early April – there has certainly been a lot of turbulence in the broader economy, stock and bond prices, and the value of the dollar as tariffs have been announced and changed. It looks like that volatility is going to continue. But even through this volatility, there are some market fundamentals at work that are worth our focus.
If you’ll indulge a short story, every day on my way from home to work and back at Texas A&M University, I pass a house on a lot of several acres in town, in the city limits. They have a small flock of sheep. They move between each small pasture and the barn. They are there every day throughout the year. One day it’s the same sheep but, the next day the yard is full of new lambs. The lambs appeared at the end of March, sort of an official start of Spring and a great addition to my drive home. As an economist, I think it’s worth remembering some fundamentals like seasons, production and holiday demand before getting too wrapped up in the headlines and market volatility.
SUPPLIES
Sheep and lamb slaughter normally peaks for the year about now. This year appears to be no exception with slaughter for the first week of April about 10 percent larger than last year. Dressed weights have climbed seasonally up 1 to 2 pounds compared to last year during the last few weeks. The combination of head and weights has lamb production in the last three weeks 16.4 percent greater than the same period last year. In this case, it matters when Easter occurs because Easter 2024 was on March 31 compared to April 20 this year, and that caused an earlier peak in production. For the year through April 5, lamb production is 3.3 percent greater than last year.
Imports of lamb dropped dramatically in February – the latest available data – totaling 17.9 million pounds from January’s 27.4 million pounds. February’s imports were the smallest since May 2023. But for the year, imports are up 2.9 percent compared to last year. For the first two months of the year, imports from Australia are up 6.4 percent while imports from New Zealand are down 7.5 percent.
The combination of a little more domestic production and imports yields an estimated small increase in total first quarter supplies of lamb compared to last year. The effect of any import tariffs on total lamb supplies in the marketplace should materialize later in the year, but we will see in the March trade data whether any shipments were made in advance of potential tariff announcements.
PRICES
Sheep and lamb prices have been a mixed bag this Spring, depending on the market. Lightweight, 60- to 90-pound slaughter lambs surged higher, seasonally. The average price of San Angelo (Texas), Colorado and South Dakota lambs in this weight class climbed to $274 per cwt. in early April compared to $260 last year at this time. Those prices have been higher than last year since February. In the San Angelo market, those lambs have been over $300 per cwt. through March. Prices at New Holland, Penn., averaged $324 per cwt. the first week of April.
Heavier, 100- to 150-pound lambs in Sioux Falls, S.D., have been more than $210 per cwt. for almost two months, up from about $190 at the beginning of the year. But in contrast to the lighter weight slaughter lambs, the heavier lamb prices have been lower than last year. For the first week of April, prices averaged $216 compared to $226 a year ago. The national negotiated live price has been well below last year throughout 2025.
On the meat side, most cuts and the cutout have been lower than last year. The exceptions have been shoulders and light racks. Boxed lamb shoulders were $415 per cwt. at the time of this writing compared to $409 last year. The light racks have really jumped in price from $11.20 per pound early in the year to $12.12 per pound in early April.
WOOL
Prices across the range of microns have generally been increasing over the last few weeks. For example, 20-micron wools began the year at U.S. $4.14 per pound clean weight, climbed as high $4.51 by mid-March, and averaged $4.47 per pound by the first week of April. The $4.47 per pound price in early April was 38 cents per pound higher than the year before for that week. Only the 17-micron category had prices in early April below those of the prior year, 14 cents per pound lower.
While some sources have indicated increased demand helping move prices higher, there are fewer bales of wool offered for sale in Australia versus last year. Over the last four weeks, an average of 38,967 bales were offered compared to 41,454 per week last year for a decline of 6 percent.
The market is likely headed into a lot more uncertainty during the next weeks and months given tariffs – heavily tariffed China is the top export market for American Wool – volatile currency values and interest rates.
MARKET UNCERTAINTY
We are headed into a lot of market uncertainty and volatility in coming weeks and months. Tariffs should have the effect of reducing imports and increasing prices, if nothing else changes. That would mean – broadly speaking – higher prices for producers and consumers.
There are likely to be a lot of other changes. One to watch is a weakening dollar versus other currencies. A weaker dollar will also make imports more expensive and work to reduce imports, but also boost exports. Tariffs and currencies will change relative prices between countries further impacting trade.
Another to watch – and one that could be a lot more important – is the effect of this volatility on bond prices and interest rates. The market is seeing higher interest rates due to expectations of higher inflation and pricing in more risk. The uncertainty is causing more fears of a recession, which would not be good for demand.
On balance, there are plenty of worries in the market. I think it helps to remember some fundamental market conditions of supply and demand to help sort out the noise.
Applications are open for ASI’s annual Sheep Heritage Foundation Scholarship. The deadline to apply is May 31, and the recipient will be announced in June or July.
West Virginia University students have won the past two years, marking the second time in the scholarship’s history that the university has won back-to-back scholarships. It also happened in 1999-2000, when Beth Costine and Jo Alison Brown grabbed the award.
The $3,000 scholarship will be awarded to one graduate level (MS or Ph.D.) student who is attending school in the United States.
The scholarship was developed to drive advancement in the American sheep industry, through either wool or lamb research. Applicants must be graduate students involved in sheep and/or wool research in such areas as animal science, agriculture economics or veterinary medicine with proof of graduate school acceptance.
Applicants must also be United States citizens, present two letters of reference and complete the application.
To apply, visit SheepUSA.org/researcheducation-scholarship.
In addition, the Sheep Heritage Foundation accepts donations throughout the year to provide funding for the scholarship. Memorial contributions in the name of loved ones who have passed away are a common way of supporting the foundation.
Visit Sheep USA.org/about-donate learn more about donating.
Sheep producers flocked to Washington, D.C., and Capitol Hill on March 25-27 for ASI’s Spring Trip. The annual legislative fly-in gave producers an opportunity to share the industry’s needs in the next Farm Bill with legislators.
Fifty sheep producers from all around the United States took part in the trip. Attendees met with key officials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Labor and the Office of the Trade Representative to discuss critical issues facing American sheep producers. Conversations centered around tariff and trade announcements from the Trump Administration (this was a week before the administration announced sweeping tariffs), the importance of risk management for sheep producers in passing a new Farm Bill and the sheep specific requests for changes to the H-2A program.
Following the agency meetings, attendees visited individually with members of their respective state congressional delegations, focusing conversations on many of those same issues, as well as animal health, the important role Wildlife Services plays for producers, and the U.S. Sheep Experiment Station.
Producers were provided with packets of information to share with their congressional delegations on each of the industry’s previously mentioned priority issues.
“Our discussions on imports were certainly timely with the administration’s focus on tariffs,” said ASI Legislative Action Council Chair Larry Hopkins of Indiana. “The timing of our trip to Washington, D.C., was perfect as all of the legislators we talked to were focused on tariffs since we were just a week away from President Trump’s announcement. It was good that we were able to share our support for tariffs with the legislators because we have a different view on this topic than some of the other ag commodities.”
ASI leaders had hoped to meet with newly-confirmed Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer, but she was away from Washington, D.C., during the trip. Instead, members of her staff met with ASI’s H-2A Task Force.
“They really focused on solutions that we can look at for the states that are now requiring overtime pay for herders,” Hopkins said. “So, I think those were very productive conversations.”
The ASI Executive Board also met with staff from the House Agriculture Committee. While budget discussions are the priority for Congress, staffers left sheep producers optimistic about progress on the new Farm Bill.
“They gave us some hope that we might see something by this summer,” Hopkins said. “I feel encouraged not only by the trip, but also by the testimonies that (ASI President) Ben (Lehfeldt) and I gave earlier this year to the Senate and House ag committees. I believe that ASI funds and programs will be included and approved in the next Farm Bill.”
Sheep producers from 16 states took part in this year’s Spring Trip, representing all facets of the American sheep industry from traditional Western ranching operations to targeted grazers.
“We had a large group with a good mix of people,” said Hopkins. “I felt really good about the group we had and how it represented our industry.”
ASI hosted its esteemed lamb BBQ on the roof of Cornerstone Government Affair’s office one night during the Spring Trip. This event was highly attended by ASI members and congressional staff. It was a great opportunity to make connections and further the industry’s priorities while showing off the great taste of American lamb.
SOPHIA DARMELIO
West Virginia Extension
Wool is a highly functional fiber, but despite this, most of the wool and textile industry has left the country due to lack of infrastructure, limiting farmers’ profits from wool production. With the help of a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant, West Virginia University researchers are exploring new ways to support sheep farmers and fiber producers in the region.
A partnership between WVU Extension, the Davis College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and the College of Creative Arts and Media has been awarded a three-year, $200,000 grant to explore new market opportunities for agricultural products and create a profitable wool market.
“Many breeds of wool sheep have short staple length fiber in their fleece. Once the sheep is sheared, we have a wool fleece as the raw product that is sold, typically in bulk quantities. Unfortunately, right now, the wool has a low monetary value, for a variety of reasons,” said WVU Extension Small Farm Center Program Coordinator Lisa Jones. “Wool is being discarded as ‘waste wool’ due to the necessary infrastructure not being available and low national wholesale market value. By focusing on waste wool and value creation, this grant seeks to find value for the wool, so it is not thrown away or an expense for a farmer.”
Due to the lack of local options, some farmers send their wool out of state to be processed, which can take several months, and farmers receive very little compensation in return, making it not worth the time or effort to ship it. This grant will identify infrastructure needed for processing and distribution, allowing farmers to profit from their wool production in West Virginia by turning the processed wool into a retail item. The first phase of the grant will be to conduct a feasibility analysis and research the wool supply chain and its complexity.
“We are researching and taking a systems approach to understand the wool production system to integrate environmental, economic and social aspects to drive sustainable practices to enhance product quality and maximize efficiency,” said Jordon Masters, research assistant with the Davis College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. “Research is being done to determine an appropriate price point for farmers’ return on investment, create new wool products and more to add value to the wool.”
During the outreach phase of the grant, WVU Extension agents will be heavily involved in training farmers, given their existing connections to the community. Other extension and Davis College faculty and staff also will train local farmers.
An analysis will be conducted to discover new and existing opportunities for wool products that could affect the lives of farmers who produce wool. Due to the variety in fiber product types, it is expected that a minimum of 50 new products will be created or enhanced through this grant, which will be sold at the Davis College Store. By the end of this grant, it is anticipated that 60 businesses will gain knowledge about product processing, 30 new markets will increase sales and processing opportunities and 30 new collaborations between producers, processors and market access will be established.
WVU students will play an integral role in this initiative. A collaborative effort between students and faculty in Davis College and the College of Creative Arts and Media will work together to help research, design and build 10 point of purchase displays that will be in 10 state parks throughout West Virginia.
“These displays will have the wool products for sale that are created from West Virginia wool,” Masters said. “Selling these wool products at state parks is a way to get products into communities, promote the products made in the state and help tourism.”
As part of the feasibility analysis, Creative Arts and Media assistant professor Debanjan Das’s classes will help with this research, while students taking assistant professor Nicole Kreidler’s interior architecture class will work to design the point of purchase displays. Students in Davis College associate professor Jessica Blythe’s class will build the displays that will be featured in state parks.
Another phase of this grant is hosting a fiber festival, an event to promote and connect farmers, producers and consumers through a variety of fiber products.
“The fiber festival will highlight each part of the fiber supply chain and explore the fiber industry as a whole,” Jones said. “It will be an opportunity for farmers and artisans to buy and sell products from yarn to sheep, as well as provide education and connect producers together.”
Ultimately, the goal of this project is to develop a sustainable fiber production system that economically benefits farmers in the region.
As the United States closes in on a scrapie-free designation, the time has come to begin conversations about where the American sheep industry goes once it crosses the seven-year finish line established by the World Organization for Animal Health. That conversation started in earnest on April 9 at the ASI-hosted Scrapie Free in the U.S.: Moving from an Eradication to a Surveillance Program forum during the National Institute for Animal Agriculture’s Annual Conference in Kansas City, Mo.
Attended by a variety of state and national animal health officials, extension personnel and sheep industry representatives, the forum took a closer look at the American sheep industry’s journey toward finally being declared scrapie free. Only three states have yet to surpass the seven-year window required for a disease-free designation: Arkansas, Indiana and Pennsylvania. Barring any further cases, that window will close in 2028, but doesn’t mean scrapie and the programs created to eradicate it will disappear completely. As the forum title suggests, surveillance programs will most likely still be in place moving forward.
Sheep producer Matt Benz remembers the start of scrapie eradication efforts in the United States more than 20 years ago, so he made the 100-mile drive to Kansas City in hopes the forum would mark the beginning of the end for a disease that drastically changed the American sheep industry and the way it tracks sheep movement around the country.
“The reason I came is I was on the board of animal health in North Dakota about 25 years ago and the state vet said there was a U.S. Animal Health Association meeting in Little Rock,” Benz recalled after recent forum wrapped up at the Kauffman Foundation Conference Center. “They were going to be talking about scrapie, so he asked if I wanted to go. I went down and we were talking about scrapie, and the cattle guys wanted to get rid of all of the sheep in the country. Only a few of them were totally serious, but some of them were. We were talking about all of these things we needed to do with scrapie and the question was asked, ‘How prevalent is it?’ And nobody knew the answer. So, slaughter surveillance came out of that meeting.”
And slaughter surveillance won’t be eradicated anytime soon. At least that was the prevailing thought in Kansas City.
“It’s a beginning,” Benz said of the forum. “There’s a lot of confusion, but I think everyone here is on the same page that we need to continue doing slaughter surveillance for scrapie after we’re determined to be disease free. We’re a ways away from agreeing about how it’s going to happen and who’s going to pay for it.”
ASI Animal Health Co-Chair and small flock producer Cindy Wolf, DVM, was on hand for the forum and participated in a panel discussion that included: former ASI President Cindy Siddoway of Idaho as a large flock producer; Cindy Tews of the Fresno (Calif.) Livestock Commission representing sale barns; Rosie Busch, DVM, of the University of California-Davis Veterinary Medicine Extension team; and UC-Davis Professor Emeritus Joan Dean Rowe as a representative of the goat industry.
One realization of the day’s forum is that after all of these years of fighting scrapie, there are still sheep and goat producers who aren’t aware of the National Scrapie Eradication Program and the scrapie tag requirements.
“I’m excited that we had so many different representatives and stakeholders here. I thought everyone is really looking forward to what this can mean for them, even though it’s hard to visualize,” said Wolf. “I’m excited because some of it is real tangible. We can do more education, we can do more surveillance, and we can learn what other pieces that need to be put together in the next two years so we can be ready for 2028.”
Wolf has been a part of the scrapie discussions from the beginning, and said during the panel discussion that the industry was fortunate the genetic aspects of the disease are so straightforward.
“I think there are a lot of people and organizations that need to take credit for the fact that we’ve come this far in our battle with scrapie,” Wolf said. “I’m thrilled. But I’m also concerned if we’ll have the leadership and commitment at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and in the industry three years from now. We’re all getting older, those of who have been involved in this from the beginning. I’m hopeful that the knowledge and the tools are still available through funding and staff.”
One of the unintended benefits of the program is the power of scrapie tags. While no producer enjoys having to tag animals, the tags became a powerful tool for producers – a tool that was enhanced exponentially with the development of electronic tags.
“I think when we started all of this, we didn’t realize how well received the scrapie tag could become as an ID component within a flock,” Wolf said. “We had producers show us that they are using this tag for management purposes. And it still served its other purpose, which is to provide traceability. There were hidden benefits that none of us realized. And it works for the industry. Producers who have applied themselves through these tags have become more efficient and their sheep have become more productive because they can keep better records. Now, they know who the star performers are in the flock.”
Therein lies the battle as scrapie efforts move forward. The tags were never designed for identification purposes. They were designed to increase traceability in the event of a disease outbreak. Whether they’re required or not after 2028, many producers will continue to use them as a means for improving their flocks.
Regardless of where the scrapie journey goes in the years to come, the forum showed the importance of involving livestock markets in the process. In addition to Tews, Mandy Geistweidt of Gillespie Livestock in Texas and Justin Tupper of St. Onge Livestock in South Dakota were on the agenda to talk about the role their industry plays in traceability. And it was apparent from comments by all three that many sheep producers show up at sale barns unprepared to meet the current tagging requirements.
“We are the gatekeepers to a lot of information,” Tews said during her panel discussion.
Most markets can help producers meet tagging requirements but charge extra for a service that can be a real strain on their limited labor force.
“I’m constantly reminded of how much we need to have good information available to producers, and we have to get more creative about how we put that information out to them,” said Wolf. While scrapie materials have been made available to sale barns in the past, the program ran into issues with keeping information current and assuring that it was distributed to producers. “We need to reach all of the industry, and not just the people who are coming to our association meetings.”
Discussions on the future of the scrapie program and where it heads from here will continue in the months – and years – to come. But with estimates that scrapie costs American sheep producers between $10 and $20 million a year in lost exports and increased production costs, there’s no doubt the industry can’t afford to take a wrong turn this close to the final destination.
Based on an industry analysis by Market Solutions LLC that was conducted in 2024 and presented at the 2025 ASI Annual Convention, the Wool Council asked association staff to develop a plan to spur growth and development within the American wool industry.
The new Wool Action Plan identifies five key areas that need to be addressed, as well as ways in which ASI and the industry can go about implementing changes and improvements in these areas.
WHERE WE ARE
To get to your final destination, you need to know two things: where you are and where you are going. So, let’s take a look at
where we are.
Of the average annual American wool clip, 60 percent is exported internationally – with China continuing to serve as our largest market. Another 15 percent is used in clothing, blankets and other items for the United States military, while 19 percent is used by domestic, commercial mills and 6 percent is processed by domestic, small mills.
U.S. textile manufacturing has changed dramatically since the 1990s, when much of the commercial textile industry moved to international destinations. Domestic manufacturing has always been important to the American wool industry, which has struggled dramatically with the loss of manufacturing capacity.
But with 40 percent of American wool staying in the United States, opportunity exists to grow the domestic side of our industry. And that’s where the Wool Action Plan will focus its energy.
While we have plenty of producers growing American wool around the country, we have only two first-stage processors in Chargeurs and Bollman Industries. As the wool moves through the supply chain, there are more options for spinning and eventually manufacturing. It’s critical that first-stage processors – which are the gateway into manufacturing – are efficient and produce high-quality products while also having plenty of raw wool to keep their facilities and their staffs busy.
The analysis identified several areas of opportunity for American wool in the domestic market. These include the athleisure and outdoor apparel markets, taking advantage of the demand for locally sourced, natural fibers, developing yarns for export and more.
ACTION PLAN
ASI staff identified five key areas to focus on in the Wool Action Plan. Those areas are:
• Improving Wool Quality.
• Assisting First-Stage Processors.
• Increasing Demand Through Promotion and Education.
• Supporting Small- and Mid-Size Mills.
• Exploring a Traceability Program.
Improving wool quality takes the top spot because the way to increase domestic use of American wool is to produce high-quality wool that companies want to buy. This includes reducing the average micron, reducing vegetable matter and increasing yield.
There’s quite a bit of variety in the American wool clip, so we’ll establish a baseline, and then work with the ASI Production, Education and Research Council and it’s Genetic Stakeholders Committee to collaborate efforts. ASI will also develop educational tools, such as webinars, brochures and social media posts. We’ll revitalize the quality improvement program and ensure testing innovations are available that allow producers to truly understand the quality of the wool they are growing.
As previously mentioned, first-stage processing is a key component in these efforts. Many producers remember when Superwash was introduced to the American wool industry in 2011 like it was yesterday. In fact, it spurred the development of several American-made wool sock lines. But Superwash is more than a decade old now, and technology has evolved.
The Wool Action Plan calls for continued investment in our first-stage processors. We’ll help them explore funding sources and grant opportunities while bringing in professionals from around the world to provide technical assistance as we look to expand their capacity and efficiency.
The third point in the Wool Action Plan calls for increasing demand through promotion and education. Can you believe after all of these years that there are still consumers who only think of grandma’s itchy wool sweaters when asked about American wool? We need to educate them about the wonderful qualities of fine American wool. And we need to convince them that the added cost of buying American wool products – from underwear to outerwear and everything in between – is worth the price of admission.
There’s a reason that people who often spend time in extreme conditions – whether it’s cold or hot – have come to realize the value of wool products. There’s a reason the United States military uses American wool in everything from cold weather gear to combat and dress uniforms.
We’ll continue consumer outreach – be sure to follow Experience Wool on social media and visit www.AmericanWool.org – as well as develop additional resources to market American wool domestically while drawing on our experience in marketing this all-natural fiber to overseas manufacturers.
There’s been a resurgence of small- and medium-size mills in the United States in recent years as customers gravitate toward locally sourced and locally made products. The fourth point of the Wool Action Plan calls for ASI to provide additional support to these mills. As is the case with the first-stage processors, many of them need access to additional funding so they can increase efficiency and capacity.
These mills provide an avenue for American wool producers with smaller flocks to get their wool through the manufacturing process, whether they just want to develop a farm-specific yarn line or have their wool processed into consumer products.
And finally, the Wool Action Plan calls for exploring traceability options within the industry. Consumers who are willing to pay higher costs for natural fibers over synthetics often want to know where those fibers are coming from, how they were produced and that they are supporting local economies with their purchase. Providing American wool to the military is also important for the military and for wool usage.
“To successfully integrate additional programs, we will need to carefully evaluate our current priorities,” ASI Wool Marketing Director Rita Samuelson wrote in a letter to Wool Council members. “This may involve strategically changing programs and – in some cases – reassessing or scaling back lower-priority initiatives to make room for the new ones. Our goal is to optimize our efforts without compromising the quality and success of new and ongoing projects.
“Although this is a transitional year – with the complexities of a Farm Bill year, uncertain funding and unforeseen challenges – it also presents opportunities for growth and innovation. By staying realistic about our capacity and leveraging our strengths, we are confident in our ability to drive meaningful progress. This plan positions us to move forward with intention.
“We’re doing all of this with the end goal of creating a strong, resilient American sheep and wool industry now and into the future,” said Samuelson.
Anyone who’s needed a veterinarian to work on their sheep flock will tell you vets are almost as hard to find as a good shearer. But the sheep industry is one veterinarian richer thanks to Maryland’s Aislinn Latham, DVM.
A graduate of Purdue University’s College of Veterinary Medicine in 2022, Latham’s first stop out of college was at a large animal clinic in western Massachusetts working on mostly dairy cows and horses. Looking to get closer to the family farm – and find a few more sheep to work on – she made a move to the Walkersville (Md.) Veterinary Clinic earlier this year, where she hopes to help the clinic expand its small ruminant clientele.
“There are three other veterinarians besides myself that do large animal cases, including small ruminants,” Latham said. “I’m not starting their small ruminant practice, but I am hoping to build it. There are a couple of other vets in the area that work on small ruminants, as well, but I think there’s plenty of work for all of us when it comes to sheep and goats.”
Latham developed her passion for sheep when she started with market lambs in 4-H at 8 years old. Breeding sheep followed and each of her three younger siblings have continued to work with the family’s small flock, which includes Border Leicesters, Lincoln Longwools and a meat-specific line of mostly Hampshires.
“We sell freezer lamb, and we’re trying to work on doing things with the wool, like getting it processed and selling it. We also take sheep to the shows, but mostly just local shows,” Latham said. “I think we’re pretty good with where the flock is right now. Not really looking to expand.”
That small flock sparked Latham’s childhood dreams as she watched intently anytime vets came to assist with the family’s sheep.
“That’s what inspired me to become a veterinarian with a big interest in small ruminants,” she said.
COMING HOME
With family roots tracing back to the Buckeye State, Latham headed to Ohio State University, where she majored in animal sciences and benefited from the school’s required sheep production class. Then it was off to Purdue for vet school. But she always envisioned finding her way back to Maryland. And her parents, Jim and Kristan Latham of Sunset Springs Farm in Thurmont, Md., certainly welcomed her return.
“They really enjoyed having a veterinarian around all the time during lambing this year,” Latham said. “There’s definitely a need for large animal vets in the area. I know that a lot of the sheep community around here was just as excited as my family to have me back in the area.”
As every sheep producer knows, there’s a comfort level in working with a veterinarian that you know and trust. In Latham’s case, area producers benefit from her years of experience as a producer.
“The really important thing about having raised sheep for much of my life is that it has given me a lot of practical experience in handling sheep and being around sheep,” Latham said. “The more you’re around them, the more you’ve seen and know what to expect. But I’ve had sheep for 20 years, and every year I see something that I haven’t seen before.
“My background gives me a lot to draw on – in conjunction with my veterinary training – that can help me to come up with practical answers to the problems that I might see in small ruminants.”
No surprise, most of Latham’s work in the spring revolved around lambing issues, such as dystocia or lambs that just needed some extra help to thrive in their first few days of life.
As she’s settled into the new practice, she’s also working to build her small animal skills, covering the clinic’s appointments and surgeries some days while visiting farms and monitoring flock health on others.
“It really just depends on the day,” she said. “I’m just getting into the small animal side of the practice, so I’ve got a lot to learn. But it’s always fun to learn new things and expand my practice abilities.”
As a young veterinarian still working to establish herself in the industry, Latham is content with her new practice and the opportunities it presents for the future. But when pressed on long-term goals, she envisions a time when she can work exclusively on small ruminants.
“I don’t even know if there’s enough work out there with small ruminants to make that possible,” she admits. “But that’s the dream. It would take a lot of planning and work, so even if it did happen that’s pretty far in the future. When I was looking for a new practice, I wanted something where I could do sheep specifically, because that’s just what I’ve always enjoyed.”
The sheep industry could use a few more Aislinn Lathams in its ranks.
Approximately 230 organizations have signed on to ASI’s annual letter of support for Wildlife Services, which was shared with appropriations leaders in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives in late March as sheep producers from around the country traveled to Washington, D.C., for the association’s annual Spring Trip. Signers of the letter include trade groups representing farmers, ranchers, airports, pilots, conservationists and sportsmen.
While the American sheep industry counts on Wildlife Services to play an essential role in protecting the nation’s flock, the agency is just as essential when it comes to protecting human life and American crops. For instance, bird strikes endanger civilian and military aircraft daily, but Wildlife Services has worked to mitigate this issue and improve travel safety in the process.
Here’s the full letter submitted to congressional leaders:
Wildlife causes more than $12.8 billion in damage each year to natural resources, public infrastructures, private property and agriculture. USDA Wildlife Services works to prevent, minimize or manage this damage and to protect human health and safety from conflicts with wildlife. Wildlife damage to U.S. livestock, aquaculture, small grains, fruits, vegetables and other agricultural products has been estimated to reach nearly $1 billion annually. Wildlife predators cause more than $232 million in death loss to livestock; field crop losses due to wildlife total $619 million annually; losses to vegetables, fruits and nuts total $146 million annually; and 70 percent of catfish farmers incur wildlife-related damage. The annual industry-wide value of lost catfish sales revenue to cormorants averages $47.2 million, ranging from $25.8 million to $65.4 million, depending upon predation levels in any given year. As a result, WS is an essential program to U.S. agriculture.
WS assists farmers and ranchers in 50 states and three territories to reduce the impact of predators on their animals, protecting 8.9 million head of cattle, 5.1 million head of sheep, and 56 million head of other livestock in 334,000 direct control actions. In FY23, WS provided more than 20,800 technical assistance activities that enabled 6,061 livestock producers to implement improved husbandry and methods such as use of guard animals, exclusion, fencing and predator dispersal. These activities included 53 predator management workshops attended by more than 2,700 individuals from 14 states, dispersal of 277,335 double-crested cormorants, and removal of 2,521 cormorants at aquaculture facilities in 15 states to protect farmed fish from avian depredation. The industry is worth $1.5 billion nationally (per National Marine Fisheries Service).
WS supported USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services’ emergency response efforts to animal diseases, natural disasters and hazardous spills. In FY23, WS deployed 102 personnel on 172 deployments for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza and African Swine Fever. WS personnel have physically deployed to assist 12 states in response to HPAI. WS responded to the ASF detection on the island of Hispaniola and since detection in July 2021, has removed a total of 4,921 feral swine and sampled 3,042 for ASF on Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands through FY23. The National Wildlife Disease Program also coordinated sample collection and evaluation or assisted state agencies with many other diseases in wildlife to include SARS-CoV-2, plague, tularemia, leptospirosis, rabies, chronic wasting disease and rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus.
In collaboration with state wildlife agencies, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Tribes, WS addresses livestock depredation and protects human health and safety related to wolves and grizzly bears. WS manages conflicts with gray wolves or Mexican gray wolves in 11 states. WS conducted operations with grizzly bears in three states, dispersing 22, capturing-relocating seven, and lethally removing six in FY23.
Congressional funding of $4.5 million in FY23 supported protecting livestock from large carnivore predation in 12 states using nonlethal strategies such as range riding, fladry installation and electric fence construction. WS filled 30 full-time positions and one part-time position to implement these strategies. WS’ National Wildlife Research Center evaluated the effectiveness of activities to reduce depredation.
In FY23 alone, WS conducted more than 72,950 technical assistance projects to reduce wildlife damage to property in urban, suburban and rural locations across the country which include: homes, schools, industrial facilities, roads, bridges, airports and airport runways, dams, and electrical and water systems. In addition, WS works to protect wetland habitat, riparian habitat, tidal marsh and timber from a variety of pest species including feral hogs and nutria, as well as the destruction that beaver can cause. Through cooperator-funded beaver damage management on more than 45,000 sites in 49 states, WS worked to protect roads, bridges, timber, agriculture, property, native habitat and other natural resources from flooding damage.
WS’ National Feral Swine Damage Management Program continued to reduce the impacts of invasive feral swine to American agriculture, natural resources and property, and to reduce threats to human health and safety, declaring a 12th state (Indiana) free of feral swine since the program’s inception in 2014. Work to reduce feral swine damage on approximately 187 million acres continued across 34 states and three territories. Funding for the Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program within the 2018 Farm Bill was set to expire at the end of FY23, however, Continuing Resolution (H.R. 6363) provided extensions, adding an additional $15 million, split between APHIS and the Natural Resources Conservation Service to continue the FSCP.
WS had 3,809 cooperative service and interagency agreements including agriculture, forestry, private industry, state wildlife agencies, state departments of health, state departments of agriculture, schools, universities, counties, local governments, Tribal governments, homeowner associations, conservation groups and others that together with WS, mitigate the damage and dangers that wildlife can inflict. As a biproduct of operational activities in FY23, WS donated more than 651,500 pounds of meat to food banks and other organizations providing for people in need. WS donated an additional 35,800 pounds of meat for non-human consumption.
WS flew 80 aircraft for 16,400 flight hours over a total of 1.1 million miles of flight operations to conduct livestock protection via predator removal, removal of invasive feral swine and brown tree snakes, aerial delivery of vaccine baits (rabies), emergency response and other missions.
WS processed more than 18,200 strikes with civil aircraft with more than 11,000 strikes with military aircraft also reported. More than 290,000 wildlife strikes with civil aviation have been reported to the National Wildlife Strike Database for civil aviation since WS began keeping records in 1990. Reported wildlife-aircraft strikes continue to increase as airport managers and biologists prioritize reporting all wildlife strikes to the FAA database.
Damaging strikes have decreased because of wildlife mitigation and awareness efforts at airfields. WS provided 333 staff years of direct support to assist a total of 782 civil, military, and joint-use airports including about 76 percent of all U.S. commercial passenger airports. WS trained 7,871 airport and military personnel to prevent wildlife from colliding with aircraft, improving travel safety. WS also provided direct staff support to reduce aviation hazards at 151 U.S. or coalition military airbases stateside and in southwest Asia, the Pacific Rim, Africa, Europe, and in the British Indian Ocean Territory, and an additional 110 civil-military airports protecting American military aviation assets and personnel.
It has been Wildlife Services’ cooperative nature that has allowed it to accomplish all of the above listed programs and has made it the most cost effective and efficient program in the federal government in the areas of wildlife damage management and public health and safety.
Graham & Margaret Phillipson
Littledale Farm
Throughout history, hill breed sheep have been the basis for all breeds, with many scattered all over the world and living autonomously in mountainous regions.
During more recent centuries, certain hill sheep have been developed to consistently breed exactly true to type and now form the basis of structured breeding programs. Some of the hill sheep breeds are Scottish Blackface, North Country Cheviot, Shetland, Swaledale, Welsh Mountain and several other regional breeds.
The history of the Scottish Blackface breed is lost in the mists of the past, but there are references to sheep which were probably the forerunners of the Scottish Blackface of today. Monastery records of the 12th century speak of the Dun or Blackface breed of sheep.
The breed has been described as having a “fierce and hardy look,” and that description still applies today. There are several regional variations in type. Scottish Blackface sheep are easy Care and ewes lamb easily, quickly and are up and feeding in a short time. The ewes are defensive of their lambs and develop a strong bond.
The North Country Cheviot is also a native of Scotland. In the mid-18th century, the sheep grazing the Cheviot Hills on the Border with England were called the Long Hill Sheep, the Short or Linton sheep being the present-day Scottish Blackface.
Apart from the occasional outcross with Merinos from the European Continent, they had remained more or less of a similar type for centuries. A well-known farmer, James Robson of Kelso, improved the breed considerably by using rams from Lincolnshire around 1760. It is thought that Leicester blood was also introduced before 1800. In 1792, Sir John Sinclair brought 500 of these Cheviots to his estate in Caithness. By this time, the crossing had largely stopped.
Large numbers of sheep were driven north to the vast tracts of hill land depopulated after the Highland Clearances. The sheep thrived, and due to the high price of wool some Merino blood was introduced. A side effect of the Merino cross is that the ears of North Country Cheviot are carried much lower than those of the South Country or Border Cheviot sheep.
North Country Cheviot ewes are particularly kind mothers, easy to handle at lambing time with few lambing problems. They combine thriftiness and hardiness with prolificacy and strong maternal qualities to produce quality lambs under rigorous and demanding conditions and are noted for their longevity.
The Scottish Blackface and North Country Cheviot breeds have been developed to utilize rough or coarse grazing ground and to produce grass-fed market lambs of the highest quality. Both breeds are independent and self-sufficient, but might need assistance to winter over in those areas where snow falls are heavy and little or no ground is blown bare.
Sheep breeding in recent years has been more directed at prolificacy of the ewe and ensuring that the carcass of the lamb has minimum fat and bone. Within a given breed, the number of lambs born is of low inheritability, meaning, differences are not genetic but mainly environmental and management. Within a breed, selection for prolificacy is likely to have minimal effect, since earlier generations of sheep breeders have already raised fertility as high as practically possible. Cross breeding to produce hybrid maternal ewes is far more successful because genetic factors add to the cross traits of hardiness, prolificacy and carcass quality.
These F1 hybrid maternal ewes are derived from crossing two purebred breeds, which is not the same as breeding crosses with crosses. Therefore, the types of purebred ewes available are fixed and mostly older (4 to 5 years-plus) draft hill breeds are used. The Scottish Blackface and North Country Cheviot are at the pinnacle of the three Tier Stratified Breeding System where ewes are kept on coarse grounds for around four years and the older ewes are drafted to better pastures to be put to the Bluefaced Leicester or Border Leicester rams to produce Scotch or Cheviot mules or the English half-bred / Greyface maternal ewes.
The ewe lambs from these crosses are both docile and prolific and are ideal for further crossing with heavy meat breed terminal sires to produce fast growing grass fed quality prime lamb. The F1 ram lambs are a secondary meat market lamb of superior quality.
The Scottish Blackface and North Country Cheviot ewe has a long life and typically will give four or five lamb crops on the hill or marginal ground and a further two or three crops on the lower ground. The rams are also long lived, and are typically put out on the hills with the ewes in November, one ram to 40 or 50 ewes. The rams run with the ewes for about six weeks and are then brought in to winter pastures. Ewe lambs are not normally put to the ram in their first year.
In the United States, the North Country Cheviot and Scottish Blackface have not reached their full potential as the basis for premium lamb production, due, in part, to the small numbers of animals available. These breeds are ideally suited to grass-based farming and in an era when grain costs are escalating, these sheep will thrive and be profitable on all types of pasture, particularly in the northern states.
The production of the F1 Mule ewe can surely follow and the commercial producer will have an easy keeping, productive commercial ewe available to produce premium market lambs on grass.