ASI Seeking Producers for NSIIC Nominations
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service is requesting nominations to the National Sheep Industry Improvement Center’s Board of Directors. The American Sheep Industry Association is certified to nominate individuals to serve on the board and is seeking nominations by May 15 to forward to USDA/AMS.
USDA requires a minimum of two nominees for each impending vacancy. These vacancies are created by members whose terms will expire at the end of the board’s winter meeting in early 2023.
This year, two vacant positions will occur for the 2023 board. There is one vacancy for a sheep producer and one vacancy for a person with expertise in finance and management. Marsha Spykerman is not eligible for renomination as a producer and Francisco Iturriria is not eligible for renomination as an expert in finance and management.
AMS’ policy is that diversity of the boards it oversees should reflect the diversity of their industries in terms of the experience of members, methods of production and distribution, marketing strategies, and other distinguishing factors, including but not limited to individuals from historically underserved communities that will bring different perspectives and ideas to the table. Throughout the full nomination process, the industry must conduct extensive outreach, paying particular attention to reaching underserved communities, and consider the diversity of the population served and the knowledge, skills and abilities of the members to serve a diverse population.
Nomination and agreement to serve forms are available at SheepUSA.org/resources-nsiicnominations and must be submitted to ASI Executive Director Peter Orwick at peter@sheepusa.org by May 15.
Source: USDA/AMS
ALB Releases Latest Video in Lamb Quality Series
Awareness of lamb live animal and carcass evaluation criteria can help producers make production decisions aimed at meeting lean meat yield and quality expectations.
Live Lamb Evaluation is the topic of the latest video released by the American Lamb Board. It is the third installment in a five-part series sponsored by ALB and Premier 1 Supplies. Using the theme of Beginning with the End in Mind, the purpose of the series is to help the American lamb industry provide a consistently high-quality product to consumers.
Travis Hoffman, Ph.D., North Dakota State University and University of Minnesota Extension sheep specialist, is spearheading the project. NDSU Extension Service is producing the video series.
“As sheep producers, we are tasked to provide enjoyable eating experiences and meet palatability expectations for the dinner plate of American lamb consumers,” said Peter Camino, ALB chair from Buffalo, Wyo.
A key part of raising sheep that meet yield and quality parameters for premium American lamb is determining when the animal is marketed. In Live Lamb Evaluation, producers learn how harvesting at compositionally correct end points produces carcasses that grade USDA Choice or better and Yield Grade 1, 2 or 3.
Age, breed type, size and body composition all play a part in grading and carcass cutability. The video series takes into account the wide variety of production systems used by American lamb producers, as each strives to work with their own specific production factors.
“Different crosses such as Suffolk-Rambouillet lambs do well in our area of West Texas, mainly because of conversion, cost of gain and the overall performance of the lamb; and then at harvest time, the yield that we see back from that animal,” says David Quam, ALB representative from 2015 to 2021.
Live Lamb Evaluation is available at LambResourceCenter.com. Previous videos can also be found there. Two more videos are planned for the series, as well as Q&A webinars.
Source: ALB
Australian Market Continues Downward Trend
The Australian wool market recorded another overall small loss this week, continuing its downward trend. Although the market lost ground for the fifth consecutive week, there were some strong positive movements within certain sectors as 43,311 bales were on offer nationally – 2,037 less than the previous week. Compared to the previous season, the total amount of bales offered continues to track higher. There have been 196,050 more bales put through the auction system compared to this time last year – an increase of 15.4 percent.
There were different movements in the Merino fleece types within regions. In Sydney and Fremantle, the individual Micron Price Guides ranged between fully firm and a fall of 25 cents. Melbourne, however, posted gains of between 3 and 61 cents. By the end of the series, the positive and negative movements in the market had the net result of a 2-cent fall in the AWEX Eastern Market Indicator. The EMI closed the series at 1,367 Australian cents.
Currency continues to play a large role in the recent market fluctuations. Due to a weakening of the Australian dollar, when viewed in U.S. dollar terms – the currency in which most of the overseas business is traded – the EMI recorded a larger fall. It fell by 17 U.S. cents for the series, closing at 1,020 U.S. cents. Although the EMI has now fallen for five weeks in a row, the overall fall during this period has not been significant. Since Week 36, the EMI has dropped by 46 cents – an average of just more than 9 cents per week.
Next week there will be no sale as the market has a one-week Easter recess. Sales will resume the week of April 25. That sale will be once again restricted to two selling days (Wednesday and Thursday) due to the Anzac Day Public Holiday.
Source: AWEX
ALB Offers Holiday Cooking Ideas
Are you ready to cook American lamb for the upcoming spring holidays? The American Lamb Board knows tackling a bone-in leg of lamb can be an intimidating task, but ALB is here to help.
Click Here for ALB’s comprehensive guide to executing the perfect spring holiday celebration with American lamb, which includes roasting guides and many other great recipes.
Source: ALB
Grazing Conference Set for May
Soil health and sustainable ranch management are the focus of this year’s Roots of Resilience 2022 Grazing Conference at Pendleton, Ore., and Touchet, Wash., on May 25-26.
The conference will kick off on May 25 at the Pendleton Convention Center at 8 a.m. with keynote speaker of the day Dave Pratt, Ranching for Profit emeritus. Dave is one of the most sought-after speakers on sustainable agriculture and profitable ranching in the world. His talk, entitled Three Secrets to Increasing Profit will share how livestock growers can improve sustainability by improving their financial bottom line.
The May 25 afternoon session begins at 1 p.m. with Chris Schachtschneider, Umatilla County Oregon State University Extension demonstrating low stress livestock handling in the Happy Canyon Arena. Spectators will learn how quiet, slow movement can lead to less stress and more success when handling cattle, sheep and goats.
On May 26, all focus will be on soil health with internationally recognized soil health expert Integrity Soils Agrologist Nicole Masters. Nicole is recognized as a knowledgeable and dynamic speaker on the topic of soil health traveling globally to share her knowledge of the soil. Day two will begin with a morning classroom presentation at Gardena School in Touchet, Wash., and a field practical in the afternoon at Tumac Farm/Walla Walla Organics Farm nearby.
Both days include lunch. Early bird registration is $297 for both days and $167 for one day. Cut-off for early registration is April 30. Regular two-day registration is $397 and one day is $217. Student rates are $197 for two days and $97 for one day. College student participation dollars are available through a generous donor. College advisors are asked to provide a list of students participating in one or both days of the grazing conference prior to April 30 to Andrea Mann at mannandrea@aol.com.
Click Here to learn more.
USDA Offers Tax Resources for Farmers/Ranchers
Filing taxes can be challenging, especially if you are new to running a farm business or U.S. Department of Agriculture programs, or you are trying to forecast your farm’s tax bill. To support farmers and ranchers, USDA is partnering with tax experts from across the country to connect producers to information and resources related to taxes and USDA program payments.
Click Here for more information.
Source: USDA