Sheep Genetics USA Plans May 11 Webinar
Sheep Genetics USA will offer a webinar on Improving Genetic Tools to Enhance Profitability on May 11 at 8 p.m. eastern daylight time. The webinar is part of a series of webinars sponsored by the American Sheep Industry Association.
Utah sheep producer Tom Boyer will be the lead presenter, while Montana’s Ben Lehfeldt, Wyoming’s Brad Boner and Rusty Burgett of the National Sheep Improvement Program will participate as panelists for the webinar. As always, Dr. Jay Parsons of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will serve as host.
One of the production inputs producers have control over is the genetics they choose for their flocks. Sheep Genetics USA is a proactive and collaborative initiative focused on improving genetic tools to enhance profitability. It is designed with action committees representing all industry stakeholders, thereby unifying the industry in an effort to maximize demand for American lamb.
For those who can’t attend the live webinar, a recorded version will be made available through the ASI website – SheepUSA.org – to watch at a later date.
Click Here to register for the free webinar.
ALB Announces Industry Storytelling Video Contest
While much has changed about consumers’ food habits during the past year, what hasn’t is their desire to learn where food comes from, and meet the farmers and ranchers behind the American lamb in supermarkets and restaurants.
The American Lamb Board is calling on industry members to help share their production story with information-hungry consumers. From April 15 to May 31, ALB invites you to participate in the Industry Storytelling Video Contest.
The main use for the videos will be ALB’s online and social media communications to consumers, such as YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and AmericanLamb.com. You can enter by submitting your contact information along with your 5- to 7-minute video (approximate) targeting one of the following three categories:
- Animal Care – highlight your practices to care for and protect your sheep;
- Care of Land – share how you care for the land under your stewardship;
- Flocks and Family – show off your family and how they contribute to producing American lamb, such as the importance of each family member and how raising sheep has enriched your lives.
ALB prefers that the video format is horizontal. Whether you use a cellphone or video camera, please clean the lens. It is your choice to narrate your video, or simply record natural sound. ALB will pick three winners – one in each category – to win a $500 gift certificate to Premier 1 Supplies. Winners will be promoted through ALB’s social media channels as industry Lambassadors.
Contact Rae at rae@americanlamb.com with any questions about the contest.
Source: ALB
Brown Named Manager at Texas Wool Lab
Dawn Brown, M.D., has joined the Texas A&M AgriLife Research Bill Sims Wool and Mohair Laboratory in San Angelo, Texas. Brown started April 5 as manager of the commercial lab, which is in the process of expanding to become the nation’s largest commercial wool testing lab.
The American Sheep Industry Association worked with the wool and sheep industry in recent years to determine the future of testing for American wool. In 2019, the wool industry, ASI and its for-profit subsidiary Sheep Venture Company, and primary users of the wool testing lab met to take a detailed look at all options. The wool industry chose to move forward with one lab in the United States with the understanding that with lower number of tests annually a new lab would need a long-term commitment to remain financially viable.
ASI and SVC have committed $384,000 to manufacture and setup commercial wool testing equipment at the Bill Sims Wool and Mohair Research Laboratory. SVC has implemented a usage agreement with the university-owned lab to utilize the equipment during a 10-year period and commercial testing should begin with the 2022 wool clip.
“This lab is an opportunity for our nation’s wool and mohair producers to have increased global marketability of their fiber,” Brown said. “The lab’s enhanced testing capability and capacity will aid in creating better revenue for a very deserving group of growers. I’m excited and honored to be joining the team at this dynamic time in our industry.”
The Bill Sims Wool and Mohair Research Laboratory has been analyzing wool, cashmere, mohair and alpaca fiber samples of sheep, goats and alpaca for quality and yield since 1985.
Already one of just two academic wool labs in the country, the lab at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in San Angelo is now transitioning to also accommodate the testing needs of the domestic commercial wool trade.
Click Here to read the full story.
Source: Texas A&M AgriLife
Australian Market Sees Mixed Results
Australian wool sales resumed this week after the annual, one-week Easter recess. There were originally 49,990 bales slated for sale, but the fall in prices on the first and second days of the series prompted many sellers to withdraw their wool prior to sale. After these withdrawals, the final national offering total was 46,256 bales – a reduction of 7.5 percent.
The market performed with mixed results, with micron playing an integral part in price movements. The strongest buyer demand was in the finer microns and this demand pushed prices higher across the country for 18.0 micron and finer. This was reflected in the individual Micron Price Guides, which for 16.5 to 18.0 rose between 5 and 80 cents. The demand for the medium/broad microns was not as pronounced and as a result these wools sold at lower levels than the previous series. The MPGs for 19.0 to 22.0 across all three regions fell by between 20 and 57 cents.
The up and down movements across microns resulted in minimal movement in the AWEX Eastern Market Indicator. The EMI lost 9 cents for the series, closing at 1,291 Australian cents. The market finished on a positive note. Melbourne, selling in isolation on the final day (Thursday), recorded increases in the Southern MPGs for 16.5 to 20.0 micron of between 15 and 53 cents. The EMI (which only included Southern components) added 6 cents for the day. The 17.0-micron MPG in the South rose to 2,172 cents – its highest level in nearly two years.
The rise in the finer microns – coupled with the fall in the coarser edge – has increased the price differential between microns. This is best highlighted comparing the difference between the Southern 17.0 and 21.0 MPGs. This difference has grown to 927 cents, compared to a difference of 756 cents a month ago.
Next week’s offering is similar as there are currently 45,544 bales available.
Source: AWEX
Final Week to Submit NSIIC Nominations
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service is seeking nominees for one producer position and one expert in finance and management to serve three-year terms on the National Sheep Industry Improvement Center Board of Directors.
The American Sheep Industry Association is a recognized by USDA as a Certified Nominating Organization to submit nominations. USDA selects appointees from candidates nominated by a CNO – an organization with a principal interest in the production of sheep in the United States and whose membership consists primarily of active domestic sheep producers.
The sheep producer director and director with finance and management emphasis are currently served by Leo Tammi of Virginia and Burton Pfliger of North Dakota. ASI is looking to submit two nominations for each position. Applications for nomination must be submitted to ASI Executive Director Peter Orwick at porwick@sheepusa.org by next Friday, April 23.
Click Here for more information.