American Sheep Industry Names Mike Michener as Executive Director

The American Sheep Industry Association (ASI) has appointed Mike Michener as its new Executive Director. Michener brings 35+ years of executive leadership across complex private, government, and nonprofit organizations, experience that will help ASI advance producer priorities in a diverse national industry. He spent a combined seven years working with leading global agribusinesses through the U.S. Council for International Business (USCIB) and CropLife International, focused on sustainability, supply chains, and market development, expertise that aligns closely with the market realities and customer expectations shaping agriculture today.

Michener also served as Administrator of USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service, strengthening U.S. agricultural trade and global market engagement, and has policy experience across administrations. His track record includes leading organizations through complex stakeholder environments, aligning partners around shared goals, and translating big-picture strategy into practical outcomes, skills that support ASI’s work across wool, lamb, public lands, animal health, and trade.
“Mike brings a rare mix of market-building, policy navigation, and proven leadership,” said ASI President Ben Lehfeldt. “That combination will help ASI expand opportunities and deliver for producers.”

Grazing Action Plan Moves Forward

ASI joined partner organizations in Washington, D.C. this week for a major federal lands grazing announcement led by USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum focused on expanding grazing opportunities on federal lands. ASI participated alongside Public Lands Council (PLC) leaders and producers at a grazing roundtable and MOU signing that launched the Grazing Action Plan, elevating producer stewardship and the role grazing plays in land management. The MOU outlines coordination between the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to assess vacant allotments, align permitting frameworks, expand targeted grazing for wildfire prevention, and establish a rancher liaison program for wildfire response. ASI and partners also worked to line up additional policy conversations with Senate and appropriations staff to keep grazing priorities moving forward.

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Trump to Unveil Loan Guarantees for Beleaguered Farmers

 

The White House announced new SBA-backed loan guarantees aimed at helping agricultural communities facing volatile markets and rising input costs tied to the Iran war and tariffs. Eligible sectors include sheep and goat farmers, along with other livestock and crop producers and certain food supply-chain businesses. The administration says the guarantees are intended to ease financing pressure and help stabilize costs across agriculture.

 

MSU Birth Management Webinar Series (4 Weeks)

The Michigan State University Small Ruminant Team will be hosting a 4-week virtual program called “Sustainable management of internal parasites in sheep and goats in the Upper Midwest and Northeast USA”. The online sessions will be held via Zoom on Tuesday evenings from 7-9pm ET: April 14, 21, 28, and May 5. Its goal is to help you create an effective and sustainable program that will reduce animal health and productivity losses while minimizing the advance of resistance problems. The series will discuss which parasites are a problem in the Midwest/Northeast, risk factors for infection, grazing strategies to reduce parasite load, infection monitoring, effective drug treatments and farm specific control programs.

Session 1: April 14. Parasites of impact in sheep and goats, and basics of their lifecycles.

Session 2: April 21. Factors that determine risk of parasite infection and grazing management strategies to reduce exposure.

Session 3: April 28. Infection control and monitoring approaches and methods to maintain refugia.

Session 4: May 5. Putting it all together: developing a successful sustainable integrated parasite control program for your farm. 

 Register and Learn More.

USDA And DOI Announce Updates To Livestock Grazing And USFS

On Monday, March 31, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of the Interior announced new actions to strengthen support for livestock producers who rely on federal lands grazing permits. Through a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, USDA is moving to streamline grazing permits, improve coordination across agencies, and reduce bureaucratic delays that can disrupt seasonal grazing and flock management. The MOU builds out specifics initiatives which include cutting red tape, creating ranch immersion programs for federal employees, enhancing transparency and data access, expanding land management tools, wildfire coordination, and maintaining grazing permit capacity. Building on USDA’s Grazing Action Plan, the agreement recognizes permittees as essential partners and aims to provide more predictable, responsive grazing management on federal lands.

Button: See the Official Press Release Here

Link:  https://www.usda.gov/about-usda/news/press-releases/2026/03/31/usda-doi-move-boost-support-american-ranchers-help-lower-prices-consumers

USDA Announces It Will Relocate The Forest Service Headquarters To Salt Lake City 

This move comes as part of a broader restructuring initiative that is intended to bring leadership closer to the lands and communities they manage. With most National Forest Service lands located in the West, the shift is intended to support on‑the‑ground decision‑making around forest health, wildfire mitigation, and multiple‑use management, including livestock grazing. For livestock producers, USDA has framed the reorganization as a “common‑sense” approach that could improve responsiveness to local grazing needs and strengthen coordination with producers who steward public lands. The agency plans to shift many functions that are housed in regional offices to a network of service centers in Albuquerque, NM; Athens, GA; Fort Collins, CO; Madison, WI; Missoula, MT; and Placerville, CA.

See the Official Press Release Here

 

SBA Announces Enhanced Grocery Guarantee Through The ITL Program

On March 27, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced an expanded “Grocery Guarantee” through the International Trade Loan (ITL) Program. President Trump initially announced the expanded loan program last Friday at the Great American Agriculture Celebration hosted by the White House. The loans carry a 90% federal guarantee for many agricultural producers and logistics industries, aiming to improve supply chains and lower grocery costs. The expanded program builds on the Trump Administration’s focus on reducing barriers to agricultural investments. Sheep and Goats are specifically mentioned as part of this eligibility for this program. For more information.

See the Official Press Release Here

 

Wool Prices Rebound

Most wool types saw prices rebound this week, with the benchmark Eastern Market Indicator (EMI) finishing 31 U.S. cents stronger. Lower micron, higher yielding, low vegetable matter wools were the most sought after, according to the Australian Wool Exchange, which serves as the global market indicator.

 

Note: there will be no AWEX market report next week due to the Easter recess.

Source: AWEX

ASI Conversion Chart – AWEX Prices to USD Per Pound