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Wyoming Museum Opens Sheepwagon Exhibit

The Little Snake River Museum in Savery, Wyo., officially opened the William MacPherson Sheep Center on Saturday, Aug. 15.

The main attractions inside the newly constructed facility are sheepwagons restored and donated by John A. and Cathy MacPherson – William’s son and daughter-in-law – of Rawlins, Wyo. Restoring the wagons gave John “something to do in the winter” while also paying tribute to his family’s sheep ranching heritage.

As attorneys in Rawlins, John and Cathy worked with a variety of ranching and farming clients through the years. Mostly retired these days, they split time between Rawlins in the summer and Arizona in the winter.

“As we’re getting older and realizing we’re not going to be around forever, it seemed appropriate to donate the wagons to the museum,” John said after using a pair of hand shears to cut the ribbon on the new facility. “That necessitated the need for a building, so we donated the funds for that. I feel like the museum does such a great job with the facilities they have here, and this new building will give them even more opportunities for the future.”

The opening day ceremonies included presentations on Basque culture, livestock guardian dogs, sheep shearing and the many uses of wool fibers.

“This really is the centerpiece of the museum now,” said Lela Emmons, executive director of the museum. “I don’t know any other place in the United States that has a sheep center like this. It’s so appropriate that it’s in Wyoming. And this is just the start. I believe it will continue to grow. We’ve got a wagon and supply wagon coming from the Wyoming Wool Growers Association that isn’t here yet. They’ll probably go right in the center of the building, but then we’ll be able to pull them out and have events in here.”

Read more about the new exhibit in the September issue of the Sheep Industry News.

Click Here to learn more about the Little Snake River Museum.

ALB Partners with Taziki’s Mediterranean Café

The American Lamb Board has teamed up with Taziki’s Mediterranean Café to promote accessible options that incorporate lamb into the diet of American families. This new partnership includes in-restaurant signage and promotions, recipe ideas as well as a social media campaign @fanoflamb. Taziki’s has more than 90 restaurants in 17 states, with most locations in the southeast.

“One of Taziki’s top priorities has always been providing high-quality food to all guests,” said Dan Simpson, CEO of Taziki’s Mediterranean Café. “Our focus begins far before the food arrives at the stores; when choosing the farmers behind our food, Taziki’s searches for the best partners with great practices.”

Taziki’s rejects the idea of processed meat on a spit and has built a 20-plus year demand around the fresh, real lamb that their customers have become accustomed to on their menu.

“This incredible protein has been something that our guests have enjoyed since the inception of our brand,” said Simpson. “Our lamb is seasoned with Greek seasoning and char-grilled fresh to-order to provide you the adventure of authentic Mediterranean flavors.”

Here are some of the curated lamb dishes that can be ordered when visiting Taziki’s:

• Lamb Family Feast features char-grilled lamb with fresh salad, rice or potatoes, dip and pita. Feeds families of four, six or eight for lunch or dinner.

• Lamb Feast Greek Salad comes with your choice of rice or potatoes.

• Grilled Lamb Gyro includes Taziki’s sauce, tomatoes, mixed lettuce and grilled onions. Served with chips and a healthy side.

• Lamb Mediterranean Salad mixes lettuce with garbanzo beans, roasted red peppers, red onions, diced tomatoes, roasted pecans and feta served with Taziki’s homemade balsamic vinaigrette.

• Greek Salad Gyro features char-grilled lamb, tomatoes, cucumbers, roasted red peppers, red onions, mixed lettuce, feta and Greek dressing.

“We thank Taziki’s for their commitment to using American lamb. Menuing of local lamb supports the nation’s shepherds and their families,” said Megan Wortman, executive director of the Denver-based American Lamb Board. “American lamb is known for its distinctive, yet mild flavor and we love Taziki’s use of fresh char-grilled leg of lamb in their gyros, salads and Family Feast.”

Source: ALB

Texas Sheep & Goat Expo Enjoys Virtual Success

The Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in San Angelo held its annual Texas Sheep and Goat Expo and Field Day on Aug. 14-15. This was the first year the events were virtual.

“We had to work within local and organizational guidelines to produce an event that could still be held during these challenging times,” said event organizer Robert Pritz, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service regional program director. “We typically welcome people to our center in San Angelo for the field day and then move over to the Spur Arena for two days of information, food, friends and fun.”

After the success of the first virtual Texas A&M Beef Cattle Short Course earlier this month, Pritz was confident the expo and field day would be able to use the Zoom platform to deliver an event to sheep and goat producers. However, it would be the largest and first multi-day AgriLife Extension event a center had ever presented virtually for the public.

Dan Hale, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension associate director, and Blair Fannin, AgriLife Extension communications associate director, both of College Station, along with several camera operators, came to San Angelo to be a part of the webinar command center.

“This is the first time we’ve ever done a program like this at AgriLife Extension where we had a virtual program at six or seven different locations at once and had to go from one location to another,” said Hale.

“We had a team of AgriLife Extension agents and specialists, Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientists and center staff who did a tremendous job. What participants saw was very similar to what they would’ve seen in a face-to-face meeting except no one, aside from the outdoor presenters, had to stand in the 106-degree heat.”

Hale said the webinar format also offered participants otherwise near-impossible opportunities such as hearing from presenters from as far away as North Carolina, Maryland and Kangaroo Island, Australia.

Click Here to read the full story.

Source: Texas A&M AgriLife

Australian Wool Market Continues Decline

The Australian wool market continued to decline this week, with all sectors of the market recording losses. The national quantity increased to 33,176 bales. Compared to the corresponding sale of the previous season there have been 2,122 more bales offered through the auction system – an increase of 1.2 percent.

On the first selling day only Sydney and Melbourne held sales, as Fremantle only required one selling day. The merino fleece Micron Price Guides fell by 10 to 42 cents for the day. The merino losses combined with losses in the other sectors pushed the AWEX Eastern Market Indicator down by 25 cents. The market tracked further downward on the second day of selling. The eastern states MPGs posted further losses of between 12 and 57 cents. As the Fremantle region was yet to realize the losses of the previous day, the falls in the western region were higher – between 69 and 89 cents.

The EMI lost another 34 cents – dropping by 59 cents overall for the series – to close the week at 945 Australian cents. This equated to a 5.9 percent reduction. The EMI is now at its lowest point since October 2012. Due to currency movement, when viewed in USD terms, the fall in the EMI was not as large. The EMI lost 30 US cents, dropping to 685 US cents – a 4.2 percent reduction. The crossbred MPGs fell by 29 to 58 cents, compounding the losses to the EMI.

After suffering heavy losses during the previous two series, the oddments recorded the smallest falls this week. Locks, stains and crutchings generally fell by 20 to 40 cents, pushing the three Merino Carding Indicators down by an average of 26 cents.

The national offering reduces next week, due in part to the fact that the Fremantle region does not have a sale. Currently, there are 22,436 bales available to the trade, with only Melbourne and Sydney in operation.

Source: AWEX

Superior Farms Names New Employees

Superior Farms is pleased to announce the hiring of Karissa Isaacs and Cameron Lauwers.

Isaacs will lead the outreach and development of producer programs as the director of producer resources. Lauwers will procure livestock as the livestock buyer for the Dixon, Calif., facility. These individuals will be valuable assets to the livestock team and the continued betterment of the American lamb industry.

Isaacs grew up in the sheep industry and focused her education and career in lamb quality. Her vast knowledge of the industry as part of a multi-generation sheep ranching family, and her recent work for the American Lamb Board makes her an excellent fit for the position. In her role at Superior Farms, she serves as the direct point of contact for the company’s producer and feeder partners.

Lauwers comes to Superior Farms with many years of experience running a 600-head, intensive-accelerated sheep operation, managing a 3,200-acre alfalfa and wheat farm in east central Michigan and served as a board member of the Michigan Sheep Producers. His extensive background in the sheep industry makes him a great fit with the livestock team. Lauwers will be responsible for procuring livestock for the Dixon facility.

Source: Superior Farms

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