Editor’s Note: Due to the American Sheep Industry Association Annual Convention next week, the ASI Weekly will return on Jan. 24.
Whova App Connects Convention Attendees
The American Sheep Industry Association will once again use the Whova smartphone app to connect and inform Annual Convention attendees. The app is now live and ready for use as you make plans for next week’s event in Scottsdale, Ariz.
The app allows attendees to view event agendas and plan their personal schedules for the week, while also offering a map of the facility to help guide you to those meetings. With more than 400 attendees, the app will help you see who else is attending and reach out now and next week to arrange networking opportunities. If needed, ASI can also use the app to offer news and last-minute schedule changes.
The app is the perfect place to share convention photos from local sites and food to meetups with old friends and also offers a message board that can be used for everything from setting up airport ride shares to finding lost items.
Convention attendees should have received an invitation to join the ASI Annual Convention 2025 site on the app. If you didn’t, check in with the ASI registration desk at the Scottsdale Plaza Resort next week and ASI staff will assist you in getting online.
For those of you who prefer to go old school, feel free to actually talk to people in person during the convention. Regardless of which option fits your personal style best, a book with schedules, agendas and a facility map will be provided when you check in for the convention.
A couple of other notes as you prepare for next week:
- Temperatures in Scottsdale are predicted to range from lows in the mid-40s to highs in the low-70s with mostly sunny conditions during the convention. So go ahead, pack that Speedo and put the facility’s multiple pools to use.
- The Scottsdale Plaza Resort is a cashless facility. No that doesn’t mean everything is free. What it does mean is you should be ready to pay with credit or debit cards for everything from your room to your bar tab.
- Keep in mind that several events, including the welcome reception on Thursday evening and lunches on Friday and Saturday will be held in the Terraza. That’s a fancy word for the tent between the tennis courts and the main pool. If necessary, heaters will be used in the space, but you might need a light jacket for those events.
Wool Marketing Loan Rates Announced for 2025
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Commodity Credit Corporation has announced Marketing Assistance Loan rates for 2025 crop graded wool by micron class. Loan rates for ungraded wool and mohair are unchanged and remained the same from the prior crop year at 40 cents per pound grease weight.
Marketing Assistance Loans and Loan Deficiency Payments are marketing tools available to producers upon harvest or shearing and are available for graded wool, ungraded wool and mohair. Unshorn pelts are eligible for LDPs only. The unshorn pelt LDP rate is $2.75 per pelt and is based on the ungraded wool LDP rate multiplied by the average weight of an unshorn pelt (6.865 pounds).
Marketing Assistance Loans provide producers interim financing at harvest time to meet cash flow needs without having to sell their commodities when market prices are typically at harvest-time lows. LDPs are payments made to producers who, although eligible to obtain a CCC loan, agree to forgo the loan in return for a payment on the eligible commodity.
Click Here for more information and current rates.
Source: Farm Service Agency
ADSBS Announces 2025 Shows
The American Dorper Sheep Breeders’ Society has announced its two nationally sponsored shows and sales. The Mid-America Show & Sale will be held April 10-12, in Duncan, Okla., while the Southern States Show & Sale will be June 26-28, in Cookeville, Tenn.
Located at the Stephenville County Fairgrounds, the Mid-America Show and Sale will showcase more than 250 Dorpers and White Dorpers. The event will kick off with a junior show on April 10 and an annual meeting of the American Dorper Sheep Breeders’ Society.
Single Dorpers and White Dorpers will show on Friday morning with pens of two ewes to follow. South African Philip Strauss will sort the sheep. There will be competitions throughout the day to keep the youth engaged. A skill-a-thon, sales pitch, judging contest and production contest will cap off the youth events. Friday evening will include an Oklahoma-style BBQ with a live band.
Saturday morning will begin with a consignors meeting, followed by an instructional meeting. Sales guests will be able to view lots during the morning hours. The bidding will begin at 10 a.m. and be broadcast live on CCI.
To enter the show and sale, visit showman.app/#/. If you need assistance, please contact Karla Blackstock at 210-305-2565. Entries will be accepted through March 15 for the Mid-America. Show placings will determine the sale order. For sale order, please visit DorperSheep.org.
The Southern States Show & Sale will be held at the end of June. Make plans now to attend as 150 of the best lots in the United States will be sold. More information will be available soon.
The American Dorper Sheep Breeders’ Society is one of the fastest growing sheep breeds in the United States. The South African import is versatile with a high parasite resistance.
Source: ADSBS
Carver Appointed to Climate Advisory Council
The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced the appointment of 36 members to serve on the newly formed Greenhouse Gas Technical Assistance Provider and Third-Party Verifier Program Advisory Council, informally referred to as to the Growing Climate Solutions Act Advisory Council.
Oregon sheep producer Jeanne Carver was selected for a two-year term representing the agriculture industry.
The council will support the Greenhouse Gas Technical Assistance Provider and Third-Party Verifier Program in facilitating the participation in voluntary environmental credit markets by farmers, ranchers and private forest landowners, including beginning, socially disadvantaged, limited resource and veteran farmers. Key activities of the council will include periodically reviewing and recommending changes to the protocols recognized by the program for generating environmental credits, the required qualifications for entities that provide technical assistance to farmers, ranchers and landowners, and the activities available to farmers, ranchers and landowners under the program to prevent, reduce or mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.
“Ms. Carver is an active sheep producer from Maupin, Oregon, and founder of Shaniko Wool Company,” wrote ASI Executive Director Peter Orwick in nominating Carver for the advisory council. “Shaniko Wool Company launched its Carbon Initiative in 2020, to measure, third-party verify and sell carbon in the ecosystem market. Ms. Carver’s experience will lend appreciatively to the advisory council. We are pleased to add that her leadership with the wool company in this specific area is further strengthened by the numerous sheep operations that she works with in the Western United States.”
Source: USDA/AMS
Fan of Lamb Club to Reach Consumers at Home
The American Lamb Board announced this week the launch of the new Fan of Lamb Cooking Club in partnership with Homemade – the largest livestream cooking community in the world – and head chef Joel Gamoran.
The new site offers a free membership where lamb lovers can share recipes, cooking tips and their love of food. With a free membership to the Fan of Lamb Cooking Club, members will have the opportunity to:
- Master new lamb recipes with monthly cooking classes alongside expert chefs.
- Discover recipes created just for lamb lovers, perfectly aligned with seasonal trends and promotions.
- Connect with fellow lamb enthusiasts in a vibrant community forum, where they can get answers to their cooking questions and share tips with fellow members.
“This is just one more avenue for the board to reach consumers in their own kitchen,” said ALB Chair Jeff Ebert. “We’ve seen tremendous success when we teach food lovers how to prepare delicious American lamb at home.”
Visit AmericanLamb.com to check out the new site, then share it with your friends, family and customers so they can create unforgettable culinary experiences with American lamb at home. The first online class on the new site was held yesterday and featured American lamb wontons with chili oil.
Source: ALB
Legislative Update from Washington, D.C.
The American Sheep Industry Association’s lobbying firm – Cornerstone Government Affairs – offered an update this week on legislative issues in our nation’s capital.
Johnson Reelected as House Speaker
Last Friday, the House of Representatives kicked off the new year by voting for a speaker to lead in the 119th Congress. In a surprising turn of events, Rep. Mike Johnson (La.) managed to secure his speakership on the first ballot.
Leading up to the vote, several House Republicans voiced public reservations regarding reelecting Johnson, which prompted others to believe it would take several rounds of votes for any one Republican to secure 218 votes with such a slim majority. Rep. Thomas Massie (Ky.) was the loudest member in opposition to voting for Johnson having cast his vote for Rep. Jim Jordan (Ohio). Reps. Ralph Norman (S.C.) and Keith Self (Texas) initially voted against Johnson but flipped their votes in the end.
This outcome and speaker vote was a vastly different outcome when compared to Johnson’s predecessor Kevin McCarthy of California, who took more than 20 votes to be confirmed only to be ousted from the role not even a year later. Despite Johnson’s success in corralling the hardliners in his party this time around, he still has a tough road ahead legislating under a one-seat majority.
On Monday, Congress was able to swiftly and peacefully certify President-elect Donald Trump as the winner of the 2024 election.
USDA Nominee Hearing Might Be Delayed
It was reported this week that the confirmation hearing for Trump’s pick to lead the U.S. Department of Agriculture – Brooke Rollins – might be delayed due to background checks. It was originally scheduled for Jan. 15.
Rollins is among a handful of nominees whose Senate confirmation hearings are slipping past their targeted dates due to delays with Federal Bureau of Investigation background checks and ethics paperwork. While several other Senate committee chairs have voiced apprehension behind nominees not having paperwork back in adequate time to host a hearing, Agriculture Committee Chairman Sen. John Boozman (Ark.) has yet to speculate on the issue. He is still expected to provide the full seven days notice provided for in panel rules before holding Rollin’s hearing. Barring any further paperwork complications, Rollins is expected to have a swift and successful confirmation with significant bipartisan support.