Editor’s Note: Due to the ASI Annual Convention in San Diego, there will be no ASI Weekly next week. The newsletter will return to its regular Friday schedule on Jan. 28. Next week’s Market Summary will be updated online on Monday, Jan. 24.
AWA Announces Program Additions
The American Sheep Industry Association is excited to announce several new additions to the American Wool Assurance program.
Ranch Groups are now available to help growers become AWA Ranch Group Certified. Ranch Groups allow growers to:
- Reap the benefits of achieving a fully certified status;
- Decrease auditing costs by only a portion of the members being audited every four years;
- Pool wool to create larger lots of certified wool.
Click Here for more information and to form a Ranch Group.
The AWA Guide is available to help you understand more about the program, its standards and what is needed for a second-party evaluation or third-party audit.
A reminder: before you shear and have your wool clip ready, you might want to become accredited in AWA Level I. To do so, simply complete the AWA and SSQA learning courses in the Member Home section of the website.
Bid Now in RAMS PAC Silent Auction
Following in the footsteps of last year’s successful online auction to raise funds for RAMS PAC – the American Sheep Industry Association’s political action committee – the 2022 silent auction will be conducted online, as well. The live auction for several big ticket items will be open to bidders who are attending the 2022 ASI Annual Convention in San Diego or those who arrange to bid by phone or proxy in advance.
Live auction items in 2022 will include:
- 100 percent Wool Hand Hooked Rug: Donated by Susan Shultz;
- One-Week Stay in Ruidoso, N.M.: Donated by Benny Cox;
- A Half Lamb Box from The Lamb Guys: Donated by Brad Boner;
- A 12” by 24” Signed A Place of Honor Print on Canvas: Donated by Brad Boner;
- A Lamb Print by Texas Artist Mary Buchholz: Donated by Mary Buchholz;
- A Five-Day Mountain Lion Hunt in Kaycee, Wyo.: Donated by Bob Harlan;
- A 36” by 24” Fall Scene of Shepherd and Sheep by New Mexico Artist Kim Wiggins: Donated by Bronson Corn;
- A South Dakota Pheasant Hunt: Donated by Steve Clements;
- Buffalo Hide Cross Body Purse by Wyoming Artist D Burke.
The silent auction is open to anyone with an internet connection and bidding is now open on items ranging from a Pendleton blanket and wool clothing to decorative items and a box of lamb. Bidding in the silent auction will done strictly online and will end at 7:45 p.m. pacific time on Friday, Jan. 21.
Bidders are encouraged to check the auction site throughout the week of the ASI Annual Convention as new items will be added periodically.
Click Here to visit the silent auction site. Live auction items will be on display and sold during the RAMS PAC Fundraiser on Friday, Jan. 21, from 6 to 8 p.m. pacific time at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina.
Download the Convention App Now
The 2022 ASI Annual Convention app is up and running to help convention attendees prepare for next week’s meetings at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina.
Using the Whova app, attendees can access the convention schedule, meeting agendas, speaker bios and more. The app also allows for messaging between attendees, sharing photos, etc. Attendees might also use the app to setup ride shares, make dinner plans and get to know fellow attendees on a more personal level.
Click Here to download the app.
Saturday is Deadline to Apply for Shearer-Mentor Grants
The American Sheep Industry Association Wool Council has developed a new grant totaling $15,000 with the goal of helping develop beginner and intermediate shearers and keeping them in the industry.
The grant is open to developing shearers and their mentors (those who are helping train them). Developing shearers will receive $500 at the beginning of the program to help them with equipment and/or to supplement their work when they are shearing a low number of head each day.
Developing shearers will then receive $1,000 upon completion of the program, which includes sending videos of their progress and a written summary. Mentors will receive $1,500 upon completion, which includes a written summary and documentation of how they assisted the developing shearer.
Applications must be submitted by Saturday.
Click Here for the application.
Save the Date: ASI Spring Trip
The American Sheep Industry Association’s Spring Trip to Washington, D.C., is set for March 14-16. The annual gathering allows sheep producers to visit with members of Congress, as well as leaders at government agencies ranging from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Sheep producers interested in taking part in the Spring Trip should contact their state association leadership to begin the process. Participants will fly into the nation’s capital on Monday, March 14, and visit with agency leaders the next morning. Congressional visits will follow that afternoon and into Wednesday. ASI will host a reception and BBQ on Wednesday evening. Participants will be joined at the reception by Congressional leaders and staff.
Pipestone Hosting Lambing Course in February
Mark your calendar and plan to attend the 2022 Pipestone Lamb and Wool Program Lambing Time Short Course and Bus Tour, which will be held on Feb. 4-5 in Pipestone, Minn.
The program starts with Friday evening discussion from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday will begin at 8 a.m. with lambing time management and health topics. The afternoon will be spent touring and viewing two successful sheep operations. The program will conclude by 5 p.m. on Saturday.
The purpose of this short course and bus tour is to help producers recognize and effectively deal with common lambing time problems. Dr. Goelz – a highly qualified sheep veterinarian – is on the program to share his thought on common lamb and ewe health problems.
Touring two top area sheep operations Saturday afternoon will provide an opportunity for individuals to see firsthand how other sheep producers recognize and deal with lambing time problems. Students will see how they lay out their lambing barns, set up creep pens, graft lambs, dock, vaccinate, feed and management of their lambs and ewes. The farm demonstration session will provide an excellent learning opportunity.
Click Here for more information. Prospective students can also contact Melinda Lamote at 507-825-6822 or melinda.lamote@mnwest.edu with any questions.
Source: Pipestone Lamb and Wool Management Program
Lamb Bonanza Planned for Saturday at SDSU
South Dakota State University will be hosting its 30th annual Lamb Bonanza on Saturday.
The event brings together the SDSU Animal Science Department, the South Dakota Sheep Growers Association and the South Dakota State University Athletics Department.
The Lamb Bonanza will take place on the same day as the South Dakota State University men’s basketball game, where the Jackrabbits will play the University of Denver. Prior to tipoff, there will be lamb sliders and lamb spread crackers served to those in attendance by the SDSGA.
The event presents a rare opportunity to integrate both the agricultural and sports industries.
“The event is set at the basketball game, and during halftime of the game, we will be auctioning off six lamb pelts,” Kelly Froehlich, assistant professor and South Dakota State University Extension small ruminant production specialist.
Of the six pelts, four will feature SDSU’s letters and two will feature the school mascot, the Jackrabbit. The money collected from the auction will go to support undergraduate scholarships for both student athletes and animal science students.
The event also shines a spotlight on the sheep industry within the state.
“The lamb industry in South Dakota is actually really strong, and most people don’t realize it because most people think of cattle,” she said. “But South Dakota ranks No. 6 in the nation for lamb and wool production. That’s part of the reason we do events like this, to have a face and show that we exist in the state and we are very strong.”
Click Here for the full story.
Source: Ag Week
Australian Market Opens 2022 with Strong Start
The Australian wool market resumed this week after the annual three-week Christmas recess. This sale is typically a larger one as wool that accumulates during the break makes its way to auction. That trend continued with the opening of the 2022 calendar year when 43,739 bales were offered nationally – the fourth largest sale for the season.
Bigger quantities usually prove to be no barrier to the market in this opening sale with the market finishing the first week higher nine times out of 10 in the previous decade. That was the case this series as the market shook off a tepid finish to 2021 and pushed the AWEX Eastern Market Indicator 31 cents higher for the week. The closing value of 1,389 Australian cents is its highest level in six months.
The market was stronger from the outset with solid demand for Merino types helping to push prices higher by 10 to 20 cents clean. This trend not only continued but gathered momentum in the following two sale days. Wednesday firmed by 20 cents while the Melbourne-only Thursday sale was as much as 50 cents dearer for some of the finer microns.
Strong support for Merino skirtings types was mainly focused on the low vegetable matter types (less than 5 percent vegetable matter) which tracked a similar path to the fleece types. While the higher VM types also closed the week on the positive side of the ledger, interest in these types was more muted. Crossbreds made modest gains each day to close 10 to 20 cents higher. All three Merino Carding Indicators recorded rises, predominately driven by solid increases in locks – particularly those carrying less than 2 percent vegetable matter.
Another large sale is on tap for next week with more than 46,000 bales expected to be offered nationally in Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle.
Source: AWEX