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June 28 ASI Weekly

 

Sheep Center Now Accepting Grant Proposals

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced this week that the National Sheep Industry Improvement Center’s board of directors is accepting grant proposals from July 1 through Sept. 15.

Grants must be designed to improve the American sheep industry and must accomplish one or more of the following objectives:

  • Strengthen and improve long-term sustainability of the lamb and wool industry’s infrastructure by increasing the numbers in production;
  • Provide integration of performance and production data from sources that can help enhance the National Sheep Improvement Program;
  • Provide leadership training and education to producers and packers within the sheep industry;
  • Enhance sheep production by improving infrastructure of the American sheep industry through assistance to all segments of the industry to address sustainable production and marketing of sheep milk, meat, fiber and related services such as grazing for fire management and pasture improvements;
  • Promote lamb marketing through an organized method that can measure tangible results;
  • Enhance the sheep industry by coordinating information exchange and seeking mutual understanding and marketing within the international industry community.

The American Sheep Industry Association fought for the creation of the center, and annually nominates experienced producers from the sheep industry to serve on the center’s board of directors.

The Sheep Center was established as part of the 2008 Farm Bill and awarded funding by AMS to be used for the Sheep Production and Marketing Grant Program as part of the 2014 Farm Bill. Grant funding can be used on activities designed to strengthen and enhance the production of marketing of sheep and sheep products in the United States through infrastructure development, business development, production, resource development, and market and environmental research.

The Sheep Center will review each proposal, recommend funding and submit final recommendations to the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service for approval.

    For more information, contact NSIIC Program Manager Steve Lee at 207-236-6567, [email protected] or send mail to NSIIC, PO Box 646, Rockland, ME 04841.

Click Here to learn more.

    Source: USDA/NSIIC

 

Oregon Plans Parasite Management Webinar

The Oregon Sheep Growers Association is offering a special webinar opportunity on July 8 beginning at 5:30 pm to learn about one of the most difficult producer problems – parasite management.

Dr. Scott Bowdridge, an associate professor at West Virginia University, will present an hour and a half seminar titled: Parasite Management through Selection of Resistant Sheep. Dr. Bowdridge is a California native who grew up on a small sheep operation where his family raised purebred Rambouillets.

His main research interest is in determining immune responses to infection with Haemonchus contortus generated by different breeds of sheep. By utilizing parasite-resistant St. Croix sheep, his lab has been able to compare immune responses during different stages of Haemonchus contortus infection.

OSGA appreciates the assistance of the Oregon State University Extension Small Farms program for their help hosting the upcoming webinar through Zoom.

To register, send an e-mail to the OSGA office at [email protected]. Detailed Log-in information will be returned by e-mail.

Petition Circulating to Restore Wolves in Colorado

Wolf fans will be howling outside Front Range grocery stores soon, hoping to seed a new predator in Colorado’s Western Slope.

Last week, the Colorado Secretary of State approved a petition seeking signatures to land a wolf reintroduction proposal on the November 2020 ballot. Wolf supporters will need 124,632 signatures by Dec. 13 to put the restoration of gray wolves before voters.

The group will aim to submit 200,000 signatures, said Rick Ridder, a political consultant advising the Rocky Mountain Wolf Action Fund, the group pushing the restoration measure.

Colorado is emerging as the last battleground for restoring wolf populations. In the last four decades, federal and state wildlife managers have introduced wolves in the Southwest, Northern Rockies and Great Lakes states.

If wolf restoration reaches the ballot next year, Colorado could be the first state where voters – not those wildlife scientists – order a plan to welcome the predators back to Western Colorado.

    Click Here to read the full story.

    Source: Colorado Sun

 

Australian Market Slides in Season’s Final Sale

The Australian wool market continued its steep, downward path this week as lack of buyer confidence pushed prices lower for the fourth consecutive week.

In the final sale week of the 2018-19 season, the national quantity was 29,167 bales. The overall reduction in auction offerings compared to the 2017-18 season was 225,182 bales – a fall of 11.9 percent.

The market opened softer and continued to drop as the week progressed. Betterstyle, well-measured wools were generally 70 to 100 cents easier. The lesser-style wools and those with poor additional measurement results were even harder hit – up to 150 cents cheaper – as buyers looked for value in the continually falling market.

The AWEX Eastern Market Indicator fell by 51 cents for the series, finishing the season at 1,715 Australian cents. The EMI fell at all four June sales, losing a total of 172 cents during this period. This is second-highest monthly fall in the EMI ever – the largest was in March 1991 when the Reserve Price Scheme was abolished. In percentage terms the EMI lost 9.1 percent for the month – the largest monthly fall since August 2012 (when it fell by 12.1 percent).

The skirtings also dropped sharply, generally 50 to 100 cents. Wools carrying more than 5 percent vegetable matter were most affected. The crossbreds recorded falls, but not to the same extent as the merinos. The crossbreds generally eased by 30 to 50 cents.

The first sale of the new season is traditionally one of the larger sales for the year, as growers looking to sell in the new financial year take the first opportunity. This year, however, the sale is smaller than normal, perhaps due to the deteriorating market. Currently there are 34,504 bales rostered for sale in Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle.

    Source: AWEX

 

NCTO Applauds Berry Amendment Safeguards

The National Council of Textile Organizations commends the U.S. Senate for passing the National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2020, which strengthens the Berry Amendment and safeguards our national security by setting compliance requirements to all Department of Defense acquisitions at or above $150,000.

The Senate bill rolls back the threshold for Berry compliance requirements to 2017 levels and adjusts future increases for inflation, which the American textile industry supports. The Fiscal Year 2018 NDAA bill raised the Simplified Acquisition Threshold to $250,000. The higher threshold put more than $50 million worth of Berry contracts annually at risk of being outsourced to China and other foreign countries.

“We are really pleased the Senate passed the NDAA, which strengthens the Berry Amendment, a provision that is critical to the U.S. textile industry,” said NCTO President and CEO Kim Glas. “Berry provides the U.S. military with high-quality textile and apparel products that are produced with 100 percent U.S. materials and labor. It also helps keep the industrial base strong and provides the best R&D, materials and equipment for our warfighters. We also urge the House to follow the Senate’s lead and take similar action to strengthen our national industrial base.”

Ashley Bullock, Government Contract Sales Manager, Raeford Uniforms – a division of Burlington Industries, said, “Passage of the NDAA along with the continued support of the Berry Amendment are critical for Burlington and our ongoing support to the U.S. military and our men and women in uniform. As a proud part of the military’s clothing and textile supply chain, Burlington Industries, an Elevate Textiles Company, relies on the Berry Amendment to maintain our current operations in North and South Carolina and our ability to make continual investment to ensure the U.S. warfighter has the most innovative, highest-quality and technologically advanced clothing and equipment possible. Correcting the Berry Amendment’s threshold level is a major and positive step in protecting this important law from being watered down. “

The American Sheep Industry Association is a member of NCTO, a Washington, D.C.-based trade association that represents domestic textile manufacturers.

    Source: NCTO

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