Webinar to Address Parasite Management
Integrated Parasite Management Strategies for Sheep Producers is the topic for the next American Sheep Industry Association-sponsored webinar. Dr. Andrew Weaver of North Carolina State University will lead the webinar on Tuesday at 8 p.m. eastern time.
“Parasites continue to be a significant challenge for sheep production across the country. The failure of dewormers to adequately treat parasite infections has resulted in the need for alternative parasite management strategies. Unfortunately, there is no single cure. Rather, an integrated approach is needed where multiple strategies are implemented for effective parasite control,” reads the webinar description.
“These strategies can include environment-based approaches as well as animal-based approaches. In this webinar, parasite biology and host-parasite interactions will be highlighted to provide context for parasite management. Discussion will follow on various parasite management strategies available and how they can be implemented in a sheep production system. A multifaceted approach to parasite management will be most successful in mitigating infection levels and improving sheep performance and well-being.”
Click Here to register for the free webinar.
Deadline Nears for Sheep Heritage Scholarship
A $3,000 college scholarship is available once again this year for graduate students from the American Sheep Industry Association’s Sheep Heritage Foundation. The deadline to apply is May 31.
Students should be working in an area of study that will lead to the advancement of the American sheep industry. Students pursing either a master’s degree or a doctorate at a university in the United States are eligible to apply. Application requirements include a complete application form and two letters of reference.
Click Here for the scholarship application.
Partnerships Build Global Markets for U.S. Farm Goods
Programs to help American farmers build markets overseas boosted agricultural exports by an average of $9.6 billion annually from 1977 to 2019, representing 13.7 percent of total agricultural export value, and returning $24.50 in additional net export revenue for every dollar spent on export promotion.
Those are the key conclusions from a study commissioned by the U.S. Grains Council on behalf of members of the U.S. Agricultural Export Development Council to evaluate the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Market Access Program and Foreign Market Development program – both of which are utilized by the American Sheep Industry Association.
“These programs provide additional funding for ASI to open, develop and expand markets for American wool all around the world,” said ASI Deputy Director Rita Samuelson. “As we’ve seen first with the trade war in China and then the COVID-19 pandemic, it is crucial to the American wool industry that we develop a variety of buyers for American wool. These programs play a crucial role in that process.”
The MAP and FMD programs are authorized by the Farm Bill and administered by USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service. The programs form part of the public-private partnerships that offer competitive cost-share grants for foreign market development activities to USAEDC members. The study reported that these market development programs effectively leveraged industry contributions, averaging between 70 and 77 percent of expenditures from 2013 to 2019, valued at an estimated annual average of $567 million.
The study found that from 2002 to 2019, foreign market development investment through the MAP and FMD programs:
- Increased farm cash receipts by $12.2 billion (3.4 percent);
- Contributed $45 billion annually in economic output and $22.3 billion annually in gross domestic product;
- Created an estimated 225,800 jobs across the entire economy.
“The organizations that comprise our membership use these export programs to great effect,” said USAEDC Executive Director Lorena Alfaro. “The export programs not only boost the entire agricultural sector, but they also have a multiplier effect throughout the entire U.S. economy, supporting jobs and income in a range of industries.”
Click Here for the full study.
Click Here for infographics related to the study.
Click Here and Here for more about the MAP, FMD programs.
Source: USAEDC
Register Now for the Lamb Summit
Now is the time to register for the 2022 American Lamb Summit. Registration is limited to 250 individuals and slots are filling up fast, with more than 100 people signed up within the first few weeks of registration.
Sponsored by the American Lamb Board and Premier 1 Supplies, the second American Lamb Summit is booked for Aug. 8-9 in Lansing, Mich. Cost is $200 per person for the main conference. An additional tour on Aug. 10 costs $125 and will be limited to 36 people.
Click Here to register online for both events.
“Lamb Summit 2022 will help the industry and its individual members identify strategies to increase the value of their U.S. Lamb and network with progressive industry leaders and producers,” said Stan Potratz, founder of Premier 1 Supplies.
American lamb producers, direct marketers, feeders, educators, packers and processors will all find something of interest at the summit. Session topics across the two-day event will focus on genetics, yield and carcass quality, production practices, health and nutrition, taste and customer expectations, environmental concerns, and maintaining a competitive edge in today’s domestic and world markets.
“There’s no sitting back to see what may or may not happen. Our industry’s viability requires action based on the best information possible, and that’s what we intend to offer,” said Peter Camino, ALB chairman.
The optional tour is sponsored by the Michigan Sheep Producers Association and will highlight lamb packing plants and retailers who specialize in sales to the non-traditional lamb market, particularly the Detroit area’s Arab-American population. The tour includes a lunch banquet feast at Al-Ameer Restaurant, the largest Middle Eastern restaurant in the area.
Source: ALB
Australian Wool Market Continues Positive Run
Despite ongoing concerns about major difficulties with international shipping, global lockdowns and a higher Australian dollar, the Australian wool market continued to trend higher, recording an overall increase for the fourth consecutive series. The most significant rises were in the 18- to 18.5-micron fleece range.
Across the country, the individual Micron Price Guides in this range rose between 2 and 59 cents. The Australian Eastern Market Indicator added 7 cents, closing the week at 1,434 Australian cents. Selected specialty, non-mulesed types continue to attract very strong competition and again in this series recorded premiums of up to 250 cents when compared to wool of similar type and specification.
As the finer microns continue to rise at a greater rate than the broads, the price differential between microns is expanding. Looking at the difference in the South between 17 and 21, the current difference in the MPGs is 1,381 cents – compared to a difference of 1,037 cents in the corresponding sale of the previous season. This also means the difference in price for each point of a micron is also increasing. This is best highlighted in the 18 to 18.5 range in the South. The difference in price between the 18 MPG and the 18.5 MPG is 269 cents, meaning that each point of a micron is worth nearly 54 cents.
The oddment sector performed well this series, driven predominantly by large increases in the price of locks. The three Merino Carding indicators rose by an average of 19 cents.
Although this time of year the national offering traditionally declines, the increase in prices continues to entice sellers with wool on hold to offer. Next week the national offering increases as there are currently 46,392 bales expected to be offered in Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle.
Source: AWEX
American Woolen Featured on Mike Rowe Show
Mike Rowe’s How America Works will make a stop at American Woolen in the episode set to air on Monday at 8 p.m. eastern time on Fox Business.
The hour-long series showcases the many individuals that work round the clock to keep American infrastructure in working order. Rowe takes a deeper dive into everything from casinos to oil to airports.
Founded in 1899, American Woolen swiftly grew into the world’s largest wool manufacturer, operating more than 60 mills and employing 40,000 people. Then synthetics and off-shoring decimated the industry. In 2013, Jacob Long and a group of friends noticed as markets shifted back toward sustainable goods and purchased the American Woolen trademark and setup operations in Stafford Springs, Conn.
Click Here for more information.
American Lamb’s Solar Grazing Story
American lamb’s story goes beyond the care provided by the people who raise it. The next chapter includes how American lamb contributes to regenerative land management through grazing practices, especially around solar farms. The American Lamb Board is sharing this solar grazing story with consumers and supply chain partners to provide insight to the environmental stewardship of raising sheep.
“We’re dedicated to telling all components of the American lamb story,” says Peter Camino, ALB chair from Buffalo, Wyo. “Sheep provide environmental benefits and support solar energy by improving solar farmland through the practice of grazing.”
Today, solar power is more affordable, accessible and prevalent in the Unites States than ever before. It is projected to account for 20 percent of electricity generation in the United States by 2050. At the same time, farmland in America is shrinking and solar panels pepper the landscape, leaving that land largely unusable for other purposes. However, the livestock industry – specifically the sheep industry – has come to the rescue and the practice of solar grazing is gaining traction across the country, offering an environmentally friendly way to manage grass and weeds on solar farms.
Grazing sheep alongside solar operations offers benefits to both the land and animals. The sheep graze on grass and weeds, preventing vegetation from shading the solar panels or inhibiting their movement and reducing the need for manual landscaping such as mowing and pesticide use. In turn, the land is a food source for the sheep and the solar panels offer shelter from rain, wind and direct sun.
Using sheep to graze solar sites is gaining popularity as a successful and cost-effective strategy for vegetation control. It is less labor intensive than traditional landscaping and improves the quality of the land by cycling nutrients back into the soil, minimizing erosion and encouraging native plant growth. Sheep can easily maneuver around and beneath the solar panels, grazing all parts of the land, eating grass, legumes, brush and weeds.
Click Here for the full story.
Source: ALB
Register Now for Facility Tour
There’s still time to register for the Pipestone Lamb and Wool Program’s 2022 Facility Tour, which is scheduled for June 7 in Pipestone, Minn.
The tour provides producers an opportunity to see various types of sheep facilities, including the latest innovations in buildings, low labor lambing barns, handling systems, feeding systems and facility layout.
Click Here for more information.
Source: Pipestone Lamb and Wool Program
Video of the Week
Ranchers across the United States take great care in protecting their flocks. Using a variety of techniques suited for their region, ranchers work to live in harmony with their neighboring wildlife while caring for their sheep.
Watch as American rancher Cameron Krebs talks about his unique circumstances and how he has found a way to manage coexistence with wolves in the latest video from Experience Wool’s Unrivaled series.
Click Here to watch the video.