Sheep Sales Offer Education in Addition to Sheep
Buyers and sellers at state sheep association-sponsored ram sales in Wyoming and Montana this week got more than just the opportunity to buy sheep. Both sales offered educational programs, which are becoming the norm at these annual gatherings of the industry.
The Montana Ram and Ewe Sale kicked off Wednesday afternoon in Miles City, Mont., with a program focusing on Opportunities and Challenges for U.S. Grown and Sewn Wool and Natural Fiber Clothing. The consensus among the three entrepreneurs on the panel was that despite the challenges, there are real opportunities in creating value-added products from wool.
Organized by Montana State University Extension Sheep and Wool Specialist Brent Roeder – who has also created an added value product through his family’s Montana Wool Company – the panel included Evan Helle of Montana-based Duckworth, Ben Hostetler of Wyoming’s Mountain Meadow Wool Mill and Wade Kopren of Fishhook Sock Company in South Dakota. The panel addressed everything from the process of deciding to start their own businesses to the significant difficulties of manufacturing an American-made product to marketing and building a customer base.
“If you’re thinking about value-added, I can’t stress enough knowing your market,” said Hostetler. “I see it underestimated so often how much that last 10 percent – the last leg of the journey to get to the consumer – and I think that’s probably the hardest leg of the journey. Getting it to the consumer is often underestimated in terms of how much it takes to get it to that final consumer. We’re a small batch manufacturer, but we’ll spend 90 percent of our margin on a Facebook or Google ad on some of our products. That last leg of the journey can be very daunting.”
As a sheep producer whose family later developed a value-added product with the Duckworth clothing line, Helle went back to the sheep flock in his final words of advice.
“The biggest value add you can do on your ranch to your wool is getting good genetics,” he said. “I can’t stress this enough. When people talk about not getting a good price for their wool, you look at that 80 percent of Australian, that’s because American wool varies so much. There’s so many different breeds, so many different types of sheep and so many different types of wool. You’re not going to go out and use the same 80-year-old tractor to plow your field as you would today. You have a brand new tractor because it’s efficient and it does a good job. It’s the same with genetics. If you’re growing wool that is really coarse, there’s no (commercial) market for it.”
The variety of wool in the United States makes it difficult to create large, uniform lots to process, while consistency of the wool clip helps the industry in Australia. And as Kopren has learned, processing small lots of wool is significantly more expensive per pound.
The week began at the Wyoming State Ram Sale as Dr. Whit Stewart presented a session on Monday entitled Effective Genetic Improvement: Assessing Current Levels, Setting Goals and Selecting for Success. The ram sale followed on Tuesday. Stewart urged producers to invest time, energy and money in recordkeeping that would allow them to make information-based decisions within their flocks. While there are a variety of metrics producers can use to judge the health and success of their flocks, they are all “tools that are reliant on good recordkeeping.”
Look for more on the sales and the educational sessions in the October issue of the Sheep Industry News.
Stop the Ban Supporters Rally in Denver
Denver voters will be asked in November to cast a vote on Initiative 309, which would ban slaughterhouses in the City and County of Denver. A diverse group of stakeholders – including the American Sheep Industry Association – convened Wednesday on the steps of Denver City and County Building to oppose the ban.
The question posed to voters: shall the voters of the City and County of Denver adopt an ordinance prohibiting slaughterhouses, and, in connection, beginning Jan. 1, 2026, prohibiting the construction, maintenance or use of slaughterhouses within the city; and requiring the city to prioritize residents whose employment is affected by the ordinance in workforce training or employment assistance programs?
While the question suggests multiple slaughterhouses, there is one operating in Denver – Superior Farms. The Halal-certified facility has been in the neighborhood for more than 70 years and is the only business targeted by the proposition.
Click Here to read the full story.
Source: The Fence Post
Australian Market Records Second Straight Increase
The Australian wool market recorded an overall increase this week, the second consecutive selling series of positive movement. Season to date, there have been 267,613 bales offered at auction – 74,897 bales less than the previous season for a reduction of 21.9 percent.
The overall upward movement was predominantly driven by the higher prices on offer for Merino fleece types. This was reflected in the movements in the individual Micron Price Guides for Merino fleece, which across the country added between 1 and 34 cents for the week. The Merino skirting market tracked a similar path to the fleece, with small increases generally recorded across all types and descriptions.
The benchmark AWEX Eastern Market Indicator gained 8 cents for the week, closing at 1,099 Australian cents. The EMI has now risen for three consecutive selling days, adding 13 cents across these sales. Currency fluctuations played a large role in the market movements. Further weakening of the Australian dollar meant the market was unchanged in U.S. dollar terms. The EMI dropped by 1 U.S. cent on the first day of selling, making this the fifth consecutive selling day where the market fell in USD terms.
On the second day, the EMI recorded a 1-cent increase. The EMI closed the week where it started, at 731 U.S. cents. With fewer bales offered and with little change in the prices on offer, the total dollar amount of wool sold this season is also well down. Season to date there has been a total of $315 million worth of wool sold at auction. This is $98 million lower than the corresponding sale of the previous season.
Next week’s offering is of a similar size. There are currently 32,121 bales on offer nationally.
Click Here for the ASI Conversion Table – AWEX Prices to USD Per Pound.
Source: AWEX
Medgene, ISU Collaborate on Sheep & Goat Vaccines
Prescription platform vaccine manufacturer Medgene announced this week that it will be expanding its vaccine offerings to help keep sheep and goats healthy in partnership with Iowa State University.
“Partnering with Medgene offers many benefits to university researchers, allowing them to continue to serve the needs of animal agriculture,” said Dr. Alan Young, Medgene co-founder and chief technology officer. “A collaboration of this type is also a benefit for Medgene, where the expertise of grant principal Dr. Jodi McGill can be used to solve tough problems for the animal health industry that can be rapidly implemented.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s National Animal Disease Preparedness Response Program provided a two-year grant that will make these sheep and goat vaccines possible.
“Iowa State University is routinely contacted by goat producers who submit diagnostics for diseases and are looking for biologic solutions. Currently, they are forced to use tools developed for cattle with few products developed specifically for goats,” said Dr. Michael Roof, chief technology officer, Immunovac, Iowa State University. “Because of the variety of different diseases that need solutions, Medgene’s prescription vaccine platform is very appealing, as it can be applied quickly across numerous diseases, including bacterial and viral diseases.”
The grant has three objectives – all based around pursuing vaccine solutions for diseases affecting sheep and goats – including bluetongue virus, Cache Valley Fever and respiratory syncytial virus.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to work with the team at Medgene,” said Dr. McGill. “I think this will be a really productive partnership. I’m also really excited to address this important need for our sheep and goat producers and am looking forward to seeing these vaccines used on farms that need them.”
Source: Megene
North Dakota Plans Shearing, Classing Schools
North Dakota State University’s Hettinger Research Extension Center will host both a sheep shearing and a certified wool classing school on Nov. 23-25.
Instructors for the shearing school will include Kurtis Mooney, Wade Kopren and Chris Troendle. The school will cover: the professional shearing pattern; tagging and eyeing; equipment maintenance and repair; and wool handling and preparation. The cost to attend is $250 per person.
Larry Prager of Center of the Nation Wool will instruct the certified wool classing school. Topics covered in the school include: wool fiber growth, development and production; objective measurement of wool; genetic selection programs; hands-on wool grading; wool contamination and handling practices; and wool classing, packaging, labeling and marketing. Students will also test for Level 1 certification. The cost to attend is $250 per person.
For more information on either school, contact Dr. Christopher Schauer at Christopher.schauer@ndsu.edu or 701-567-4323.
Source: NDSU Extension
ALB Now Accepting Cooperative Funding Program Applications
The American Lamb Board allocates funds through the Cooperative Funding Program for local sheep producer groups, lamb suppliers and direct marketers. The program is designed to cost-share marketing efforts that align with ALB’s mission to grow awareness and demand for American lamb. Applications can be submitted now through Sept. 30.
“The Cooperative Funding Program is a fantastic opportunity to help producers, suppliers and direct marketers share information and resources about the advantages of American lamb with consumers, retailers and the foodservice industry,” said ALB Chairman Jeff Ebert. “The program was designed to cost-share marketing and promotional campaigns that reach consumers at the local level.”
Producers can apply for funding to reach consumers, chefs or retailers through marketing and promotional projects designed to build awareness and grow demand for American lamb. In addition, suppliers – including direct marketers – can apply for funds to promote American lamb products in the retail or foodservice sectors. The promotions should use innovative marketing techniques to incentivize restaurants and/or retailers to promote and support American lamb.
ALB allocates funds annually to support local marketing initiatives targeting non-industry audiences. The program supports projects in which applicants are willing to share costs and provide additional resources for the funded project.
Click Here to learn more about the program and download the application.
Source: ALB
Festival Panel Looks at Future of the West
This year’s storytelling evening’s conversation and panel on Oct. 4 at the Trailing of the Sheep Festival in Idaho will focus on the importance of both private and public lands, the critical role of agriculture in conservation and obstacles that landowners face in stewarding these landscapes.
Panelists for The Future of Conservation in a Crowded West will dive into the world of innovative tools and practices being used by landowners and producers to benefit the habitat they steward and the humans and wildlife that depend on it. The panel will also highlight the idea of stewardship beyond boundaries: the need for all of us – landowners, sportsmen, recreationalists, ranchers, rural and urban residents – to look beyond the boundaries of our land or immediate self-interests. The future of the West is dependent on building healthy landscapes that work for us all.
The panel will be moderated by Boise State University Professor Jared L. Talley, who was born and raised in Southwestern Idaho and now seeks to help rural communities adapt and thrive in a rapidly changing world. Panelists will include Lesli Allison of the Western Landowners Alliance, Sara Berman of Squash Blossom Farm and Dr. Hailey Wilmer of the U.S. Sheep Experiment Station.
Click Here for more information
Source: Trailing of the Sheep
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.
ERS Releases 2024 Farm Sector Income Forecast
Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service released its 2024 Farm Sector Income Forecast. This publication found that after the farm economy reached record highs in 2022, farm sector income is projected to fall in 2024 but at a reduced rate than that of its 2023 decline.
Net farm income in 2024 is forecasted to be $140 billion, which is a $6.5 billion decrease – 4.4 percent – from its 2023 total of $146.5 billion. When considering inflation-adjusted 2024 dollars, net farm income is projected to decrease by $10.2 billion – 6.2 percent – from 2023 to 2024, whereas net cash income is forecasted to decrease by $16.3 billion – 9.6 percent – compared with the previous year. Direct government farm payments are expected to decline by $1.8 billion –15.1 percent – from their 2023 numbers to $10.4 billion in 2024.
Total production expenses – including those associated with operator dwellings – are likely to decrease by $4.4 billion or 1 percent from 2023 to $457.5 billion in 2024. Feed, fertilizer and pesticide expenses are forecasted to see the largest declines in 2024, whereas livestock/poultry purchases are expected to see the largest dollar increase relative to 2023. While cash receipts for crops are projected to fall in 2024, total animal/animal product cash receipts are forecasted to increase by $17.8 billion – 7.1 percent in nominal terms – from 2023 to $267.4 billion in 2024.
Click Here for more information and statistics on ERS’s September 2024 Farm Sector Income Forecast publication.
NASS Releases Census of Ag Web Maps Application
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service recently launched a collection of interactive maps to allow data users to access key Census of Agriculture information. The newly redesigned Ag Census Web Maps application offers the public access to maps and accompanying data to help visualize, download and analyze Census of Agriculture data down to the county level.
The application assembles maps and statistics from the 2022 Census of Agriculture in five broad categories – crops and plants, economics, farms, livestock and animals and producers – as well as associated subcategories.
An Ag Census Web Maps user can: select a map to display from any of the general categories and associated subcategories; create maps showing the variation in a single data item across the country; select a county and view and download the county’s data for a general category; download the U.S. county-level dataset of mapped values for all categories and more. The resulting products give producers, agribusinesses, policymakers, community planners and the general public easy access to factors that affect agriculture and producers in more than 3,000 counties across the country.
NASS has also made available on its website a range of new products related to the 2022 ag census: Market Value of Ag Products Rankings; State and County Profiles; Congressional District Profiles and Rankings; the Race, Ethnicity, and Gender Profiles; the Watersheds report; and the American Indian Reservations Report.
Spanning more than 6 million data points about America’s farms and ranches and the people who operate them, the full ag census report can be accessed at nass.usda.gov/AgCensus. Ag census data can also be found in NASS’s searchable online database, Quick Stats.
In preparation for the 2027 Census of Agriculture, NASS is already asking for content change suggestions and for new producers who did not receive a 2022 Census of Agriculture questionnaire last year to sign up to be counted in future censuses and surveys. Both forms can be found at nass.usda.gov.
Source: USDA/NASS