For More Information Contact:
Judy Malone — 303-771-3500, ext. 104, or judym@sheepusa.org
Kyle Partain – 303-771-3500, ext. 106, or kyle@sheepusa.org

DENVER – Don Kniffen of Asbury, N.J., was elected to represent Region I on the American Sheep Industry Association’s Executive Board at the 2017 ASI Convention in Denver, Jan. 25-28.

“I’m excited to represent the region,” said the longtime sheep breeder. “I’d been thinking about running when they came to me and said they needed someone to do it. My main issue is the price of lamb. As meat breeders, we’ve always watched the price of lamb pretty close.”

It’s not the first time Kniffen has answered the call to represent producers in the Northeast. He attended his first ASI Annual Convention in 1992 when the Garden State had a difficult time finding someone willing to attend on its behalf.

“I said, ‘I’ll go. How bad could it be?’” he recalls. “And I’ve been there ever since.”

His father, Donald Kniffen, Sr., got the family into sheep when he purchased three separate Hampshire flocks in the early 1960s. The family also raised cows, which he passed along to his second son, Daniel, upon his death. A professor of animal science at Penn State University, Daniel Kniffen is heavily involved with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.

A member of the Garden State Sheep Breeders Association, Don Kniffen spent 37 years working in a variety of roles with livestock at Rutgers University – where his father had served as a professor of animal science and extension specialist. The younger Kniffen started in the school’s sheep barn, but also worked in the beef and dairy barns, as well as with horses and crop management.

Kniffen represents Region I, which includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont.

ASI is an equal opportunity employer. It is the national trade organization supported by 45 state sheep associations, benefiting the interests of more than 88,000 sheep producers.