Note: Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, there will be no ASI Weekly Newsletter next week. The American Sheep Industry Association office will be closed on Thursday and Friday, Nov. 28-29. Happy Thanksgiving.
American Wool Offers Holiday Gift Guide
Looking for the perfect gift for that special someone in your life? There’s no doubt they’d appreciate many of the items in the AmericanWool.org Gift Guide. From hats and scarves to socks and pillows, there’s something for everyone. The guide even has a suggestion for the family canine.
Whether you’re looking to spend a few dollars or a few hundred dollars, the quality of items made with American wool is unrivaled. And the products are manufactured in the United States, as well.
The Gift Guide is the latest offering from the AmericanWool.org blog. The entire website is a consumer-friendly, wool-specific resource for anyone interested in living a natural, sustainable lifestyle.
Brickle Group Secures DOD Contracts
The Brickle Group announced late last week that more than $84 million in Defense Logistics Agency contracts were awarded to its subsidiary Northwest Woolen Mills in the last eight months. The Brickle Group, a third-generation, leading manufacturer based out of Woonsocket, R.I., has been producing textiles for the last 83 years, including production of the U.S. military blanket.
The Brickle Group credits the competitiveness of its proposals to the state’s business-friendly ecosystem and commitment to investing in Rhode Island’s past to drive the future. These awards would not be possible without the tireless leadership and support of Gov. Gina M. Raimondo, Sen. Jack Reed, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Congressman David Cicilline and Congressman Jim Langevin, on behalf of Rhode Island’s manufacturing and defense industries.
The company has been a key participant in Real Jobs RI, Raimondo’s cutting-edge workforce development platform, and the RI Innovation Network, sponsored by Sen.Whitehouse, which has provided the vehicle for 70 textile companies in RI to connect and utilize each other to make the Brickle Group a one-stop shop, supply chain solution.
“Manufacturing is in Rhode Island’s DNA,” said Raimondo. “That’s why we’re investing in platforms like Real Jobs Rhode Island that support our workers and homegrown companies like The Brickle Group. I want to congratulate the Brickle Group and their partners on successfully winning these federal contracts. I’m thrilled that they are thriving and growing here in Woonsocket.”
“Through the support of our RI congressional delegation, Polaris MEP and Rhode Island Textile Innovation Network, especially surrounding networking and connecting with both our RI and New England neighbors, the Brickle Group has been able to establish a supply chain that can meet and exceed the textile demands of the U.S. Department of Defense,” said Max Brickle, President of The Brickle Group.
The clothing and textile contracts span more than five years, with production taking place at the Brickle group’s Woonsocket facility as well at its New England textile partners. The Brickle Group has been producing the U.S. military blanket for more than 40 years. The U.S. Navy has added its version to the collection, which the Brickle Group is currently producing in its Woonsocket facility. The U.S. Navy gray blanket is produced of 100 percent wool, providing warmth and durability to service the warfighter on U.S. Navy ships.
This marks the first year that the Brickle Group has been awarded this contract for Gen III Layer VII Parka and Trousers, as well as the Snow Camo Trouser and Parka. These items make up the outermost layer of protection of the Gen III Extreme Cold Weather System. Adopted by the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force, they are designed for use during extreme cold and dry conditions.
Registry Tattoos Must be APHIS Approved
The U.S. Department of Agriculture/Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service asked the American Sheep Industry Association to remind industry leaders that the federal regulation published in March requires registry tattoos to be approved in order for them to be used as official identification for movement of sheep or goats in interstate commerce.
If your registry uses tattoos and you would like them approved by USDA/APHIS for use as official identification for movement, you need to submit a request for registry tattoo approval. Information was mailed to breed registry representatives this week.
Australian Wool Market Reverses Last Week’s Gains
The Australian wool market was unable to maintain last week’s positive momentum, recording losses across the entire merino range and resulting in a full reversal of last week’s 19-cent gain in the AWEX Eastern Market Indicator as the EMI finished 19 cents lower at 1,555 Australian cents.
Overall, there were increased prices during that previous series which encouraged more sellers to the market and pushed the national quantity up to 38,298 bales this week. However, compared to the corresponding sale of the previous season, the national offering was 10,000 bales lower and to date 12 percent less bales have been put through the auction system this season.
A weak finish from the Fremantle region late last week prompted a slip at the opening of the Eastern markets this sale. Nineteen micron and coarser recorded the largest reductions as the individual Micron Price Guides for these wools fell by 8 to 35 cents in Sydney and Melbourne on Wednesday and continued to retract as the day progressed – falling by 22 to 44 cents in Fremantle late in the day. The softer tone carried into Thursday where the market continued to track downward, but at a more subdued rate than the previous day.
The individual MPGs in the Eastern centers were mostly 10 to 20 cents cheaper. The broader ranges of 21 and 22 microns showed some promise, closing marginally higher. Fremantle continued this trend and ended the week on an encouraging note, firming 5 cents clean dearer for most microns. Merino skirtings continued to find good support and closed ahead for the better types, particularly in the finer microns. The Merino Carding Indicators had mixed results depending on the region, but were in line with last week while the crossbreds were slightly cheaper.
Source: AWEX
President Trump Signs Continuing Resolution
President Donald J. Trump signed a continuing resolution on federal funding Thursday that will keep the United States government open through Dec. 20. The continuing resolution was passed by the U.S. Senate (74-20) earlier in the day after the U.S. House passed it (231-192) earlier in the week.
Funding for Trump’s proposed border wall continues to be a sticking point as Congress tries to reach a consensus on the budget for Fiscal Year 2020. The amount allocated for the wall is holding up funding for all 12 necessary appropriations bills.
Proposed Solar Facility Requests Grazing Bids
Invenergy requests a proposal for the maintenance and management of vegetation at the Horseshoe Solar facility in New York State. This request is to establish market research, provide information early in the planning process to potential contractors, and to gauge levels of interest. This bidding round is conducted primarily to obtain pricing information for planning purposes and not to be taken as a commitment by Invenergy as implied or otherwise to issue a solicitation or award a contract.
However, proposals at this stage will be given priority during the final bidding process prior to site commissioning. At a minimum, proposals should be made for seven-year contracts starting in 2022. Bidders may propose longer durations.
The Horseshoe project is being planned to accommodate grazing sheep as a partial or whole solution to vegetation management. Proposals should be for either mechanical methods, grazing methods, or a combination of both, but it is not necessary to include both. Grazing sheep are planned as the preferred method of maintenance at this facility, and grazing proposals are encouraged.
The proposed facility is a utility-scale solar project located in the towns of Caledonia and Rush in Livingston and Monroe Counties, respectively, in New York. The land is currently farmed with commodity crops and the soils are mostly graded as prime. Corn, soybeans, dry beans and wheat are the most common crops that have been planted on the site. The project will include approximately 25 separately fenced areas that for the purposes of the grazing plan and RFP, have been grouped into nine spatially-connected sections.
A site tour will be conducted on Tuesday, Dec. 3 at 10 a.m., beginning from the Tractor Supply Parking Lot at 3356 Caledonia Avon Road. RFP submissions are due by Friday, Dec. 31.
Questions specific to the RFP and bid responses should be directed to Agrivoltaic Solutions at [email protected]