ASI Elects New Officers

ASI Elects New Officers

By AMY TRINIDAD
Sheep Industry News Editor

(March 1, 2013) The American Sheep Industry Association’s (ASI) Board of Directors elected new officers at the 2013 ASI/National Lamb Feeders Association Convention in San Antonio, Texas. Elected to the office of president is Clint Krebs of Ione, Ore.; Burton Pfliger of Bismarck, N.D., as vice president; and Mike Corn, Roswell, N.M., as secretary/treasurer.

A fourth-generation sheep producer, Krebs, has been running sheep his entire life. He currently runs range ewes as well as operates a lamb feedlot. His only break from sheep was to get his bachelor’s degree in agriculture economics from Oregon State University. 
Before being elected president, Krebs represented Washington, Oregon, California and Hawaii on the ASI Executive Board and served two years in each of the vice president and secretary/treasurer positions. He has served as chair of ASI’s Re-build the Sheep Industry Committee, co-chair of the ASI Resource Management Council and has been a director for the National Lamb Feeders Association. In addition, Krebs has served as president of the Oregon Sheep Growers Association and chairman of the Oregon Sheep Commission.

Krebs and his wife, Maureen, have two daughters, Jessica Langley and Shelby, and a son, Cameron, who works alongside the Krebs at the ranch.

“With excellent speakers and attendance, we had a great convention. Best of all, we heard that by 2014, the industry could possibly see an increase in sheep production,” says Krebs, further welcoming the new ASI Executive Board members. 

Pfliger is a third-generation sheep rancher who was born into the business. He earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Animal Science from North Dakota State University. Currently, Pfliger and his wife Pattie run approximately 400 ewes, which make up a purebred Hampshire flock, a purebred Suffolk flock and a flock of Rambouillet/Dorset cross commercial ewes. The Hampshire and Suffolk flocks are used to produce range and terminal sires. 

Prior to being elected vice president, Pfliger was ASI’s secretary/treasurer and served as the Region IV representative. Pfliger previously served as the chairman of the Production, Education and Research Council and the Wool Council, and additionally, he served on the Legislative Action Council and the Predator Management Committee. He was elected to four terms as president of the North Dakota Lamb and Wool Producers.  
In addition, Pfliger served as vice chairman on the executive board of the Ag Coalition in North Dakota, and has served as the chairman of North Dakota State University’s (NDSU) Board of Ag Research, Livestock Granting Committee. Pfliger was nominated to NDSU’s Agriculturist of the Year and was presented the North Dakota Master Sheep Producer award in 2005.    

“I am honored to be elected by my fellow producers and look forward to working with all segments of the industry to improve and strengthen domestic sheep production,” says Pfliger.

Corn owns and operates sheep, cattle and goats, lambing around 3,000 ewes annually. He is a fourth-generation rancher who is proud to be working with the next generation, his son, Bronson. The Corn family has been raising sheep in the Roswell area since the 1880s. Corn owns and operates his own ranch, as well as leases additional ranches, operating around 125,000 acres. His herd consists of white-faced, fine-wool sheep, mainly a merino cross, and he markets his lambs through Enchantment Lamb Co-op.

Corn is also the majority owner of Roswell Wool Warehouse, which he and his partners purchased in 1992. Roswell is now the largest wool warehouse by volume in the United States with an additional facility in Long Beach, Calif. Corn says he believes the warehouse continues to be successful because it is operated by “producer oriented” owners who are also part of the sheep industry.

Corn is an active member of ASI’s Re-build the Sheep Industry Committee, Chaves County Farm Bureau, New Mexico Hereford Association and is past president of the New Mexico Wool Growers Association and of the Chaves County Soil and Water Conservation District. He previously represented Region VI on ASI’s Executive Board and served as vice chair of ASI’s Resource Management Council.

Corn earned a Ranch Management Certificate from Texas Christian University. He has been married to his bride, Jennifer, for 29 years. They have three children (Jessica, Bronson, Jenny) and one grandson (Garrett).

“I consider being elected ASI secretary/treasurer as a great honor and a privilege,” says Corn. “With the ranch established in New Mexico in 1878 and our family now starting the sixth generation in livestock production, the passion for this industry runs deep in my family. Sheep paid for our ranches in the beginning and I’m looking forward to the day when sheep will rule the range once again!”