Industry News Briefs

• July 2014
  • President’s Notes
  • Market Report
  • ASI 150th Anniversary Blankets & Pillows Now Available
  • Sheep Genome Excites Industry
  • Closure of Sheep Experiment Station Proposed
  • Industry News Briefs
  • Support For Wildlife Services Moves Forward as Appropriations Vote Nears
  • Chinese Buyers Get U.S. Wool Close-Up
  • ASI Sending Pair of Young Shepherds to France to Compete in 2nd World Ovinpiades
  • ASI Photo Contest Seeks Your Best Shots

Drivers carrying livestock will be exempt for a year from a government regulation requiring drivers to take a half-hour break for every eight hours of service. In granting the exemption, the Department of Transportation said the waiver “was necessary to ensure the well-being of the nation’s livestock during interstate transportation.” The Transportation Department’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration estimated there are 250,000 drivers in the United States who haul livestock, but only 120,000 drive long enough to benefit from the 30-minute break provision. The one-year exemption expands on a 90-day waiver granted to livestock shippers.

 

USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) published in the Federal Register the National Sheep Industry Improvement Center (NSIIC); Interim rule and request for comments. As provided in the 2014 Farm Bill, AMS is amending the sheep center regulations by redesignating the statutory authority from the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to the Agricultural Marketing Act, amending the definition of the act to make it consistent with the redesignated statutory authority and amending the regulations by increasing the administrative cap for the use of the funds from 3 percent to 10 percent. The interim rule was effective June 4 and comments received by July 3 will be considered. 

The USDA Agriculture Marketing Service (AMS) sent notice to beef, pork and lamb slaughter facilities that it is updating its animal handling and welfare (AHW) purchase specifications in a move that allows zero tolerance for missed stuns or animals regaining sensibility following stunning. AMS purchases meat products for federal food programs, including the school lunch program. This notice applies to facilities that sell products to the agency. In a “Notice to the Trade,” AMS Deputy Administrator Craig Morris outlined the changes, which can be found at at www.ams.usda.gov.

Burlington has developed a line of worsted wool fabrics woven and finished in the United States.

The “Just US” fabric collection is intended for men’s trousers, suits, suit separates, blazers and sport coats – and is designed to be used for made-tomeasure, custom tailors and branded and better department stores and specialty shop brands, Burlington noted. “Burlington’s new collection of fine worsted fabrics opens up exciting opportunities for ‘Mde in America’ better apparel,” said Peter Baumann, senior vice president of merchandising for Burlington Men’s Wear. “Fine worsted fabrics are pillar to creating contemporary classic styling, but more recently these fabrics have not been produced in the United States.” The “Just US” collection is launching in the fall of 2015.