Culham Selected as ASI ‘Grow Our Flock’ Project Coordinator
Alan Culham has accepted the offer to fill the project coordinator position with ASI’s Grow Our Flock program. He will officially being in this new role in mid-January, allowing him to be present at the ASI convention in Reno, Nev.
In this new position, Culham will be responsible for coordinating with sheep producers and feeders to identify local and regional groups of commercial growers to enhance the production and marketing of wool and lamb.
“When I first read the Lamb Industry Roadmap, I was truly inspired,” said Culham. “For years the sheep industry seemed to sweep the same problems under the rug and not address them head on. The Roadmap is certainly different in that regard. It candidly focused on areas where the sheep industry has lagged behind other livestock species in the adaptation of technology, standardization of product and production efficiency. The report stressed that the industry needs to change and change rapidly to maintain any future viability. I share that vision.”
ASI conducted a national search to fill the position.
“The association is anxious to have Alan on board for the coordination of the ASI Grow Our Flock program,” said ASI Executive Director Peter Orwick. “With an annual budget of several hundred thousand dollars to support local groups of commercial producers, there is a lot of work to do in the coming years.”
Culham has been with Michigan State University since 2006 as an instructor in the department of animal science and manager of the research center. Through this MSU program, he developed performance Suffolk and Dorset sheep flocks. He has utilized the components of the National Sheep Improvement Program both professionally and in his personal flock since 1988.
“From being a sheep producer and live animal and carcass evaluation consultant to a livestock and meats judge and wool buyer, Alan has been involved in a broad spectrum of the sheep industry,” continued Orwick. “This experience will definitely give him the background to work to increase productivity and producer profitability in the sheep industry.”
Culham said that he’s been a part of the sheep industry all of his life and this position offers “a new challenge to improve and serve the industry,”