Let's Grow Announces Second Round of Funding

Let’s Grow Announces Second Round of Funding

The ASI Let’s Grow committee has announced the dates for the second-round funding of Let’s Grow project grants.

• Applications available – Sept. 1. Applications are available online at Sheepusa.org/Growourflock_Funding_Application
• Grant proposals due – Nov. 15
• Review of proposals – Dec. 7
• Announcement of funded proposals – Dec. 21

A total of $325,000 is available for projects to support, promote and ensure the U.S. sheep industry’s future through the development of innovative and sustainable initiatives that increase the productivity, profitability and growth of the American sheep industry. Projects should further enhance domestic wool and lamb production, in addition to addressing Sheep Industry Roadmap’s Productivity committee goals to:

• Develop a long-term plan for U.S. sheep research and producer education;
• Promote widespread producer use of quantitative genetic selection;
• Support a national initiative to establish and support producer groups who are committed to improving productivity and profitability.   

Further priority will be given to those proposals that address:

• Projects and programs that have national, multi-state and regional impact and have long term productivity advancing implications;
• Promote concepts that contribute to strengthening industry infrastructure needs;
• Projects and programs that improve seasonality of supply, reduce market volatility and drive the industry’s ability to deliver a more uniform, consistent lamb and wool product for a particular targeted market.

Low priorities for grant funding will be:

• The purchase of equipment, buildings, sheep, and other capital items tied to a single operation – personal assets, and assets with limited use;
• Travel to conventions and conferences;
• Payment of convention and conference registration fees.

Producers are encouraged to submit proposals that meet the guidelines of the committee as we intend to increase sheep industry production efficiency and profitability in an attempt to compete with not only imported lamb and wool products but with other domestic livestock production, as well.

The Let’s Grow committee awarded 11 grants back in June during the first round of funding. Proposals that received funding during that round included educational webinars, small ruminant mentor training, the Montana Ram Sale Sheep Symposium, the Fine Wool Consortium, sheep shearing training, use of electronic identification technology to enhance lamb productivity and value-based marketing, the Genetic Improvement Initiative, the Post Weaning Lamb Performance Program, Leading Edge Sheep Production, Let’s Grow Northwest and the Flock and Fiber Symposium.

In the first round of funding, the committee approved 11 of the 43 grant requests it received.

The Let’s Grow Committee is made-up of industry leaders from across the country including ASI Vice President Mike Corn (N.M.); Lesa Eidman (Calif.), John Fine (Ore.), Ben Lehfeldt (Mont.), Wes Limesand (N.D.), Wes Moser (Iowa), Dr. Stanley Poe, Sr. (Ind.), Rick Powers (S.C.), Rob Rule (Iowa), Susan Shultz (Ohio), Bill Sparrow, Jr. (N.C.) and Dr. Dennis Stiffler (N.Y.).

For more information, contact ASI Let’s Grow Coordinator Alan Culham at alan@sheepusa.org or 517-896-7378.