BEN LEHFELDT, ASI President
The start of a new year is always exciting. No different this year. As another ASI Annual Convention concluded back in January, new opportunities were on the horizon. It seems like it has been non-stop for the past two months. A lot has to do with the ideas, changes, adjustments, re-adjustments and continued uncertainty coming out of Washington, D.C.
It has been great taking calls from members to develop new initiatives that might help the sheep industry. There have been new ideas suggested, old programs asked to be resurrected, but overall, everyone I talk to just wants to continue in the industry that they love and try to be profitable.
Along with the new ideas to help bring sheep back to the United States, there has been concern about our governmental partners throughout the country. Wildlife Services, Agricultural Research Service sites such as the U.S. Sheep Experiment Station and the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center, the National Resources Conservation Service and the Farm Service Agency have come under scrutiny this past month. We continue to monitor these changes and consult with our agency partners at the U.S. Department of Agriculture to find the best path for our industry.
We look forward to the many opportunities that we have as an association to work together toward accomplishing our vision and mission. Leading that charge is our ASI Executive Board, which is made up of eight elected regional directors, four elected officers and a representative of the National Lamb Feeders Association. These volunteer sheep producers are ready and willing to serve as your link to ASI and our industry priorities.
Joining me on the officer team are: Joe Pozzi, vice president, California; Tammy Fisher, secretary/treasurer, Texas; and Brad Boner, past president, Wyoming. The remainder of the Executive Board includes: Kevin Melvin, Region I, New Jersey; Patricia Sanville, Region II, Maryland; Larry Hopkins, Region III, Indiana; Lynn Fahrmeier, Region IV, Missouri; Rodney Kott, Region V, Texas; Julie Hansmire, Region VI, Colorado; John Noh, Region VII, Idaho; Ryan Indart, Region VIII, California; and Kate Harlan, NLFA, Wyoming.
The makeup of the ASI Executive Board continues to reflect the wide diversity that is our American sheep industry. Each regional director serves as the chair of an ASI council or committee and is updated regularly on the issues that affect our industry as a whole. Remember, these are the people that are the communication link between state membership and ASI. They can help bring your questions and concerns back to ASI for deliberation and action.
Your ASI officer team continues to try to look for new ways to communicate our message to membership and have our “ears to the ground” to be responsive to our member’s concerns. But remember, it is important to utilize the conduit in place for communication from member to state organization to Executive Board member to ASI.
The ASI Executive Board met at the end of March to discuss strategy, appoint council/committee members and also to disseminate information about the sheep industry on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Thank you to all the individual members that attended the ASI Spring Trip. If you were unable to make the trip, please reach out to utilize the ASI white papers and advocate with your elected officials’ state offices or if you plan on visiting our nation’s capital in the months to come.
The ASI Executive Board spent a lot of time leading up to the fly-in dissecting the ever-changing information and coordinating a message that is beneficial to the industry. We were excited to discuss the H-2A working group’s proposals, as well as up-to-date information on the impacts of the federal restructuring that relates to priority sheep activities.
Thanks to the states for sending in your recommendations for council and committee appointments. We took a hard look at making sure there is effective and equal representation on each and every council and committee.
We also looked at opportunities to deal with our competitors to bring more value back to our American lamb and American wool products during the meeting. It is exciting to have an opportunity to make progress on bringing more producer dollars back to our American sheep industry.
When I last wrote this market update in January, market signals were sideways, there were some positives, and some negatives, depending upon who was buying and who was selling. Since then, there has been an administration change and tariff talks/discussions every week, but prices throughout the supply chain are surging.
RETAIL
In the most recent U.S. Department of Agriculture retail report, the feature rate was around 10 percent. The feature rate is the amount of sampled stores advertising any reported item during the current week, expressed as a percentage of the total sample. Thus, approximately 10 percent of stores are featuring lamb products. The national activity rate in the first week of March was relatively unchanged compared to the year, at 2,753. The activity rate is a measure of the absolute frequency of feature activity equal to the total number of stores for each advertised item (i.e. retailer with 200 outlets featuring three items has an activity index of 600).
The Northeast region (Conn., Del., Mass., Md., Maine, N.H., N.J., N.Y., Penn., R.I. and Vt.) and the Southeast region (Ala., Fla., Ga., Miss., N.C., S.C., Tenn., Va. and W.V.) both have higher featuring rates of 18 percent and 22.6 percent, respectively. In the Northeast region, the highest valued products in early March were fresh Halal rib chops averaging $27.99 per pound. Whereas in the Southeast region, the highest valued products were fresh loin chops averaging $8.99 per pound. Additionally, the Southeast region had the highest activity index of 1,485. With Easter coming, I would expect the feature rate and activity rate to start increasing.
WHOLESALE
In the first week of March, the lamb cutout ended at $459.91 per cwt., which is $11.14 per cwt. lower compared to a year ago. Compared to the previous five-year average (2019 to 2023), prices in early March were $32.35 per cwt. higher. Through the first nine weeks of 2025, the cutout averaged $459.03 per cwt., which is $11.51 per cwt. lower than last year, and $28.30 per cwt. higher than the previous five-year average.
While the lamb cutout is lower than last year prices remain steady, which indicates steady demand from downstream participants. When looking at primal cut values, boxed lamb rack (8-rib light) prices have been surging. Last year, racks topped out at $1,159 per cwt. in September and November. Through the first nine weeks of 2025, prices trended upward from $1,118.21 per cwt. at the start of January, to $1,186.12 per cwt. in the first week of March. At $1,186.12 per cwt., rack prices are $54.12 per cwt. higher than last year and $73.69 per cwt. higher than the previous five-year average.
SLAUGHTER
When looking at supplies, weekly lamb and yearling slaughter has been averaging 32,540 head per week this year. That puts this year at an average of 810 head per week higher than last year, and relatively the same as the previous five-year average (32,270 head per week). A key difference this year compared to last year is that the weekly slaughter volume was increasing at this time last year at approximately 34,000 head in anticipation of Easter (March 31, 2024). As mentioned in previous months, slaughter dressed weights last year (63.3 pounds) and this year (63.8 pounds) are lower compared to the previous five-year average (67.3 pounds). By taking 2025 weekly slaughter weights and average slaughter numbers, total lamb and yearling production is up approximately 3.2 percent through early March compared to last year.
PRICES
Feeder lamb prices in the three-market average (Colorado, South Dakota and Texas) have also been surging in 2025. At the start of 2025, prices were $255.92 per cwt. Since then, each week has brought increased prices with the first week of March ending at $345 per cwt. These prices are the highest since the first quarter of 2022.
For 60- to 90-pound slaughter lambs, the three-market prices have been steadily increasing since early February and are the highest of the year in the first week of March at $265.83 per cwt. These current prices are higher than the peak of last year – $263.96 per cwt. in April. Given the further downstream price movements, I would expect these prices to continue to increase.
In heavier weights, the 100- to 150-pound slaughter lamb prices hit a floor of $147 per cwt. in February, and have increased up to $187.50 per cwt. in the first week of March. The prices for these heavyweights are $27.50 per cwt. higher than last year and $4.91 per cwt. lower than the previous five-year average. Given that these animals are above the average dressed weights and prices are increasing, these signals suggest strong demand for lamb products.
Negotiated slaughter lamb prices are also increasing and were at $175.58 per cwt. in early March, which is the highest of the year. These prices are underwhelming when compared to last year – $191.24 per cwt. – but they are still higher than the previous five-year average – $164.20 per cwt.
I expect these prices to continue to increase due to seasonality trends, but the question becomes how high, which I think is too early to call. Fundamentals suggest that they still have $20 to $25 per cwt. of vertical movement.
TRADE
One driver of demand has been the export market. In the latest trade data in January, the United States exported 60,213 metric tons of product (meat, wool and skins). That amount is 6,100 metric tons more than in January 2024. While the amount is more than a year ago, the value of the product in the meat products is up. In January, the value of exports was $1.457 million, which is the highest single month value since June 2022 ($1.54 million).
In January, 27.3 million pounds (12,383 metric tons) of lamb product was imported, which is 4.1 million pounds more than January 2024. According to weekly imported lamb cut data reported by the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service, imports have oscillated around a 50 percent fresh and 50 percent frozen lamb product mix so far this year.
The most imported product in the first week of March was fresh boneless Australian leg (14.7 percent of imported fresh volume). The highest valued lamb product in the first week of March was fresh Australian rack (cap off) at $1,370.20 per cwt. Higher domestic and imported prices reinforces current demand for this product.
WOOL
As I write this in the first week of March, the wool market has also had some upward movement in prices. To start March, the AWEX Eastern Market Indicator has trended up to 1,225 AU cents per kg – up from 1,172 AU cents per kg in March 2024 – and the highest since May 2023. When converted to U.S. dollars per pound, prices are at $3.47 per lb. clean basis. This is the highest per pound price since October 2024 ($3.48 per lb.). While American wool prices have been steady to lower depending on quality – when compared to last year – there were incremental increases in the last few weeks of February. In the fine wools (17 to 19 micron), prices remained relatively stable with 18 micron prices ($4.72 per lb.) being the highest since mid-October.
In medium wools (19.5 to 24 micron), 20 micron ($4.35 per lb.), 22 micron ($4.21 per lb.) and 23 micron ($4.10 per lb.) wool prices have trended up on the year and gained more than 20 U.S. cents per pound since the first week of January.
In coarser wools (25 to 32 micron), prices have remained steady for the last couple of months, with 25 micron starting March at $2.16 per lb. Recent reports on improved buyer demand is a factor behind the recent uptick in wool prices.
OUTLOOK
Throughout this year, prices across the supply chain have been surging, including wool prices. From a producer standpoint, this is a welcome site because of the past few years lacking consistent profitability. From a lamb product standpoint, supplies continue to remain steady, but prices are increasing, which suggests strong demand from a consumer standpoint.
With tariff talks turning on and off throughout this year, the lamb industry is probably most impacted at the farm level via input cost fluctuations, rather than meat trading impacts. I would expect prices to continue to increase unless there is a macro level impact from a policy standpoint moving forward.
Thus, depending on which side of a deal one is on, the price increases can be great or not so great.
Are you a passionate sheep producer eager to expand your horizons? The American Lamb Board and ASI’s Young & Emerging Entrepreneurs present an exciting opportunity for you to participate in the Global Sheep Forum’s Young Leaders Program, which will take place during LambEx in Australia in August 2026.
This unique program aims to connect young producers and leaders from around the globe, fostering the exchange of ideas and networking opportunities. Participants will also gain valuable insights into the latest innovations and technologies shaping the sheep industry. As representatives of the United States, the selected candidates will showcase their leadership potential and contribute to global conversations about the future of the sheep industry.
To be eligible to apply, producers should be an existing and active member of ASI and an ALB contributor; be between 25 and 40 years of age; and have the ability to travel and make presentations.
As part of the program, selected participants will be asked to engage in several educational and leadership programs in the United States throughout 2025-2026, including: the Lamb Summit in July in Moscow, Idaho; the ASI Annual Convention in January 2026 in Reno, Nev.; and the National Lamb Feeders Association Howard Wyman Sheep Industry Leadership School in June 2026 in Sacramento, Calif.
Applications are being accepted now through April 15. Applicant interviews will then take place through May 1, and the selected applicants will be announced on May 5.
When applying, please ensure you respond thoroughly to all questions posed. Incomplete applications will not be considered. ALB and ASI encourage you to strengthen your application by including additional content, such as videos, photographs, articles, blogs or letters of recommendation that will help the review committee better understand your qualifications and passion for the industry.
“The Global Sheep Forum Young Leaders Program presents a fantastic opportunity for young sheep producers to enhance their skills and learn from experienced leaders worldwide,” said ALB Chair Jeff Ebert. “If you meet the eligibility criteria, I strongly encourage you to apply and participate in this transformative experience.”
For more information, or to request an application, email [email protected].
INDUSTRY MARKET REPORT AVAILABLE
ASI prepares an annual market report for the American Lamb Board summarizing key statistics and trends in the sheep industry. Here are some highlights from the 2024 report.
The industry saw an increase in inventory for the first time since 2016. On Jan. 1, the sheep and lamb inventory totaled 5.05 million head, an increase of 20,000 head. Market lambs were up 9,000 head for a total of 1.288 million. The total breeding flock grew by 10,000 head to 3.68 million.
While wholesale lamb prices remained stable due to favorable cuts, feeder and slaughter lamb prices fluctuated, especially in the latter half of the year, due to larger supplies. Retail lamb prices remained high, reflecting steady consumer demand despite inflationary pressures.
Overall, lamb and mutton production increased 2.4 percent, driven by higher slaughter volumes. While lamb and yearling slaughter levels were 1 percent lower than the 2018-2022 average last year, federally Inspected lamb and yearling slaughter was up 3.8 percent at 1.79 million head in 2024.
Per capita lamb consumption was 1.3 pounds in 2024, an increase attributed to a larger supply of lamb – American and imported. Based on lamb prices relative to supplies, consumer demand for lamb was stronger in 2024.
The 2024 lamb crop experienced an increase, with a lambing percentage of 105.9 percent, the highest since 2020. An increase in breeding stock – along with the higher lambing percentage – led to growth in the market lamb crop, marking 2024 as the first year-over-year increase in two decades. Regions such as the Corn Belt, Midwest, Northeast and Southeast saw an uptick in sheep numbers, while the Mountain and Western regions encountered declines.
The report highlights a modest increase in demand, especially from direct-to-consumer and ethnic markets, which contributes to a positive outlook for the sheep industry moving forward. Overall, the sheep industry continues to demonstrate signs of recovery with rising inventory, stable prices, decreasing feed costs and growth in various market segments, despite ongoing inflation challenges.
Download the full report with more information and insights at LambBoard.com.
Long before she began to take an active role in the American wool industry, Mary Jeanne Packer came to understand the disconnect between the general public and farmers.
As a small mill founder, she’s run into similar divides between sheep producers and the mills that process their wool. But she’s bound and determined to tackle that and other issues the industry faces as a member of the ASI Wool Council, which she was appointed to for the first time a year ago.
Packer first saw that divide while working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture for more than a dozen years, and even more so while running her own consulting firm that worked with natural resource groups representing Christmas tree and maple syrup producers, among others. She ran into it again after founding Battenkill Fibers Carding and Spinning Mill in Greenwich, N.Y.
In Denver on business in March, Packer visited the ASI office to sit down with ASI Wool Marketing Director Rita Samuelson and Wool Production Program Manager Heather Pearce to discuss some of the issues facing American wool from a processor’s perspective.
“I wish I could tell you we were ready to launch some giant initiative or dramatic new program,” Packer said. “But what we can do is work toward some small changes that might have a big impact. We want to improve the wool clip and look at ways to make the small- and medium-size mills in this country more efficient. We had a good brainstorming session about activities we can undertake as a council.”
An ASI study concluded there are about 100 such mills in the United States, and they play an instrumental role in processing wool for niche markets and growers who market their wool directly to consumers.
“Consumers want local products,” Packer said. “I opened a yarn store in 2005 and went out to visit local sheep producers. Some of them had yarn I could sell, but there was no guarantee it was from their wool. They would send off their wool to be processed and get back yarn that may or may not have come from their wool. I saw a need for someone in the middle to bridge that gap between the producers and the consumers.”
Engineering Her Way
Packer was a knitter and sewer early on in life, but her parents pushed her to enroll in the civil engineering program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she eventually earned a bachelor’s degree. That background came in handy through the years as she maintained and repaired various machines around her mill.
Of course, she had help along the way. She credits the folks at Green Mountain Spinnery in Vermont with providing a lot of knowledge and inspiration as she started Battenkill in 2009 and then worked to keep it moving in the right direction in the years that followed.
“There’s a deep learning curve that comes with starting a mill. And we want to try and return that favor when we can,” she said of providing insight to several new mills that have popped up in recent years. “It’s been a real joy to see other mills open and for us to be able to help them in the same way that Green Mountain did for us. I learned a lot of lessons in getting my mill going, so what I want us to look at is how can we build on that and share that information at ASI?
“There’s definitely room for more mills in this country, or at the very least for the existing mills to increase their capacity. I’ve found it’s easier to add equipment at an existing mill than it is to start a new mill. But there are lots of ways that we could go to increase our processing capacity for American wool.”
While Packer has never raised sheep, she’s always been an advocate and supporter of American wool, and she welcomes her opportunity to be involved with the Wool Council.
“Mary Jeanne has a lot of energy and passion for our industry,” said Samuelson. “We were fortunate to be able to spend an afternoon with her outside of the usual Wool Council meetings to better understand her background and her ideas for moving our industry forward.”
For more on wool developments in New York State, see the October 2024 issue of the Sheep Industry News.
In the past eight years, the Livestock Guardian Dog Field Day at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in San Angelo, Texas, has become a valuable resource for livestock producers.
Whether you’re just getting started with livestock guardian dogs or need help taking your program to the next level, the
May 2 event has something for everyone.
Plus, there will be puppies!
“We have some vendors at the field day, including breeders who will usually have guard dog puppies for sale,” said AgriLife LGD Program Specialist Bill Costanzo. “That’s always a highlight.”
The field day provides sheep and goat producers with an excellent opportunity to learn more about using guard dogs on their farms and ranches. The day will begin with several workshops, including: discussions on LGDs and predators by John Tomecek, Ph.D.; guard dog aggression by Wyoming producer Cat Urbigkit; and a presentation by canine behaviorist Walter Burghardt, Ph.D.
“We usually have three to four workshops before lunch, and then maybe one afterward depending on the year,” Costanzo said. “Also after lunch, we have a producer panel with three to four producers who are using guard dogs on their operations. We try to have a variety of producers, including some who have only been using dogs for a few years and others who might have 30 years of experience with guard dogs. We always get a ton of questions during the panel. I think the producers who attend feel more comfortable asking questions of other producers.”
While Costanzo was still finalizing the producer panel for this year’s field day, he confirmed three participants he expects to be on hand to take questions from the audience. Chad Raines was a crop farmer who moved into sheep and is now a part of the solar grazing boom in the American sheep industry.
Mario Aguirre is a goat breeder and a participant in Texas A&M AgriLife’s bonding project. He was suffering from extreme predation but the use of livestock guardian dogs virtually eliminated the problem. And Robert Sovola handles dog management for two area ranches.
The day usually ends with a ranch tour. The format has proven popular since the field day began in 2017. Attendance at that first field day was better than expected and led to more and more producers in the state and surrounding states turning to Texas A&M AgriLife with questions about livestock guardian dogs.
“That interest is kind of how my position came about,” said Costanzo. “They talked with the Texas Sheep and Goat Predator Management Board and we ended up working with them to secure funding for the program.”
The field day is now just one aspect of Texas A&M AgriLife’s Livestock Guardian Dog Program. Quarterly webinars address issues ranging from breed selection to nutrition and animal health. A producer panel much like the one planned for the field day will be conducted on May 15.
Costanzo also hosts monthly question-and-answer sessions on Facebook to address questions that are regularly sent in by producers. Producers can keep up with all of the program’s happenings at Facebook.com/TAMUlivestockguarddog.
To register for the LGD Field Day, visit AgriLife-Extension-district7.my.canva.site/livestock-guardian-dog-field-day. Early registration – before April 25 – is $30 per person or $50 for a couple. After April 25, the cost goes up to $35 and $60.
Things were quiet – a little too quiet, in fact – as students arrived for the Wyoming Wool Growers Association Lambing School on Feb. 28 in Burns, Wyo. As it turns out, not a single lamb hit the ground during the six-hour school.
Fortunately, WWGA Executive Director Alison Crane, Ph.D., has degrees in animal science, ruminant nutrition and reproductive physiology. The former extension specialist also oversees a family sheep operation with her husband, Weston Borcher, in Powell, Wyo., and was able to educate and entertain a dozen or so students in a classroom setting that also included a barn tour.
“Sometimes things don’t go the way you planned. We thought we were going to have a batch of ewes lambing so that we could do a very hands-on, intensive workshop kind of deal,” Crane said. “Didn’t happen. The sheep didn’t cooperate. So, we transitioned this into more information to do the best we could with videos and talking through different scenarios. It’s my comfort zone.”
While most members of the Wyoming Wool Growers are veteran sheep producers that often have multiple generations of experience at their disposal, the association has seen an influx of young and/or new producers.
“I think a lot of state associations are trying to build these beginner producer programs because we’re seeing a lot of interest in the industry,” Crane said, acknowledging that programs like this one are more common in states that cater to small and farm flocks. “Whether it’s through the bred ewe sale or the ram sale, we have some inexperienced producers that are really looking for some educational opportunities. We still have a very experienced membership base, but you also have them wanting to pass that knowledge along. In Wyoming, we have a lot of people moving in and we welcome them to join the sheep industry. We are seeing more inexperienced and new producers, especially on the hair sheep side of things.
“I think lambing can be one of those really scary times that you’re very excited, but your first wreck can talk you out of the sheep industry. And it’s costly. Just being able to provide an opportunity that allows them to see how to avoid some of the easier wrecks – or at least fix them – is valuable.”
Several of the students on hand drove up from Colorado, but Grady Folot and Josi Behrle are WWGA members who fall into the group of new producers in need of education. The young couple jumped in with both feet when they bought a flock of 165 head at a dispersal sale in Newell, S.D., last fall. They connected with Borcher Sheep Company when they needed rams to turn in with the flock, and now they are preparing for their very first lambing season.
“We were looking to start something and cattle were a little out of our ballpark,” Behrle said. “Sheep seem to make money faster, and to be more efficient and productive. We’re probably as prepared as we can be from just listening to people tell us about lambing. I don’t think we’ll be fully prepared until we actually do it ourselves. But we’ve asked a lot of questions to get ready.”
As you’re reading this, lambing might very well have commenced on the couple’s place, and chances are they’re calling a handful of producers they’ve met for guidance.
“Every sheep person we’ve met has been great,” said Behrle. “We can sit there and talk with them for hours about everything, and they’re just wonderful. Alison and her husband have been a great resource for us. They said if we needed anything to just give them a call. And we might…maybe a lot.”
A hands-on experience certainly would have helped the first-time producers, but they were thankful for the variety of information provided during the school, which looked at different issues they might encounter during lambing, as well as disease and nutrition issues that all producers should be aware of as they head into the lambing season.
For instance, the three main causes of newborn lamb death are: starvation/hypothermia, pneumonia and difficult birth. The class also discussed procedures for tubing a newborn lamb, which might be necessary if the lamb is unable to nurse within the first few hours of life. It can also be necessary if the ewe isn’t producing enough milk.
With the lamb’s head in a natural position, insert the tube in the side of the lamb’s mouth, following the roof of the mouth down into the throat. Don’t force the tube down, allow the lamb to swallow as tube goes down the esophagus. Generally, the tube can be felt on the outside of the neck as it is inserted down into the stomach. Although it is difficult to get the tube down the trachea (windpipe), the tube can be checked to see if air is being expelled (listen or moisten end of tube to see if a bubble forms).
As with pulling lambs and navigating difficult births, tubing a lamb can be scary at first. Once perfected, however, the procedure is fairly routine.
GRACIOUS HOST
Veteran hair sheep producer Justin McCoy hosted the lambing school at Crane’s request, and offered new producers a look at ways in which they can put existing facilities to use when getting started in the sheep industry.
“We love the industry, and we love to host people. We don’t have the greatest facility for hosting, but we’re happy to do it,” McCoy said. “We just want to share what we’ve learned with the industry and help people get started with sheep. I think sheep have a lot of potential for profit and for young producers getting into livestock. So, we want to encourage people to get in and start raising sheep.”
McCoy’s lambing barn included a liberal use of wooden pallets to create lambing jugs, showcasing how producers can use items they have in abundance to create sheep pens.
“This is kind of a classic small sheep place in that they’ve made the most of what they have,” Crane said. “You don’t have to have the fanciest equipment. You can start from literally an open cattle barn and make it work for your operation to make money and provide for your family.”
McCoy also hoped to give students a more hands-on experience at the school, but was happy with the educational content offered in its place.
“Alison’s extensive knowledge was worth the price of admission,” he said. “She’s certainly a specialist in the area of sheep production, but she also has that personal experience because her family has its own sheep operation. She’s a researcher, but she also understands that you have to be able to make this pay for itself in a real-world situation. She did a great job of bridging that gap between researcher and producer.”
Crane said she hopes to conduct more educational schools and workshops in the years to come, and anticipates they might move to different locations to accommodate the vast area of the state. Fortunately, students traveling to Burns for the lambing school had weather on their side.
“Most of the time, February and March aren’t quite this nice in Wyoming,” Crane said. “Hopefully we could time it a little better next time to make sure we are actually lambing during the lambing school.”
ASI President Ben Lehfeldt testified before the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry on Feb. 26 as part of the Perspectives from the Field: Farmer and Rancher Views on the Agricultural Economy hearing. The hearing included two panels, one of which focused on the livestock industry. Below is the written testimony that was submitted to the committee prior to the hearing.
Chairman Boozman, Ranking Member Klobuchar, and members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today. I am honored as the recently elected president of the American Sheep Industry Association to represent the national trade association for the United States sheep industry and country’s 100,000 lamb and wool producing farms and ranches. I compliment your timing of this hearing with the start of a new administration, the 119th Congress and the small break at the Lehfeldt sheep ranch in Lavina, Mont., between winter feeding and spring work of our livestock.
We look at 2025 as a key point in the direction of our industry given all the federal impacts of regulations, taxes, federal program resources and trade.
LAMB & WOOL INDUSTRIES
This month’s USDA inventory report revealed an increase in the nation’s sheep herd. This is a notable report as sheep producers are dealing with record high input prices and non-existent, depressed or flat markets for their sheep and wool. The lamb market at the wholesale level has been stagnant for the past year and any uptick is quickly dampened by the surge in imported lamb from Australia and New Zealand (portions of the trade have witnessed a one-third jump in volume of 2024 over 2023). Importers are taking full advantage of the U.S. currency exchange that favors imports, hurting our domestic prices and exports. ASI has engaged a legal firm specializing in international trade twice in four years and is discussing a third investigation with our board of directors this winter.
We ask the committee’s support for our efforts with trade officials of the Trump Administration to gain a measure to counteract the surge in foreign meat. Secondly, we ask for support in the new Farm Bill for directions to USDA to produce a risk management tool for sheep producers. The volatility of the markets and input costs are not met with any sheep-oriented risk management tool at USDA. We share the lamb insurance product ASI developed with USDA in 2007 did not survive company bankruptcies during the pandemic and the absence is sorely missed as demonstrated by a 2024 USDA Risk Management report on the sheep industry.
A large share of the Midwestern and Eastern wool clips did not receive a bid for purchase in 2024 and we are now in the shearing season for the 2025 clip. The trade war with China in 2018 blew up our single largest market for American wool. This loss was shortly followed by the pandemic that shuttered wool textile mills across the world and wiped-out demand for most wool garments. That demand has yet to return to full strength and buyers recognize the years of production that have been stockpiled since 2020.
We encourage this committee to support the increase ASI has requested in the wool marketing loan rate in the next Farm Bill. The current rates were set nearly 25 years ago, and I share for some producers, the loan is their only revenue for wool in today’s market. Further, please consider wool in any market facilitation payment due to trade battles, as this was not the case in 2018.
We encourage support of the USDA/FAS programs as ASI is aggressively applying and implementing exploration of new markets and support of current exports to drive sales of American wool. To underscore the importance of securing markets, China has more wool textile processing equipment than the balance of the world combined.
Lastly, we encourage the committee to support the Berry Amendment and our military procurement source only American wool in the future. The U.S. military is the single largest customer domestically of American wool and our producers are proud of clothing our American service men and women. Support for the wool growers and the wool processing textile chain in America is paramount to continue this effort.
LABOR & REGULATIONS
One-third of America’s sheep herd is under the watch of an H-2A sheepherder. Salary, program fees and the cost of food and housing – all paid for by the sheep rancher – have skyrocketed in the past eight years. Salary alone in California – the second-largest sheep producing state – is nearly $58,000 annually. This, combined with food expenses for a sheepherder plus board, clothes and the application and visa fees, have driven costs to an untenable level and the state has lost nearly 15 percent of sheep production in two years as proof. Research by the Wyoming Wool Growers Association shows a similar result of H-2A salary and fee increases as not sustainable for sheep production in the third-largest sheep producing state.
ASI has re-formed an industry H-2A working group with plans to present our industry’s recommended changes to regulation and statute of the program during our spring fly-in the last week of March 2025.
The 2024 decision of USDA to discontinue the use and supply of spring-loaded ejection devices (sled) for coyote control is another regulatory issue that we ask the committee to promptly support at USDA.
Predator management expense and the lost value of sheep killed by predators represents the second-largest expense for many sheep farms and ranches in America. Removing any tool from our livestock protection options has major ramifications. The sled is critical to livestock protection in states including Texas, North Dakota and West Virginia. As a fully approved device for rodenticide by the EPA, we support USDA promptly restoring the use and supply of this livestock protection tool.
ASI and our state sheep producer affiliate organizations appreciate the prompt reaction of the administration with great support from members of the U.S. Senate to bring USDA/APHIS/Wildlife Services personnel back online this month. The sense of alarm in the ranching community to the loss of pilots, aerial support staff and livestock protection specialists cannot be understated. Millions of head of livestock are protected via the industry, state and federal cooperative agreements of Wildlife Services.
ANIMAL HEALTH
ASI appreciates the committee’s efforts to authorize and fund the foreign animal disease preparation of the 2018 Farm Bill and we fully support this in the next Farm Bill. ASI and partners continue to build out the plans for a disease event with support of the USDA personnel and funds on private and federal land livestock operations. We further appreciate the USDA/APHIS staff and expertise regarding the New World Screwworm and Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza and relay the federal officials are in regular contact with our association on these threats. To add to the disease and animal health front, we are nearing the scrapie free designation that ASI and USDA jointly sought fully two decades ago with the launch of the Scrapie Eradication Program. While the disease and pest threats are heightened today, the Senate Agriculture Committee leadership has dramatically improved the livestock industry preparedness to address via tracking animal movement, research and vaccination.
FARM BILL
We have shared our priorities for the past two years of deliberations including Livestock Mandatory Price reporting, conservation, disaster/drought, crop insurance, disease and risk management and added urgency to several of those in today’s statement. A final request of the committee we share is funding of the orphan programs of the 2018 Farm Bill. We greatly appreciate the one-year extension in 2023 of these programs, two of which are very important to sheep producers and encourage your support of funding in 2025 via a continuing resolution if possible but certainly in the authorization of the next Farm Bill. These programs were excluded in the 2024 extension of the Farm Bill.
SUMMARY
The American Sheep Industry Association pledges our full support to secure these requests and believes 2025 is pivotal to thousands of operations being able to finance their business this year.
A bright spot to share is the growth in the sheep inventory, which is widely thought to be the use of sheep for agrivoltaics, such as vegetation management of solar farms and wildfire prevention.
ASI Legislative Action Council Co-Chair Larry Hopkins of Indiana was in Washington, D.C., on March 4 to testify on behalf of the American sheep industry at the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture’s State of the Livestock Industry: Producer Perspectives hearing conducted by the Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Subcommittee.
Following in the footsteps of ASI President Ben Lehfeldt’s testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry a week earlier, Hopkins’ testimony was designed on behalf of not only the sheep industry, but the Farm Bill’s “orphan programs,” which include: the Wool Apparel Manufacturers Trust; the Wool Research, Development and Promotion Trust Fund; and the Sheep Production and Marketing Grant Program.
Hopkins met with two of his state’s congressional representatives who sit on the subcommittee the day before the hearing, and Rep. Jim Baird (R-Ind.) specifically questioned him about the importance of funding the orphan programs during the hearing.
“Yes, the orphan programs are critical to the sheep industry,” Hopkins said. “The programs, as I understand it, in the past have been too small for the CBO to score those in the baseline, and as a result of that they always have to be listed in the Farm Bill as separate programs, which creates a lot of problems, especially when there’s a CR that has to be done. Last year in the Farm Bill that this committee released in May, we combined many of those orphan programs into what I believe was a fiber trust fund to make sure that they would be in the baseline. We are greatly pleased that you were able to do that. And if you could continue to do that in the new Farm Bill, I think we would be very satisfied that this problem that has been with us for a while would get resolved.”
Below is the written testimony that was submitted prior to the hearing.
Chairman Mann, Ranking Member Costa, and members of the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today. I serve as the Region III chair on the Executive Board of the American Sheep Industry Association, to represent the country’s 100,000 lamb and wool producing farms and ranches. I also serve as the association’s Legislative Action Chair and am pleased to relay the status of the sheep industry asks of the 119th Congress. We view the bipartisan version of the Farm Bill that was passed out of the committee in 2024 very favorably and share today those priorities to assist our industry.
FARM BILL EXTENSION
ASI appreciates the one-year extension of the 2018 Farm Bill as provided late 2023 and the subsequent extension for 2024. We are greatly concerned that the orphan programs were not included in the recent extension attached to December’s continuing resolution and ask every consideration to include the programs in this month’s federal funding actions as the deadline for the current CR approaches on March 14. The sheep and wool industry have two programs in that group and welcome an opportunity for those to be funded this year. Ultimately, the reauthorization of a new Farm Bill is paramount as we rely on these programs for infrastructure support, particularly for our wool textile infrastructure including the wool clothing for America’s service men and women.
The chairman’s 2024 version of the Farm Bill – which includes the Agricultural Fiber Products Trust and serves both wool and cotton – is very strongly supported by the sheep industry.
2025 FARM BILL
A large share of the Midwestern and Eastern wool clips did not receive a bid for purchase in 2024 and we are now in the shearing season for the 2025 clip. The trade war with China in 2018 blew up our single largest market for American wool. This loss was shortly followed by the pandemic that shuttered wool textile mills across the world and wiped-out demand for most wool garments. That demand has yet to return to full strength and buyers recognize the years of production that have been stockpiled since 2020.
We encourage this committee to support the increase ASI has requested in the wool marketing loan rate in the next Farm Bill. The current rates were set nearly 25 years ago, and I share for some producers, the loan is their only revenue for wool in today’s market. Further, please consider wool in any market facilitation payment due to trade battles, as this was not the case in 2018.
We encourage support of the USDA/FAS programs as ASI is aggressively applying and implementing exploration of new markets and support of current exports to drive sales of American wool. To underscore the importance of securing markets, China has more wool textile processing equipment than the balance of the world combined.
This month’s USDA inventory report revealed an increase in the nation’s sheep herd. This is a notable report as sheep producers are dealing with record-high input prices and non-existent, depressed or flat markets for their sheep and wool. The lamb market at the wholesale level has been stagnant for the past year and any uptick is quickly dampened by the surge in imported lamb from Australia and New Zealand – portions of the trade have witnessed a one-third jump in volume of 2024 over 2023.
Importers are taking full advantage of the U.S. currency exchange that favors imports, hurting our domestic prices and exports. ASI has engaged a legal firm specializing in international trade twice in four years and is discussing a third investigation with our board of directors this winter.
These market conditions highlight the volatility that sheep producers struggle with in sourcing and servicing financing. Neither of our commodities have a futures market or the ability to hedge against market turns. USDA Risk Management Agency investigated a risk management product for sheep producers and provided a report in the summer of 2024. The report discusses several approaches, but does not recommend a product for USDA to develop. ASI believes the lone opportunity for USDA development of a risk management tool relies on direction in the new Farm Bill.
ASI reiterates our strong support in the bill for Livestock Mandatory Price reporting, conservation programming, as well as the disaster/drought provisions.
LABOR
One-third of America’s sheep herd is under the watch of an H-2A sheepherder. Mandatory and unnecessary overtime payments required by certain states and the mandated salary increase forced on sheep producers by the Department of Labor’s use of the adverse effect wage rate methodology are literally driving ranchers out of the business.
Salary, program fees and the cost of food and housing – all paid for by the sheep rancher – have skyrocketed in the past eight years. Salary alone in California – the second-largest sheep producing state – is nearly $58,000 annually. This combined with food expenses for a sheepherder plus board, clothes and the application and visa fees have driven costs to an untenable level and the state has lost nearly 15 percent of sheep production in two years as proof. Research by the Wyoming Wool Growers Association shows a similar result of H-2A salary and fee increases as not sustainable for sheep production in the third-largest sheep producing state.
ASI has re-formed an industry H-2A working group with plans to present our industry’s recommended changes to regulation and statute of the program during our spring fly-in the last week of March 2025.
ANIMAL HEALTH
ASI appreciates the committee’s efforts to authorize and fund the foreign animal disease preparation of the 2018 Farm Bill and we fully support this in the next Farm Bill. ASI and partners continue to build out the plans for a disease event with support of USDA personnel and funds on private and federal land livestock operations. We further appreciate the USDA/APHIS staff and expertise regarding the New World Screwworm and Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, and relay the federal officials are in regular contact with our association on these threats.
To add to the disease and animal health front, we are nearing the scrapie free designation that ASI and USDA jointly sought fully two decades ago with the launch of the Scrapie Eradication Program. While the disease and pest threats are heightened today, the Agriculture Committee leadership has dramatically improved the livestock industry preparedness to address via tracking animal movement, research and vaccination.
MINOR USE MINOR SPECIES PROGRAM
America’s sheep producers have limited means to protect and prevent disease in their animals as animal health and welfare are critical aspects for ensuring a sustainable sheep industry. The cost of bringing a new animal drug to market is rising and many pharmaceutical companies are not investing in developing products for sheep. USDA established the Minor Use Animal Drug Program to address the shortage of animal drugs for minor species and uses by funding and overseeing the efficacy, animal safety and human food safety research and environmental assessment required for Food and Drug Administration drug approval.
Funding for this program ceased in 2016, and as a result the program lacks the staff and expertise to meet its mission of increasing the number of therapeutic drugs approved for minor animal species. To remedy this, ASI supports an annual allocation to USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture Minor Use Animal Drug Program of $5 million to fund research and development to support the approval of new drug products for sheep.
With five million sheep, animal drug manufacturers often find that securing FDA approval for new, innovative and even older products is not cost effective for this market. While the Minor Use and Minor Species Animal Health Act of 2004 is intended to make more products legally available for minor animal species, the current FDA animal drug-approval process is unworkable for the sheep industry. It is prohibitively expensive, which is discouraging the development of products for the prevention and treatment of sheep diseases in the United States.
The lack of access to these products – which are used by our competitors in other countries – places United States sheep producers at a disadvantage, not to mention limiting their ability to ensure the welfare of their animals and the safety of the national food supply. While imported lamb may be treated with a product that has a USDA/Food Safety Inspection Service accepted residue level, that same product often is not approved for use in the United States by the FDA.
The General Accountability Office has recently begun a study on the MUMS Act to evaluate if the objectives are being met with respect to sheep, the effectiveness of the incentives to address the high development costs, the cost and duration to bring a new animal drug product to market versus other countries, and to review the number of products for sheep in the United States relative to the those available in our competing markets.
SUE ROESLER
The Prairie Star
As one of Rachel Gibbs’, Ph.D., initial responsibilities as the new livestock extension specialist at the North Dakota State University Hettinger Research Extension Center, she began utilizing high-tech equipment that gives sheep breeders and producers new information to aid in genetic selection.
“Our annual Dakota Ram Test – with 75 rams this year – is just wrapping up in the Smart Feedlot facility utilizing the new Smart System for the first time,” Gibbs said. “The test has always been popular with sheep breeders, and while we are still working through some of the data and getting that information to those producers, I think it was a really positive experience utilizing the new system.”
The test results will be publicly available on the NDSU HREC website.
The Smart Feedlot is a 5,600-square-foot research feedlot funded by the state of North Dakota through legislative appropriations. It was completed during the summer of 2024, and has a 200-head capacity that features six large pens equipped with C-Lock SmartFeed Pro feeders capable of measuring individual animal intake in a pen fed environment, allowing for the estimation of feed efficiency. The feedlot also has the C-Lock GreenFeed Larger Animal feeder that can measure gas emissions of the same animals, further evaluating feed efficiency through the estimation of methane, oxygen and sulfur gas exhalation.
The Dakota Ram Test is one of two ram tests in the nation that evaluates primarily Rambouillet and Columbia rams for genetic selection by producers using their respective indexing and certification programs. Recently, it has also been a venue for producers and scientists at HREC and the University of Idaho to test for genetic markers for important traits in the sheep industry, such as structural correctness and wool growth and quality.
“Our goal is to provide stakeholders with what they need. With that in mind, these additions to the Dakota Ram Test will give sheep producers new opportunities to strengthen their genetic selection capabilities,” Gibbs said. “The opportunities are really endless from a research standpoint, which in turn will provide stakeholders with valuable information to improve production efficiency.”
In addition to the feedlot, other renovations to HREC’s livestock facilities include the renovation of the Dairy Barn, the original barn erected in 1909 when HREC was established. The Dairy Barn has stood as a landmark on Highway 12 on the western edge of Hettinger for 116 years, and was renovated structurally and cosmetically including new lights, power and wifi capabilities.
“These renovations give HREC scientists the ability to use modern technology for the Ram Test and new research and extension programs in precision agriculture,” said HREC Director Christopher Schauer, Ph.D.
He also indicated that a new private communication tower was erected through a partnership with NDSU and Dakota Carrier Network, giving all of their scientists a dedicated communication tower capable of LoRaWAN and cellular communications, providing the opportunity to conduct new and novel research and extension for the sheep industry.
Simultaneously to the Smart Feedlot and Dairy Barn construction, HREC erected a new Livestock Lab. This facility is utilized for extension programs, such as the NDSU Shearing and Wool Classing Schools and NDSU HREC Sheep and Goat Artificial Insemination Day. It also contains a laboratory to aid in research projects, and is utilized for management of HREC’s research cow herd and flock.
As part of the construction projects, HREC was able to purchase a TePari pneumatic sheep handing and sorting system for use in research and extension programming while aiding Shepherd Dave Pearson in the daily sheep operations.
“Combined, the nearly $4 million in livestock facility construction and renovation represents the biggest investment in HREC since its inception in 1909,” said Schauer.
“The HREC has been using RFID tags and Shearwell technologies for close to 20 years, aiding in the transition to utilizing TePari,” indicated Gibbs. “We definitely stay busy here. We like the fact that these new and renovated facilities can provide a future in some research areas promoting and utilizing precision livestock technologies.”
Gibbs was originally from a small sheep ranch in west central Texas in the “heart of sheep and goat country.”
“We were active in 4-H and FFA. We showed livestock and participated on livestock judging teams,” she said. Gibbs received a bachelor’s degree at Texas A&M University, and a master’s and doctorate with a post-doc at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She graduated last year and started at the NDSU HREC in June of 2024.
For more on the facilities at HREC, visit NDSU.edu/agriculture/ag-hub/research-extension-centers-recs/hettinger-rec.
The American Solar Grazing Association has announced that Stacie Peterson, Ph.D. – a recognized leader in agrivoltaics and energy – will serve as its new executive director.
With her extensive expertise in environmental engineering, sustainable energy and community engagement, Peterson is poised to expand ASGA’s reach and elevate its impact as the leading voice of solar grazing in the United States. Peterson was introduced as executive director at ASGA’s fifth Annual Membership Meeting in March.
“Stacie Peterson’s vast experience as an agrivoltaics researcher, convenor and advocate uniquely qualifies her to lead ASGA into the future,” said ASGA President and Spring Creek Farm Owner Nick Armentrout. “With over 130,000 acres of solar grazing in 30 states last year alone, ASGA is at a pivotal moment of growth. Stacie’s strategic vision and deep expertise will enhance our ability to support farmers and industry stakeholders in realizing the full potential of solar grazing.”
Peterson previously served as director of the AgriSolar Clearinghouse and director of energy programs at the National Center for Appropriate Technology. She has developed and led national, regional and state-level energy programs that engage communities, support rural businesses and provide vital education and technical assistance.
Her leadership in building the AgriSolar Clearinghouse established the premier knowledge hub for agrivoltaics and cultivated a network of more than 40 partners, bringing together agriculture leaders, solar industry professionals, academics and nonprofits. She has also spearheaded innovative community engagement initiatives, including a sold-out, 20-stop tour of agrivoltaic sites across the country.
“Stacie builds programs supporting environmental land management concerns and sustainable energy, always with an eye towards connecting farmers with opportunities,” said ASGA Board Member Dan Finnegan. “She’s a perfect fit to help ASGA continue as the leading farmer-focused agrivoltaic trade and training organization in the country.”
VISION FOR ASGA’S FUTURE
“I am honored and excited to join ASGA as its next executive director,” said Peterson. “Having worked alongside ASGA for the past five years to support and advance agrivoltaics, I know firsthand that its certifications, research, technical assistance and resources are second to none.
“As a farmer-founded and farmer-led nonprofit, ASGA is uniquely positioned to shape the future of solar grazing and agrivoltaics. I look forward to leading the organization with a focus on excellence, science and trusted partnerships, ensuring that we continue to make a lasting impact. We are stronger together.”
ASGA Board Member and Director of Agrivoltaics and Land Management at Lightsource bp Lexie Hain echoed this sentiment.
“Stacie’s background in energy and agriculture – combined with her success in securing major federal opportunities – makes her an outstanding leader for ASGA. She is a strategic thinker, excellent writer and coalition builder. The ASGA board is excited to work with her to propel agrivoltaics and our organization to new heights.”
Stacie holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in environmental engineering from Montana Tech and a Ph.D. from the University of Montana in interdisciplinary studies. Her research integrates environmental science, public health, history and technical communications.
INNOVATION & SUSTAINABILITY
ASGA is the leading organization for solar grazing in the United States, championing American farming and innovation. Rooted in the farming community, ASGA helps farmers diversify their income streams while preserving farmland for food production. Solar grazing strengthens regional markets by supporting meat, dairy and wool industries and enhances environmental stewardship by improving soil health and fostering biodiversity.
By replacing or reducing mowing at solar sites, solar grazing lowers operational costs, decreases emissions and promotes sustainable land management practices. Additionally, ASGA plays a critical role in community engagement, helping to build trust with farmers and support the development of mutually beneficial solar projects in rural areas.
For more information, visit SolarGrazing.org.
The Barbados Blackbelly Sheep Association International formed a Genetics Committee in 2024 to undertake a project to increase understanding about its two breeds – the Barbados Blackbelly and American Blackbelly. Funded in part by The Livestock Conservancy’s Microgrant Program, the project is moving forward.
BBSAI hopes the genetics project will help answer some of the following questions:
1. Do Barbados Blackbelly and American Blackbelly sheep have a unique genetic identity
distinguishable from other sheep breeds using a DNA sample?
2. Can we distinguish between ABs and BBs using DNA testing?
3. What is the extent of the inbreeding in both breeds?
4. Could we use DNA testing to support the admission of unregistered AB and BB sheep to BBSAI’s Registry?
5. What is the incidence of DNA markers for heritable traits, such as disease presence/resistance genes and various congenital syndromes? Examples: twinning and muscling traits; susceptibility or resistance to scrapie and OPP; spider lamb syndrome, etc.
The Caribbean hair sheep breeds – the St. Croix and the Barbados Blackbelly – are well known for their hardiness, parasite resistance and prolificacy. In the past year, BBSAI met with the leaders of the Barbados Blackbelly sister breed, the St. Croix Hair Sheep Breeders Genetics Project, which completed its landmark genome study last year. The group graciously shared its knowledge and experience with BBSAI and helped frame this project. The two organizations hope to continue their recent cooperation in the future.
BBSAI members from the United States and Canada – representing both BBs and ABs – have nominated sheep for the study. BBSAI also plans to include DNA samples from the BB research flock at Virginia State University, as well as Barbados and Mexico. The association is working with BB breeders in those nations in this truly international effort.
Study samples will be sent to AGResearch GenomNZ in New Zealand using the sheep genome mid-density 60K SNP assay that they developed. Brenda Murdoch, Ph.D., with the University of Idaho and Phil Sponenberg, Ph.D., of Virginia Tech (emeritus) have generously offered to provide statistical analysis and guidance for the project.
The project is volunteer run and funded with BBSAI’s own financial resources. The association applied for The Livestock Conservancy Microgrant as Barbados Blackbelly sheep are on TLC’s Priority Breed List. The grant will underwrite the costs of testing 50 Barbados Blackbelly sheep. BBSAI is fully committed to fund the same for American Blackbelly sheep. If fact, the association hopes to be able to obtain as many samples as possible to strengthen the project’s results.
BBSAI is thankful for TLC’s generosity, and to all who have contributed their time and effort to the project. The BBSAI Genetics Project committee includes John Carlton, Pam Hand, Zeb Akers, Bru Katzenbach, Joan Eubank, Stephanie Thompson and Bonny McKay.
GUY FLORA, 1935-2025
Former ASI President Guy Flora, 89, of Cardington, Ohio, died Feb. 25, 2025, peacefully at home.
He was born on Nov. 9, 1935, to the late Delbert and Romayne (Keyes) Flora in Muncie, Ind. On Sept. 14, 1956, Guy married the love of his life, Pat (Long) Flora in Cardington.
Following graduation from Ashland High School and Ashland College, Guy embarked on a 30-year career as an English and history teacher. He taught and coached track and cross country at Plymouth High School, Mansfield-Madison High School, and Cardington-Lincoln High School. He retired from teaching to begin a new career in the sheep industry.
From humble beginnings raising a 4-H market lamb with his oldest son in 1968, Guy rose to become a state and national leader in the American sheep industry. In 1980, together with friends Ken and Kathy Kark, Guy and Pat created Sheep and Farm Life, a magazine to support families in the sheep industry. Eventually, they owned and operated The Shepherd magazine for 22 years.
Guy was an active member of the Ohio Sheep Improvement Association, president of ASI in 2003-2004 (the first sheep producer from Ohio to attain that office), received distinguished service awards from the Wisconsin Sheep Breeders Cooperative and the Indiana Sheep Association, the Ohio Sheep Improvement Association’s Friend of the Industry award, the ASI McClure Silver Ram Award, and in 2010 was inducted into the Ohio Agricultural Council Hall of Fame.
Guy and Pat were always so thankful for those who mentored them when they were aspiring shepherds, and were lifelong supporters of 4-H, FFA and local sheep breeders, as well as active supporters of the Richland and Morrow County Fairs.
More important to Guy than teaching, coaching or sheep, was his family. He is survived by his four children: Guy (Karen) Flora of Columbus, Ohio, Maureen Flora of Cardington, Ohio, Charles (Mark) Flora of Pawtucket, R.I., and Maggie (Kevin) Spangler of Columbus; one foster daughter, Ruth (Keith) Sexton of Ranger, Ga.; three grandchildren: Grayson (Helen Doepgen) Summers, and son Dyllon of Columbus, Kathryn Summers of Gahanna, Ohio, and William (Marj Sovacool) Summers of Delaware, Ohio; and two brothers: Jerry (Julie) Flora of Ashland, Ohio, and John (Donna) Flora of Urbana.
In addition to his parents, Guy was preceded in death by his wife, Pat.
A private family service will be held at a later date.
Those wishing to make a memorial contribution are asked to consider Guy’s favorite charities: ASI’s Guard Dog Fund or St. Jude’s Research Hospital. If you wish to contribute close to home, consider a donation to your local library.