Editor’s Note: The ASI Weekly will take a break for the holidays next week and will return on Jan. 3, 2025.
2025 Award Winners Announced
The American Sheep Industry Association’s annual awards will recognize the efforts of three American sheep producers, one researcher and a writer who raises sheep on the side at the ASI Annual Convention on Jan. 17 at the Scottsdale (Ariz.) Plaza Resort.
Here’s a look at the 2025 winners.
McClure Silver Ram Award
Peter John Camino is a third-generation Wyoming rancher whose grandfather settled in Wyoming as a Basque sheepherder in 1908. The family operation is transitioning to the fourth generation as Camino’s son moves into a leadership role.
“I was really surprised and really honored to hear about this award,” Camino said of winning the McClure Silver Ram Award. “I had no idea I was even being considered.”
Camino runs a 2,700-head, commercial range flock of Rambouillet ewes, and was lucky to not have lost any of his sheep in devastating wildfires that swept through Wyoming last summer.
A former chairman of the American Lamb Board, Camino has held a variety of leadership positions in the American sheep industry at both the state and national level and currently serves on ASI’s Predator Management Committee.
Industry Innovation Award
Utah’s Tom Boyer has channeled his passion for the American sheep industry into working on a handful of projects designed to push the industry forward technologically, which is why he was an obvious choice to receive the Industry Innovation Award.
“I’m still in shock,” he said shortly after being informed of his selection. “What an honor this is for me. I’ve always had a passion for the industry, and that led to looking for ways to move it forward.”
Boyer is a founding member of Sheep Genetics USA and worked extensively several years back on the Mickel project, which was funded in part by an ASI Let’s Grow grant. He’s continued that collaboration with Dr. Ron Lewis on the current Sheep GEMS Project, as well. He was also part of a team effort to restart the National Ram Sale in his home state.
“I really enjoy working with so many great people in the sheep industry,” Boyer said. “I was already looking forward to the convention and the chance to hear about everything that’s been happening in the sheep industry in the past year. Now, I’ve got another reason to be excited about going to Scottsdale.”
Peter Orwick Camptender Award
While Dr. James Miller’s involvement with ASI has been minimal through the years, his influence on the American sheep industry cannot be overlooked. During his 32 years as a veterinary parasitologist at Louisiana State University, he worked tirelessly to research parasite control and educate producers in the Southeast. And that’s why he was recommended by a handful of researchers and extension specialists from around the country to receive the Peter Orwick Camptender Award.
The award was renamed after ASI Executive Director Peter Orwick in 2022.
Miller was a founding member of the American Consortium for Small Ruminant Parasite Control and during sabbaticals from LSU spent time on molecular genetic research in parasites in sheep at Utah State University, where he worked with Dr. Noelle Cockett on various projects.
“I was very surprised to hear that I would be receiving this award,” said Miller, who now calls Oklahoma home. “I’ve always worked a bit outside of the American sheep and goat industry as one of the last small ruminant parasitologists in the United States. But it was always my goal to help improve those industries with my research.”
Distinguished Producer Award
New York’s Keith Stumbo has been involved with sheep for most of his life. Add that to his countless volunteer efforts within the industry, and he was an easy choice for the Distinguished Producer Award.
Stumbo served on both of ASI’s Wool and Lamb Councils at various times during his tenure on the ASI Executive Board. About two decades ago, he accepted what appears to be a lifetime appointment as president of the Empire Sheep Producers Association – ASI’s affiliate in New York State.
“I picked it up from another guy who aged out, and I’ve been there ever since,” Stumbo said. “But we’ve got a younger guy now who is vice president, so I might get to retire from that job in the next few years.”
And while he was busy traveling with a full-time sales job and his volunteer duties, his wife, Kathy, kept things running at home.
“She was the head shepherd and the one who had to do a lot of the work around the place,” Stumbo said.
Shepherd’s Voice Award
As editor of Ohio’s Country Journal, Matt Reese has been a supporter of the sheep industry in the Buckeye state and surrounding areas, which warranted his recognition as the Shepherd’s Voice winner. Just as importantly, he’s a member of the industry. He and his family live on a small farm in Fairfield County, Ohio, where they raise sheep, rabbits and chickens.
In addition, Reese’s staff regularly produces the Charles Boyles Master Shepherd Award video for the Ohio Sheep Improvement Association, which nominated him for this award for his “education and promotion of the sheep, lamb and wool industry.”
Savage selected for Wool Excellence Award
Longtime American Sheep Industry Association Wool Consultant Barry Savage has been chosen by the Wool Roundtable as the winner of the 2025 Wool Excellence Award for his two decades of dedication to marketing American wool in international markets.
“This is quite a surprise, and very much appreciated,” said Savage, who officially retired from ASI in December 2023. He’s found it difficult to walk away from the industry. He was appointed to a three-year term on the board of the National Sheep Industry Improvement Center in 2023 and was already planning to be at the ASI Annual Convention in Scottsdale, Ariz., this month in that capacity.
Savage will receive his award during the Wool Recognition Lunch on Jan. 16 at the Scottsdale Plaza Resort.
In addition to driving international marketing for ASI and American wool, Savage also contributed to the ASI Wool Team in the areas of technical and commercial input in regard to early-stage processing and spinning as well as logistical and marketing issues after joining ASI in July of 2001.
During his time at ASI, Savage was a regular attendee on trade missions that introduced international buyers to American wool.
“Barry was always a pleasure to work with and was well liked by not only the international buyers, but also the American wool exporters who benefitted from the expertise he brought to his position with ASI,” said ASI Director of Wool Marketing Rita Samuelson. “We’ve definitely missed his presence on our team in the year since he retired.”
ASI Receives 2025 RAPP Funding
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded $1.2 million in Regional Agriculture Promotion Program funding to the American Sheep Industry Association for the promotion of American wool. The funds are part of $300 million awarded to 67 agricultural partners by USDA in the second round of RAPP funding.
The new grants aim to diversify export markets in regions with rising consumer demand and purchasing power, including Africa, Latin America/the Caribbean, and South/Southeast Asia. These regions offer significant opportunities for U.S. producers seeking to establish a stronger foothold in dynamic and growing markets, according to a USDA press release.
ASI previously received $1.2 million in the first round of RAPP funding, which was announced earlier this year. RAPP funds must be used in new and emerging markets, which in the case of American wool might include India, Japan, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom and South America.
Click Here to learn more about RAPP.
Podcast Continues Extensive Look at Guard Dogs
Bill Costanzo of Texas A&M AgriLife’s Livestock Guardian Dog Program joins the ASI Research Update podcast this month to discuss Bonding with the Flock. This is the second part of a two-part discussion on livestock guardian dogs.
“The single bonded dog in a pen with hotwire as a puppy, roams the least as an adult,” Costanzo said of his program’s research in recent years. The program is working to develop a set of best practices that are research based for producers on how to develop livestock guardian dogs. “Obviously, roaming is one of the biggest issues with guard dogs. So if we can stop that, we can continue to decrease predation, decrease costs because producers aren’t having to replace dogs as often, and keep producers successful.”
Click Here to listen to the podcast.
Click Here to listen to the first part of the podcast from November.
Western Range Hiring Executive Director
Western Range Association is looking for an executive director in Twin Falls, Idaho. This position will oversee and manage the association office, coordinate activities and communications of the association to the board of directors, lobbyists, industry partners and the association’s legal counsel.
This position requires travel, but the candidate must live in or relocate to Twin Falls. The ideal candidate would have experience with H-2A programs, the Range Production of Livestock Provisions, producing financial statements and budgets and possess strong communication and resolution skills.
Click Here for the full job description.
Questions can be addressed to recruiter Jenifer Malek at [email protected] or 801-716-3423.
Source: Western Range Association
Apply for Spring Lambing Positions at USSES
Seasonal lambing employment opportunities are available at the U.S. Sheep Experiment Station near Dubois, Idaho.
The lambing season runs March through May. Some experience in managing birthing livestock (sheep, cattle, goats) is required. Pay ranges from $15 to $17.50 per hour, depending upon documented experience.
If interested, please contact Laurie Small at [email protected] and request an application packet. Applicants must be United States citizens.
Source: USSES
Tis the Season for Sharing American Lamb
The American Lamb Board launched the Lamb it Forward campaign, encouraging people to nominate someone who could use extra support this holiday season. From an impressive 170 sign-ups, four individuals whose stories of compassion and connection truly captured the essence of the campaign were chosen to receive two racks of American lamb, which they committed to cooking and sharing as a comforting meal with their nominees.
Every recipient is a lifelong lamb enthusiast eager to seize this opportunity to make a meaningful impact on someone special this holiday season. Participants have until Jan. 1, 2025, to prepare and share their lamb dishes and share photos and videos as they spread warmth and joy.
“The campaign highlights the kindness of individuals and the power of sharing a delicious home-cooked meal to lift the spirits of those around us,” said ALB Chair Jeff Ebert. “We can’t wait to see the heartfelt moments and delicious creations they’ll share.”
ALB’s Lambassador network created and shared various holiday lamb recipes this month, from meatballs to show-stopping racks.
The Cheese Gal – boasting an impressive 580,000 Instagram followers – shared two delectable dishes on her social media channels: lamb meatballs paired with a refreshing tzatziki dipping sauce and a reverse-seared rack of lamb accompanied by a rich crème fraiche and chive sauce.
Another Lambassador, Convino Board – with 375,000 Instagram followers – hosted a virtual cooking class where participants learned how to prepare a delicious herb-crusted rack of lamb with garlic butter brie.
Click Here for the recipe.
Meanwhile, The Curious Plate – a Lambassador with a significant following of 32,000 on Instagram – created and shared a creative twist on the classic holiday recipe of Lamb Wellington.
Click Here for the recipe.
Platings and Pairings – with 145,000 Instagram followers – created and shared a celebratory roast made with delicious American lamb.
Click Here for the recipe.
Source: ALB
Australian Wool Market Closes Year on a High Note
The Australian wool market closed out the 2024 calendar year on a positive note, recording an overall increase in the final selling series for the year.
The movements in the individual Micron Price Guides in the Merino fleece sector ranged between zero and plus 44 cents. The benchmark AWEX Eastern Market Indicator added 9 cents on the first selling day, then rose by 5 cents on the second, pushing its run of single-digit movements to 22 selling days. The EMI gained 14 cents for the week. This was the largest weekly rise in the EMI since Week 15 (Oct. 10).
The EMI opened 2024 at 1,213 Australian cents and closed the year 59 cents lower at 1,154 cents for a reduction of 4.9 percent. In U.S. dollar terms, the EMI started the year at 816 U.S. cents and dropped 86 U.S. cents for the year – a fall of 10.5 percent.
There were exactly 100 selling days for the year. This was the smallest number of selling days for a calendar year since 2020. On 44 days, the EMI recorded a rise, on four occasions the EMI was unchanged and the EMI dropped 52 times across the year. The longest upward run was six selling days, while the longest run of negative selling days was nine.
There were a total of 1,726,442 bales offered through auction for 2024. This was the lowest amount since 2020, when there were 1,463,112 bales offered for the year. Of note this week, was a line of wool offered in Fremantle which tested at an exceptional 11.4 microns. This is the finest micron ever recorded in Fremantle and equal to the second-finest nationally. It was also the best result since 2014. The only finer micron ever recorded was 11.1 microns in 2012.
Sales now head into the annual three-week Christmas recess and will resume in the week beginning Jan. 13, 2025.
Click Here for the ASI Conversion Table – AWEX Prices to U.S. Dollars Per Pound
Source: AWEX
Legislative Update from Washington, D.C.
The American Sheep Industry Association’s lobbying firm – Cornerstone Government Affairs – offered an update this week on legislative issues in our nation’s capital.
Congress on the Brink of Shutdown
This past week, Congress has been scrambling to find a path forward to pass a continuing resolution in time to clear today’s deadline to avoid a government shutdown, having floated two unsuccessful versions thus far. CR disarray first began over the weekend when news broke that congressional leaders had failed to reach an agreement to include additional economic assistance for farmers in a one-year extension of the Farm Bill, reverting to a “clean” one-year extension of the 2018 Farm Bill.
Frustrated farm groups and trade associations quickly mobilized – ASI included – to release statements of support urging that additional economic assistance and other priorities like extending funding for so-called “orphan programs” that lack permanent Farm Bill baseline must be included in the extension. Pressure from agriculture stakeholders worked and forced House Speaker Mike Johnson (La.) and his leadership team back to the drawing board, further delaying the release of final text.
On Tuesday, House Republican leadership finally dropped its initial 1,547-page CR – Plan A – to fund the government until March 14, 2025. With consideration to agricultural related provisions, the CR contained a one-year Farm Bill extension (including offsets to continue funding orphan programs), $21 billion in disaster assistance for agriculture and $10 billion for economic assistance for traditional Title I commodities. Opposition over the bill’s inclusion of crammed priorities and Democratic concessions coming from within the House and Senate Republican conferences and prominent figures in Trump’s orbit such as Elon Musk rapidly materialized before the year-end spending package could make it to the House floor for a vote.
While leadership was forced to the drawing board yet again, President-elect Donald Trump expressed on social media his desire to see the debt ceiling limit addressed and raised in a final CR product. On Thursday, text for a considerably slimmed down 116-page CR – Plan B – was released, still including a one-year extension of the Farm Bill (although omitted the inclusion of funding for orphan programs) and disaster and economic assistance for farmers and ranchers, as well as a debt ceiling agreement. Later that evening, the bill was brought to the House floor for a vote on suspension – which requires a two-thirds majority vote to pass – and unsurprisingly failed by a 235-174 vote as it was unable to garner enough bipartisan support to move forward.
Now, Johnson yet again finds himself in a difficult position and forced to come up with a Plan C, all while he fights the clock to avoid a government shutdown before the holidays. As of Friday afternoon, rumors suggest that leadership is considering putting the Plan B CR back up for a suspension vote on the House floor but without the debt ceiling provision in hopes of getting a two-thirds majority on board for passage. This comes after a closed-door House Republican conference meeting where an agreement was struck to address the debt ceiling cliff in early 2025 instead of in this CR. All this to say, if the House is able to successfully pass the year end spending bill on the floor, the CR still has to pass in the Senate and ultimately be sent over to the White House for the president’s final signature.
Craig and Klobuchar Elected Ag Ranking Members
On Tuesday, the full House Democratic caucus conferred and voted on its slate of committee leadership for the upcoming 119th Congress. Rep. Angie Craig (Minn.) walked into the vote with the endorsement from the Democratic Steering Committee to serve as House Agricultural Committee Ranking Member and officially beat out candidates Rep. Jim Costa (Calif.) and the current Ranking Member Rep. David Scott (Ga.), who withdrew from the race after losing the Steering Committee vote the day before. On the other side of the chamber, current Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Shumer (N.Y.) announced the Senate Democrats slate of leaders for the upcoming Congress, confirming Sen. Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) as the next Ranking Member for the Senate Agriculture Committee. With both Craig and Klobuchar at the Democratic helm of their respective chambers, this gives the state of Minnesota considerable influence within Agriculture Committee leadership.
Checkoff Coalition Sends Advocacy Letter to Transition Team
On Tuesday, the Washington, D.C., led Checkoff Coalition representing commodities across all sectors of the agriculture industry sent a position letter to the Trump Transition team expressing the signed on agricultural trade associations’ support for research and promotion programs like the checkoff.
The American Sheep Industry Association was listed as one of the 26 signories on the letter. The letter goes into detail advocating on behalf of the checkoff program and the substantial return on investment and positive impact it brings to each beneficiary industry. The coalition agreed that outreach and education to the incoming administration regarding checkoffs would be beneficial to industry and establishing a rapport with Secretary of Agriculture Appointee Brooke Rollins and her future team at the U.S. Department of Agriculture who will help administer and oversee the checkoff programs.