NSIIC Awards Grant to ASI’s YEE Group
The American Sheep Industry Association’s Young and Emerging Entrepreneurs group has received a grant in the amount of $89,580 from the National Sheep Industry Improvement Center to develop a beginning producer education program.
The program will incorporate online education, producer workshops and an online forum, according to Cody Chambliss and Kelly Froehlich, Ph.D., of the Young and Emerging Entrepreneurs Steering Committee.
“Cody and I started a conversation at the (ASI Annual) Convention about developing a program,” said Froehlich, who implemented a similar concept in her previous role with South Dakota State University. “We’re already developing the online curriculum, which will be open to everyone.”
“It will be very basic and mostly for beginners in the sheep industry. We don’t want it to be overwhelming,” Chambliss added. “We’re seeing a huge uptake in the number of people interested in sheep, and we want to do what we can to help them. We’ve both seen people who get into this industry, and they don’t know how to invest their resources.”
The online education module will closely follow the teachings of ASI’s Sheep Production Handbook, but in a simpler form that offers new producers a less daunting introduction to the American sheep industry.
In-person workshops will focus on the six-state region of Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin. A fall lambing school in South Dakota is already in the works.
The group plans to implement the online education module and forum through ASI’s SheepUSA.org website.
Chambliss hopes to have made enough progress on the educational course and other plans to share a sneak peak of the program at the 2025 ASI Annual Convention in Scottsdale, Ariz.
“The big message from what we’re doing is that we have a passion for helping and educating people who would like to get into the sheep industry,” said Chambliss. “And we’re thankful to the National Sheep Industry Improvement Center for believing in us enough to provide this grant.”
Research Update Podcast Examines Ketosis
Richard Ehrhardt, Ph.D., of Michigan State University joins the ASI Research Update podcast once again this month to look at nutritional disorders, specifically focusing on Ketosis.
“Ketosis has another common name in sheep, it’s called pregnancy toxemia. Uniquely in sheep, it’s associated with late pregnancy,” Ehrhardt said. “What it amounts to is it is a metabolic disease. So, it’s different than an infectious disease. It’s basically an energy crisis that the ewe faces, mostly because she has lambs that are draining nutrients from her body. Principally, glucose is the major nutrient that is kind of causing the problems. It causes a lot of havoc when ewes can’t regulate their energy metabolism properly.”
Click Here to listen to the podcast.
Halal Slaughter Webinar Set for Aug. 6
Kathryn Piper of Five Pillars Butchery House will be the speaker during an American Sheep Industry Association-sponsored webinar on Growing the Ethnic Market: The Ins and Outs of Halal Slaughter on Aug. 6.
Kathyrn and her husband have built a successful halal slaughter facility in Unity, Maine, and have received funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to build a larger facility in the future. Their goal has been to provide local food production to their community and the New England area, as well as providing a sustainable and holistic approach to meat processing. To learn more, visit FivePillarsButchery.com/.
The webinar is made possible through a cooperative agreement with USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
Click Here to register for the free webinar.
Australian Wool Market Rises Before Three-Week Break
The Australian wool market recorded an overall increase this series, the first time this has occurred for the 2024-25 season and the first weekly rise since Week 50 (June 13) of the previous season.
The price increases were heavily influenced by currency movement. Fremantle returned to the selling program, bolstering the national offering as there were 31,960 bales available to the trade. With this being the last selling series for a month, buyer activity was robust.
On the first selling day, the benchmark AWEX Eastern Market Indicator rose by 4 cents. The second selling day saw some large rises – particularly in the finer Merino fleece types – due in part to buyers taking this final opportunity to finish orders before the break. The individual Micron Price Guides for Merino fleece added between 5 and 75 cents for the day. The EMI gained 13 cents for the day. This was the largest daily rise in the EMI since April.
The EMI closed the week at 1,124 Australian cents for a weekly increase of 17 cents. This was the largest weekly rise in the EMI since Week 50. After not recording a rise for 10 consecutive selling days, the EMI has now risen for the last three.
The 84-cent rise in the Northern 17-micron MPG was the largest weekly rise in any published MPG since December, when there was multiple three-figure increases recorded.
Currency movement played a large role in this week’s market movements, so much so that when viewed in U.S. dollar terms, the market lost ground. The EMI closed the week at 742 U.S. cents, a fall of 4 U.S. cents.
Sales now head into the annual three-week, mid-year recess, which has been moved this year from Weeks 3, 4 and 5 to Weeks 5, 6 and 7. Sales will resume in Week 8, which is the week beginning on Aug. 19.
Click Here for the ASI Conversion Table – AWEX Prices to USD Per Pound.
Source: AWEX
Homemade Partnership Reaches Consumers
The American Lamb Board and Homemade – America’s largest cooking school – hosted a consumer dinner at the Seattle Cooking Studio on July 20. Consumers who attended the event learned from chef and cookbook author Ashley Rodriguez during a live cooking demo before indulging in delicious American lamb provided by local producer Anderson Ranches.
At the event, guests were welcomed with a cocktail from Astraea Spirits while they watched an educational butchery demo from Rain Shadow Meats, a local butcher.
Throughout dinner – which featured four lamb dishes from various cuts, including the rack, shoulder and leg – Reed Anderson of Anderson Ranches talked to attendees about local lamb production. He shared the American lamb story while attendees tasted perfectly paired dishes of lamb and wine from Avennia Winery.
“It’s a success when ALB can bring together ranchers, butchers and chefs to educate consumers about the lamb from farm to table,” said ALB Chairman Jeff Ebert. “These consumers left the event with so much information about how lamb is grown and how to prepare amazing lamb dishes. We hope they will take this information home and start sharing the lamb story with their family and friends.”
To help extend the event’s reach, each guest took home an American lamb goodie bag with American Lamb Board swag and a gift card for a pound of ground lamb from Rain Shadow Meats.
Source: ALB
Kroger-Albertsons Merger Postponed
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced Thursday that the proposed merger of Kroger and Albertsons grocery stores has been halted while Colorado courts determine if the merger should proceed. The state is opposed to the merger as it will eliminate competition in the grocery store market in significant portions of the state.
The American Sheep Industry Association has been tracking the issue in the past year as Kroger sells American lamb, while Albertsons sells imported lamb.
A trial in the case is set for Sept. 30.
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.
House Pulls Agriculture-FDA Bill from Calendar
On Monday, it was reported that the House consideration of H.R. 9027 – the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2025 – was off the table for legislative business for the week.
Originally set to be taken up by the Rules Committee and considered on the floor the week of July 22, contention surrounding certain policy riders won over and resulted in House Republicans pulling the bill from the legislative schedule. This comes after the House Committee on Appropriations marked up and favorably reported the bill on July 10, as amended, to the House floor along a party line vote of 29-26.
During the full committee hearing, House Republicans enthusiastically supported their $25.9 billion topline bill while Democrats voiced opposition, referencing harmful cuts to food programs aiding vulnerable communities in the United States and abroad, support for policy riders related to FDA regulation of nontraditional nicotine products, and lack of agency Diversity, Equity and Inclusion protections.
With leadership canceling votes for next week, the August recess is set to start early for the House of Representative. Any chance to reconsider and take up the agriculture spending bill will have to resume once members get back into town after Labor Day. It is uncertain whether the House will even choose to revisit the bill on floor or wait to take up the bill in conference before the end of the fiscal year, which is set to expire on Sept. 30.
For the House version, you can find a copy of the Agriculture-FDA Full Committee Mark here, bill report here and the adopted amendments here. For the Senate version, you can find a copy of the final bill text here, the final bill report here and the adopted amendments here.
House Passes Interior-Environment Spending Bill
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives took to the floor and passed H.R. 8998 – the Department of the Interior. Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2025.
The $38.47 billion topline House bill was passed on a nearly party-line vote of 210-205, with one Democrat voting in support of the bill and five Republicans voting against the bill. The one Democratic in support was Rep. Vincente Gonzales (Texas) and the Republicans who voted against the bill included Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (Penn.), Thomas Massie (Ky.), Tom McClintock (Calif.), Marc Molinaro (N.Y.) and David Schweikert (Ariz.).
On Thursday, the Senate Appropriations Committee marked up its equivalent of the Fiscal Year 2025 funding bill for the Department of Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency. The $44.6 billion topline Senate bill includes $9.3 billion in funding for the EPA and was approved by the committee on a 28-1 vote, with Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.) as the only senator voting against the bill. You can find a copy of the Senate Interior bill text here, bill report here and adopted amendments here.
House Ag Committee Holds Hearing on Farm Finances
On Wednesday, the House Agriculture Committee held a hearing to discuss the state of financial conditions in farm country. The committee discussed challenges farmers face due to the current economic condition of the country.
Questions focused on access to cash flow, strengthening the farm safety net, the impact of increased input costs and interest rates, and ad hoc disaster funding. Additional topics of discussion included international trade concerns, underserved and beginning farmers, and market access.
Republicans voiced concerns about the EPA’s draft herbicide strategy and the lack of Senate Farm Bill text. Democrats voiced concerns regarding the secretary of agriculture’s revoked authority to the Commodity Credit Corporation in the House Farm Bill. Overall, there was bipartisan support for strengthening the farm safety net and passing a Farm Bill this year. A recording of the hearing can be found here.
Webinar: Intro to Flock Record Keeping
As the U.S. Department of Agriculture moves closer to mandatory animal identification and tracking for disease outbreaks, the need to become more informed about the basics in herd, flock and individual animal record keeping increases. Texas rancher Gene Edmiston will provide an introduction to flock record keeping options and general knowledge sharing for those just starting the journey during a free webinar on Tuesday at 8 p.m. eastern time.
While the presentation is targeted to the novice in record keeping, more experienced producers are welcome to join the one-hour session, as well. Contact Edmiston at 713-502-3367 or [email protected] for more information.
Click Here to register.
Source: Gene Edmiston