June 7 ASI Weekly

Footrot Webinar Archived for Future Viewing

    Nearly 160 sheep producers from 42 states and four Canadian provinces took part in the latest webinar sponsored by the American Sheep Industry Association’s Let’s Grow Program earlier this week.

Preventing and Controlling Footrot in Sheep was led by Michael Neary, Ph.D., the extension small ruminant specialist at Purdue University’s Department of Animal Sciences.

“This was an informative webinar,” wrote one participant in a post-webinar survey. “I have had to deal with footrot years ago and am worried with our wet conditions that we may see it again in our range operations. I liked the introduction of new ideas – like limited trimming. Plus, reinforcement of basics – like maintaining the hoof wall and sole.”

“I joined the webinar thinking that it may not be worth my time – I was WRONG,” added another participant. “I learned details that will be put into use in the next week.”

For those who couldn’t make the live presentation, the webinar has been archived for future use – as are all of the webinars produced in conjunction with Optimal Ag Consulting.

Click Here for a recording of the event. https://youtu.be/HNKn3CN1D6s.

Click Here to view the slides used in the presentation. http://www.optimalag.net/sheepagriculture/webinars/preventing-and-controlling-footrot-in-sheep/

 Livestock Air Emissions Reporting Not Required

United States Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler signed a final rule this week amending the emergency release notification regulations under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act. The amendments clarify that reporting of air emissions from animal waste at farms is not required under EPCRA.

The American Sheep Industry Association worked on resolving this issue on behalf of American sheep producers and supports the subsequent changes.

The final rule comes as first responders across the county have repeatedly reminded the agency that community-specific protocols are determined between local responders and animal producers well in advance of emergencies. These strong partnerships provide a platform for resolving issues when they arise without the need for a national one-size-fits-all approach.

“This final rule provides clarity and certainty to the regulated community that animal waste emissions from farms do not need to be reported under EPCRA,” said Wheeler. “This action eliminates an onerous reporting requirement and allows emergency responders and farmers to focus on protecting the public and feeding the nation, not routine animal waste emissions.”

Click Here to read the final rule. http://www.epa.gov/epcra/amendment-emergency-release-notification-regulations-reporting-exemption-air-emissions-animal.

Click Here for more information. http://www.epa.gov/animalwaste.

    Source: EPA

 

Australian Market Back on Downward Track

After recording healthy gains during the previous week’s series, the Australian wool market could not maintain an upward trajectory and recorded losses in Week 49. As only Sydney and Melbourne were in operation, the national offering was just 21,787 bales – the lowest weekly quantity since June 2018.

The small offering might have had a negative impact, as some exporters were not confident of filling orders with such a limited selection available. This meant that some buyers were not as active as they would have been when a larger quantity is available. The limited number of good-style wools with favorable additional measurements were highly sought after, and these wools recorded minimal change for the series. Lesser style lots and those carrying poor additional measurements lost ground – generally 30 to 50 cents. These losses pushed the individual Micron Price Guides down by 20 to 40 cents.

The AWEX Eastern Market Indicator lost 23 cents for the series, closing the week at 1,864 Australian cents. The EMI has now fallen in four out of the previous five weeks, losing a total of 96 cents since Week 44. Due to currency movement, the losses when viewed in U.S. dollars were not as severe – the EMI lost only 7 U.S. cents this week.

The crossbred sector also tracked downward, but not as steeply as the merinos as prices generally fell by 5 to 10 cents. Thirty micron, however, managed a small increase for the week – the only quoted MPG to record positive movement for the series. The cardings lost further ground. The three carding indicators have now fallen by an average of 571 cents from the record highs set in September of last year. Sales resume in Fremantle next week after a one-week recess, which has helped push the national quantity up to 29,989 bales, with selling in all three centers.

    Source: AWEX

 

Idaho Grizzly Euthanized After Killing Sheep

A grizzly bear that liked to hang around the Garwood (Idaho) area last summer before being relocated to Boundary County near the Montana state line was euthanized last weekend after killing livestock north of Bonners Ferry (Idaho).

Fish and Game and Wildlife Services employees set a snare near a residence not far from Copeland, Idaho, Craig Walker of Idaho Fish and Game said.

The bear had killed several sheep between Porthill and Copeland. “It killed I think half a dozen sheep during last week,” Walker said.

The 3-year-old male grizzly, which weighed about 275 pounds when it was transported last summer as a 2-year-old, was euthanized to prevent it from returning to the area and killing more livestock, Walker said. The bear was captured near Garwood in September after property owners there said the bear tried to get into chicken coops.

Click Here to read the full story. https://www.postregister.com/outdoors/grizzly-euthanized-after-killing-sheep/article_f3386149-ab3b-512f-ab4e-d2a17507aee9.html

    Source: Post Register

 

Virginia Shepherd Tackles Farm-to-Fashion

    Gum Tree Farm Designs’ showroom is far enough out in horse country Virginia that the dry cleaners down the street also offers mane pulling. President Kennedy had a house near here; it was where Caroline Kennedy’s famous pony, Macaroni, lived while her father was in office. Located in downtown Middleburg among brick sidewalks and across the street from an old church, the showroom is a cozy, light-filled shop full of luxury wool goods – baby sweaters, socks, fingerless mittens, all artfully arranged and hand-knit.

Proprietor Franny Kansteiner, 61, designed almost all of the items, and knitted about a third of them herself. The day I visit, she is wearing a dark blue woolen work shirt of her own design, which retails for $475. With silver sneakers, bobbed blond hair and jeans, she looks a little practical for how you might imagine a fashion designer. She looks quite glamorous, though, for how you might imagine a shepherd – which is her other job.

Two miles away is Gum Tree Farm, a hundred acres where she lives and raises the flocks that provide every scrap of wool in her store. She calls herself a designing shepherd, and she labels her corner of the clothing industry “farm to fashion.” The term has been around for a few years, but it mostly refers to designers and sellers who know and approve of how sheep are treated. A fashion designer actually raising sheep from birth to death is somewhat less common in America – let alone being “owner, CEO, everything” on the business end, as Kansteiner describes her role.

Click Here to read the full story. https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/this-shepherd-has-found-her-niche-in-the-farm-to-fashion-movement/2019/05/24/6441baa4-66cc-11e9-82ba-fcfeff232e8f_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.42ab1c964a33

    Source: Washington Post