ASI Receives FAS Funding
The American Sheep Industry Association has received generous support from multiple programs administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service.
Funding awards in 2025 include:
- $1.2 million over five years from the Regional Agricultural Promotion Program, which is devoted to developing new foreign markets.
- $445,911 from the Market Access Program, which provides cost-share assistance for activities such as consumer advertising, market research, trade fairs and more.
- $177,869 from the Foreign Market Development Program, which provides cost-share assistance for activities that build international demand for agricultural commodities, such as American wool.
“The funds we receive from each of these Foreign Ag Service programs are critical to promoting, marketing and selling American wool,” said ASI Director of Wool Marketing Rita Samuelson. “We will utilize these funds in a variety of ways that introduce foreign markets to the wonderful assets of all-natural American wool.”
ASI Plans Scrapie Discussion in Kansas City
The American Sheep Industry Association will host Scrapie Free in the U.S.: Moving from an Eradication to a Surveillance Program at 8 a.m. on April 9 during the National Institute for Animal Agriculture’s Annual Conference in Kansas City, Mo.
The forum is designed to foster discussion among industry stakeholders about what being scrapie-free will mean from a business and regulatory perspective. Topics of discussion during the half-day meeting will include: understanding the transition from an active eradication program to disease surveillance; changes to infrastructure; and the industry benefits of being scrapie free.
ASI believes it is important that sheep producers have a voice in the new framework, in partnership with key animal health officials and other stakeholders. Discussion and collaboration among these groups will help answer questions about status requirements, producer responsibilities and the future of scrapie-free status. As we move toward year five of the mandatory seven years of scrapie freedom, ASI believes helping producers, as well as animal health officials and other stakeholders see the finish line on scrapie eradication will encourage the effort to remain diligent in these final years.
Click Here for more information and to register for the session.
Sheep Day Planned in Illinois
Illinois Sheep Industry Day will be conducted on March 22 at the University of Illinois in Urbana, Ill., beginning at 8:30 a.m.
The day will include several presentations in the morning, followed by lunch and then meetings of the Illinois Lamb and Wool Producers and the Illinois Sheep and Wool Marketing Board in the afternoon.
Presentations include:
- Making Money When the Son Shines: Opportunities for the U.S. Sheep Industry by Camren Maierle of the American Lamb Board.
- Practical Sheep Nutrition with Dr. Darren Seidel.
- The National Sheep Improvement Program and You: From a Breeder’s View by NSIP Executive Director David Scales and Michigan sheep producer Brenda Reau.
- The Value of Vaccinations for your Flock by Dr. Tessa Marshall.
For more information, email Illinois Lamb and Wool Producers President Bill Fulton at [email protected].
Source: Illinois Lamb and Wool Producers
Genetic Approaches to Parasite Control
In the last Sheep GEMS news brief, we talked about the impact of parasites on production, and it was eluded that genetic selection can be a very promising means to manage worm parasites. Continuing with the Sheep GEMS theme of breeding for climatic resilience and robustness across environments, parasite resistant sheep express improved fitness.
Determining fecal egg counts at the time of weaning and post-weaning is a measure of parasite resistance already included in the National Sheep Improvement Program. Collaboration with the GEMS innovation flocks and three U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service facilities with Katahdin sheep will allow us to examine other measurements such as changes in body weight, condition and FAMACHA scores for resilience or fitness when parasitic worms present health issues in a flock.
Genetic selection can improve either resistance or resilience traits in sheep. Parasite resistance – different from dewormer resistance, which refers to the worm parasite’s ability to resist and survive deworming treatment – is a sheep’s immune response to minimize an infection to worm parasites. Thus, FEC of parasite resistant sheep remain low when their contemporaries might be high. If barber pole worm is the main parasite, a resistant sheep will most often not become anemic or lose weight due to a worm infection. A less resistant or susceptible animal will have a high FEC and might become anemic or lose body weight and condition.
Resilience to parasites, on the other hand, is another immune response by the animal that allows greater tolerance to the worm infection. Worms grow to the adult stage in the stomach or intestine and pass eggs in the feces, but animals do not become anemic or lose weight. Thus, FEC might be high, but FAMACHA scores – 1 = healthy; 5 = severely anemic – should remain low. Resilience can be improved with good nutrition and low stress. If both FEC and FAMACHA scores are high, the animal is neither resistant or resilient.
Parasite resistance and resilience are lowly to moderately heritable, being influenced by the environment and genetics. For example, if lambing occurs during colder months and lambs are weaned onto pasture with minimal exposure to worm parasites, the infection intensity will be very low and FEC might be below the level of detection – typically 50 eggs per gram. In this case, it is difficult to assess genetic resistance because it is not clear whether lambs were resistant to parasites or not exposed to parasites.
On the other hand, if the infection intensity or stress is too high, even resistant lambs can become overwhelmed and FEC become very high in all lambs, thus FEC comparisons might be less meaningful. Most flocks submitting FEC data to NSIP fall in the first scenario of having too low of an FEC mean. Producers can assess the level of infection/exposure within a group by first measuring a pooled – representing feces from at least 10 animals, including thinner sheep – FEC or scoring anemia levels by use of FAMACHA. If the pooled FEC is above 500 eggs per gram or there are many animals with FAMACHA scores above 2, then it would be worthwhile to collect and submit individual fecal samples for FEC. However, if animals appear very healthy – low FEC or not anemic – then producers might opt to wait a week or more and assess again.
For further information contact Joan Burke ([email protected]). For more information on parasites, see www.wormx.info.
Acknowledgements. We thank the many American sheep associations, including the Eastern Alliance for Production Katahdins, Katahdin Hair Sheep International, the National Sheep Improvement Program and Katahdin sheep producers for their contributions to this research. This work is supported by the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (grant no. 2016-51300-25723/project accession no. 1010329), and by the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grant (grant no. 2022-67015-36073/project accession no. 1027785), from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Source: Sheep GEMS
Colorado Ag Funds Conflict Reduction Grants
As calving and lambing season begins in earnest, the Colorado Department of Agriculture is sending funding directly to Colorado livestock producer organizations to help them prepare for predator conflict using non-lethal management tools.
As Colorado Parks and Wildlife continues the voter-mandated wolf reintroduction effort, CDA has issued 12 grants – ranging between $5,000 and $35,000 – to organizations across Colorado that work with livestock owners in areas where wolves are or might be present.
“This funding is going directly to producer groups to give livestock owners the tools they need to be ready for calving and lambing season,” said Colorado Commissioner of Agriculture Kate Greenberg. “CDA and CPW are offering various resources to livestock owners to help them get ahead of predator conflict in a way that works for their particular operation. These non-lethal conflict reduction grants will further strengthen the preparedness and response of livestock producers across Colorado.”
The grant funding will be used to prepare, educate and coordinate with producers to implement non-lethal conflict reduction measures. These measures could include the development of localized carcass management plans and range rider programs. Additionally, educational organizations will use the funding to gather stakeholders and find additional research opportunities of non-lethal mitigation tactics.
Click Here for the full story.
Source: Colorado Department of Agriculture
Australian Wool Market Hits Hot Streak
The Australian wool market continued to trend higher, recoding an overall weekly rise for the third consecutive series and posting daily increases across all three selling days. The national offering rose by 5,648 bales as there was a total of 38,246 bales available to the trade.
On the opening day, only Sydney and Fremantle were in operation, with Melbourne shifting to Wednesday and Thursday selling to accommodate a public holiday. By the end of the day, all sectors across both centers recorded rises. The benchmark AWEX Eastern Market Indicator rose by 5 cents.
On the second day, all three centers were in action and the market continued to rise. The EMI added a further 9 cents for the day as only a lackluster performance from the Melbourne crossbred sector prevented a larger increase in the EMI.
On the final day, Melbourne sold in isolation and the market continued to rise unabated. With only Melbourne contributing to the EMI, the increase for the day was 3 cents. This rise in the EMI marked the eighth selling day in row of positive movements. The EMI has added 102 cents across this run. The EMI finished the week 17 cents higher, closing the selling series at 1,242 Australian cents. The EMI is now 88 cents higher than its 2025 opening and exactly 100 cents higher for the 2024-25 selling season. Despite a strengthening of the Australian dollar, the market also rose in USD terms, adding 20 U.S. cents for the week.
Next week, the national offering is expected to rise to 41,064 bales.
Source: AWEX
Lamb Jam Offers Ewe-nique Culinary Adventure
Get ready for a mouthwatering experience. Chefs from seven major cities across the United States are gearing up to showcase their finest dishes prepared with American lamb at exciting happy hour events running through September as seven lamb-loving cities will host live Lamb Jam events that will ensure unforgettable evenings filled with delectable flavors and lots of fun.
“It’s a fabulous opportunity for producers to participate in one of ALB’s premier promotional events,” said ALB Chairman Jeff Ebert. “It’s even better that producers can get a free ticket when they purchase three tickets to any of the events.”
Tickets are $60 each and include all eight amazing lamb bites, along with a variety of beverages, including beer, wine and cocktails.
Producers can snag a special deal – buy three tickets to any of these Lamb Jam live events and get one free with the code FLOCKSPECIAL.
Don’t miss out. Grab tickets for one of these fantastic Lamb Jam live events in your favorite city and prepare for a night of unforgettable flavors and fun. Check out the dates and locations for a Lamb Jam event in your favorite city: March 26 in Atlanta, April 16 in Austin, May 21 in Washington, D.C., June 18 in San Francisco, July 30 in Seattle, Aug. 20 in Denver, and a to-be-determined September date in Boston.
A portion of the proceeds from each event support World Central Kitchen, the nonprofit founded by renowned chef José Andrés, who is first to the frontlines providing fresh meals in response to crises and has served more than 450 million nourishing meals around the world.
Click Here for more information.
Source: ALB
Senate Leaders Urged to Confirm Lindberg
The American Sheep Industry Association joined a coalition of ag groups this week urging leaders of the U.S. Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee to confirm Luke Lindberg as the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s under secretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs.
“We look forward to Mr. Lindberg’s leadership and strong advocacy on behalf of the farmers, ranchers, growers, hunters, forest owners, conservationists, cooperatives, state departments of agriculture, renewable fuel producers and agribusinesses that we represent nationwide,” read a letter to Chair John Boozman (R-Ark.) and Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.). “Mr. Lindberg has a wealth of experience in this area, having served in multiple key capacities vital to trade and agriculture.
“Given the many challenges facing America’s farmers and rural communities, it is critical that Congress act on Mr. Lindberg’s nomination in a timely manner. U.S. agriculture needs a dedicated champion in this role to support farmers and exporters as we continue to nourish the world with the most secure, affordable and nutritious food on the globe.”
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 Expected to Avoid Shutdown
On Tuesday, the House of Representatives narrowly passed a seven-month continuing resolution to avert a government shutdown by a vote of 216-214.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) rallied the support of his House Republican caucus, aside from Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky). Johnson was even able to garner the support of one moderate Democrat, Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine). He voted in favor of the stopgap bill, unlike the rest of his party which voted against the CR.
After the bill cleared the House floor, the CR was sent over for Senate consideration. After a closed-door meeting on Wednesday, Senate Democrats voiced that they initially would not help advance the House GOP-passed CR unless Senate Republicans would agree to give them amendment votes, particularly including a 30-day, alternative short-term funding bill. On Thursday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) backed down from his initial hardline stance and committed to voting in favor of the stopgap in order to avoid a government shutdown.
The Senate is expected to vote on the House’s CR today and with the Democrats general opposition out of the way, the stopgap bill should pass and be sent to the president’s desk before the current CR’s deadline at midnight.
Senate Ag Assesses Risk Management Within the Industry
On Tuesday, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry held a hearing titled, Perspectives from the Field: Risk Management, Credit and Rural Business Views on the Agricultural Economy, Part 3, which featured testimony from professionals and producers involved in the farm credit and bank lending space.
Republicans and Democrats alike acknowledged the concerning state of the agriculture economy, especially for row crop producers, and agreed on the importance of passing a bipartisan Farm Bill that enhances crop insurance and risk management tools for producers. Members of the committee emphasized that young and beginning farmers need improved assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, specifically support when applying for Farm Service Agency loans and related programs.
Republicans remained focused on improving the farm safety net and its impact on support for young, beginning and small farmers while Democrats raised concerns over the Trump Administration’s recent federal firings and funding freezes on USDA programs. Other topics mentioned included raising USDA loan limits, the Producer and Agricultural Credit Enhancement Act, the 508(h) submission process, and addressing the increased cost of capital.
Click Here to watch the full hearing.