Convention Panel to Discuss Agrivoltaics
The 2025 American Sheep Industry Association Annual Convention will officially kick off in Scottsdale, Ariz., with a panel discussion on Agrivoltaics.
The Opening Session discussion will include three sheep producers and representatives from two solar companies. Lexi Hain – who founded the American Solar Grazing Association and served as its first executive director – will moderate the session entitled Energizing the Sheep Industry With Solar, which will take place on Jan. 16 at 4 p.m. at the Scottsdale Plaza Resort.
Panelists for the session include:
- Daniel Dotterer of Daniel Dotterer Farms in Pennsylvania.
- Ryan Indart of Indart Solar Sheep Grazing in California.
- Reid Redden of Premier Solar Sheep in Texas.
- Loran Shallenberger of Silicon Ranch Corporation.
- David Wen of the AES Corporation.
Solar grazing has become the fastest growing segment of the American sheep industry in recent years, changing the way some sheep producers manage their flocks entirely and inducing others from outside the industry to develop flocks of their own. Each of the three sheep producers come from multi-generational sheep operations, but each are the first generation in their families to move into the area of solar grazing.
Earlier this year, Silicon Ranch opened a 26,000-square foot lambing barn at its Houston Solar Project in Houston County, Ga.
Click Here to register for the ASI Annual Convention.
Australian Wool Market Shows Small Gains
The Australian wool market continued to climb slowly, recording another small overall increase in this series with upward market movements recorded on both selling days.
There were 33,633 bales on offer this week. The national offering continues to trend lower. Season to date, there have been 575,656 bales offered through auction. That is 133,896 fewer bales than the previous season for a drop of 18.9 percent. After Week 20, this is the smallest season to date offering since the 2020-21 season, where at the corresponding sale just 526,889 bales had been offered.
The market performed strongly on the opening day across the country as the Micron Price Guides for Merino fleece 17 micron and coarser increased by between 9 and 28 cents. The benchmark AWEX Eastern Market Indicator rose by 9 cents for the day. On the second day, the market recorded minimal change as Merino fleece MPG movements in the South and the West ranged between plus 2 and minus 3 cents. In the North, the movements were larger – between plus 26 and minus 9 cents. The EMI added another cent, closing at 1,142 Australian cents.
The crossbreds have been the strongest performing sector in the previous few months. The 28-micron MPG in particular has risen for six of the last seven selling series. So much so, that the 28-micron MPG in the South is now at its highest point since July 14, 2022.
With a smaller season to date offering and minimal price movements, the total dollar value of wool sold this season is well down. For the 2024-25 season, there has been a total of $702 million worth of wool sold through the auction system. This is $158 million less than the 2023-24 season for a fall of 18.4 percent.
Next week’s offering is forecast to increase. There are expected to be 39,616 bales on offer in Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle.
Click Here for the ASI Conversion Table – AWEX Prices to USD Per Pound.
Source: AWEX
ALB Brings Lamb to Worlds of Flavor
The American Lamb Board was thrilled to sponsor this year’s Worlds of Flavor International Conference & Festival at the Culinary Institute of America’s Copia campus.
Culinary innovators from around the globe gathered to celebrate the theme Borders, Migration and the Evolution of Culinary Tradition. During three immersive days, we joined top chefs, tastemakers and culinary pioneers in exploring the powerful stories that shape flavors from across the Americas.
American lamb was proudly featured in the Marketplace, where crowds gathered to experience the global diversity of lamb preparations. Our featured chef – Kareem El-Ghayesh, known as the Egyptian Cowboy – is a major fan of American lamb and has three menu items at his Austin-based restaurant KG BBQ that feature American lamb. At the event, Chef Kareem’s masterful way of blending Egyptian and Texan influences captivated audiences with his live-fire cooking. Kareem’s flavors and techniques resonated deeply with the event’s theme, as he showcased the cultural intersections that inspire his signature dishes.
“Continuing to feature American lamb at these premier events where we can connect with chefs and influencers allows us to reach more consumers with recipes and content that showcases lamb as a new protein option that they can integrate into both holiday meals and weeknight dinners,” said ALB Chair Jeff Ebert.
Chef Kareem presented a trio of distinctive lamb dishes throughout the event, each embodying the bold spirit of culinary migration:
- Wednesday: Denver ribs with a spicy chimichurri.
- Thursday: Merguez sausage served with mustard yogurt and pickled cabbage.
- Friday: Pulled shoulder topped with fennel and anchovy chimichurri, garnished with pomegranate seeds.
Throughout the event, ALB forged connections with chefs, authors and influencers eager to explore lamb’s versatility in their kitchens. These new partnerships are key to our mission of showcasing the depth of flavor and tradition that American lamb offers to the culinary world.
Source: ALB
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.
Trump Taps Former Rep. Zeldin to Helm EPA
On Monday, President-elect Donald Trump announced his pick for the top position at the Environmental Protection Agency to be former Rep. Lee Zeldin (N.Y.), succeeding current Administrator Michael Regan. Zeldin represented New York’s first congressional district from 2015 to 2023. He spent four years on active duty with the U.S. Army, serving as a military intelligence officer, prosecutor and military magistrate.
At EPA, Zeldin is expected to carry out Trump’s energy and environmental agenda, which includes pulling back Biden-era rules on climate and air pollution and the potential to rescind millions in funding for clean energy under the Inflation Reduction Act. Zeldin stated that he aims to restore U.S. energy dominance, revitalize the auto industry to create more American jobs and make the United States the global leader in artificial intelligence while protecting access to clean air and water.
During his gubernatorial bid, he outlined a plan to reverse New York’s ban on hydraulic fracking. Other things of note, he has previously criticized the Biden-Harris Administration for canceling a key permit needed for the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline, and for rejoining the Paris climate agreement. Zeldin pledged to eliminate regulations once in office, stating that existing rules are hampering businesses across the country.
While the U.S. Department of Agriculture is viewed as the primary agency that oversees the agriculture industry, EPA also holds significant influence over the ag sector by regulating the use of pesticides, setting limits on water pollution from farm runoff, overseeing the management of large animal feeding operations and generally ensuring environmentally sustainable farming practices, which can influence production costs and compliance requirements for farmers. While Zeldin has not expressed any agriculture-specific agenda items, one can expect Zeldin to go after and rescind overburdensome “red-tape” regulations negatively impacting agricultural producers and operations across the country.
Burgum Picked to Lead Interior
President-elect Donald Trump said Thursday he plans to nominate North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum – a one-time rival for the Republican presidential nomination – to run the Interior Department and help steer the energy policy he’s pledged will drive up oil and gas drilling.
“We’re going do things with energy and with land – Interior – that is going to be incredible,” Trump told an audience at Mar A Lago. Bergum “is going to head the Department of Interior and he’s going to be fantastic.”
If confirmed by the Senate, Burgum would manage the more than 500 million acres of federal land as well as the fossil fuels and minerals that lie beneath the surface — making him a critical component in Trump’s promise to boost oil and gas output.
Burgum will have a part in crafting policies that deliver on Trump’s promise to “drill, baby, drill”: leasing out federal land for oil, natural gas and coal development and setting safety standards for offshore oil rigs.
But Trump’s love of energy has not extended to renewable energy projects, something which the Biden administration sought to prioritize on public land. Trump is likely to push Burgum to scale back or end many of the Biden efforts to set up vast wind farms off the East Coast and other renewables on public lands.
Click Here to read the full story.
Source: Politico
Is Turkey Still the Top Choice at Thanksgiving?
Changing consumer preferences suggest that whole turkeys may be losing their grip as the dominant center-of-plate choice for Thanksgiving dinner.
While ample turkey supplies and favorable prices leading into the holiday season indicate turkey will retain its position as the traditional choice this year, consumer trends are making the future less certain. Growing demand for convenience, longer-term pressure on turkey supplies and increasing competition from beef and pork marketers might all impact the longevity of the holiday turkey.
According to a new report from CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange, a downward trend in U.S. turkey supplies, coupled with changing traditions and consumer openness to other animal protein options could trigger a longer-term decline in holiday turkey sales.
“Most consumers think about cooking a whole turkey only once a year,” said Brian Earnest, animal protein economist with CoBank. “And some of those consumers have moved away from preparing a whole turkey for Thanksgiving. The beef and pork sectors have seen the shift in consumer behavior and view it as an opportunity to capture a bigger share of Thanksgiving protein purchases.”
Promotional activity around the holidays typically drives much of what shoppers choose to put in the cart. Retailers often price turkeys as a loss leader in hopes that sales on the remainder of the consumer’s Thanksgiving shopping cart will include items that offset those losses. However, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s feature activity index shows a notable decline in promotional turkey pricing around the holidays in recent years.
As retailers began planning for Thanksgiving features last January, projections for turkey inventories were reported at their lowest point in four decades, signaling reduced availability in 2024. However, inventories of whole turkeys in cold storage were up about 4 percent year-over-year when they peaked in September at 246 million pounds. While inventories are still down 100 million pounds from 2018 levels, the improved supply picture means consumers should find favorable prices for whole turkeys this Thanksgiving.
Click Here for the full report.
Source: CoBank