Research Update Looks at Alternative to Shearing
Montana State University Extension Sheep and Wool Specialist Brent Roeder joined the ASI Research Update podcast this month to discuss Bioharvesting Wool: An Alternative to Shearing.
“They really got into bioharvesting in the 1990s in Australia,” said Roeder, who spent about three weeks traveling Australia this past summer and attended the Australian sheep industry’s LambEx conference. “They identified an epidermal growth factor which caused a break in the wool. It didn’t work real well and it wasn’t very uniform. In the end, it took longer and cost more to harvest the wool.”
But researchers in the country never gave up on bioharvesting as a way to combat a shortage of shearers and to develop a system that would be less physically demanding on shearers.
“About three to four years ago, they were pretty sure they had it figured out,” Roeder said. “Looks like to me they are using a protein they isolated from corn. They give the animal a shot and it works a little bit like chemotherapy, where you start losing your hair.”
But the new product doesn’t create a break like the original efforts at bioharvesting, Roeder said. It creates a weak point in the wool that makes it easier to remove as the wool can simply be pulled away from the skin without injuring the animal. Now, several companies are working on developing tools to assist in that process.
Click Here to listen to the full podcast.
Still Time to Enroll in Climate-Smart Grant Program
The American Lamb Board has received a U.S. Department of Agriculture Climate-Smart Commodities Grant to measure the benefits of targeted sheep grazing on carbon sequestration, soil health and related ecosystem services. This program allows up to 150 sheep producers to participate and expand climate-smart practices beyond the initial four pilot sites.
Participants will work with technical assistance providers to develop operational plans, implement climate-smart practices and organize farm data to assess emissions. Producers can receive up to $7,000 to support their participation in climate-smart management and emissions reporting efforts.
Interested producers can apply online using the following form: Online Enrollment Form.
For more details, visit lambboard.com/climate-smart-sheep or contact Camren at [email protected].
ALB Chair Jeff Ebert encourages producers to take advantage of the grant, “This Climate-Smart Grant offers a valuable opportunity for producers to adopt sustainable practices, enhance their farm’s long-term productivity, and receive financial support to offset costs.”
Don’t miss out on this chance to contribute to the future of climate-smart sheep farming.
Source: ALB
Texas Monthly Features Solar Grazer
JR Howard, 43, owns Texas Solar Sheep, a company whose grazing herds control vegetation on solar farms. It is based in Mount Vernon, in East Texas.
“I grew up in Sterling City, in West Texas, working on ranches in the summers. Then I spent most of my career in trucking logistics. My family had always run a couple hundred sheep, and about four years ago, a friend said, ‘Y’all better look into solar grazing.’ I didn’t know what the heck he was talking about, but I started researching. Now we’ve got a little more than six thousand sheep at eleven sites, with nine more locations contracted to start soon. We’ll probably double in size this year, both by acreage and number of sheep. Lately I’ve gotten so many calls that I’ve had to turn down work.”
Click Here to read the full story.
Source: Texas Monthly
USTSA Will Award Starter Flock
Sheep producers aged 10 to 15 are eligible to apply for the U.S. Targhee Sheep Association’s Starter Flock Program. The deadline to apply is March 1, 2025. The program is open to youths whose families don’t already raise registered Targhee sheep.
The winner will be awarded a starter flock of three ewes, consisting of at least one ewe lamb donated by members of the USTSA. The donors from the USTSA will have quality sheep that meet Targhee breed standards. Each animal will be a USTSA registered animal, with a side micron less than 24 and must have a QR scrapie codon 171 genotype.
The winning applicant will be notified by May 1, 2025, and the starter flock will be awarded during the USTSA National Show and Sale on July 17-19, 2025, in Miles City, Mont. The winning applicant must attend the show.
Click Here for more information.
Source: USTSA
John Peavey Legacy Fund Established
The Trailing of the Sheep Festival – which was the brainchild of Idaho ranchers John and Diane Peavey – has established the John Peavey Legacy Fund to honor its late founder.
Donations received for this fund will be used to support an annual scholarship, as well as John’s legacy to carry out the festival’s mission to gather, celebrate, present, and preserve the history and cultures of sheepherding in Idaho and the West.
Click Here to donate.
Source: Trailing of the Sheep
Lamb-A-Year Underway in Wyoming
Now in its third year, the University of Wyoming’s Lamb-A-Year program saw 126 lambs donated by 23 different producers. The total head count is up 19 lambs from last year with nine new consignors added to the list of producers.
Lamb-A-Year is a value discovery program where producers donate lambs to the university for students to collect performance and meat quality information, and give that information back to producers.
The flagship program offers UW students valuable industry experience and provides regional sheep producers with individualized lamb quality data. Participating producers are asked to donate feeder lambs of 70 to 90 pounds to be picked up by the Wyoming Wool Initiative in the fall. This year, the 126 lambs average starting weight was 93 pounds.
In a social media post, Wyoming Wool Initiative announced its gratitude for the support saying, “We are deeply grateful for the ongoing statewide support of the Lamb-A-Year program. Your backing helps shape the future of our industry, one lamb at a time.”
The initiative also gave a special shoutout to the Collegiate Lamb Growers, who played a key role in receiving all the lambs.
“They gained valuable hands-on experience by learning and running receiving protocols – vaccinating, deworming, weighing and record keeping,” said the Wyoming Wool Initiative. “This is just one of the ways our students are getting real world experience through the UW Sheep Program.”
The test of the donated lambs will wrap up in February.
Source: Northern Ag Network
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.
USDA Invests in Conservation and Climate-Smart Projects
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a $1.5 billion investment designated toward 92 partner-driven conservation projects through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program.
RCPP functions as a partner-driven approach to conservation that funds solutions to natural resource challenges on agricultural land. In addition to USDA’s pledge, partners will provide $968 million in contributions to amplify the impact of the federal investment. Chosen RCPP projects aim to help farmers, ranchers and forest landowners adopt and expand voluntary, locally led conservation strategies to enhance natural resources while tackling the climate crisis. This investment was largely financed through funding allocated from the Farm Bill and the Inflation Reduction Act.
Click Here for the full list of 92 projects.
UN Continues Work on Plastics Treaty
The United Nations is in the final stages of negotiating an international legally binding agreement on plastic pollution, some of which is generated by synthetic fibers. The resolution authorizing the negotiations was supported by 175 countries – including the United States – in 2022.
“The international agreement is intended to be comprehensive and address the full life cycle of plastic, including its production, design and disposal. From a textile standpoint, this agreement stands to regulate the production, use and ultimate disposal of plastic-based inputs, including plastic coatings and synthetic fibers such as polyester and polypropylene,” according to the National Council of Textile Organizations, of which the American Sheep Industry Association is a member. “Further, the various obligations and objectives incased in a final agreement will likely incentivize state level legislators to undertake initiatives that regulate the production and sale of products made from or containing plastics. We have seen this trend play out with numerous states, such as California, Washington and Maine, who have aggressively moved forward with legislation to ban the sale of products, including textiles and apparel that are processed with PFAS chemicals.
“The UNEA resolution sets a goal of completing the negotiations by the end of 2024, and the fifth and final round of negotiations are scheduled for November in Busan, South Korea. The resolution also calls for countries to prepare national action plans with ‘country-driven approaches’ to help prevent, reduce and eliminate plastic pollution. The resolution also recognizes that for developing countries and ‘countries with economies in transition,’ full implementation of some legal obligations would depend on financing, capacity building and technical support – it is worth noting that for UN purposes, China is considered a developing economy, which means its obligations under any agreement emerging from these negotiations may not be as stringent as those required of the U.S. and most European nations.
“At the fourth meeting on the International Negotiating Committee in April 2024, much of the text remained under active negotiation.”
Source: NCTO
Australian Wool Market Posts Small Loss
The Australian wool market recorded a small overall loss this series. The national offering fell by 6,605 bales, to 34,460 bales. Of this offering, 92 percent was sold. Sale results were mixed across microns, wool types and regions.
The Merino fleece Micron Price Guides movements across the country ranged from plus 6 to minus 38 cents. The AWEX Eastern Market Indicator dropped by 7 cents, closing at 1,131 cents. In the last 18 selling days, only once has the EMI recorded a double-digit movement. This was on Oct. 9, when the EMI rose by 23 cents.
If we compare this selling series to the corresponding sale of last season (Week 17), we get a good indication of how little the market has moved during the previous 12 months. The EMI was trading at 1,139 cents then – just 8 cents higher than the current level of the EMI.
The MPGs for Merino fleece across in the Southern region ranged from a high of 1,809 cents for 16.5 micron, down to 1,260 cents for 22 micron. The MPGs today range from a high of 1,775 cents (16.5 micron) – a drop of 34 cents compared to last year – down to 1,236 cents (22 micron), which is a fall of 24 cents. The only point of the market showing any significant improvement is the EMI viewed in U.S. dollar terms. In Week 17 last year, the Australian dollar was trading at 63.85 cents, this is 2.91 cents lower than its current position. Due to this currency movement, the EMI has improved in USD terms. The EMI was 727 cents last year and it has added 28 U.S. cents in the previous 12 months, currently sitting at 755 U.S. cents.
Next week’s offering is expected to rise. There are currently 41,535 bales rostered for sale in Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle.
Click Here for the ASI Conversion Chart – AWEX Prices to USD Per Pound.
Source: AWEX