Sheep Industry News August 2022

NLFA Leadership School Tours Colorado Plant, Feedlots

T he National Lamb Feeders Association hosted its annual Howard Wyman Sheep Industry Leadership School in Northeastern Colorado on June 19-22 as 24 students from across the country got a fi st-hand look at feeding and process ing lambs, as well as the options that are available to market those lambs. Th school included a tour of Colorado Lamb Processors in Brush, Colo., and a stop at the nearby Rule Feedlot. Aft r lunch on that fi rst day, the group headed to Double J Lamb Feeders and Harper Livestock before enjoying a lamb chop dinner at the Eaton (Colo.) Country Club. Th following two days of the school were spent in classroom sessions. Th sheep producer students were joined by a dozen U.S. Depart ment of Agriculture Market News reporters in an e ff ort to further educate the men and women who provide valuable pricing informa tion to the American sheep industry. Employees of the agency were both students and teachers as they provided presentations on the new USDA Market News app, as well as on some of the larger sale barns they cover – including New Holland, Penn., and San Angelo, Texas. “I think this group here this year came to learn. Th y were en gaged on every topic that was discussed,” said NLFA Secretary Steve Schreier of Minnesota. “Such a diverse group and a young, intel ligent group. Th y were really interested in the feeding industry here in Colorado because you just don’t see it on the scale that is here anywhere else in the country.” Th at certainly was a draw for Utah producer Mathew Goble as his operation revolves around the commercial sheep industry. He also

teaches agriculture at Snow College in Central Utah. “I’m really excited about some things going on in the industry, and I really wanted to see the new processing plant in Brush,” he said. “But a big part of events like this for me is the networking. Th ere are so many opportunities here in networking with others and fi ding ideas I can take back to my operation.” Th diverse group included a Dorper producer from Southwest Wyoming who sends most of her lamb to fi ne dining establishments. “I have a niche market with my lamb,” said Rose Fisk. “In the last two years because of COVID, everyone got in an RV and drove to Yellowstone. I had to go out and buy more Dorper lambs to meet the demand. But I’m always looking for new ideas in marketing and reaching the diff erent ethnic markets that are available.” A handful of the students traveled from the Eastern half of the United States despite the fact that Western feedlots don’t factor in to how their operations run on a daily basis. “I felt like I could get a diff erent view of the industry,” said Barbie Casey of Ohio. Her family has a small hobby farm not far from the diverse population in Cincinnati and markets both lamb meat and show sheep. “A friend who came to this school in the past recommended it, but I’d put it off for several years. Now that my parents are retiring from off-f rm jobs, I think that we might be looking to expand the sheep operation. We all take diff erent roles. I’m focused on market ing and sales of the meat, while my brother takes on marketing and sales of the breeding stock. Th is school has defin tely given me a better view of the industry as a whole, and not just the three to fi ve state region in the Midwest that I come from.”

August 2022 • Sheep Industry News • 39