Sheep Industry News August 2024

SGUSA Pushing Industry Forward S heep Genetics USA was started in 2020 by industry lead ers who saw the need to coordinate the efforts of produc ers, consumers, feeders, researchers, educators and the

small seedstock flock. Joining the board for his first term is David Ollila. In 2020, Ollila retired from a 34-year career in agriculture education – nine years as South Dakota State University Extension sheep field specialist and 25 years as an agriculture education/FFA advisor. Additionally, Ollila is a fifth-generation sheep and cattle rancher located 10 miles southeast of Newell, S.D., oper ating with his wife, Holly, and sons, Ethan, Tate and Finn. Flying “O” Sheep produces and sells Rambouillet seedstock as well as running a band of commercial ewes. During the past 30 years, Ollila has field tested and implemented progressive sheep production practices through a holistic approach on

National Sheep Improvement Program in utilizing limited resources to make genetic progress in the American sheep Industry. Contributions from ASI, the American Lamb Board and the National Sheep Industry Improvement Center enabled the vision to become a reality. One of the first initiatives by the group was to collaborate with ASI on an issue of the Sheep Industry News dedicated to genetics. This August 2024 issue will mark four consecu tive years of a genetics-themed issue. A second effort was to

help initiate and facilitate a Genetics Forum at the ASI Annual Conven tion, beginning in 2022. This brought together the ASI Genetics Stakehold ers Committee, NSIP and Sheep Ge netics USA with a united purpose of providing an educational forum and update on industry efforts toward genetic improvement. The Sheep Genetics USA Board of Directors has tried to ensure it is making a difference in the indus try and that its focus is to improve genetics of the American flock. The board is currently working to identify funding opportunities for re search, as well as educational work shops to provide better opportunities and technology to the industry. The board has had a change in leadership since the ASI Annual Convention. Founding members of

his own ranch of native rangeland and tame pastures as well as irri gated cropland. As a member of the South Dakota Section of the Soci ety for Range Management, Ollila has served as chairman of the SRM Youth Activities Committee, which organizes professional and youth range management education ac tivities. He is also a member of ASI’s Genetic Stakeholders Committee. Last August, Sheep Genetics USA brought 20 Young Guns – producers,

researchers and extension person nel – together in Fort Collins, Colo., for a two-day immersive workshop to identify the genetic priorities for the American sheep industry. In that strategic session, the group identified what is right, what is wrong, what is confusing and what is missing cur rently within the industry. This pro vided a path for the future, leading to where the group would like to see American sheep genetics by year 2030. From these discussions, seven priorities were identified: 1. NSIP suggested improvements/changes (fee structure, develop new relevant indexes etc.). 2. Collection of 40,000 SNP panels per year for five years ($6MM cost at $25/test plus $5 to analyze).

SGUSA still serving on the board are Tom Boyer, Ben Lehfeldt and Rusty Burgett. Karissa Isaacs is currently serving as chair of Sheep Genetics USA in her second year on the board. Isaacs is the director of producer resources at Superior Farms, where she works directly with producer partners and develops pro grams to improve production efficiencies and sustainability. She is also a fourth-generation sheep producer from Colorado, where along with her husband they have recently started a

See SHEEP GENETICS USA on Page 34

“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always be where you’ve always been.” – T.D. Jakes

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