Sheep Industry News December 2021

President’s Notes SUSAN SHULTZ ASI PRESIDENT

Make Plans Now To Join Us in San Diego

S eason Greetings to each of you. This is an exciting time of the year not only because we are looking forward to the holiday season but because plans are underway for our in-person ASI Annual Convention to be held in San Diego on Jan. 19-22, 2022. The convention is a tremendous opportu nity to greet old friends, meet new producers, and glean new information about our industry.

ASI recently funded the development of the Secure Sheep and Wool Supply Plan to help producers protect their flocks from a foot and mouth disease outbreak. Training will be offered on Wednesday of the convention to producers to help them prepare a continu ity of business plan affected by movement restrictions during an outbreak in the United States. These hands-on sessions are limited and

ASI VISION Premier Protein Premier Fiber Environmentally Regenerative Economically Sustainable

The event draws the entire sheep industry together from producers to feeders to lamb packers. On the wool side, wool warehouses, wool textile mills and pelt processors are also represented. Every national and state organization is involved, as it is truly a collaborative effort hosted by ASI. This is the event where we conduct our business meetings and policy forums that provide direction to our organiza

require pre-registration. A special opportunity this year will be the collaborative effort by the ASI Genetic Stakeholders Committee, the National Sheep Im provement Program and Sheep Genetics USA to provide an in-depth forum on the current state of sheep genetics in the United States. A variety of robust sessions will be offered throughout the day on

tions for the upcoming year. We also say "thank you" to our well-deserved award recipients. Each day is jam packed with educational opportunities to learn more about our premier protein and premier fiber – lamb and wool – plus receive updates on current issues affecting our industry. Consumers at every level are interested in knowing about the products they consume and are appreciating the importance of animal welfare and traceability. ASI is proud to be one of the first livestock groups to develop animal

Thursday. Details on the wide selec tion of forums, speakers and council and committee meeting agendas are regularly updated and can be found at SheepUSA.org. Look for more information on page 18 of this issue. In past years, one highlight of our convention was the popular industry tour that took participants to visit sheep ranches and associated businesses in the area. This year will be no different as the ASI Imperial Valley Industry Tour along with a San Diego Harbor Cruise and a San Diego Old Town Trolley Tour are all

ASI Officers: Brad Boner, Susan Shultz and Ben Lehfeldt

care guidelines and those guidelines have evolved to become the American Wool Assurance standards for wool. Attendees at conven tion can participate in learning sessions about this science-based, voluntary program that will allow growers to share how they can provide assurances of using best practices in the care and welfare of their sheep to their wool processors and consumers. The keynote speaker at convention will be Dr. Frank Mitloehner, an animal science professor and air quality specialist at the Univer sity of California-Davis. Dr. Mitloehner specializes in the measure ment and mitigation of airborne pollutants from livestock produc tion and will discuss the current challenges.

available options. The Make It With Wool contest will return again this year with wonderful examples of working with our premier fiber through a lively fashion show and banquet. In closing, I hope you will consider supporting the RAMS PAC reception and auction on Friday evening through either the donation of an item or active bidding. RAMS PAC is critical to our success on the policy front in Washington, D.C., as it is a proven way for us to support members of Congress and candidates that support our sheep and wool industry. On behalf of the ASI officer team, we hope to see you in San Diego. My best.

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